Researching a New Pathway for Promoting Children's Active Outdoor Science Exploration in Urban Settings

To become robust scientific thinkers, children need meaningful opportunities to engage in science learning across a variety of contexts. Unfortunately, many children, especially those in urban settings and from low-income families, do not get the experiences needed to deepen their understanding of a...

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Published inJournal of outdoor recreation, education, and leadership Vol. 11; no. 2; pp. 101 - 119
Main Authors Goldstein, Marion, Famularo, Lisa, Kynn, Jamie, Pierson, Elizabeth
Format Journal Article
LanguageEnglish
Published Sagamore-Venture 22.06.2019
Sagamore Publishing
Subjects
After School Programs
Attitude Change
Child Behavior
Disadvantaged Youth
Discovery Learning
Education
Educational Strategies
Educational Technology
Family
Family Programs
Federal Programs
Hands on Science
Health insurance
Health Promotion
Informal Education
Khan, Sal
Learner Engagement
Low Income Groups
Nature centers
Outdoor Education
Parent Participation
Physical Activities
Positive Attitudes
Program Effectiveness
Program Implementation
Retirement benefits
School Readiness
Science Curriculum
Science Education
Scientific Concepts
Technology
Urban Areas
Urban poor
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Summary:To become robust scientific thinkers, children need meaningful opportunities to engage in science learning across a variety of contexts. Unfortunately, many children, especially those in urban settings and from low-income families, do not get the experiences needed to deepen their understanding of a broad range of scientific ideas, nor do they have consistent opportunities to engage in the practice of science. Informal and outdoor education programs offer a pathway to provide meaningful science learning experiences that prepare children for school and beyond, as well as offer health benefits of being physically active and outdoors. This paper discusses a federally funded initiative to develop a Toolkit and to research its promise for supporting children's active, outdoor environmental science learning through the use of digital resources and hands-on activities. Findings showed that the Toolkit positively influenced participants' behaviors and supported educators and parents in engaging children with focal science concepts and practices across a range of informal, outdoor contexts (e.g., local park departments, nature centers, school-based after-school programs with open green space).
ISSN:1948-5123
1948-5123
DOI:10.18666/JOREL-2019-V11-I2-9108