IMPACT OF ACTIVE AND OUTDOOR LEARNING ENVIRONMENT ON STUDENT ENGAGEMENT ATTITUDE AND LEARNING OUTCOME A Study Conducted in Kotdwara Uttarakhand

Abstract

Learning environment is a major aspect in the teaching and learning process and is crucial to determine students learning. Learning environment stimulates students engagement in the learning process and influences their behaviour and attitude. Though there is ample research on learning space, active learning environment, mobility and learning and outdoor learning, research on outdoor learning and education is focused on barriers, outcomes, and equity rather than processes of the outdoor teaching practice. Despite claims around the importance of natural and outdoor places in education, there exists a gap in research of how to adapt the same into the existing curriculum, as the tight schedules and copious curriculum criteria have not left any possibility for its incorporation. The purpose of this exploratory research is to find out the impact of outdoor learning on the learning outcomes and to describe students and teachers perspectives on how the environment impacted teaching and learning. The study also tried to determine whether the use of an outdoor education technique had a greater effect upon cognitive knowledge acquired by students than the traditional classroom learning. Different quantitative and qualitative tools and techniques were used to study the impact of outdoor classes on learning outcomes and student engagement and behaviour. Different statistical instruments were used to reveal the effects of number of interventions undertaken to understand the impact of outdoor classes. This mixed methods approach allowed for i) an in-depth understanding of the research environment and ii) a full analysis of how the outdoor classes were impacting the students, but also the teacher. newline