Singapore University Young Children and Outdoor Learning Paper Question: a) Select and review TWO recently published (i.e., in the last 5 years) journal a

Singapore University Young Children and Outdoor Learning Paper Question:

a) Select and review TWO recently published (i.e., in the last 5 years) journal articles that provides evidence to advocate for young children’s outdoor learning.

—-> I have attached 4 journal articles which MAY or MAY NOT be useful. Do choose the best 2, otherwise do help me to outsource your own.
—-> Also, compare and contrast with these 2 articles — how do they support each other?

b) Discuss what you have learned from these two articles and think about THREE things that you would do to support either 3-year-olds’ OR 5-year-olds’ (select one age group) enjoyment of and learning in the outdoors.

—-> How will they support enjoyment and learning in the outdoors?
—-> What are your reasons for each of these activities? How will these activities support holistic children’s development?
—–> I will attach some articles for ideas! 🙂 Taking Kindergartners Outdoors: Documenting Their Explorations and Assessing the
Impact on Their Ecological Awareness
Author(s): Enid Elliot, Kayla Ten Eycke, Sharon Chan and Ulrich Müller
Source: Children, Youth and Environments, Vol. 24, No. 2, Greening Early Childhood
Education (2014), pp. 102-122
Published by: University of Cincinnati
Stable URL: https://www.jstor.org/stable/10.7721/chilyoutenvi.24.2.0102
Accessed: 02-09-2019 14:56 UTC
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Children, Youth and Environments 24(2), 2014
Taking Kindergartners Outdoors:
Documenting Their Explorations and Assessing the
Impact on Their Ecological Awareness
Enid Elliot
Kayla Ten Eycke
Sharon Chan
Ulrich Müller
University of Victoria
Victoria, British Columbia, Canada
Citation: Elliot, Enid, Kayla Ten Eycke, Sharon Chan, and Ulrich Müller (2014).
“Taking Kindergartners Outdoors: Documenting Their Explorations and
Assessing the Impact on Their Ecological Awareness.” Children, Youth and
Environments 24(2): 102-122. Retrieved [date] from:
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublication?journalCode=chilyoutenvi.
Abstract
Initiated by a team of educators and academics, the only full-day nature
kindergarten program in British Columbia started operations in September 2012 at
a local elementary school. Following the model of forest schools in Scandinavian
countries, the nature kindergarten provides young children with large amounts of
time in natural outdoor settings where they can play, explore and experience
natural systems and materials. In this paper, we describe the creation of the nature
kindergarten and the pedagogical principles on which it is based. We also illustrate
children’s experiences outdoors. Finally, we report preliminary findings of our
research evaluating the effects of being in nature on children’s nature relatedness
and their environmentally responsible behavior.
Keywords: nature kindergarten, outdoor education, nature relatedness
? 2014 Children, Youth and Environments
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Taking Kindergartners Outdoors: Documenting Their Explorations…
103
Initiated by a team of educators and academics, the only full-day nature
kindergarten program in British Columbia started operations in September 2012 at
a local elementary school. Following the model of forest schools in Scandinavian
countries, the nature kindergarten program provides young children with large
amounts of time in natural outdoor settings where environmental education is put
into context through play, exploration and the experience of natural systems and
materials. Every morning, regardless of the weather, educators engage children in
the investigation of natural phenomena and learning about the place in which they
live.
In this paper, we (a) provide a rich documentation (also called pedagogical
narration; British Columbia Early Learning Framework 2008) of the nature
kindergarten curriculum implementation, and (b) evaluate the effect of the nature
kindergarten on participating children’s ecological awareness. We start by
presenting research on children’s environmental knowledge and attitudes, then
describe the idea of forest schools, the creation of the nature kindergarten, and the
pedagogical principles that guide its implementation.
Experience of Nature, Nature Relatedness, and Environmental Attitudes
Given the decrease in nature-based recreation over the past few decades (Pergams
and Zaradic 2008), there is concern that this reduction in outdoor experiences
negatively affects children’s environmental knowledge and their attitudes towards
nature. Several studies have shown that—at least in highly developed Western
countries—children’s knowledge and perception of local biodiversity is very limited
(Balmford et al. 2002; Lindemann-Matthies 2002). Moreover, in a study based on
50 in-depth child interviews, Strife (2012) reported a worrisome trend of
“ecophobia,” where children expressed pessimism, fearfulness, sadness, and anger
towards environmental problems.
Despite some belief that young children have difficulty understanding complex
environmental concepts, there is evidence that young children are interested in and
understand some of these concepts (Grodzinska-Jurczak et al. 2006; Palmer and
Suggate 2004). A number of studies have examined environmental attitudes in
middle- and high-school students (e.g., Larson, Green and Castleberry 2011;
Leeming, Dwyer and Bracken 1995; Manoli, Johnson and Dunlap 2007; Powell et al.
2011; Williams and McCrorie 1990), but few studies have assessed environmental
attitudes in younger children (Evans et al. 2007). Williams and McCrorie (1990)
found that 6- to 8-year-olds hold pro-environmental attitudes and tend to behave in
a manner that is environmentally responsible. With the aid of graphically depicted
scenarios, children as young as 3 to 5 years are able to identify ecological issues
with accuracy (Cohen and Horm-Wingerd 1993). Young children are also capable of
taking environmental action and can influence the wider community to act more
sustainably (Davis et al. 2005).
Children achieve particularly high ecological awareness and a strong environmental
ethic if the acquisition of these concepts is embedded within an active learning
context (Knapp and Poff 2001). When outdoors, children have the opportunity to
experiment with materials in new and unrestricted ways, which facilitates the
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Taking Kindergartners Outdoors: Documenting Their Explorations…
104
acquisition of practice-based, concrete knowledge of nature as opposed to abstract
knowledge of nature derived from secondary sources (Bilton 2002; LindemannMatthies 2006; Ouvry 2003). Such experiential, practice-based learning may be
especially important for young children who have limited abstraction abilities
(Bennett and Müller 2010).
Several studies suggest that environmental education programs can promote
environmental understanding and pro-environmental attitudes (e.g., Bogner 2004;
Evans et al. 2007; Siemer and Knuth 2001; but see Bogner 2002). For example, in
a Turkish study involving a nature camp program for fourth- and fifth-graders,
researchers found that children extended their conceptions of nature over the
course of the program (Yardimici and Leblebicioglu 2012). Similar findings emerge
from urban settings. For example, Shwartz and colleagues (2012) found a strong,
positive correlation between participation in an urban nature conservation activity
day and immediate interest toward local urban biodiversity. Over time, however,
participants did not extend their interest to participating in related activities. This
may suggest that the benefit of nature-based education requires longer
engagement in the programs. However, in another study, children who attended an
environmental education field trip had lasting experiences; they remembered their
visit and were found to have developed pro-environmental attitudes one year after
the trip (Farmer, Knapp and Benton 2007).
Although research has shown that environmental education has positive effects on
children’s environmental attitudes, recent research has also emphasized the
importance of children simply spending more time outdoors. Collado, Staats and
Corraliza (2013) found that prolonged exposure to nature was an important factor
in promoting emotional affinity towards nature, which in turn mediated children’s
willingness to carry out daily conservation actions. Furthermore, a number of
retrospective studies have linked frequent outdoor experiences and direct
interactions with nature during early childhood to the development of a positive
attitude toward the environment (Bögeholz 2006; Chawla 1998; 1999; Palmberg
and Kuru 2000; Ward Thompson, Aspinall and Montarzino 2008; Wells and Lekies
2006). For example, recent research suggests that adults who experienced greater
exposure to nature as children desired more nature-based experiences in later life
and were more likely to employ strategies to overcome constraints in participating
in such activities (Asah, Bengston and Westphal 2012; Cheng and Monroe 2012).
Nevertheless, there is a particular need for school-based environmental education,
as many parents often miss teaching opportunities to make outdoor experiences
meaningful to their children, despite a willingness to take their children into natural
settings (Dai 2011). On the basis of these findings, early childhood educators have
stressed the importance of connecting children to nature as a means of fostering
environmental awareness and sustainable behavior (Maynard and Waters 2007).
However, no study has systematically investigated whether intensive environmental
education in the context of a nature kindergarten program affects children’s affinity
or relatedness to nature and their environmental behavior.
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Taking Kindergartners Outdoors: Documenting Their Explorations…
105
Creating a Nature Kindergarten
The idea that nature is a “teacher” has been part of early childhood educational
thought for several hundred years (Carlgren 1976; Montessori 1971). This idea
served as a foundation and motivated the creation of forest schools in Europe. Over
40 years ago “rain or shine” schools were created in Denmark. These schools
spread to Germany where they were called Waldkindergartens. These “forest
schools” have provided outdoor experiences for children in the early years (3 to 6
years old). Considered good options for young children’s education, forest schools
have been enthusiastically embraced by educators, parents and children in Norway,
Sweden, Switzerland, Germany and Denmark. Research in these European settings
has shown that the children attending forest or nature kindergartens go on to do
well in primary school and beyond (Gorges 2000; Kiener 2004). Within the last 15
years, the UK has also been developing a forest school system (Knight 2009;
Warden 2010), with Australia and New Zealand also following this model.
While there have been many educators in Canada who take young children outside
on an informal basis and provide experiences focused on local nature, there has
been little organized commitment to young children’s learning outdoors in natural
settings. However, interest has been growing; for example, Carp Ridge Forest
Preschool near Ottawa, which was modeled after the forest schools, was established
in 2009, and the Equinox School in Toronto has also recently created an outdoor
kindergarten class.
Inspired by her son’s Waldkindergarten experience in Germany, Frances Krusekopf,
a district principal in the Sooke School District on southern Vancouver Island, saw
the possibilities of creating a similar program through both parental eyes and an
educator lens and wondered how the experience might work for the children in her
school district. She connected with Enid Elliot, a faculty member in the Early
Childhood Education department of Camosun College in Victoria, British Columbia,
who had done research on local early childhood programs with children and with
early childhood educators regarding their experiences outdoors. Having read about
forest schools in Europe and having seen the example of the Carp Ridge Forest
Preschool, Enid was similarly interested in developing an outdoor early childhood
program in Victoria as a model for engaging children in learning and growing
outdoors.
Gaining the Sooke school board’s support, Frances and Enid gathered an advisory
committee who began planning a nature kindergarten. There was a great deal of
community interest, which included faculty and staff from the University of Victoria,
Camosun College and Royal Roads University, as well as the Royal British Columbia
Museum, Capital Regional District Parks, and other community groups and
individuals. Kindergarten teachers and early childhood educators collaborated on a
plan to establish a two-year pilot project in which 22 students would spend the
mornings from 9:00 to 11:45 outside their school, exploring their local natural
environment in an intact old-growth Douglas Fir forest located adjacent to Royal
Roads University.
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Taking Kindergartners Outdoors: Documenting Their Explorations…
106
The advisory committee worked to develop pedagogical principles, a risk
management plan, job descriptions for the teacher and early childhood educator,1
and an orientation for the teacher, educator and other interested people. The
British Columbia Curriculum governs the province’s public schools and uses the
British Columbia Early Learning Framework as a guide during early childhood
(Government of British Columbia 2008). Drawing from this curriculum framework,
the advisory committee created principles to articulate the manner and attitude
with which the nature kindergarten would be undertaken. The following set of
pedagogical principles were developed to help inform and guide the program: (a)
connecting deeply with nature; (b) aboriginal ways of knowing; (c) physical and
mental health; (d) learning as part of the community; and (e) environment as a
teacher. Over time and with experience of the actual program, these dynamic
principles were modified through thoughtful discussion to become: (a) connecting
deeply with nature through play; (b) local ways of knowing and understanding; (c)
physical and mental health; (d) learning collaboratively as part of an empathetic
community, and (e) the environment as a co-teacher.
Evaluating the Nature Kindergarten
While one part of our project was to create and implement a nature kindergarten
program, the other part of the plan was to evaluate the effects of participating in
the program on children through collaboration between the teachers and school
district, universities and college. We used both qualitative and quantitative methods
in the evaluation. First, Enid Elliot conducted a rich documentation of the Nature
Kindergarten curriculum implementation throughout the year, and she used a
variety of methods including observation, interviews, digital photography by
children and researchers, drawing, and narrative to capture children’s experience in
the nature kindergarten. This innovative process of interpretively representing
children’s explorations and inquiries helped the program developers to refine the
pedagogical principles and learning activities (MacDonald 2007; Rinaldi 2001;
2005; 2006). The rich documentation also became an important part of the
research data set. Including children’s voices and perspectives in our planning and
research is important for understanding the meaning of the experience for the
children. This approach is part of a growing trend to utilize multiple ways of
including children’s inputs about their environment (Clark 2010; Clark, Kjorholt and
Moss 2005; Clark and Moss 2001; Stacey 2009).
Second, we evaluated the effects of the nature kindergarten on a variety of aspects
of children’s functioning, including their activity level, motor coordination,
attentional regulation, social skills, well-being, nature relatedness and
environmentally responsible behavior. Children in the nature kindergarten and in
regular kindergarten classes were assessed at the beginning and toward the end of
the school year, and changes in these areas of functioning were compared. In this
paper, we focus on the findings regarding nature relatedness and environmentally
responsible behavior.
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Taking Kindergartners Outdoors: Documenting Their Explorations…
107
Method
Context
The nature kindergarten started in September 2012 with a kindergarten teacher, an
early childhood educator and a full kindergarten class of 22 (which dropped to 21
after the first six weeks). Neither the teacher nor the educator had taught a full
year of kindergarten before, nor had been outside with a class every morning in all
weather conditions.
Documenting, Thinking and Narrating
Each week Enid Elliot went with the nature kindergarten class into the forest, or to
the nearby beach if there was too much wind or there had been a cougar sighting.
She wrote observations, took notes and photographed—as well as held hands,
listened to ninja stories, wondered at worms and “spotted” for tree climbers. She
was “Miss Enid” with an “Auntie” status amongst the children. Being able to share
with the children and later with the educators gave her a unique view of the
program.
Being outside each week, she experienced the weather and the setting; two-and-ahalf hours in the pouring rain in winter gave her a better sense of both the
children’s and the educators’ experiences. She understood better how to keep warm
in a downpour; came to appreciate the children’s understanding of the cedar tree as
a friend who could lessen the force of the rain when stood beneath; and
appreciated the differences that came with the change in seasons as she walked
down the class’ familiar path.
Assessing Nature Relatedness and Environmentally Responsible Behavior
In research on adults, the construct of “nature relatedness” captures affective,
cognitive, and experiential aspects of an individual’s affinity to nature (Nisbet,
Zelenski and Murphy 2009). Nature relatedness has been linked to participation in
environmental organizations, activities in nature, and self-identification as an
environmentalist (Nisbet, Zelenski and Murphy 2009). There is very little research
on nature relatedness in young children, and there has been no study measuring
this construct in kindergartners. We were also interested in assessing children’s
environmentally responsible behavior. Several standardized measures of this
construct are available for adults (e.g., Kaiser and Wilson 2000); yet again, there is
a scarcity of measures for very young children.
To measure children’s nature relatedness and their environmental behaviors, we
used a game-like assessment, adapted from previous research with elementary
school children (Evans et al. 2007). The measure consisted of a game board
wherein the child “competed” against the interviewer. At 11 junctures around the
board, the child had to choose between various options he or she would prefer (the
game was set up so that the child arrived at each junction before the interviewer).
The choices were depicted graphically on the board and read aloud to the child. The
first choice served as a practice item (ride in a car versus ride on the bus). Among
the remaining 10 choices, four choices targete…
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