„Education Outside the Classroom“
Development and research of an innovative school concept
Summary
The prevalence of insufficient physical activity and mental health problems in children and adolescents in Germany has been consistently high for years. In addition, school emerges as a particularly significant stress factor in the lives of children and adolescents. In the current project, our team investigates the effects of regular school lessons in natural environments on the activity behaviour and health of pupils at a gymnasium in Ulm. Future research projects in this field are currently being planned.
Background
Studies from different scientific disciplines indicate that a minimum of physical activity, spending time in nature or the combination of both conditions can bring about positive changes in the physical and psychological well-being as well as the cognitive performance of children and adolescents. The concept of Education Outside the Classroom seems to be an ideal intervention here, as all children and adolescents can be reached. The findings on the benefits of regular, curriculum-compliant lessons in natural or cultural places outside the school building are manifold. Scientific studies have already found positive changes in the activity behaviour, attention, well-being, social interaction and stress-related parameters of children taught outdoors. An overview of the content and methodological plans within the project is also provided by the project registration at the Center for Open Science.
Aims of the project
Currently, the Chair of Sports and Health Didactics, supported by the AOK Baden-Württemberg, is conducting a project to research outdoor lessons at Anna-Essinger-Gymnasium (Ulm) entitled "Learning in Nature - Aspects of Physical and Psychological Health, Learning Motivation, Learning Performance and the Relationship to Nature in Regular Outdoor Lessons". The scientists involved are accompanying the implementation of the concept at the school and are investigating the effects of this teaching concept on various parameters of the students, such as physical activity, satisfaction of basic psychological needs, health-related quality of life, development of social networks and nature connectedness.
Time horizon
The project in Ulm started in mid-2019 and ended at the end of 2021.
Further perspective
Extensive, Germany-wide follow-up projects on the development, expansion and research of Education Outside the Classroom are already being planned and are to be realised in the coming years. The research of Education Outside the Classroom in different school types and age groups will be a focus of the (research) activities of our working group in the coming years.
The topic has recently gained further relevance, especially in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic. This is underlined by the scientific findings that contagion in the fresh air through aerosols can be considered extremely low compared to indoor situations. Articles about our work and the concept of Education Outside the Classroom itself have been published in recent months in the magazine Der Spiegel, on Focus-Online and on Sat.1-Bayern. The increased media interest strengthens our conviction to consider Education Outside the Classroom as an innovative teaching concept and to further promote its dissemination with the help of various cooperation partners.
Assistance for interested actors in educational system
With the aim of ensuring that as many pupils as possible benefit from the possible positive effects of Education Outside the Classroom in the future, we would like to make it easier for interested teachers and those responsible in the educational system to get started with the topic of Education Outside the Classroom. For this purpose, we have compiled practical information that gives an initial overview of the scientific findings on Education Outside the Classroom that are already available, the theoretical considerations that are necessary in advance and how Education Outside the Classroom can be implemented in practice. We were kindly supported by colleagues from Pädagogischen Hochschule Heidelberg and Schutzgemeinschaft Deutscher Wald - Landesverband Bayern e.V.
We are happy to provide you with this information in the form of a compact handout as a PDF download (german only):
Exchange and networking
In order to advance the topic of Education Outside the Classroom, exchange and networking in the German-speaking countries is essential. On the homepages of our cooperation partners in Germany and Switzerland, you will find teaching materials, the latest news on further education and conferences, as well as literature and practical information. You can also find information about the actors from practice, politics and science:
We ourselves are also very interested in a general exchange on the topic of Educations Outside the Classroom and in research and practical cooperation with schools or teachers already teaching outdoors. Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions.
Dr. Christoph Mall & Jan Ellinger
(Photos: Christian Rettich/privat)