Theoretical perspective of proposed research on outdoor science

The theory that I will use is cognitive constructivism.  Piaget’s cognitive development theory launched the constructivist approach and fits well with many of the articles and studies that were found in a review of related literature.

As the pilot study begins, students take pre-tests on both content and attitude regarding learning science outdoors. Following the pre-tests, students leave the regular, indoor classroom to venture to the schoolyard for a science lesson on an environmental standard. Cognitive constructivism has the potential to reveal students’ learning in ways possibly not nurtured indoors. The will be immersed in the ecosystem that they are learning about. The study will rely greatly on the views of the participants, hence the attitude survey (Creswell, 2014). When the constructivist theory is applied to this research, it is an interconnected  hypothesis (Creswell, 2014). The research will be looking for ways in which the attitude toward learning outdoors influences student achievement on an environmental standard in elementary schools.  With an interconnected hypothesis, ample opportunity to follow up with additional research may present itself. For instance, how might achievement alone be affected by teaching science outdoors? This has been attempted once before, but no evidence of replicating the study has been found (Cronin-Jones, L. 2000).

The researcher plans for the pilot a smaller study that involves fewer students, but maintains the same essence as the proposal to carry out the full research project later. The pilot may shed light on how the constructivist theory applies in this situation. Will students make sense of the outdoor science lesson differently than they would if it were taught indoors? How will the setting affect them? When considering engagement in outdoor learning, an important theoretical question might be whether students are more likely to construct their own meaning when immersed in the setting that contains the object of study. For example, if a student is studying how butterflies react to trees or other plants, is it better to be among living specimens as opposed to in an indoor classroom? That is the premise of some works that have been published (Rich, 2010). Though the advent of the five E’s came long after Piaget’s work on cognitive constructivism, the “engage” step of this model would suggest that perhaps the immersion in the natural environment would have some bearing on the students’ learning  (Chitman-Booker, L., Kopp, K. 2013).

What remains to be seen is the true interconnectedness of the hypotheses in this pilot and the eventual study. If attitude and achievement can be linked, there would be room for future study in that direction. Even if there is no link shown in the results, follow up to this study could result in contributions to the field of science education and particularly environmental education.

 

Bibliography

Chitman-Booker, L., Kopp, K. (2013). The 5 E’s of inquiry-based science. Huntington Beach, CA. Shell Education.

Creswell, J., (2014). Research design: qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches. Thousand Oaks, CA. Sage Publications, Inc.

Cronin-Jones, L. (2000). The effectiveness of schoolyards as sites for elementary science instruction.  School Science & Mathematics, 100,

   203-212.

Rich, S. (2012). Bringing outdoor science in: thrifty classroom lessons. Washington, D.C. NSTA Press.

Rich, S. (2010). Outdoor science: a practical guide. Washington, D.C. NSTA Press.