Which approaches are associated with better outcomes? Evidence from a national study of environmental education field trip programs for adolescent youth in the United States

Autor: Robert B. Powell, Marc J. Stern, Brandon Troy Frensley
Rok vydání: 2022
Předmět:
Zdroj: Environmental Education Research. 29:331-356
ISSN: 1469-5871
1350-4622
DOI: 10.1080/13504622.2022.2145270
Popis: Which approaches are associated with better student learning outcomes in environmental education (EE)? We observed a sample of 299 day-long EE field trip programs occurring across the U.S.A. for youth in grades 5-8 (ages 9 to 14). We tracked the extent of use and quality of implementation of 66 programmatic, educator, and setting characteristics and measured student outcomes immediately after the programs using a retrospective survey. A series of complementary tests identified 11 characteristics that were most powerfully and consistently associated with learning outcomes, accounting for 18% of variance in learning outcomes. These included group size, naturalness, novelty, place-based pedagogy, verbal engagement, quality questions, transitions, and staging, as well as the responsiveness, comfort and clarity, and emotional support provided by the educator. Some of the most commonly promoted practices in the EE field were rarely observed. Implications are discussed for both practice and research. Published version
Databáze: OpenAIRE