Outdoors as Primary School Learning Environment
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Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at Government Primary Schools of Bangladesh Matluba Khan PhD Candidate in Landscape Architecture Edinburgh School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture (ESALA) The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH1 2QL Mob: +44 7831805217 E-mail: [email protected] , [email protected]
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While much attention has been paid to the design and use of the classrooms of schools, little has been paid to the design and use of immediate surroundings of the school building i.e. outdoor environment. However, researches all over the world revealed that the school-aged children (from 7 to 11 years old) learn best when their learning is incorporated with natural environment. In Bangladesh, the rural primary schools having poor infrastructure- insufficiently lit and ventilated, inadequate classrooms have large open space available in the school premises. My research aims at investigating the prospects of this outdoor open space as learning environment for children’s learning, health and well-being. Outdoor environment has attracted the attention of the researchers of developed societies for its contribution to improved cognitive competency, improved health condition. but very few studies are carried out in the context of developing countries like Bangladesh specially in health and well-being issue it is scarce which necessitates the conduction of this research. The study will work on the characteristics of the outdoor environment and green spaces for learning and play activities of children and will examine whether there is positive impact of different environment characteristics on academic improvement, physical and mental health benefits (e.g., reduced body fat, reduced anxiety and stress, and improved self-esteem); positive changes in behaviour etc. The work would be based on several action research programs in Primary Schools of Bangladesh where the landscape of the schools will be intervened to find out whether outdoor environment positively influence children’s health and well-being and learning.
Transcript of Outdoors as Primary School Learning Environment
Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children
at Government Primary Schools of Bangladesh
Matluba KhanPhD Candidate in Landscape Architecture
Edinburgh School of Architecture & Landscape Architecture (ESALA)
The University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, EH1 2QL
Mob: +44 7831805217
E-mail: [email protected], [email protected]
Presentation Outline
Introduction
Background of the research
Objective of the research
Research Design
Methods
Budget
Introduction
Behaviour is the function of person and environment.B= f (PE)
- Kurt Lewin’s Equation
EN
VIR
ON
ME
NT
home
school
park
What people do is markedly influenced by where they are.
School is a place to learn. But
How do we learn?
Piaget’s theory of constructivism
Through interaction with the
environment
Through assimilation and accommodation
Vygotsky’s theory ‘Zone of Proximal
Development’
Through social interaction
We need an
environment that will
promote
• Interaction with
the environment
• Social
interaction
“ Children at rural schools seem like jungle born tigers
who are captivated in a zoo-like environment”
- Dr Simon Bell
They might have the opportunity to
grow like this….
The Scenario is…
Large Number of Schools in Bangladesh
• 37, 672 Government Primary Schools (BANBEIS 2012)
Shortage of Resources
• Poor Environmental Condition (DPE 2005)
High Drop-out Rate: 26.2% (BANBEIS 2012)
• Schools are not attractive (Chowdhuryet al 2009)
We Don’t know how to make schools attractive
• Very few research in the context of developing countries
Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics. 2012. http://www.banbeis.gov.bd/ (accessed January 4, 2014).
Chowdhury, Jamil H, Dheeraj K Chowdhury, M Shamsul Hoque, Shawkat Ahmad, and Tasnuva Sultana. Participatory Evaluation: Causes of
Primary School Drop-Out. Directorate of Primary Education, 2009.
Directorate of Primary Education. 2005. http://www.dpe.gov.bd/ (accessed April 19, 2012).
•For more than 50 students
a classroom of 312 sft
(16’x19’6”)
•They require at least 1250
sft (@25 sft per pupil as
per standard (Perkins and
Cocking 1957)
•According to Texas Safety
Standards 2006, the
science classroom should
be 700 sqft and for only 22
children that is 45 sq ft per
person.
Perkins, L. B., and W. D. Cocking. Schools. New York: Reinhold Publishing Corporation, 1957.
A Government Primary School in Bangladesh
Children like the places where they can be with other children
being engaged in some activities- they like mostly playgrounds or
areas that are green.
Andel, J. V. (1990)
What do the children really want?
Andel, V.J. "Places children Like, Dislike and Fear." Children’s Environments Quarterly, 7(4), 1990: 24-31
In a study by me in 2009 in several schools of Dhaka it was found out that the
most favourite places of children are in the outdoor, they want to come to school
because they can be in the school ground with their friends.
Favourite Places
Places children like while raining
Places children don’t like
What do the children really want?
No proper Classroom
Outdoor 's positive
impact on learning
Children love to be in outdoor
Why not in
Outdoor?
Lit
era
ture
Revie
w
Pre
sen
t
Scen
ari
o
Formation of Research Question
•To identify the relationship between outdoor environment
/ nature and children’s learning
•To derive the design guidelines for the design of outdoor
environment of school conducive to children’s learning
Objectives of the Research
Research Plan
• What are the preferences of children and teachers that can guide the design of outdoor spaces of primary schools?
Phase 01:
Exploration
• To what extent does the outdoor
environment influence children’s learning (academic performance)
and motivation to learning?
• Is there any significant relationship
between open space characteristics of primary
schools and children's learning?
Phase 02:
Experimentation
• What are the criteria that can guide
the design of primary school ground for learning of children?
Phase 03:
Evaluation
• To identify the children's and teachers’ views and desires related to their school ground
• To explore the potentials of involving children in the design process of school ground
•To identify the suitable and preferred
setting for learning
•To investigate the natural elements,
artefacts and landscape design
characteristics of school ground that
can contribute to children's learning
•To evaluate the open space
characteristics related to children’s
learning
•To identify the favourable open
space characteristics for designing
the outdoor open space of primary school
Phases Research Questions Objectives
Design Proposal
The research will follow a participatory action research strategy and will listen to the
voices of children in designing the outdoor environments of school.
The final design will be derived integrating children’s views and desired with the
intuition and creativity of the researcher. It will also involve the knowledge gained
from examples in different countries.
“Research is needed to be done with children rather than on
children”
The story of an outdoor class
An outdoor class was designed and constructed by me at a primary school in
Narsingdi as part of my Master thesis which was funded by BUET.
Children actively participated in the construction process which creates sense of
ownership in them
The outdoor class Children learning science
Extra-curricular activities Children are engaged in class
“The children are spontaneous and enthusiastic in their outdoor class. The inertia
which is observed in them in the classroom is never seen in their outdoor class.”
- Ms Shahida Begum, Assistant Teacher, Kandapara Primary School
“We love the outdoor class because we can learn from direct experience. All the
elements we learn about in books such as trees, animals, soil, air, water etc are
around ourselves in nature.”
- Tofajjal Hossain, Student, Class IV, Kandapara Primary School
“We work in group in the outdoor class. While Samia was separating the crops
of clayey soil from all the crops I was writing their names in the blackboard.
Others were saying if I was doing any wrong, or even checking the spelling
mistakes. Everybody is participating which never happened in the classroom.”
- Arman Miah, Student, Class IV, Kandapara Primary School
Results
1. Mean of the score in the test held after outdoor teaching is 10.0667 which is
almost double than that of indoor which is 5.1333.
2. 13% students of the students got higher than mean in Outdoor who got below
mean in Indoor .
3. 60% of the students availed low score in Indoor whereas the percentage is
only 10% in Outdoor.
4. 17% of the students got marks in high range whereas previously it was 0%.
Students get better score in Outdoor Environment
How learning can be introduced in outdoor
Learning numbersAn example plan (Billmore et al., 1999)Billmore, B., Brooke, J., Booth, R., Funnell, K., Bubb, M., & Department for Education and Employment, L. (1999). The Outdoor Classroom: Educational Use, Landscape Design, & Management of School Grounds. Second Edition. Building Bulletin 71.
Learning shapes Learning geometry
Learning scienceLearning mathematics
Outdoor learning in other countries
A research conducted in USA where learning was conducted using the outdoor
environment as an integrated context (EIC), children performed better in the schools
applying EIC based learning process. (Lieberman and Hoody 1998)
Lieberman, Gerald A., and Linda Hoody. Closing the Achievement Gap: Using the Environment as an Integrating Context for Learning. San Diego,
Calif. State Education and Environment Roundtable, 1998.
How it will be implemented
- Training workshop for the teachers of Government Primary Schools about how to
teach using the resources in outdoor
- Observation of the children and learn about their views and preferences about
the outdoor of their school
- Design of the outdoor environment of three Government Primary Schools
- Implementation of the design- Construction at site
- Observation while teaching is conducted in outdoor to know how children are
interacting with the outdoor environment
- Analysis of the observation findings to derive/ formulate the effective design
criteria for design of outdoor learning environment for children
School ground design_Insights from Literature
Adventure
PlayMessy Area
1
Sand and
Water
Flat area
Outdoor
classroom
Woodland
Growing
area
Messy Area
2
Budget (Preliminary budget)
Training/ Workshop for Primary
School Teachers
- Food
- Stationeries
-Venue
- Incentives
BDT 2,00,000
Construction Cost for three schools:
Materials
Labour Cost
BDT 12,00,000
Total BDT 14,00,000
THANK YOU
