Hello and Welcome to
ClassroomInNature.Weebly.com!
I hope teachers, community members, and school administrators will be able to use this website to help propose the idea of building an outdoor classroom at their school, community center, or outdoor nature area. On the left side of this page, you will find links to certain components of this project, such as Goals and Desired Outcomes, Who Might Use an Outdoor Classroom, Outdoor Classroom Benefits, and others. Please keep in mind that there is a lot of information on this website, and so, feel free to visit any specific link on the left of your choosing at any time.
Today, children spend more time indoors than outside due to parental concerns about safety, too many scheduled activities, easy access to video/computer games, television, among other explanations. As a society, we have become so separated from nature that we fail to realize our basic need for experiencing nature as an important part of the growth and development of an individual. Increasing the number of outdoor classrooms across the United States would partially help remediate the problem of children’s separation from nature. Previous research findings suggest that use of an outdoor classroom area may help children develop problem-solving skills, gain higher cognitive and developmental functions, increase social skills, and improve student academic grades. However, there are other problems with using outdoor classrooms, some of which are addressed and discussed herein.
In an effort to increase children’s opportunities to be outdoors in natural environments I developed a prototype design for an outdoor classroom that students, faculty, staff, and community members can use. This outdoor classroom design can be used for aid in instruction through lecture and discussion, relaxation, and an area that could be used for nature discovery with children and students. Along with an outdoor classroom prototype that was developed and described for this project, five existing outdoor classrooms, within a 20-mile radius from Lockport, Illinois, were documented, photographed, and evaluated. It was found that outdoor classrooms can come in all different shapes, sizes, and varieties for all different types of purposes. Also, some outdoor classrooms were simple structures that appeared to be relatively inexpensive, while others appeared to have significant investments of labor and materials. However, what I believe matters the most, in terms of student benefits, is not the construction costs, but how the outdoor classroom is utilized and what a student can learn from it. Information and research findings from this project are presented on the website http://www.ClassroomInNature.weebly.com, providing easy access for potential users, such as administrators and teachers.