Studying Outdoors May Be Calmer, Greener, But Not Necessarily Smarter

The idea of attending a school class in a woodland is appealing to many – but leafy settings are not necessarily more effective for learning, scientists say, though more research is needed.

Some say much can be learned in a forest including those who run the Utopia camp in southern Germany.

There, a group of children of all ages could be seen balancing their way along a tree trunk that lay across a small stream in a forest, with older pupils helping the younger ones.

Two older kids and two grown-ups set up a rope for the youngsters to hold, even though the stream was not deep and most could probably manage alone.

But the camp’s aim was to show the benefits of collaboration and that together, the youngsters could overcome hurdles.

During a week-long summer camp in Spessart forest, kids found not all food has to come from a supermarket. They gathered herbs and berries and made herbal salt and ice cream.

They actively organized their own free time, exploring the woods to find animal skulls, build dens and also learned how to avoid insect or tick bites.

“You should measure the success of education according to the amount of enthusiasm and love of learning that it generates,” says initiator and educator Thomas Müller-Schöll, who says nature and community can help encourage people to learn more and better.

Many parents and educators worldwide worry about the amount of time youngsters spend indoors, leading some to weigh sending their kids to forest or nature kindergartens or alternative schools.

Depending on where you live, regular day-care centres and schools cam also offer classes outdoors, through school gardens, lessons outside or excursions.

These are largely beneficial, but how effective are they? There has been much research but studies differ greatly in quality and focus.

Scientists almost unanimously find positive effects on youngsters’ motivation, well-being, social skills and creativity.

“Learning in nature has measurable benefits and should be incorporated into every child’s school experience,” some scientists say.

Pupils are more engaged and there are signs of improvements in academic performance, social skills and well-being, according to an extensive analysis of nature-based education, published in Frontiers in Public Health.

“Overall, nature education shows positive effects of varying degrees on different areas of life,” Australian scientists said in a similar 2020 study.

But while kids may be happier and more motivated, they are not necessarily smarter, the researchers found.

Outdoor camps may boost kids’ environmental knowledge, social skills and well-being, but not help them improve significantly at traditional subjects such as maths and languages.

Overall, conclusions about the impact of learning outdoors on academic performance are much more mixed.

A review of free play in nature found positive effects on the cognitive development of 2 to 12-year-olds.

But one study found no difference in learning success in traditional school subjects compared to a control group who stayed in the classroom, suggesting outdoor education makes no difference to academic achievements though it may improve students’ well-being and engagement.

A UK study reached a similar conclusion after studying a three-month forest school project. Youngsters who spent time in the woods were less tired and bored, calmer and happier and cooperated more.

But their spatial thinking was neither better nor worse than that of a control group who stayed indoors.

Drawing conclusions about outdoor schooling is harder as some studies lack a control group to make effective comparisons.

Others only involve small groups of youngsters, and some interview parents or teachers rather than actually measuring children’s abilities.

More studies are needed that follow youngsters’ progress over an extended period of time.

Plus, by their nature, such education programmes and formats vary widely, making them hard to compare.

And scientists need to do more research into the conditions under which outdoor learning is most effective.

There is still less research into outdoor kindergartens than on nature-based learning at school, though the results tend to be similar.

One review found 3- to 6-year-old children had better movement, sleep, well-being, curiosity and creativity though the results were mixed when it came to cognitive development.

Researchers are also split over how important the soft skills are that kids may gain outdoors.

Children who are more mentally resilient, think more creatively, are more motivated and cooperate better are likely to be better equipped for their later life, including at work, many say.

Meanwhile, if you ask the kids at the Utopia Camp in Germany, they said little about future jobs – but they did have fun and most want to come back to the camp next year.