Student Survey 1 - Time Outside
Question 1: Do you prefer to spend more time inside or outside?
13 students responded that they prefer to spend more of their free time playing and exploring outside. 5 students responded that they prefer to be indoors. 2 responded that they like to split their time equally.
Question 2: Do you think being outside is good for you?
18 students responded that they agree that being outside has health benefits and can be good for you. 2 students responded that they did not think being outside is good for you. (1 student with a goofy grin on her face trying to get a response I think. 1 student who's response seemed more valid).
Question 3: How much time do you currently spend outside? (I compared these results with their parents surveys. Students in every case thought that they spent less time outside then their parents had reported on the same question in the parent survey). To be clear: these numbers were estimated by me since my students did not have an accurate concept of how much time they were spending outside per week in units of time measurement. They would describe their after school and weekend activities to me and I would estimate based on if they thought they spent a lot, an average, or a little amount of time outside when they would go out.
3 students (compare to 1 parent) responded <1 hour/week. 9 students (compare to 4 parents) responded 1-2 hours/week. 5 (compare to 4 parents) students responded 3-4 hours/week. 3 students (compare to 5 parents) responded >5 hours/week (6 parents did not participate in the survey).
Question 4: Do you prefer to do school lessons inside or outside? (By this time of the survey we had gone for two outdoor lessons. Students were able to use their experience from these two lessons to compare to their other indoor lessons and make decisions based on this previous experience.
8 students responded that they prefer to do their school lessons outdoors.
11 students responded that they prefer to do their school lessons inside a classroom.
1 student responded that they are split between preferring indoors and outdoor lessons.
Question 5: How many lessons a week do you wish you could be outdoors?
2 students responded that they do not wish to have any lessons outdoors
12 students responded that they would like to have 1-2 lessons outside per week (about the same as what they had been experiencing at that time)
2 students responded that they wish they could have 3-4 lessons outside per week (about once a day)
2 students responded that they wish they could have >5 lessons outside per week (outside for school all the time, even twice a day)
Question 6: How do you feel when you are outside?
Students replied with some of the following answers: Excited, happy, energetic, sad (about having to follow rules, sharing, not being allowed to play rough at school), tired/lazy, ready to go back in, shy, tired, bored, annoyed with the weather. Most students (18/20) had some version of happy or excited in their description. Only 2 students had no positive associations with being outdoors. Some students had happy/excited in conjunction with some version of annoyed with bad weather. Generally the results were very positive.
Question 7: What do you like about learning outside?
Here are a collection of students answers: Learning by working hands on, find it easy to learn, learn lots, a good learning environment, felt they could do all lessons outside, enjoy seeing nature, learning about science, enjoy having some fresh air, experiencing the weather, felt they had more time to play or free time outside, think it is fun, liked exploring, enjoy seeing new things, felt more creative, liked collecting things, enjoyed seeing living beings, appreciated that there was more movement.
Question 8: What do you not like about learning outside?
The number one answer was related to the issues of our local weather. Including having to bundle up wearing more clothes, feeling cold, and not being able to use the same materials outdoors because of the weather. Some students said they found the outdoor environment more distracting and felt that they learned better inside. Some students said it was hard to learn outdoors, and that the environment could be uncomfortable, they felt they could only can go out for short periods of time, one student found being outside quite tiring, students commented on how it was often noisier, felt there were different rules for an outdoor classroom, and had a fear of insects.
13 students responded that they prefer to spend more of their free time playing and exploring outside. 5 students responded that they prefer to be indoors. 2 responded that they like to split their time equally.
Question 2: Do you think being outside is good for you?
18 students responded that they agree that being outside has health benefits and can be good for you. 2 students responded that they did not think being outside is good for you. (1 student with a goofy grin on her face trying to get a response I think. 1 student who's response seemed more valid).
Question 3: How much time do you currently spend outside? (I compared these results with their parents surveys. Students in every case thought that they spent less time outside then their parents had reported on the same question in the parent survey). To be clear: these numbers were estimated by me since my students did not have an accurate concept of how much time they were spending outside per week in units of time measurement. They would describe their after school and weekend activities to me and I would estimate based on if they thought they spent a lot, an average, or a little amount of time outside when they would go out.
3 students (compare to 1 parent) responded <1 hour/week. 9 students (compare to 4 parents) responded 1-2 hours/week. 5 (compare to 4 parents) students responded 3-4 hours/week. 3 students (compare to 5 parents) responded >5 hours/week (6 parents did not participate in the survey).
Question 4: Do you prefer to do school lessons inside or outside? (By this time of the survey we had gone for two outdoor lessons. Students were able to use their experience from these two lessons to compare to their other indoor lessons and make decisions based on this previous experience.
8 students responded that they prefer to do their school lessons outdoors.
11 students responded that they prefer to do their school lessons inside a classroom.
1 student responded that they are split between preferring indoors and outdoor lessons.
Question 5: How many lessons a week do you wish you could be outdoors?
2 students responded that they do not wish to have any lessons outdoors
12 students responded that they would like to have 1-2 lessons outside per week (about the same as what they had been experiencing at that time)
2 students responded that they wish they could have 3-4 lessons outside per week (about once a day)
2 students responded that they wish they could have >5 lessons outside per week (outside for school all the time, even twice a day)
Question 6: How do you feel when you are outside?
Students replied with some of the following answers: Excited, happy, energetic, sad (about having to follow rules, sharing, not being allowed to play rough at school), tired/lazy, ready to go back in, shy, tired, bored, annoyed with the weather. Most students (18/20) had some version of happy or excited in their description. Only 2 students had no positive associations with being outdoors. Some students had happy/excited in conjunction with some version of annoyed with bad weather. Generally the results were very positive.
Question 7: What do you like about learning outside?
Here are a collection of students answers: Learning by working hands on, find it easy to learn, learn lots, a good learning environment, felt they could do all lessons outside, enjoy seeing nature, learning about science, enjoy having some fresh air, experiencing the weather, felt they had more time to play or free time outside, think it is fun, liked exploring, enjoy seeing new things, felt more creative, liked collecting things, enjoyed seeing living beings, appreciated that there was more movement.
Question 8: What do you not like about learning outside?
The number one answer was related to the issues of our local weather. Including having to bundle up wearing more clothes, feeling cold, and not being able to use the same materials outdoors because of the weather. Some students said they found the outdoor environment more distracting and felt that they learned better inside. Some students said it was hard to learn outdoors, and that the environment could be uncomfortable, they felt they could only can go out for short periods of time, one student found being outside quite tiring, students commented on how it was often noisier, felt there were different rules for an outdoor classroom, and had a fear of insects.