{"id":2782,"date":"2019-03-13T18:37:40","date_gmt":"2019-03-13T18:37:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/magicalchildhood.wordpress.com\/?p=2782"},"modified":"2019-03-13T18:37:40","modified_gmt":"2019-03-13T18:37:40","slug":"new-meta-analysis-of-hundreds-of-studies-nature-boosts-childrens-learning-in-eight-ways","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/magicalchildhood.com\/blog\/2019\/03\/13\/new-meta-analysis-of-hundreds-of-studies-nature-boosts-childrens-learning-in-eight-ways\/","title":{"rendered":"New Meta-Analysis of Hundreds of Studies: Nature Boosts Children’s Learning in Eight Ways"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"nature<\/p>\n

A large metastudy of hundreds of scientific studies has found what most parents and teachers already know — nature has a powerfully positive impact on children’s learning and on their emotional health.<\/p>\n

“Report after report \u2013 from independent observers as well as participants themselves \u2013 indicate shifts in perseverance, problem solving, critical thinking, leadership, teamwork, and resilience,”<\/em> the authors wrote.\u00a0 “The evidence here is particularly strong, including experimental evidence; evidence across a wide range of samples and instructional approaches; outcomes such as standardized test scores and graduation rates; and evidence for specific explanatory mechanisms and active ingredients.”<\/em><\/p>\n

The meta-analysis (a study that combined the results of many other studies) was published last month in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.<\/a>\u00a0 After combining all of the findings, the researchers found that nature helps children learn in eight different ways.<\/p>\n

The eight key ways that nature helps children learn were:<\/p>\n

Nature Rejuvenates Kids and Helps Them Focus<\/h3>\n

Studies showed that whether it was students going on field trips, Swedish preschoolers, children in Chicago public housing, or 5 to 18-year-olds with ADHD, nature had a rejuvenating effect on attention.\u00a0 These findings were confirmed not just by parent and teacher ratings, but by neurocognitive tests.<\/p>\n

Nature Relieves Stress<\/h3>\n

The studies showed that even seeing nature out the classroom window had a positive effect on kids, lowering their heart rates and leading to kids who reported lower stress levels.\u00a0 Better yet were the kids who were able to learn in a forest setting once a week.\u00a0 Those kids had lower cortisol (stress hormone) levels even beyond what could be attributed to the physical activity of being outdoors.<\/p>\n

Contact With Nature Boosts Self-Discipline<\/h3>\n

Studies from Spain to inner city Chicago showed that kids who spent time in nature had better impulse control, including kids with ADHD and learning disabilities.\u00a0 Contact with animals such as horses was found to also have a positive effect.<\/p>\n

Student Motivation, Enjoyment, and Engagement Are Better in Natural Settings<\/h3>\n

Many of the studies found that students and teachers reported strikingly high levels of student engagement and motivation, not just in nature activities that kids had chosen to take part in but also in mandatory school activities in nature.\u00a0 The researchers noted that learning in and around nature was associated with intrinsic motivation and not just extrinsic motivation (meaning kids were motivated to do things themselves and not doing them because they were forced to), which is important in keeping kids engaged and interested in learning.<\/p>\n

“The positivity of learning in nature seem to ripple outward, as seen in learners\u2019 engagement in subsequent, indoor lessons, ratings of course curriculum, materials, and resources and interest in school in general, as well as lower levels of chronic absenteeism,” the authors wrote.<\/p>\n

The researchers also found that “learning in nature may improve motivation most in those students who are least motivated in traditional classrooms.”<\/p>\n

Time Outdoors Is Tied to Higher Levels of Physical Activity and Fitness<\/h3>\n

Children’s time outdoors was linked to cardiorespiratory fitness, the type of fitness most clearly associated with better academic performances.\u00a0 Studies also showed that kids who had access to nature stayed more active, even into adulthood.<\/p>\n

Natural Settings Provide Calmer, Quieter, Safer Contexts for Learning<\/h3>\n

The researchers found that both formal and informal learning improved in nature.\u00a0 When they were learning in a natural setting, kids were less likely to engage in disruptive behaviors like pushing each other or talking out of turn.\u00a0 “Further, in greener learning environments, students who previously experienced difficulties in traditional classrooms are better able to remove themselves from conflicts and demonstrate better self-control,” the authors noted.<\/p>\n

Natural Settings Foster Friendlier, More Cooperative Relations<\/h3>\n

Many of the studies showed that natural settings helped kids make friends and feel more trusting.\u00a0 The researchers theorized that the kids were able to engage more with each other, and that they had a better spirit of cooperation not just with each other but with their teachers.\u00a0 In addition, they reported that “learning in greener settings has been consistently tied to the bridging of both socio-cultural differences and interpersonal barriers (e.g., personality conflicts) that can interfere with group functioning in the classroom.”<\/p>\n

Natural Settings Encourages \u201cLoose Parts\u201d Play, Independence and Healthier Forms of Play<\/h3>\n

The benefits of “loose parts” play (play involving small objects that kids can use to play and create in open-ended ways) are extended into nature, where kids have access to sticks, rocks, water, dirt and other natural materials.\u00a0 Studies have shown that teachers and principals found that kids who engaged in loose parts play in nature had more physically active, social and creative play, which were likely to lead to improvements in social, emotional and academic development.<\/p>\n

Some of the most interesting studies included:<\/p>\n