Education outside the classroom: a subject-specific memory study among Danish fifth grade pupils

Author(s):

Camilla Roed Otte(presenting / submitting)Niels Ejbye-ernst Peter Bentsen

Conference:

ECER 2016

Network:

14. Communities, Families and Schooling in Educational Research

Format:

Paper

Session Information

14 SES 04 A, Education Outside the Classroom, Service-learning and Recreational Activities

Paper/Poster Session

Time:

2016-08-24

09:00-10:30

Room:

OB-E1.17 (ALE 1)

Chair:

Contribution

Education outside the classroom (EOtC) is a term which in a Danish school context is referring to curriculum-based teaching outside of school in natural as well as cultural settings on a regular basis. EOtC in schools has become increasingly popular in Denmark since 2000 (Bentsen et al. 2010) and unpublished research from 2014 show that 19 percent of all Danish public schools are practicing EOtC.

Neuroscience, the science of interpreting the work and function, gets greater and greater influence on views on learning and knowledge (Fredens, 2011; Schilhab & Steffensen, 2011, 2007). Moreover, research on how the episodic memory can influence pupils’ cognitive outcomes is investigated further (Lieberoth, 2013). Research has showed that learning that take place outside the classroom can enlarge multi-sensory perception and that outdoor teaching can involve more senses, which can lead to increased academic performance among pupils (Auer, 2008; Fägerstam et al., 2012; Grønningsæter et al., 2007).

However, evidence and knowledge about how EOtC can influences pupils’ memory related to academic achievements is still lacking. Only a few Scandinavian studies have looked into the connections between an increased subject-specific memory for pupils and EOtC (Bjørklund et al., 2012; Fägerstam et al., 2013),

This present study is part of a larger study, TEACHOUT (www.teachout.ku.dk). The TEACHOUT project studies the interdependencies between EOtC and physical activity, learning and social relations in Danish public schools (N= 48 classes).

Research questions

In this qualitative study, we investigate the forms of knowledge acquired by pupils taught the subject Danish (i.e. mothertongue) in different teaching contexts at school and outside school. Therefore, the aim is to investigate:

1) Which parts of the teaching, are pupils able to remember, when you ask them just after a three weeks teaching period and again after 6 months?

2) Are there any differences in what pupils can remember, when you compare teaching outside the classroom, with teaching inside the classroom?

Theoretical approach

A cross-disciplinary approach is necessary to gain insight concerning the elements and factors in EOtC. The study takes its primary theoretical foundation in a combination of the available theoretical approaches and research-based knowledge of outdoor education, pupils’ memory and outdoor learning (Csikszentmihalyi, 1975; Illeris, 2006; Jordet, 2007, 2008; Fredens 2012, Schilhab 2007).

Method

Methods The intervention was developed with the two teachers who taught the involved pupils in the subject Danish. The teachers choose the overall theme and the specific goals for their teaching practice in the intervention period. They also made a specific description of their teachings methods in every Danish lesson during the 3 weeks period. The theme and the goals for each pupil were the same despite whether the lessons were held outside the classroom or inside the classroom. For baseline, we applied the qualitative research method Personal Meaning Mapping, which is an approach that can measure a change in understanding (Falk, 2003). All involved pupils filled out the form at the overall theme in order to gain information about each pupils type of knowledge prior the intervention. Five days after the intervention, all pupils were interviewed one by one. To gain knowledge about the pupils’ memory, the interviewer used a semi-structured interviewing method asking simple questions regarding the teaching, the intervention period and the pupils’ subject-specific memory gained during this period. Each interview lasted for around 5-10 minutes. After six months, the interviewer came back to the pupils asking the same questions. All interviews were audio recorded and transcribed. Setting and participants Forty Danish pupils from two fifth grade classes participated in the intervention study in a three week period in June 2015. All pupils came from the same school located in an urban area at Sea land Denmark. During the intervention period, fifty percent of the pupils received all their teaching in Danish outside the classroom. The other 50 percent received all their teaching in Danish inside the classroom. Analysis The transcriptions were coded and analysed by two researchers in cooperation using ATLAS.ti in the following way: first, each researcher read the transcribed interviews and constructed initial codes that seemed most useful. Secondly, the two authors compared their initial codes and in cooperation chose which final codes to use. Then, the interviews were coded by one researcher and checked by the other. The data from the interviews was coded into three categories: 1) academic memories (facts related to the curriculum and the teaching, 2)memories related to the teaching practice and content, and 3) memories not related to the teaching practice and content. Data from the interviews was compared with the collected material from the PPM forms, hence knowledge received prior the intervention was taken out of the analyses

Expected Outcomes

This presentation provides the participants with the preliminary results of the relation between pupil’s subject specific memory comparing the knowledge acquired inside the classroom and outside the classroom. Our hypothesis is that children’s subject-specific memory will be strongest among pupils who participated in EOtC compared to the pupils who gained the same knowledge inside the classroom, especially after six months.

References

• Auer, M. (2008). Sensory perception, rationalism and outdoor environmental education. Geographical and Environmental Education, 17(1), 6–12. Bentsen, P., Søndergaard Jensen, F., Mygind, E., & Barfoed Randrup, T. (2010). The extent and dissemination of udeskole in Danish schools. Urban forestry & urban greening, 9(3), 235-243. Fägerstam & Blom (2012): Learning biology and mathematics outdoors: effects and attitudes in a swedish high school context. Journal of Adventure Education & Outdoor Learning, pp. 1-20 Falk, J.H. (2003). Personal Meaning Mapping. In: G. Caban, C. Scott, J. Falk & L. Dierking, (Eds.) Museums and Creativity: A study into the role of museums in design education, pp. 10-18. Sydney, AU: Powerhouse Publishing. Fredens, K. (2012): Mennesket i hjernen. En grundbog i neuropædagogik. [The human in the brain. A textbook about neuro-pedagogy]. 2. udg. Gyldendal Akademisk Forlag. Grønningsaeter, I., Hallås, O., Kristiansen, T., & Naevdal, F. (2007). Fysisk aktivitet hos 11-12- åringar i skulen [Physical activity in 11–12-year-old school children]. Tidsskrift for den norske laegeforening, 22(15), 2927–2929 Jordet, A. N. (2007). En undersøkelse om uteskolens didaktikk i et danningsteoretisk og erfaringspedagogisk perspektiv.[A study of outdoor education didactics in a formation (buildung) theory and experience educational perspective] Doctor thesis. Oslo: Jordet, A. N. (2008). Outdoor schooling in Norway - research and experiences [The classroom outside: Adapted education in an extended space of learning]. Healthier, Wiser and Happier Children. Outdoor Education - learning with mind, heart and body. Lieberoth, A (2011): Hukommelsessystemer og Oplevelseslæring - Hvordan forvandler hjernen episoder til semantisk viden [Memory systems and Experiential Learning. How the brain transforms episodes to semantic knowledge? Cursiv. V.11 2013 Rickinson, Dillon, Teamey, Morris, Choi, Sanders & Benefield (2004). The value of outdoor learning: evidence from research in the UK and elsewhere. School Science Review, March 2006, 87(320) Schilhab, T.S.S. & Steffensen, B. (2007). Nervepirrende Pædagogik – introduktion til pædagogisk neurovidenskab. [Nerve-racking Pedagogy – an introduction to educational neuroscience] Akademisk Forlag: København. Schilhab, T.S.S. & Steffensen, B. (2011). Læs mig – Om spejlneuroner, kropslig forankring og læseforståelse. [Read me – about mirror neurons, bodily anchoring and reading ability] Værløse. Dafolo. Shilhab (2007): Knowledge for Real: On implicit and explicit representations and education. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research V. 51, I. 3, 2007 Stolpe & Björklund (2012): Students' long-term memories from an ecology field excursion: Retelling a narrative as an interplay between implicit and explicit memories. Scandinavian Journal of Educational Research, DOI:10.1080/00313831.2012.656278

Author Information

Camilla Roed Otte (presenting / submitting)

University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Niels Ejbye-ernst

University of Copenhagen, Denmark

Peter Bentsen

Steno Diabetes Center

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