The implementation of mobile learning in outdoor learning: Application of QR codes
The authors built a multimedia tool using QR codes on environmental and cultural 'green maps' to link technology with outdoor experiences.
Research, reports and guidance on education outside the classroom and outdoor education, with a plain-English summary of each and a link to the original. New items are added every week.
The library began with Education Outside the Classroom: Applied Research Readings 2010–2017(McNatty & Boyes, University of Otago, 2017). Later items were found, summarised and checked with AI assistance using the same method: every reference is checked against the publisher's record, every summary against the published abstract, and only items rated high confidence by two independent relevance checks are published. Summaries are a guide: read the original before citing it.
Research library
356 items
Learning biology and mathematics outdoors: effects and attitudes in a Swedish high school context
Swedish pupils who learned biology and maths outdoors retained knowledge better in the long term and valued the social interaction.
Woven into the fabric of experience: residential adventure education and complexity
The paper asks how pupils change after a residential adventure education experience and how that change relates to what they experienced.
Promoting resiliency in adolescent girls through adventure education
A mountain biking programme was linked to small but consistently higher resilience in 87 adolescent girls, which persisted over time.
Breaking the mold: Impacts of adventure education on girls
A mountain biking programme for adolescent girls is explored for its effect on body image, gender stereotyping and resilience.
Freedom, flow and fairness: exploring how children develop socially at school through outdoor play
Audio recordings of children show outdoor spaces with less adult control gave freedom for sustained play and interaction between children.
Does a nurturing approach that uses an outdoor play environment build resilience in children from a challenging background?
Case studies of three at-risk children show how a nurturing forest programme stimulated resilience.
Boys go bush: Pedagogical insights to the experiences of New Zealand adolescents on solo
The research questions the educational value of overnight solos for adolescent boys and points to anxieties that need careful support.
'It's good for their self-esteem': the substance beneath the label
The paper argues outdoor educators should be more critical and specific about what they aim to achieve around self-esteem and how they measure it.
The multi-dimensionality of group cohesion: A social network analysis of NOLS courses
A network analysis found students' comfort talking with each other is critical for group cohesion, and that teaching meta-skills such as leadership matters.
John Dewey and education outdoors: Making sense of the 'Educational Situation' through more than a century of progressive reform
The book explores the history and philosophy of outdoor education as a subject and as a method.
Climbing as if you care: Rock climbing at Kura Tawhiti / Castle Hill as a place based approach to sustainability
The study at Kura Tawhiti / Castle Hill explores how climbers engage with climbing areas and how place-based education can develop an ethic of care for them.
Developing approaches to outdoor education that promote sustainability education
The article introduces a model describing a change process towards a sustainability-focused outdoor education pedagogy.
Developing a place-based approach to outdoor education in Aotearoa, New Zealand. Outdoor ed in our place: 'Keepin' it real'
The report explains how schools developed local journey-based programmes responding to their geographical, historical and cultural contexts.
Student perspectives of a place responsive outdoor education programme
Students in a place-responsive programme reported positive relationships and a stronger appreciation of and attachment to place.
Toward a model of embodied environmental education: Perspectives from theatre and indigenous knowledge
Six environmental educators' voices shape a model of embodiment that helps students look and listen in ways that increase environmental sensitivity.
Promoting intercultural contact on campus: A project to connect and engage international and host students
An experiential project gave international students social support while giving host students practical experience with peers from another culture.
A cultural and comparative perspective on outdoor education in New Zealand and friluftsliv in Denmark
A comparative case study identifies differences and similarities between Danish friluftsliv and New Zealand outdoor education.
Taking a step back: learning without the facilitator on solo activities
A solo study found participants named personally meaningful outcomes, centred on self-awareness, social relationships and a sense of connection to landscape.
The nature of feedback in adventure-based education
The authors examine socially constructed feedback in adventure education and the use of feedback as a teaching approach.
The experience of body dissatisfaction and body change behaviors among young adolescents in an overnight camp setting
The study looks at peer dynamics around body consciousness on camp and suggests ways to prevent body dissatisfaction.
Programming night time activities in outdoor adventure programs
A brief article looks at why people take part in night-time outdoor activities and what benefits and value they get.
Outdoor learning in Aotearoa New Zealand: voices past, present, and future
The paper shows how outdoor education in Aotearoa is being re-thought and practised, shaped by the country's bicultural foundation.
Nel Noddings' care theory and outdoor education
The article applies the theory of caring to outdoor education, with examples across policies, leadership, relationships and challenge by choice.