How would implementing outdoor education strategies into our current

academic system impact students academic performance and mental

and physical well-being?

Mikayla Wright
Senior Project Advisor: Ashley Carruth

12th Grade Humanities

Animas High School
February 27, 2017

Part : Introduction
 Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.

-Nelson Mandela

Over time, the education system of the United States has molded to adhere to the times,

constantly mending to create the most effective and appropriate education system. Public

schooling use to only be available to poor families, as richer families were expected to be able to

pay for schooling, and for a while these schools were only available to caucasian children. As the

times changed, slavery was abolished and equal rights for African Americans increased, the

education system had another shift that allowed children of all colors to attend free public

schools. As the use of technology has risen and children spend less time outdoors, we are in need

of another education shift to ensure the health and prosperity of our students.

Todays children are growing up in the era of the indoor childhood which has shown to

be detrimental to their ability to asses risk, social life, and engage in their learning. Our students

are facing too many challenges to balance, from the rigorous academics and extracurricular

activities while having no time for their developing brains to rejuvenate and reset. Becoming

well rounded human beings and high performance learners has become extremely difficult as

students study their lives away. The stress of getting a perfect thirty-two on the ACT is

influencing the core values of the classroom, preparedness for postsecondary success, and the

mental and physical well-being of students. Students need be engaged in their education for it to

be beneficial to them and the society, but the current state of the education system is restrictive of

students finding success. By implementing an outdoor education component into the US

education system, we can improve students academic performance as well as mental and

physical well-being.

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 Part : Historical Context

From afar, the fast paced life of our world makes us appear as if we are ants. We have

adapted and created a fast paced society where we are frantically moving from one activity to the

next, driven by extrinsic motivators. As a capitalistic society, these extrinsic motivators and

ones participation can determine their likeliness of being successful. The fast paced world

strains the physical and mental capabilities requiring maximum energy and time that humans

physical do not have. The Anxiety and Depression Association of America has found that,

Anxiety disorders are the most common mental illness in the U.S., affecting 40 million adults in

the United States age 18 and older, or 18% of the population. We live in a society where we

need to go, go, go, or we are being unproductive and thus a detriment to the larger community.

High levels of stress from this fast paced world are resulting in high numbers of anxiety and

depression among all ages.

Attending school and taking on extracurricular activities fill up students resumes for

colleges, camps/programs, jobs, and in turn suck students in this fast paced world at a young age.

To appear as unique, students need to have taken as many and the hardest classes possible,

balanced with a job, extracurricular activities, and volunteering. Students go to seven classes a

day, each usually requiring homework to be done later that night if there is time in between all of

the other activities that they are participating in. Students cannot relax or reset because they have

no time if they wish to standout among their peers. There seems to be no end to the hassling and

busy work of the human, no matter the age. The Academy of Pediatrics suggest that developing

adolescents need at least an hour outdoors to, Protect childrens emotional development and

notes that the hurried lifestyle some children have can be a source of considerable stress, anxiety

and even depression for children (Coyle 6).Outdoor education programs and forest bathing

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suggest a solution to this heavy stress load that accompanies our fast world. The separation from

technology and daily hassles gives time for adolescents to rejuvenate and establish essential

social and emotional skills. The results of outdoor education programs also focus on establishing

essential skills that are personal and unique to each student.

Our current education system was not established with the goal of creating a curriculum

that was applicable to every student. The traditional education system that most students

experience was modeled during the early 1900s and has remained the basic model that most

schools follow. These standards were established during the industrial revolution so that students

would have the knowledge of a basic worker (Horn). With the same letter grade and lesson plans

taught across the country, every student was seen as identical to each other. This way there was

no segregation between learners, and students would all learn at the same proficiency. This

worked in a time when there were fewer professions that didnt require different types of skills

and knowledge, but we live in a new age where we recognize the importance of having different

jobs. In order to accommodate for these jobs we need to understand that, [w]e learn at different

paces, have different aptitudes and enter classes with different experiences and background

knowledge. Each of us needs a different, customized learning approach to maximize his or her

potential (Horn and Evans). Students are overwhelmed as they sit in seven different classrooms

a day only to be confined to the next set of four walls. Students need to be given the necessary

hour outdoors to ensure their health and performance abilities.

Part : Research and Analysis

High levels of stress are being reflected throughout our everyday lives and is taking a

heavy toll on students health and ability to learn. Our current education system is inappropriate

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to authentically teach our students, and is actually causing higher levels of stress, segregation,

and dropout rates. Scientists have begun to look for alternative solutions to reducing the

overwhelming amount of cases that include overworked, stressed, depressed, and anxiety

stricken individuals. Their realm of research has begun to pull away from manufactured

medication and begun studying the power of re-engaging humans with the outdoors. The

outdoors lowers blood pressure, stress, creates a sense of place and identity, challenges oneself to

use their natural instincts, and it may be the solution to re-engage and improve the health and

academic performances of students.

Being overworked and constantly multitasking to be productive is unhealthy for the

human mind and leads to mental illnesses because, [t]he processing capacity of the conscious

mind is limited. This is a result of how the brains attentional system evolved (Levitin 2). Our

minds work in two different task networks: The positive task network and negative task network,

both of which are equally important but are never used at the same time. When we are being

productive and focusing on completing tasks, we are using our positive task network. The

negative task network is stimulated when our mind is wandering, daydreaming, or in a creative

state of mind (Levitin 1). Our fast paced world requires us to primarily use our positive task

network; which sounds good because you are being productive, right? Not at all. To be truly

productive your brain needs to also reset through the negative task network. Going from work, to

picking up the kids from soccer practice, to making dinner, to cleaning, to watching TV and

prepping for the next day, has a serious impact on ones mental and physical well being. We need

to find a balance between the positive and negative task networks to stay healthy and productive.

In the article, Hit the Reset Button in Your Brain, Daniel Levitin suggests that [i]ncreasing

creativity will happen naturally as we tame the multitasking and immerse ourselves in a single

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task for sustained periods of, say, 30 to 50 minutes. Several studies have shown that a walk in

nature or listening to music can trigger the mind-wandering mode. This acts as a neural reset

button, and provides much needed perspective on what youre doing(3). Students creativity,

engagement, and performance would increase if the main focus of school did not revolve around

test performance.

The goal of going to school has become more about getting a high GPA and perfect

standardized test score for students, than becoming a stronger learner and developing real social

skills. The pressure to meet and go above the average has students passively engaged with their

education and society. While students react and witness the stressors that many adults face, such

as daily hassles, time pressure, pressure perform, work hassles, and environmental disturbances,

they also lack self identification, authentic skills, while they are constantly seeking to be

accepted by society (Muntz and Mller). Self doubt and peer victimization/pressure applies

another level of stress that students do not have to time to balance with their rigorous study

sessions (Stange et al. 815).

When these students finally have a moment to breathe, the majority of students arent

focusing on their mental and physical well-being, but are taking the easy and clear solution of

watching television, interacting on social media, and playing video games. The average student

spends eight hours a day with their faces glued to the screen, taking a false break, totally

distraught and separate from the real world (Coyle 1). In 2010, the Kaiser Family Foundation

found that the amount of media that students, ages eight to eighteen, were consuming was

affecting the outcomes of their grades. For heavy media users, 47% reported that they had poor

to fair grades whereas students who were light media users, only 23% reported having fair/poor

grades (Coyle 4).

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 In response to the fast past world, the media is often used as a remedy for stress, but

overusing the media is having a huge impact on students academic performance and social

skills. We compulsively open our phones and laptops, worried about any email, tweet, text, or

snapchat we may be missing, and can be imperative on post secondary success for students.

The social circles between students and the lack of self identification among adolescents

is extremely high, but these children are being faced with another challenge as they are growing

up as indoor children. It is not just their test scores and grades that are being impacted by this

lifestyle, but indoor childhood has shown to have, increased child obesity, diabetes, and

asthma, reduced ability to relate to other children and adults, less realistic life expectations,

inability to concentrate, more aggressive behavior and a higher likelihood of personal

isolation...public professionals are now saying that todays children may have life spans that are

three-to-five year shorter than their parents due to their inactive, indoor lifestyles (Coyle 5).

While many of these results can be resolved within the home, students spend seven to eight

hours a day, the majority of their time awake at school. For many students, going outside without

technology even on a walk feels forced as their mind are wrapped up in what they are missing on

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social media or over the group chat (Levitin). The current connection to technology has rapidly

evolved over the years, and children have begun to spend less time outdoors.

Outdoor education has continuously been seen as a powerful and engaging way to

motivate students, but is often seen as a solution for troubled students and specific groups of

people. In recent studies, schools and programs around the world have found that outdoor

education programs improve students personal growth as well as their academic performance.

The goal of outdoor education programs is to push adolescents physical and mental health

within the walls of the great outdoors by having them, attain a mental state in between the

comfort zone and panic zone, which was labelled groan zone (Muntz and Mller 4). This

way they are learning how to asses different risks while still being supported physically and

mentally by knowledgeable instructors. The prevalence of mental illnesses influences the goal of

outdoor programs and focuses them on constructing leadership skills, self efficacy, mindfulness,

and how to manage stress. Outdoor programs stimulate and work towards pushing students out

of their comfort zone to be able to develop new social, physical, and mental skills they need to be

successful in life. In the article, Mental Health Benefits Of Outdoor Adventures: Results From

Two Pilot Studies, Mutz and Mller walk through two outdoor education programs and argue the

benefits of these programs: In regard to possible outcomes of outdoor adventures, scholars have

suggested several major domains likely to be affected by mastery and learning experiences,

namely (1) a persons self-concept and identity, (2) group affiliation and connection to others, (3)

acquisition of skills and competencies, (4) prosocial norms and behaviours, and (5) changes in

outlook and attitude (4). An effective outdoor education program provides many challenges, and

outputs students who are motivated, mindful, and who have a better understanding of their own

capabilities.

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 One of these studies in this article took fifteen college students into the great outdoors for

a week with no technology, running water, or mattresses to sleep on each night. The power of

solitude and seclusion in the outdoors allowed these students to better develop social skills,

awareness, mindfulness, increase happiness, and decrease stress. For this excursion only fifteen

out of twenty-two of the students we able to attend, and the comparison between the subjective

well-being tests between these two groups showed significant differences. The outdoor groups

test results showed that they were less worried, more mindful, happy, had higher self-efficacy,

and overall were more satisfied with life after spending a week in the mountains. This compared

to the students who spent the week at home, continuing with their daily hassles, who showed no

difference or improvement in these physical, mental, and subjective well being tests (Muntz and

Mller 14). Understanding that the outdoors has a large impact on our capabilities and health,

can help us understand how vulnerable we are as human beings and the power of the outdoors.

The Japanese have created their own word for how overworked and stressed their people

are, karoshi, as 25,000 people took their lives last year. In response to Japans high suicide rates,

researchers and the community looked for greener and more natural solutions to lower their

stress. For the Japanese, spending time in the outdoors has become more than a vacation

destination, it has become essential to their mental and physical health. The Japanese have a

mindset that because humans evolved in nature, its where we feel most comfortable, even if we

dont always know it...our physiological functions are still adapted to it (Williams 5) and in

order to be successful and whole we must reconnect with nature. With incredibly high suicide

rates from overwork and pressure, forest bathing or Shinrin-yoku has become the best solution to

engage the country in routinely spending time in the outdoors. Approximately 2.5 to 5 million

people walk the Forest Therapy trails each year (Williams). Miyazaki, is known for being the

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man who sparked the embrace of forest bathing across Japan, he began taking people into the

woods and studying their physical and mental responses in 2004 to prove the impacts of the

outdoors. He has taken over 600 participants into the woods since and he has found that by

taking daily and leisurely walks outdoors it, yields a 12.4 percent decrease in the stress hormone

cortisol, a seven percent decrease in sympathetic nerve activity, a 1.4 percent decrease in blood

pressure, and a 5.8 percent decrease in heart rate. On subjective tests, study participants also

report better moods and lower anxiety (Williams). These decreases save lives as fewer people

are finding themselves less stressed they are less likely to become depressed and anxious.

Forest Bathing has created a great source for understanding how nature positively

impacts our health and Nippon Medicine School shows that when people walk through a forest,

they inhale phytoncides that increase their number of natural killer (NK) cells - a type of white

blood cell that support the immune system and is associated with a lower risk of cancer

(Sifferlin 3). Nature is not only beautiful and alluring, it impacts our ability to retain information,

stay physically fit, mindful, attentive, and yet there continues to be denial about how much of an

influence stress and nature have on our well beings. According to Miyazaki Nature is part of

our[Japanese] minds and bodies and philosophy. In our tradition, all things are relative to

something else. In Western thought, all things are absolute (Williams). We have created a

mindset where nature is something we use to our benefit, but we are connected to nature and

need to acknowledge the impacts it has on our minds and bodies.

Outdoor education provides a solution to challenging the task positive and negative

portions of our brains, creating healthy and engaged students. While an outdoor education

component takes time away from students preparing for standardized tests, it allows for students

to reset their minds through outdoor classrooms and reasonable times outdoors which has found

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to raise test scores. Over-using our positive task network is detrimental to students abilities to

perform well within in the classroom, as everyone is on edge to be the best in the fast pace of our

world. Our education system needs to evolve and follow suit to the few schools that have

recognized this flaw in order to create passionate, high performance students who are physically

and mentally healthy.

More and more studies are showing that the benefits of an outdoor education programs

do not only raise awareness and self confidence, but test scores as well. While most people fear

that implementing an outdoor education component into the education system would take away

from students performances in standardized testing, Those participating in the environment-

based education programs had higher scores on standardized measures of academic achievement

in reading, writing, math, science, and social studies; reduced discipline and classroom

management problems; increased engagement and enthusiasm for learning; and greater pride and

ownership in their accomplishments (Coyle 3). Although test scores are important for

comparing students and holding the institutions and teachers accountable, there is more to a

student then their ability to perform well on a standardized test.

Students are unengaged and passive with their education because of this rigorous focus

towards obtaining such high test scores, and it is driving students away from school. These

students well beings arent being taken care of through our education system and In The Silent

Epidemic study, 81 percent of students who dropped out said that there should be more

opportunities for real-world learning...They said that the students need to see the connection

between school and getting a job (Coyle 20). Outdoor education has made huge impacts on re-

engaging students and giving them a meaningful education and, A vast majority of students

reported that the experience was beneficial in the following ways: social benefits(93%); new

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experiences or skills (22%); a reduction of fear(15.3%); benefits regarding place (13.1%); and

fun(11.7%) (Austin 3). The age of the student does not impact these benefits, starting at a

younger age improves and prepares students to become strong individuals earlier. Schools in

Germany, Scandinavia, Austria, Scotland, and even in New York, Kindergarteners spend the

entire morning outdoors, no matter the weather. These student are known as Forest

Kindergarteners and they have found that Playing outside for prolonged periods has positive

effects on the childrens development, including: balance, agility, dexterity, and depth of

perception (Coyle 10). These students are better at assessing risks and are prepared for the real

world.

Student and adolescents need to have at least an hour outdoors a day to help strengthen

their physical and mental well-beings. National Wildlife Federation began the Be Out There

campaign in 2007 when they began to recognize the disconnect between children and the

outdoors. The need to re-engage students started and created the Green Hour. This one hour a

day outdoors replaces an hour of screen time at home or it can be used at schools to allow

students to get out their pent up energy (Coyle 14). Children need time in the outdoors for so

many reasons, whether it be for their health or positive social and personal growth.

The effectiveness of outdoor education not only impacts the students, but teachers and the

overall classroom environment. With an added EIC(Environment as an Integrated Context)

students and teachers feel more authentic in the classroom. In 2010, National Wildlife Federation

asked 1,878 teachers about how they felt outdoor education programs impacted their classroom,

78% [reported] - Children who spend regular time in the unstructured outdoor play are able to

concentrate and perform better in the classroom. 75% - Students who spend regular time

outdoors tend to be more creative and better able to problem solve in the classroom (Coyle 11).

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The connection between engaged students and teachers and nature is compelling and is need of

attention if we wish to better our education system. Students need Hands -on and real-world

aspects of most environmental and outdoor education improve students desire to learn and boost

their performance on most measures of student success (Coyle 36). While implementing some

sort of outdoor education program sounds tiresome and complicated, it is necessary if we wish to

produce well rounded and capable students of the future.

In urban locations it is even more difficult to stimulate students if there isnt a forest to

walk into, where the play ground echos the traffic that lays adjacent to it. There are still solutions

that are beneficial to lower students stress and raise their grades and health. Having trees and

planting trees on a campus creates students who are more physically active, more aware of

nutrition, more civil to one another and more creative (Coyle 16). But for schools that are

unable to provide or have green spaces, the use of phytoncides, the scents that come from trees,

can still be used to lower students NK cells and motivate students (Williams). By just using a

humidifier and tree oils, schools can help students prevent cancer, anxiety, and depression in

their students. Having a routine or daily outdoor education program, which is preferable for

effectiveness, may cause difficulties. Over 200 schools are currently modeling Outward Bounds

outdoor orientation, which only occurs during the first week of school, and are finding that the

students are still being positively impacted. Matthew Austin has found that Documented gains

associated with Outdoor Orientation (OO) programs include personal growth, an increase in self

efficacy, and improved retention. Outdoor orientation programs have also had a positive effect on

participants social skills, such as developing social networks adjustment, small group skills, and

reducing stereotyping (Austin 1). Giving student even a brief chance to engage with nature in

their school environment, allows them to find and create a sense of place among their peers.

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Giving students confidence in their education pushes them to test their abilities and not sit idly

by because they understand the power of education and how it impacts their life.

There are many different ways that schools can tackle our current educational problem by

using the outdoors. If we wish to truly improve our current education system so that it applies to

every student and prepares the next generation to successfully take care of our planet and future

generations, then we need to look into an alternative approach to education. Not only does

natural and EE (Environmental Education) provide students with better opportunities and let

students minds reset which has shown to result in higher academic performances, and offers

emotion, physical, and mental support.

Part : Conclusion

Our current education system is in desperate need of reform. Not only is it outdated and

forces students into boxes that are unrealistically small to fit into, it is negatively impacting our

larger community as a nation. Integrating Environmental Education, Environment as an

Integrated Context, the Green Hour, or Outdoor Orientation into our current education is the

most logical and beneficial solution to improve the average students mental and physical well

being as well as their academic performance. This added environmental component alongside the

traditional school system stimulates the positive and negative task networks in the brain of

student. By doing this students are able to let their minds reset and rejuvenate, resulting in more

capable and creative students. This balance of the brain allows for them to have a better

understanding of themselves and their abilities, while also allowing them to find meaning in their

education because they are no longer overworked and stressed. From young kindergartners who

are learning what it means to analyze a situation to high schoolers who find themselves being

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challenged amongst their peers not just against them. These are students who are prepared to

observe the world and take serious action because they know their own capabilities and are

passionately seeking knowledge around every corner.

Understanding how nature can influence our physical and mental states of well being and

implementing them into our current education system, will impact the attendance of students,

their self confidence, and grades. Our society is responding to this understanding and the

educational picture is shifting, however toward and renewed emphasis on educating the whole

child and not relying entirely on testing (Coyle 12).

Is this not what we want for our future generation? A generation that graduates high

school feeling prepared to asses risks, confident in who they are, and that are not weighed down

by mental and physical illnesses that were ignited by being stressed as a child? A generation that

is motivated to make the world a better place, where every person has the capability to find their

meaning because they we given the freedom and support to understand their own limits? A

generation that is not defined by new technical advancements, but by their brains and actions? A

generation where our differences do not separate us from acknowledging the existence of others?

A generation where we build off of each other's ideas to create a sustainable economy and

flourishing environment so that future generations have the same opportunities?

We are strong, knowledgeable and capable individuals, but we have the ability to come

together as a nation, and globe, by giving our students the opportunity to be passionate about

through the power of nature. Our minds and bodies are desperate for a break, but our inclination

in our fast paced world makes it difficult to let our minds wander through our task negative

network. If we wish to give future generations alternative and successful educations, we need to

begin to look and understand why we are overstressed and how we can evolve our current

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education system to produce the healthiest and highest performing learners. The outdoors is

calling and we must go to it.

Work Cited:

Austin, Matthew L., et al. "Outdoor Orientation Program Effects: Sense Of Place And Social

Benefits." Journal Of Experiential Education 31.3 (2009): 435-439. Academic Search

Premier. Web. 12 Jan. 2017.

BURRETT, TINA, and CHRISTOPHER SIMONS. "Forest Bathing." New Internationalist 491

(2016): 18-19. Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Jan. 2017.

Coyle, Kevin J. Back to School: Back Outside! How Outdoor Education and Outdoor School

Time Create High Performance Students. National Wildlife Federation. Sept. 2010.

Hollon, Nick G, Lauren M Burgeno, and Paul E M Phillips. "Stress Effects On The Neural

Substrates Of Motivated Behavior." Nature Neuroscience 18.10 (2015): 1405-1412.

Academic Search Premier. Web. 12 Jan. 2017.

Horn, Michael, and Meg Evans. "A Factory Model for Schools No Longer Works." IIS7. N.p., 23

June 2013. Web. 24 Feb. 2017.

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Levitin, Daniel J. Hit the Reset Button in Your Brain. The New York Times. Aug. 10. 2014.

<https://www.nytimes.com/2014/08/10/opinion/sunday/hit-the-reset-button-in-your-brain

.html?_r=1>

Mutz, Michael, and Johannes Mller. "Mental Health Benefits Of Outdoor Adventures: Results

From Two Pilot Studies." Journal Of Adolescence 49.(2016): 105-114. Academic Search

Premier. Web. 12 Jan. 2017.

Sifferlin, Alexandra. "The Healing Power Of Nature." Time 188.4 (2016): 24-26. Academic

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Stange, Jonathan P., et al. "A Vulnerability-Stress Examination Of Response Styles Theory In

Adolescence: Stressors, Sex Differences, And Symptom Specificity." Journal Of Clinical

Child & Adolescent Psychology 43.5 (2014): 813-827. Academic Search Premier. Web.

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Williams, Florence. Take Two Hours of Pine Forest and Call Me in the Morning. Outside. 28

Nov. 2012.

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