Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh

Transcription

1 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh By Matluba Khan Dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE Department of Architecture BANGLADESH UNIVERSITY OF ENGINEERING AND TECHNOLOGY Dhaka, Bangladesh June 2012

2 The thesis titled Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Submitted by Matluba Khan, Roll No P, Session- April 2009, has been accepted as satisfactory in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of MASTER OF ARCHITECTURE on June BOARD OF EXAMINERS i

3 CANDIDATE S DECLARATION It is hereby declared that this thesis or any part of it has not been submitted elsewhere for the award of any degree or diploma. Matluba Khan ii

4 DEDICATION To my parents Mr Badrudduza Khan and Ms Shamsunnahar Khan For everything, especially for being my best friends ever. iii

5 Table of Contents List of Tables... viii List of Figures... ix List of Equations... xii List of Abbreviations... xiii Acknowledgement... xiv Abstract... xvi Chapter 1: Introduction Present Scenario Objective of the Study Significance of the Study Chapter 2: Literature Review Defining Outdoor Learning Environment Outdoor Learning and Children s Well-being Cognitive Development and Outdoor Learning Physical Development and Outdoor Learning Socio-emotional Development and Outdoor Learning Children s Motivation and Engagement in Learning Children s Right for exploration Children s preference to be in Outdoor Outdoor Classroom Design for Learning Variables of Learning Socio-Demographic Variables Pedagogical Variables Personal Variables Built Environment Variables Domain Variables of Learning Summary of Literature Review iv

6 Chapter 3: Theoretical and Conceptual Framework Conceptual Level Operational Level Operational Level: Phase Operational Level: Phase Operational Level: Phase Hypothesis and Research Question Hypothesis Research Question Glossary General Terms Terms related to Dependent and Independent Variables Chapter 4: Methodology Overview of the Research Design Why Experimental Research? Why Qualitative Research? What Age Group of Children and Why? Sampling Strategy Convenient Sampling of School Purposive Sampling of Class Random Sampling of Children Pre-Survey Works Obtaining Permission from School School Presentation Discussion with School Managing Committee members and parents Design and Intervention Design of an outdoor classroom Intervention in School Experimentation Use of the control group Use of the treatment group v

7 4.6 Data Collection Methods Method 1: Achievement Test Method 2: Survey questionnaire interview Method 3: Focus Group Discussion Method 4: In-depth Interview Measurement Techniques Data Analysis Method Chapter 5: Analysis- Looking for the Advantageous Environment Causal Relationship analysis between main variables Relationship between Independent Variable and Cognitive Domain Variable Relationship between Independent Variable and Affective Domain Variable Relationship between Independent Variable and Some Built- Environment Variables Summary of Findings from all Statistical Analysis Qualitative Attributes of Outdoor Learning Focus Group Discussion (FGD) In-depth Interview of the children Answer of Research Question Quality Consideration Internal Validity External Validity Reliability Objectivity Limitations of the Study Chapter 6: Discussion and Conclusion Main Findings Improved Academic Learning Outdoor Environment: A laboratory for learning Science Increased knowledge and Understanding of Science Content, Better ability to apply science Improved Attitudes about Learning Science: Engagement, vi

8 Enthusiasm and Interest Outdoor Class: Not a Replacement rather an Extension of the Classroom Vision for New School Landscape Steps to remove the Gap between Research and Practice Directions for Future Research Conclusion Bibliography Appendices Appendix 1: Class IV Students of KSBIGPS Appendix 2: Selected Slides from Presentation at KSBIGPS Appendix 3: Chapters from Class IV Science Book Appendix 5: Test tool for Validation of Achievement Test Appendix 6: Achievement Test tool (Classroom) Appendix 7: Achievement Test tool (Outdoor Class) Appendix 8: Survey Questionnaire for control group (Classroom) Appendix 9: Survey Questionnaire for control group (Outdoor Class ). 133 Appendix 10: Chi-Square Table Appendix 11: Master File for Analysis vii

9 List of Tables Table 1: Basic Primary Education Statistics, 2010 (Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics 2010)...3 Table 2: Primary School Quality Level Indicators from PEDP-II (Primary School Census )...5 Table 3: Outdoor Class and Types of Spaces it serves based on Child- development (Khan 2009) Table 4: Taxonomy of Educational Objectives- Cognitive and Affective Domain (Snowman, et al. 2009) Table 5: Summary of Learning and Domain Surveys on Science (Lieberman and Hoody 1998) Table 6: Learning in outdoor and its consequences (Summary from Literature Review) Table 7: Variables Data Collection Method and Measurement Table 8: Score of Achievement Test taken in the Classroom and Outdoor Class Table 9: Descriptive Statistics of the Achievement Test taken in the Classroom and Outdoor Class Table 10: Analysis of Z-score in Classroom and Outdoor Class Table 11: Frequency analysis of Low, Medium and High Score Table 12: Chi-square analysis Table 13: Comparative Analysis of means of Cognitive Domain Variables Table 14: Summary of Findings from all Statistical Analysis viii

10 List of Figures Figure 1: Drop-out rate by grade, Figure 2: Plan of a Proto-type Primary School...6 Figure 3: Section A-A...6 Figure 4: Front Elevation...6 Figure 5: Inside a classroom in a Government Primary School in Narsingdi...7 Figure 6: The rapid dropping of science students at the Secondary and Highersecondary levels...8 Figure 7: The School Attractiveness Programme adopted by DPE...9 Figure 8: Organization of the Literature Review Figure 9: Second-Grade Scientists at the Harvard-Kent Elementary School in Boston observe plants In their Outdoor Classroom (Spencer and Metz 2008) Figure 10: Learning About Soil at Bancroft Elementary (Developing Great Schoolyards: A Handbook for Elementary Schools 2011) Figure 11: University Laboratory School, Dhaka (From Field Survey by Khan 2011) Figure 12: St. Joseph School, Dhaka (From Field Survey by Khan 2011) Figure 13: Herman Gmeiner School, Dhaka (From Field Survey by Khan 2011) Figure 14: Use of Schoolgrounds: Structured Play at Leisure time. Pupils at Baherchar Govt Primary School. Photo: Researcher Figure 15: Gillespie Primary School. A class of nine years olds worked with their teacher and an artist to create painted markings on the playground to extend the range of activities Figure 16: Outdoor Class at Children s Corner, Center for Rural Knowledge (Children s Corner, Center for Rural Knowledge, Halwad / SABA 2012) Figure 17: Outdoor Classes in Shantiniketan Figure 18: Classroom Pavilion at Faridpur(Photo: Zahir, S) Figure 19: Children on the slide of the Nawmala Primary School park in Patuakhali Figure 20: Factors Affecting Learning Figure 21: Positive Impact of Outdoor Learning Figure 22: The Child Shapes the Environment and in Turn Shaped by It Figure 23: Conceptual Framework of the Study Figure 24: Conceptual Level of the Study: Four categories of factors that can influence children s learning Figure 25: Operational Level 01: Demographic and Pedagogical Variables Neutralized ix

11 Figure 26: Operational Level 02: Cognitive and Effective Domain Variables are Construct of the Children s Learning Figure 27: Operational Level 03: Impact of Environment on Children s Learning Figure 28: Formulation of Research Question Figure 29: Methodological Sequence Diagram Figure 30: Image of Kandapara Shahid Bashirul Islam Govt Primary School Figure 31: Image of Class IV of Kandapara Shahid Bashirul Islam Govt Primary School Figure 32: Sampling Method Flow Diagram Figure 33: The Researcher explaining the Research topic Figure 34: Dr M Zakiul Islam responding to queries of children and teachers Figure 35: Discussion with the chairperson of SMC and stakeholders at site Figure 36: Plan of the Outdoor Classroom Figure 37: Section AA Figure 38: Section BB Figure 39: Sketch-up model of the designed outdoor class from southern side Figure 40: Sketch-up model of the designed outdoor class from north-east corner Figure 41: Children curing the bricks just brought from brick kiln Figure 42: Preparation of the site, children and teachers participating Figure 43: Here starts the construction work Figure 44: Children helping with the bricks Figure 45: Class IV children are working for their outdoor class Figure 46: The last phases of construction Figure 47: The completed Outdoor Class Figure 48: Children in their Indoor Class Figure 49: Children in their Outdoor Class Figure 50: Children working in groups Figure 51: Normal Distribution Curve (Bell Curve) Figure 52: Analysis of Z-score Figure 53: Frequency analysis of Low, Medium and High Score Figure 54: Comparative Analysis of Cognitive Domain Variables Figure 55: Feedback about learning Science in Classroom and Outdoor Class Figure 56: Feedback about active participation in Science Class Figure 57: Feedback about willingness to learn Science in Classroom and Outdoor Class Figure 58: Feedback about their desire about change of space x

12 Figure 59: Feedback about willingness to learn other subjects in Classroom and Outdoor Class Figure 60: Feedback of Lighting condition in Classroom and Outdoor Class Figure 61: Feedback about acoustical condition in Classroom and Outdoor Class Figure 62: Feedback about seating in Classroom and Outdoor Class Figure 63: Focus Group Discussion with children Figure 64: Co-curricular activities: A child dancing Figure 65: Children playing in the Outdoor Class xi

13 List of Equations Equation 1: Learning as a Function of Environmental and Personal Factors Equation 2: Kurt Lewin s Equation Equation 3: Chi-square Equation xii

14 List of Abbreviations ADHD BANBEIS BPGS BSI CASR CRC DPE EIC FGD GPS DU IER KSBIGPS LGED NCTB NGO PEDP PSQL PWD RNGPS SABA SMC UK UN USA ZPD Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics Board of Post Graduate Studies The Boston Schoolyards Initiative Committee for Advanced Studies and Research Conventions on the Rights of the Child Directorate of Primary Education Environment as an Integrating Context Focus Group Discussion Government Primary School University of Dhaka Institute of Education and Research Kandapara Shahid Bashirul Islam Government Primary School Local Government Engineering Department National Curriculum and Textbook Board Non-Government Organization Primary Education Development Project Primary School Quality Level Public Works Department Registered Non-Government Primary School Spontaneous Architecture at the Bezalel Academy School Managing Committee United Kingdoms United Nations United States of America Zone of Proximal Development xiii

15 Acknowledgement Many people have made major contributions throughout this study. First and foremost, I have to mention my supervisor and colleague, Dr. M. Zakiul Islam for giving me this wonderful opportunity to work on this topic. I am grateful to him for being generous in showing me the ways of research on children s environment and sharing his experience in this field of study with me. I will miss our advising meetings specially the visit to the primary school where the outdoor class has been built. I am indebted to Professor Md. Nazmul Haq for being a key guide in this course of work. Being a student of architecture, my impulse was to focus on built environment research, but Professor Haq conveyed the psychological dimension of children s lives to me and introduced me to different methods of educational research. His feedback on formulation of achievement test and refining the methodology enabled the study to reach its current standard, which would be quite difficult otherwise. I am grateful to Professor Dr. Zebun Nasreen Ahmed, the Head of the Department of Architecture, for her continual inspiration during the research. I would also like to mention the name of Mr Mahmudul Anwar Riyaad for his encouragement during the informal discussions with him about the research. I am thankful to all the children of Kandapara Shahid Bashirul Islam Government Primary School and Hasimpur Government Primary School who have volunteered in this research. The children were the source of my inspiration while I have to spend a long time in KSBIGPS during the construction of outdoor class there. I want to express my gratitude to Md. Mazibur Rahman, the Headmaster of Kandapara Shahid Bashirul Islam Government Primary School, Ms Kamrunnahar, Chairperson of School Managing Committee for giving me the permission to intervene in the school and providing me all the supports. I would also like to mention the cooperation of the teachers specially the science teacher Ms Shikha Rani Pal during the course of field survey and data collection. I would like to thank Mr Barik, the head mason and his supporting labors for showing the courage of doing something they have never been acquainted with. I had unyielding support from my family during this research, in particular my parents and my sister Ms Hosna Khan who is a teacher of Hasimpur Government Primary School, for their concern for the timely and successful completion of this work and for availing every opportunity to help me on this course. My special thanks goes to Mr Kabirul Islam, Principal, Janata Kindergarten who is more than a brother to me; without his continual support and help, the construction of the outdoor class would have been xiv

16 impossible. I am delighted to mention the names of my nephews Abdullah Al Shafi Khan and Abdullah Al Sadi Khan who spent many hours giving me company at the construction site and my niece Nur-e-Tania Porna for being by my side while I needed her most. I would like to thank my fellow colleagues who always encouraged me to complete this research. Of whom I must mention the name of Muntazar Monsur who always inspired me to go forward in this path of research and provided support in different phases of this course. Like any other contemporary study, this one was also heavily dependent upon computer technology. My colleague Md. Mohataz Hossain Tofa was always there to help me whenever there was a problem with Microsoft Word or Microsoft Excel. I must mention the names of S M Najmul Imam, Atiqur Rahman, Dr. Farida Nilufar, Fahmid Ahmed, Farhan Serajul Karim, Tasneem Tariq, Samina Mazumder and Ahammad Al Muhaymin who were always there to inspire me about the research. I heartily acknowledge my friends Anindita Das, Mazharul Islam Shahed, Badal Mahalder, Sheikh Abdullah Al Matin Rana who were as much concerned as I was about the timely and successful completion of my thesis and who I bothered different times in this course of research by expressing my grief while I felt puzzled and sometimes depressed in various unfavorable and unavoidable situations. Last but not the least; I would like to mention my father, for being a constant source of inspiration in this journey and for the unconditional support for completion of my research successfully. xv

17 Abstract While much attention has been paid to the design and use of the classrooms of schools, little has been paid to the design and use of immediate surroundings of the school building i.e. outdoor environment. However, researches all over the world revealed that the school-aged children (from 7 to 11 years old) learn best when their learning is incorporated with natural environment. In Bangladesh, the rural primary schools having poor infrastructure- insufficiently lit and ventilated, inadequate classrooms have large open space available in the school premises. This thesis examines the prospects of this outdoor open space as learning environment for children. In the rural primary schools of Bangladesh, the average drop-out rate for children (45.1%) is very high whereas Bangladesh has adopted the CRC guidelines of which one is the right of every child to education for his or her total development. In order to check this drop-out, different programmes are taken by the Government to make children s learning process delightful and interesting. Outdoor environment has attracted the attention of the researchers of developed societies for its contribution to improved cognitive competency and as such has been proven its potential as a solution. But few studies have been conducted in the context of developing countries. This study has been conducted through the design and construction of an outdoor class in a primary school of Bangladesh. The study has been conducted over thirty children from class IV of that school. Data collection occurred through multiple methods including achievement test of children, focus group discussion and in-depth interview with children and teacher. The findings show a significant difference between the achievements of children after they are taught in their indoor classroom and outdoor class. The difference is most significant at knowledge, analysis and application levels within cognitive domain of learning. Besides, the children showed increased engagement, motivation and enthusiasm about learning in outdoor environment of their school. Keywords: Children, outdoor environment, learning process, cognitive domain, intervention, Bangladesh xvi

18 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 1 Chapter 1: Introduction Schools are designed generally focusing the classrooms guided by the idea learning occurs only in classroom. Usually the outdoor environment is ignored. In many cases, especially in Dhaka city, residences are converted into schools without any concern for the necessity of outdoor spaces. However, the rural schools of Bangladesh usually have large open spaces surrounding the school building providing the children with some scope of roaming around and playing. Unfortunately, these spaces often are unutilized or underutilized. This trend is universal. For example, in Australia, large open spaces dedicated to physical activities does not have a proportional number of users and intensity of use in relation to the distribution of children (Malone and Tranter 2002) which is also very true for the schools in Bangladesh. However research completed by the neuro-scientists around the world is proving the importance of school design on the learning experience (Eberherd 2009). The students learn better while the lesson incorporates the outdoor environment (Lieberman and Hoody 1998, Malone and Tranter 2002, Tai, Haque, et al. 2006). A survey of 30 students in 3 different schools of Dhaka (see Chapter 2, Section 2.5) reveals that in general children mostly like to be in the natural environment. Though the survey was undertaken in the urban areas; literature shows that universally children are fond of places with sufficient variety in the environment, and with natural elements such as grass, trees, gardens and parks (H. Broda 2007). Children benefit from interaction with nature in all aspects of their development: physical, mental, moral, and emotional (Tai, Haque, et al. 2006) and one of the central tenants of the Montessori philosophy is the connection with the natural world of the outdoors (The Outdoor Environment 2011), which philosophy is practiced all over the world. Quality-Based Curriculum Implementation Programme by the National Curriculum and Textbook Board (NCTB) aims at making the students' learning processes easy, delightful and attractive through the practice of multiple activities in the classrooms (Directorate of Primary Education 2012), but the classrooms in the primary schools are not designed for holding these multiple activities. National Education Policy 2010 of Bangladesh states that Knowledge of science should be imparted from very early stage making the children acquainted with nature, environment and surrounding incidents (National Education Policy 2010). These policies show the concern of the Government about outdoor learning of children. Whereas according to A Design Manual: Schools and Kindergartens, outdoor play spaces should not be separate from the educational Chapter 1 Introduction

19 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 2 experience because they can play a unique role in the process of developing knowledge (Dudek 2007). National Environmental Education and Training Foundation in the U.S. states that when schools make a concerted effort to integrate natural environments into their education (using local areas or their own school grounds) academic performance improves across the curriculum (Environment-Based Education: Creating High Performance Schools and Students 2000). A study of eleven Florida high schools specifically focused on the effects of environment-based education on students achievement reveals that students in the classrooms that used the environment as an integrating context (EIC) groups had significantly higher achievement motivation (Place-based education and student achievement 2006). Research on outdoor environment for children are increasing day by day across the world but very few studies are carried out in the context of developing countries like Bangladesh. With this background this thesis aims to explore the role of outdoor environment of school in students learning. 1.1 Present Scenario The education system in Bangladesh is comprised of four separate systems: Government-run Schools, Private Schools, Madrassas (Islamic religious schools), and Schools run by Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Government schools support the majority of Bangladesh s students (Report on Primary Education in Bangladesh:Challenges and Successes 2005). The access of primary education is maintained mainly by the government. More than 75% schools are controlled by the government and around 83% of the total children enrolled in the primary level educational institution go to these schools (Baseline Report of PEDP-II 2006). There are currently 37,672 Government Schools in Bangladesh being attended by about 10 million students (Table 1). Chapter 1 Introduction

20 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 3 Table 1: Basic Primary Education Statistics, 2010 (Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics 2010) Bangladesh became one of the signatories to the UN Millennium Declaration in 2000, and has committed to Millennium Development Goals, one of the targets being Achieving Universal Primary Education and showed an increase in net enrolment rate 93.52% in 2010 (Rabbi 2008). However, it is very unfortunate that the completion rate in primary education is almost half of the enrolled students. This indicates that a large number of students are dropping out from the primary education system (Chowdhury, et al. 2009). The average dropout rate is around 10% in each grade (Figure 1) and in an average the drop out rate is 45.1% (Bangladesh Bureau of Educational Information and Statistics 2010) Drop-out Rate by Grade 0 Grade 1 Grade 2 Grade 3 Grade 4 Grade 5 Boys Girls Average Figure 1: Drop-out rate by grade, 2010 Chapter 1 Introduction

21 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 4 Though there are many reasons for dropping out of children from primary schools, according to the Drop-out Report 2009, one reason is poor infrastructural facilities. In that particular study, more than one-third of the study participants cited infrastructure as a problem for not attracting children to school. Even though the building and improvement of new facilities are two of the main focuses for governmental education, most schools are far from having adequate facilities (Report on Primary Education in Bangladesh:Challenges and Successes 2005). In Bangladesh, large classes and poor physical facilities are common problem for teachers and students. Government schools do not prioritize small classes; often student to teacher ratios are as high as 60 to 1 (Table 2). Classrooms are unable to properly accommodate or seat all students. For more than 60 students there is a classroom of only 332 sft (17 x19 6 ) in the Primary Schools of Bangladesh (Figure 2).These classrooms are built by LGED based on an assumption of about 7 sft per pupil. Whereas, according to standard at least 1250 sft of space (@25 sft per pupil) is required for a class of 50 students (Perkins and Cocking 1957). These overcrowded classes negatively influence the efficiency of the education process. Besides, the classroom is covered up with benches having no space for learning by multiple activities, or any sort of experimentation or exploration for science classes. Such classes provide little chance for the teacher to follow up student s educational achievements and weaknesses (Rabbi 2008). There is also little scope for students to participate actively in the teaching-learning process. Even there is hardly any space for ease of movement of the students and teachers. Whereas according to Texas Safety Standards, the science classroom should be 700 sqft and for only 22 children that is 45 sq ft per person (Collins 2006). Overcrowded classrooms (Figure 5) and lack of facilities are contributing factors to the 60% attendance rate of children able to attend school. Students are unlikely to stay for long and fail to catch up their lessons properly, at one point they lose interest in the school (Chowdhury, et al. 2009). In one study by Directorate of Primary Education, the dropped out children were asked about reasons of their dropping out. It is not always poverty or lack of awareness or cost of education or school performnace that get the child out from school, one of the causes of dropping out is that the school does not seem attractive to children. According to a child, My name is Md. Rakibul Hassan. I am 12 years old. I studied up to class four and then dropped out from school. I always loved to play truant. School did not attract me (Chowdhury, et al. 2009). Extensive Programmes were taken up in the Primary education Sub-sector at different times to brig all eligible children to school, get them to complete the Primary education cycle and provide them a quality education. Chapter 1 Introduction

22 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 5 Table 2: Primary School Quality Level Indicators from PEDP-II (Primary School Census ) Chapter 1 Introduction

23 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 6 Figure 2: Plan of a Proto-type Primary School Figure 3: Section A-A Figure 4: Front Elevation Chapter 1 Introduction

24 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 7 Figure 5: Inside a classroom in a Government Primary School in Narsingdi The biggest problem Bangladesh seems to face in the pursuit of its educational goals is the lingering poor quality of primary education. Achievement and competency levels of most children are very low (Report on Primary Education in Bangladesh:Challenges and Successes 2005). Its one of the reasons of rapid dropping of science students in SSC and HSC levels, 22.35% of the SSC examinees in 2010 are students of science whereas it was almost double in 1990 (Shohagh 2011, Habib 2012) (Figure 6). Experts blamed teaching quality and infrastructure for the declining number of science students. However, the interest for learning science grows from very tender age. The suggestions made for developing the situation comprise of training the teachers and building up laboratory and other infrastructures. Similarly, for the improvement of quality education in primary level, one of the suggestions drawn is always to develop the infrastructure (Nath and Chowdhury 2010) but there is no research about how the school environment can be developed to make it attractive to children. Chapter 1 Introduction

25 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 8 Science Students of the total examinees Science Students of the total examinees 45.00% 40.00% 35.00% 30.00% 25.00% 20.00% 15.00% 10.00% 5.00% 0.00% SSC SSC HSC HSC % 22.35% 28.13% 18.34% Figure 6: The rapid dropping of science students at the Secondary and Highersecondary levels Since 1991, the DPE has taken different steps like Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP) to develop primary education in Bangladesh. The main objective of PEDP2 was to reconstruct or renovate the schools in a dilapidated and rundown condition. The school building was envisaged to be made more attractive for children in order to raise enrolment and reduce the incidence of dropping out (PEDP-II Progress Report 2007). To reduce overcrowding and disparities in terms of school buildings, PEDP3 will use a transparent, needs based approach to infrastructure development which requires proper studies and research in this particular field. Some additional classrooms will be built to reduce overcrowding in GPS (Third Primary Education Development Programme (PEDP3) 2011) which might not be the proper solution of making the school environment proper for quality education and attractive to children. The School Attractiveness Programme was started in 10 Upazilas of 5 Divisions in the country under the General Education Project ( ). The programme aimed at motivating students to go to school regularly and making the schools student-friendly. But the measures for making the schools student-friendly are still unknown and matter to extensive research. Chapter 1 Introduction

26 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 9 Figure 7: The School Attractiveness Programme adopted by DPE The present scenario elucidates the degradable environment condition in primary schools which is incapable of providing quality education and also cannot attract children to schools. It needs extensive researches in this field to find out the proper measures to make the school environment friendly to children s learning. Though Bangladesh Primary Education Annual Sector Performance Report 2009 emphasizes on researches/studies on specific issues like infrastructure (Bangladesh Primary Education Annual Sector Performance Report 2009), no such researches have been carried on. Now its time to find out whether building more classrooms of minimal size is the solution when its proven by research that children are fond of places full of activity, where interaction can take place, with sufficient variety in the environment, and with natural elements such as grass, trees, gardens (Andel 1990). 1.2 Objective of the Study The key purpose of the study is finding ways for the wellbeing of the children. It is a study of children s behaviour from a designer s perspective. This study aims to identify the impact of environment on children s learning of science. The objective is to investigate the possibilities of outdoor as learning environment for primary school children in Bangladesh. In this way, the importance of outdoor in the learning process might be known which in turn can guide future design of primary school of Bangladesh. Chapter 1 Introduction

27 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Significance of the Study The study is unique for its approach. This study tries to investigate the impact of environment on children s learning. Development research as a whole and educational research in particular are lacking in Bangladesh, and in case of environment for learning, it is scarce. For a country with 150 million population and about 16.5 million primary school going children (Nath and Chowdhury 2010), almost no research is done on the environment of school. The study is also unique for its target group of children. Sampling strategy ensures that children from middle and lower income families would be addressed by this research. In developing countries like Bangladesh, research works mainly involved children in extreme poverty and focused on social environment. Children from middle income family and physical environment are still missing from the discussion. Though issues like learning environment, children s right to play, children s independent mobility, physical movement and many others which may not be as manifested as problems of health and hunger but no less severe in terms of long term effect. When it is about quality education of children, this specific area needs special attention. The children of a country are the future leaders of that nation whose formation depends on their quality education. According to Louise Chawla, a developmental and environmental psychologist- Whatever the economic indicators of a nation may be, if the children at all levels of society are not protected and nurtured, as a present good and as a foundation for peace and prosperity in the future, development in this basic sense of good chance is not occurring (Chawla 2002). Also, this study has greater potential to contribute to design strategies of educational institutions for future development of educational architecture and policy levels. Outdoor environment is a key design component of a school. The children are fond of outdoor and in different ways make use of it. Findings of this research, therefore, may add new perspective to philosophies of policy makers, education researchers and architects. Related Studies are conducted mostly in developed countries. Variables having high correlation with environment integrated learning in a developed nation may act differently in a developing nation. This research is one of its kinds in the context of developing countries. This kind of difference of context with previous studies highly justifies the need of further research. Chapter 1 Introduction

28 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 11 Chapter 2: Literature Review Aim of the literature review is to formulate working definitions of the variables of the current study through exploration of related studies in this field. The organization of literature review of this study is fourfold (Figure 8). First, related studies are examined to establish suitable definition for outdoor learning environment of children. Since learning is the dependent variable of this research, this part of literature review would guide the measurement techniques and other related methodological aspects in later parts. Second, a set of related contemporary researches will be reviewed to establish the importance of outdoor learning environment in the lives of children. Besides learning issues related with child development, outdoor environment is also discussed from the perspective of children s right of freedom and children s preference of spaces. The third phase of the literature review establishes the importance of outdoor classroom design with the discussion of learning and investigates successful outdoor class design ventures undertaken by authorities in different countries to improve learning of children. Aim of the fourth phase is to determine the major variables (dependent variables and independent variables) of this study. 2.1 Defining Outdoor Learning Environment Learning is one of the most important mental functions of humans, animals and artificial cognitive systems which relies on the acquisition of different types of knowledge supported by perceived information. It leads to the development of new capacities, skills, values, understanding, and preferences (Wikipedia 2012, Dictionary.com 2012). In psychology, learning is a relatively permanent change in behaviour due to experience (Domjan and Burkhard 2006) From the social perspective, learning should be the goal of teaching and education. In a protected educational setting, opportunities to promote learning can be created in relation to the formal, the Informal and the hidden curriculum (Adams 1993). Chapter 2 Literature Review

29 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 12 Cognitive Development Literature Review Defining Outdoor Learning Environment Inportance of Outdoor Learning Importance of Outdoor Classroom Design Child-development Motivation and Engagement in Learning Children's right for exploration Children's Preference to be in Outdoor Physical Development Socio-Emotional Development Dependent and Independent Variables Independent Variable- Built Environment Dependent Variable- Learning Cognitive Domain Variables Affective Domain Variables Figure 8: Organization of the Literature Review Chapter 2 Literature Review

30 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 13 Outdoor Learning is a broad term which touches on a wide range of educational activities in many different settings. It can encompass everything from camping to environmental problem-solving to writing a poem under a tree on the playground. Outdoor Learning does not have a clearly defined boundary but it does have a common core. Relevant examples include outdoor play in the school yeard, school grounds projects, environmental education, recreational and adventure activities, heritage education, nature studies, agricultural education, personal and social development programmes, expeditions, team building, education for sustainability, adventure therapy and more (Rickinson, et al. 2004, Greenaway 2005). Learning that takes place outdoor, can be generally termed as outdoor learning. Perhaps the reason why it s difficult to precisely label outdoor learning is because it really isn t a technical term. Rather, outdoor education refers to a general concept the idea of using the outdoors as a tool for learning. (H. Broda 2007). From educator s point of view, outdoor learning is really a subset of the more general concept of experiential learning. The major elements of experiential learning using authentic experiences and learning by doing are also integral parts of outdoor teaching. Learning in outdoor or Environmental learning has three dimensions. Learning about the environment supports environmental knowledge and understanding. Learning for the environment is directed toward environmental stewardship and action. Learning in the environment encourages interactions and experiences in the environment (Murdoch 1993, Disinger 1990). In this particular study, Learning in the environment is emphasized where the teacher will teach lessons from the formal curricular to students in outdoor settings or outdoor environment. Hence, Outdoor Environment here refers to the spaces in the school premise excluding the school building in the ownership of school authority. In the UK, the area around the school building is called the school grounds, but in the USA is more commonly referred to as the schoolyard (Adams 1993). A comparison of the two names suggests subtle differences in imagery: Yard: an enclosed or partially enclosed space, often paved, used for various purposes, near or adjoining a house, stable or other building, often particularized in compounds such as stockade, pen, coral or compound (Adams 1993); A schoolyard is the space adjoining the school building. It is a school s external environment, whether large or small, beautiful or unsightly, actively used or completely abandoned. (The Boston Schoolyard Initiative 2001) The Schoolyard offers students and teachers a laboratory in which to work directly with the phenomena they are studying. Chapter 2 Literature Review

31 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 14 Grounds: A ground is a plane from which figures stand out or a piece of land set apart for some particular purpose of pursuit or where some process habitually occurs, usually sports or games. Some examples are- school grounds, parade ground, football ground, breeding ground (Adams 1993). The prime function of school grounds is to serve as a learning environment. Schools can use their grounds in three main ways (Funnell, et al. 1997): Through the formal curriculum- the outdoor classroom Through the informal curriculum- the experiences which are offered during break and lunch times Through the hidden curriculum- the messages and meanings which children read from the ways in which their school s grounds are used, designed and managed. Across the United States and around the world, educators are recognizing the importance of outdoor learning to both formal and informal education. While most public education in the United States takes place in classrooms and in the minds of students related studies reveal that all children benefit from hands-on learning, and that some children actually require experiential learning to reach their full potential (The Boston Schoolyard Initiative 2001). In this study, outdoor learning related to formal curriculum will be conducted in properly designed outdoor classroom in the premise of a primary school. This outdoor class will be referred to outdoor learning environment throughout this thesis. 2.2 Outdoor Learning and Children s Well-being Children of school age spend a considerable part of their lives (around six hours a day and over one thousand hours a year) at school and they are constantly interacting with the physical environment of their schools (Ghaziani 2010). The school-age years (ages 6 through 13) bring new and exciting challenges and rewards for children. However, in this section children s well-being associated with outdoor learning will be discussed in terms of child-development. Children develop in three ways- 1. Cognitive development, 2. Physical development 3. Socio-Emotional development (Halliburton and Gable 2003, Snowman, et al. 2009). Outdoor environment can contribute to children's healthy development and learning in important ways. A 2006 Canadian study, for instance, found that students who interact on school grounds with diverse natural settings were Chapter 2 Literature Review

32 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 15 more physically active, more creative, more aware of nutrition, and more cooperative with each other (Beuttell 2008). Research indicates that outcomes for physical, emotional and spiritual wellbeing were enhanced when students spent more time outdoors in nature (Johnston 2007, The North American Conservation Education Strategy 2010) Cognitive Development and Outdoor Learning Children are the active catalysts in the school. Children from six through twelve are aware of the components of the physical environment and are interested in confronting them both cognitively and physically. Their cognitive development depends to a large extent on their activity in the physical environment. So it is important that the physical environment support educational principles both in built areas and open spaces (Sebba and Churchman 1986). Children learn most effectively by their own motivation and their own terms. They actively construct their knowledge of the world by acting upon objects in space and time. This is based on Piaget s theory of constructivism where emphasis is placed on children as intellectual explorers, making their own discoveries and constructing knowledge. Constructivism is a theory that proposes that students construct their own knowledge from personal experiences (Dietz 2002). They learn as active agents not passive learners (Halliburton and Gable 2003). According to Jean Piaget, this stage is termed as Concrete operational stage, when children deal with concrete information that they can perceive directly. Their mental operations work poorly when applied to abstract ideas. The children of this age are mostly materialistic; the main nature of these children is to learn by doing (through experiment) (Haq and Jahan 1999). The constructivist view has become one of the foremost theoretical positions in education and has become a powerful driving force in science (Treagust, Duit and Fraser 1996). This framework maximizes learning when it is associated with many concrete experiences in which they are able to interact with concepts being presented. This includes scientific concepts that need to be connected to real-life experiences (Caine and Caine 1994). Concrete science experiences are especially important in the kindergarten through sixth grade levels because these experiences provide the foundation for later abstract learning at the high school and university levels (Caine and Caine 1994). Piaget described the reasoning of those under twelve as influenced by concrete, observable phenomena. The idea that individuals construct their own meanings for events and phenomena leads to a constructivist model of science learning in which concept change is seen as the product of interaction between existing Chapter 2 Literature Review

33 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 16 conceptions and new experiences (Millar 1989). A great deal of what children learn occurs spontaneously- as they play, observe, ask questions, experiment and make sense of the world around them. The ways in which children can learn- especially through play- is strongly influenced by the nature, the design and the policies informing the use of schoolgrounds (R. C. Moore 1989, Moore and Wong 1997). The idea of children being active learners was also emphasized by Vygotsky (Mehta 2002). The major theme of Vygotsky's theoretical framework is that social interaction plays a fundamental role in the development of cognition. Every function in the child s cultural development appears twice: first, on the social level, and later, on the individual level; first, between people (interpsychological) and then inside the child (intrapsychological) (L. Vygotsky 1978). Outdoor learning fosters interaction between children and the peers and also between children and the society. According to Vygotsky, the weakness of the scientific concept lies in its verbalism; in other words, an insufficient saturation with the concrete (Vygotsky, l987). Learning in an outdoor environment is an eloquent illumination of Vygotskyís philosophy of learning scientific concepts because presenting scientific concepts in the absence of their authentic context denies the child an opportunity for making complex connections and forming relationships about the concept to its environment so that generalization may occur. Not only did Vygotsky acknowledge the importance of the environment in concept formation, but also the role of interpersonal relationships. Vygotsky put more emphasis on the roles that adults and more mature peers have on influencing children s mental development than Piaget. While Piaget placed an emphasis on children as intellectual explorers and making their own discoveries, therefore constructing knowledge independently, Vygotsky emphasized his concept of that the potential for cognitive development depends upon the Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD): a level of development attained when children engage in social behavior (McLeod 2007). The ZPD is the area between where the child is currently operating independently in mental development and where that child might go as a result of assistance from an adult or more mature child. Based on Vygotsky s research it is known that children can do more in collaboration than spontaneously (L. Vygotsky 1962). This is why the outdoor environment is an optimal environment to learn in because there are many concepts that can be learned through cooperative learning with peers. According to Vygotsky (L. Vygotsky 1962), Teachers will know that they have hit upon the right zone because children will respond with enthusiasm, curiosity, and active involvement which would most likely be seen in children who are actively engaged with observing and learning concepts in the outdoor classroom. Chapter 2 Literature Review

34 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 17 One of the ways of looking at the factors that may influence children s learning can be seen in Howard Gardner s model of multiple intelligences. Vygotsky s theory and Gardner s model complement each other. Using the definition of intelligence as the capacity to solve problems or to fashion products that are valued in one or more cultural setting (Gardner and Hatch 1989), Gardner used biological as well as cultural research to develop a list of seven intelligences- Logical-Mathematical Intelligence, Linguistic Intelligence, Spatial Intelligence, Musical Intelligence, Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence, Interpersonal Intelligence. According to Gardner, different children learn and grasp information in different ways which are needed to be addressed in schools (Smith 2002). Gardner believes that children often possess a biological proclivity towards learning and problem solving in particular ways. (Mehta 2002) Gardner also emphasizes the importance of the culture and environment and how they nurture a child s predisposed way of learning. This aspect of Gardner s model fits in with Vygotsky s belief that the child develops in social context or the environment in which they live which is supported by outdoor learning. The outdoors is a place where children can continue to learn by doing (Figure 9). They carry on building on the knowledge, skills and understanding that they have already acquired to make sense of the world around them (The Early Years Foundation Stage 2007). The outdoor class offers students and teachers a laboratory in which to work directly with the phenomena they are studying. Integrating outdoor study into the core curriculum offers students direct, hands-on experience and real world applications (The Boston Schoolyard Initiative 2001) and this is where science begins. Students must be able to recognize what exists and happens in the world around them, first identifying what is normally in place, or growing, or occurring in their world, then making note of what is changing. Once patterns emerge, they become surprised with the unexpected. Questions arise. Investigations ensue. (Bourne 2000) Science Learning in Outdoor: All grade levels can benefit from outdoor classrooms that provide laboratories for science, agriculture or environmental sustainability (French, Contag and Sundharam 2012). Effective environmental science instruction often includes complex outdoor experiences (Developing Great Schoolyards: A Handbook for Elementary Schools 2011). In a report of UK, 47 percent of nine-year-old children said they enjoy science because they can use the things they learn in everyday life (The Daily Telegraph 2008). The outdoor classroom provides an opportunity to use experiential teaching methodologies which is the first requirement of science learning. In addition to accommodating children s sometimes different learning styles, learning by doing has been shown to often result in greater retention rates among students and that Chapter 2 Literature Review

35 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 18 is very much applicable in learning of science. In the outdoor classroom students learn from interacting with primary source materials (Figure 10) rather than through the osmosis of words and images generated by texts and other media. This is first hand learning (Meyer 2012). According to Gonzalez-Mena, children in the early years begin to learn about nature, Nature is especially interesting because it too belongs to the real world. Nature is best learned by getting out and exploring it. It is also important that children learn a basic respect for nature (Gonzalez-Mena 1998). They can actively construct knowledge about areas such as biology and ecology, the connections between nature and humans in the outdoor classroom in a hands-on way. The outdoor classroom allows children the opportunity to observe natural phenomena first hand (Martin, 2000). The school grounds make an excellent environment for an outdoor classroom for all areas of the curriculum, not just science, and it is easily accessible on a daily basis. Teachers often remark that taking the students outside reinforced concepts by showing them real-world examples. They are very much enthusiastic about teaching in outdoors (Spencer and Metz 2008). Teachers who were reluctant to teach science found that this was a way to engage children in learning and provide an authentic learning environment. In a program directed toward minorities, Hispanic adolescents showed positive gains in conflict resolution skills, stewardship of the environment, and knowledge and understanding of science concepts after a week-long residential outdoor education program for youth at risk (Americal Institute for Research 2005) Learning in outdoor not only helps building knowledge about science content but also fosters children s environmental education. The goal of environmental education is to develop a world population that is aware of, and concerned about, the environment and its associated problems, and which has the knowledge, skills, attitudes, motivations, and commitment to work individually and collectively toward solutions of current problems and the prevention of new ones (UNESCO-UNEP 1976, UNESCO-UNEP 1978). The basic aim of environmental education is to help individuals and communities understand the complex nature of the natural and built environments resulting from the interaction of their biological, physical, social, economic and cultural aspects, and acquire the knowledge, values, attitudes and practical skills to participate in a responsible and effective way in solving environmental problems, and in the management of the quality of the environment (Adkins and Simmons 2003). Research studies from around the world have pointed out that children gravitate naturally to a purposeful engagement with their material world, and that they have strong feelings and a lot of implicit knowledge about the environments they use every day (Hart 1997, L. Chawla 2002). Chapter 2 Literature Review

36 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 19 Figure 9: Second-Grade Scientists at the Harvard-Kent Elementary School in Boston observe plants In their Outdoor Classroom (Spencer and Metz 2008) Figure 10: Learning About Soil at Bancroft Elementary (Developing Great Schoolyards: A Handbook for Elementary Schools 2011) Chapter 2 Literature Review

37 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Physical Development and Outdoor Learning Physical development means their physical growth, motor development (Halliburton and Gable 2003). Between the ages of 6 and 11, children experience many physical changes. During this time children continue to build on their physical skills, these skills tend to be used in different physical activities. Fine motor skills also continue to develop during this period. Children are able to engage in activities like different projects- art, science or craft that require complex fine motor skill co-ordination (Snowman, et al. 2009). It is established in different literature that nature or outdoor has a significant impact on the physical development of children (Tai, Haque, et al. 2006, Charles 2012). A growing body of studies suggests that contact with nature is as important to children as good nutrition and adequate sleep: time spent outdoors correlates with increased physical activity and fitness in children; exposure to green space reduces crime, increases general wellbeing and ability to focus (Holmes 2007). Outdoor education directly exposes children and youth to the natural environment in ways that develop powerful, knowledgeable and lifelong connections essential for a healthy and sustainable future (The North American Conservation Education Strategy 2010). Research also shows that early, sequenced and repeated experiences in the outdoors develop a kinship with nature that can evolve into an informed, proactive and lifelong stewardship of our natural environment. The relationship between the outside environment and the learner has not been articulated in the same way as inside spaces. However, changes in society have increasingly limited the capacity of the outdoors to contribute to the educational experience of children (Herrington 2007). The "surplus energy theory, so powerful in play theory, has been the most influential model applied to the design of outdoor environment and the view of children in relation to the outdoor environment (Malone and Tranter 2002). Indeed, the outdoors has typically been seen as areas for play and sport, and not for education and the serious stuff of schooling. The surplus energy theory was first proposed by the nineteenth century psychologist Herbert Spencer, in his book Principles of Psychology, published in Spencer believed that the main reason children play is to get rid of surplus energy. His ideas, although rejected by many researchers and developmental theorists, have found a strong following among educators since their introduction over a century ago and have become deeply embedded in the school culture. We can distinguish between outdoors that are part of the formal educational curriculum, and those in which learning through environmental interaction occurs via unregulated exploration and play. And when the outdoors are used as part of formal education curriculum, they are better utilized. Chapter 2 Literature Review

38 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 21 The necessity of engaging children in outdoor class activity is poignant for children suffering problems like Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). Studies have established that children as young as five have shown a significant reduction in the symptoms of ADHD when they are engaged in outdoor activities in natural settings (Holmes 2007). In school environment, there is not only a greater need for hands on learning and more physical activity in the class to better meet the needs of an ADHD child, but it is also likely that other children who have varied learning types will respond to this healthy approach (R. C. Moore 2003) Socio-emotional Development and Outdoor Learning A child entering school is at a point in personal development when behaviours are dominated by intellectual curiosity and performance. He now learns to win recognition by producing things He develops a sense of industry (Erikson 1963). If the child is encouraged to make and do things well, praised for trying, industry results. Outdoor environment is the context where this is fostered and encouraged. Part of any learning process involves teaching young people how to function in group settings. In welldesigned and monitored outdoor classes, students have opportunities to form groups, reach consensus, and develop critical thinking and problem-solving skills with their peers (The Boston Schoolyard Initiative 2001). This interaction with peers and also the teachers has a great impact on their social development. Many social skills are also enhanced through outdoor education experiences, including cooperation, effective communication, decision making, problem solving, task leadership, and social competence (Johnston 2007). Nature also stimulates complex emotional development referred to by Kellert as affective maturation. The children begin to see nature as separate from themselves, while they simultaneously seek affinity with it (Kellert 2002). This stage in a child s life has also been referred to as the child s earth period (Tai, Haque, et al. 2006). For some children, bonding with nature can be a spiritual experience, and it will make an impact on their lives that is lasting and moving. In a survey of a heterogeneous group conducted by Sebba, 96.5% of participants indicated that the outdoors was the most significant environment of their childhood (Tai, Haque, et al. 2006). Another study polling 700 of the past (those who had attended over the last 25 years) and present participants of well known outdoor programs such as Outward Bound, the National Outdoor Leadership School, and the student conservation association had similarly positive results. A large majority reported the experience as being one of the most important in their lives and claimed it impacted their personality Chapter 2 Literature Review

39 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 22 and development (Kellert 2002). Most further claimed that the experience helped their self esteem and ability to problem solve, their coping capacity and ability to meet challenges, and their ability to function in a city. Their nature appreciation and support of conservation, as well as their future level of activity in the outdoors were all favorably influenced by that singular adolescent experience in nature (Kellert and Derr 1998, Kellert 2002, Tai, Haque, et al. 2006). 2.3 Children s Motivation and Engagement in Learning Research supports a link between cognitive engagement and academic achievement; and students with higher levels of motivation are more likely to become engaged in learning in a deeper, more self-regulating fashion (Athman and Monroe 2004). Studies have shown that learning in an outdoor setting can increase students engagement and motivation in learning (Lieberman and Hoody 1998, Meyer 2010). The link between student motivation and achievement is straightforward. If students are motivated to learn the content in a given subject, their achievement in that subject will most likely be good (Marzano 2003). Educators can promote learning through playful, yet simultaneously educational activities. Such activities can motivate children to explore noble ideas and concepts, while fostering firsthand experiences needed for the construction and integration of knowledge (Tsao 2002). Outdoor education can increase student engagement and motivation and this, in turn, can improve students academic achievement, thus outdoor learning should be considered as one of several options for educational reform and outdoor classroom should be focused with prior consideration in built environment design. As with the research on the academic benefits of outdoor learning, many of the studies on the engaging nature of outdoor learning point to the authentic, hands-on aspects as main reasons for the engaging nature of these programs and teaching strategies (Lieberman and Hoody 1998, Charles 2010). A comparison of achievement motivation was done with four hundred ninth- and twelfth-grade students, some of whom were in classrooms that used the environment as an integrating context (EIC) and others that were in traditional classrooms. After controlling for gender, grade point average, and ethnicity, the EIC groups had significantly higher achievement motivation (Place-based education and student achievement 2006) Chapter 2 Literature Review

40 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Children s Right for exploration For understanding the importance of outdoor learning as child behaviour from the perspective of national and international conventions, four literatures are examined here. The National Plan of Action for Children (Ministry of Women and Children Affairs 2005) has no strong indication to the importance of outdoor learning of the children; it says that All children enrolled in basic and primary education level institutions have access to activities, which ensure a healthy learning and living environment for better life which can be associated with outdoor learning environment. However, in more recently announced National Child Policy 2011 by the Ministry of Women and Children, Government of the People s Republic of Bangladesh (Ministry of Women and Children Affairs 2011), total protection of the child, highest welfare of the child and participation of the child and giving opinion are declared as principal objectives. At a hypothetical level, these objectives can be well associated with the concept of outdoor learning. National Education Policy 2010 emphasizes creating joyous and explorative environment for children s safety and proper development. It has clear and distinctive direction about learning science amidst nature which states- Knowledge of science shall be started from very early stage. The science teaching shall be imparted making the students acquainted with nature, environment and surrounding incidents in stead of making full with lots of information. Since the adoption of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) by the United Nations General Assembly in 1989 (UN 1989), Bangladesh was one of the earliest nations to ratify the CRC in August 1990 (M. Z. Islam 2008). The CRC has clearly specified the right of every child to education (Article 28). Article 29 states that the education of the child shall be directed to the development of the child's personality, talents and mental and physical abilities to their fullest potential and the development of respect for the natural environment.guidelines for the implementation of the Convention explicitly advise that these rights apply to the quality of the child s physical environment and can easily be correlated with learning in outdoor and exploration. Other articles also imply children s rights to learning in their favourable environments that might be outdoor, such as Article 6 that states that state parties...shall ensure to the maximum extent possible the survival and development of the child. Article 24 speaks of...the right of the child to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of health. Article 27 recognizes...the right of every child to a standard of living adequate to the child s physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development ; and Article 31 Chapter 2 Literature Review

41 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 24 addresses the child s right to rest and leisure, to play and recreational activities and...to participate freely in cultural life and the arts. In order to comply with the spirit of these Articles, governments need to facilitate the development of outdoor learning environment that foster children s education and their participation in the social and cultural life of their communities. 2.5 Children s preference to be in Outdoor According to Chawla, most children like spending time in the outdoors, even if they do not become a naturalist as an adult (Nixon 1997). In order to get an idea about the special places of children, a longitudinal research project about children and their outdoor environment has been undertaken in the Netherlands where a pilot study involved 36 children from 6 to 12 and the main study involved 140 children of the same ages. Most of the children mentioned either playgrounds or green areas as their favourite places. To many of them, natural elements are the most attractive. They love to be in places which are full of activity and variety, rich with natural elements and where interaction bubbles (Andel 1990). In a project of designing Carlton School, Kentish Town, London the students were involved in the design process, while they were asked to draw and paint snapshots of their school on the street frontage a new colorful entrance wall was proposed leading to a garden full of trees, ponds, race tracks, slides, swings, movement tubes and a swimming pool demonstrating children s love for nature and natural elements (Koralek and Mitchell 2005). From a field survey of 50 children from 4 different schools in 2011 by the researcher, it is observed that the most favourite places of 100% students are outdoor. They come to school as they can be in outdoor and meet with peers. It is also found out that the outdoor is not used for learning purpose in almost all of them. In one school only one project is given to the children in one class in a year, in which the children were asked to make their school ground neat and clean. In another school, the children are not permitted to be in the school ground except their sport classes. Figures 11, 12 and 13 show the places children like to be while they are in school. The dots in the plans indicate the number of children like to be in that space. Chapter 2 Literature Review

42 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Favourite Places Places children like while raining Places children don t like 3 Figure 11: University Laboratory School, Dhaka (From Field Survey by Khan 2011) Chapter 2 Literature Review

43 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Figure 12: St. Joseph School, Dhaka (From Field Survey by Khan 2011) Figure 13: Herman Gmeiner School, Dhaka (From Field Survey by Khan 2011) Chapter 2 Literature Review

44 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Outdoor Classroom Design for Learning School is perhaps the first public building with which children are familiar, with which they identify and towards which they feel a sense of possession. This feeling has a positive impact in creating caring and responsible attitudes towards the environment (Adams 1992). According to Kirk Meyer, executive director of the Green Schoolyard Network there are dozens of good reasons to have an outdoor classroom in every schoolyard. Some of his reasons are (Meyer 2010)- Shifts educational focus from secondary to primary sources. Traditional classroom teaching uses textbooks, lectures, and visuals as instructional tools. The outdoor classroom exposes students through direct experience to nature areas and live demonstration models such as a tree itself, a water-body or soil. Uses experiential teaching methodologies to engage students. The outdoor classroom fosters active, hands-on, inquiry-based learning in a real-world setting. Through group problem-solving activities, students embrace the learning process and seek final outcomes as well. The cases in Figure 14 and 15 clearly depicts the difference in use of the outdoor environment of two schools. Makes learning a multisensory experience. By engaging the senses of touch, smell, hearing, and sight, students retain an intimate physical memory of activities that are long-lasting and synergistic. E.O. Wilson s The Biophilia Hypothesis reminds that the human species, having evolved in the natural world, has a deeply rooted need to associate and connect with nature. Fosters the use of systems thinking. As a mini-ecosystem, the outdoor classroom emphasizes the interconnectedness of all things. Through exposure to the intricate web of life, students come to understand that complex natural and societal systems often require holistic rather than linear solutions. Lends itself to interdisciplinary studies. In seeking a holistic understanding of the outdoor classroom, it is often both necessary and desirable to employ multiple academic disciplines. Laying out a planting bed requires math skills. Distinguishing native from non-native plants provides an opportunity for social studies. Creating a scarecrow is an art project. A garden journal will foster writing and drawing skills. Chapter 2 Literature Review

45 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 28 Figure 14: Use of Schoolgrounds: Structured Play at Leisure time. Pupils at Baherchar Govt Primary School. Photo: Researcher 2008 Figure 15: Gillespie Primary School. A class of nine years olds worked with their teacher and an artist to create painted markings on the playground to extend the range of activities. Chapter 2 Literature Review

46 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 29 Recognizes and celebrates differing learning styles. As popularized in Howard Gardner s theory of multiple intelligences, people have a variety of aptitudes and ways of learning. Although some students thrive in a text-based environment, others will benefit from a more experiential approach. For example, Englishlearners, special education students, and children whose home life does not make learning a priority those on the wrong side of achievement gaps may be able to contribute more in the outdoor classroom. Connects the school to the neighborhood and the world at large. Through learning and stewardship activities, students come to understand that their schoolyard microcosm reflects global environmental issues. Proximity to the surrounding neighborhood often leads to service-learning projects that emphasize social involvement and responsibility. Accessibility to the outdoor classroom provides opportunities for out-of-school-time programming. High visibility and interest encourage local volunteerism. Requires only a modest capital outlay for design and installation. School systems often struggle with budgetary issues in prioritizing initiatives. The costbenefit ratio for installing and sustaining an outdoor classroom is attractive, and the goal of creating and maintaining one in every schoolyard is achievable (Meyer 2010). Projects a positive message about public education. Schoolyards can be degraded and unsafe, or vibrant, dynamic open spaces. Either way, it sends a message to students and neighborhoods about how much the education of the children is valued. The outdoor classroom is a reminder that innovation is alive and well in public education. Blurs the boundaries between academic learning and creative play. Children love the outdoor classroom. When a teacher asks who wants to go outside, every hand is raised. Absenteeism goes down on outdoor-classroom days. By preserving a child s innate sense of curiosity and wonder, the active and engaged pursuit of knowledge is fostered for a lifetime. Such a child will know that learning can indeed be fun. Besides, Outdoor learning environment offers a set of affordances. The affordance of an environment is a measure of its capacity to support children's development. Gibson (Gibson 1979) argues that the affordances of an environment are those elements it offers or provides for the user. Wohlwil and Heft (Wohlwill and Heft 1987) also use the notion of affordances by articulating the environment-child relationship in outdoor Chapter 2 Literature Review

47 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 30 classes in terms of three characteristics: Sensory stimulation- the potential of environmental features and settings to provide stimulation through variations in color, shape, pattern, dimension and texture. One of the benefits of outdoor learning space is that students learn by experience touch, sight, sound, smell, says John Fabelo, AIA, It s a much more full experience in terms of what they re getting. When they re outside, students are much more in tune and their senses are turned on. (Kollie 2012) Response feedback- creating an environment that is responsive and malleable to the child's actions, so that it provides constant feedback to children about their competencies, capacities and behaviors. Schoolgrounds that support and stimulate children's actions are beneficial to their development. Affordances- An affordance is a property of the environment that has perceived functional significance for an individual, a relation between some structural and functional attributes and the individual s intentions (Heft 2001). Chawla (L. Chawla 1992 ) refers to the potential affordances of the physical environment as intrinsic qualities which are responsible for helping children develop place attachment. The notion of actualized affordances of places makes it possible for children to engage in a continuous and changing relationship with the environment. This study supports the importance of the environment in the education process by the way children learn based on discoveries in brain research. Learning environment would be such that encourages children to use both hemispheres of their brain rather than one or the other. According to Sheikh and Sheikh (Sheikh and Sheikh 1985), Outdoor education achieves its ultimate impact on an individual in experiences which are probably sensed and interpreted in the right hemisphere along with the left hemisphere is used whereas traditional sitting and learning approach occurs mostly in left hemisphere. In the undergraduate thesis of (Khan 2009), it is evident children s learning based on child-development occurs in different spaces of school environment. Through the analyses of these spaces and child-development it is evident that Outdoor classroom can contain all these spaces and thereby fosters the whole development of children (Table 3). Chapter 2 Literature Review

48 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 31 Table 3: Outdoor Class and Types of Spaces it serves based on Childdevelopment (Khan 2009) It is evident that architects involvement in education has enabled teachers to tackle areas of study previously inaccessible to them and has been particularly influential in encouraging the development of critical and design studies (Adams 1993). Architects' experience of design, designerly thinking and designerly modes of working affect both the content of studies and the methods employed...architects' knowledge of the environment has created a new vocabulary for many teachers and pupils to describe their experience...this has enabled them to deal with the complex set of relationships between structures, spaces and people, using architects' expertise in understanding and analyzing built form and space, in devising criteria for judgment and in dealing with change (Adams 1990). When development of outdoor class is the concern it is said that the most successful developments are those which have been linked with curriculum use. (Adams 1993) Chapter 2 Literature Review

49 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 32 Qualitative studies focusing on the value of improved schoolgrounds as an educational resource demonstrate an enrichment of students' attitudes, behaviors and learning skills (R. C. Moore 1989, Moore and Wong 1997). The Boston Schoolyard Initiative, for example, has been helping Boston schools for more than ten years to design and build schoolyards that provide a rich environment for teaching and learning (The Boston Schoolyards Initiatives 2005). Aside from this research which has focused on the quantitative measure as well as qualitative indicators of improved learning outcomes resulting from Outdoor learning, several recent U.S. studies have also attempted to measure learning outcomes by quantitative changes in standardized test scores, grade point averages and learning skills indicators. These studies demonstrate positive relationships between learning that takes place outside of the classroom and improved learning (Lieberman and Hoody 1998, Lieberman, Hoody and Lieberman 2000, Place-based education and student achievement 2006, Jones, Klosterman and Mesa 2006, Lopez, Campbell and Jennings 2008, Paisley, et al. 2008, Lopez and Daly 2009, Place-based education and student achievement 2011). But it is regrettable that no such research has been conducted on children s learning in developing countries. Here research is basically focused on slum children s health, poverty but there is no such research on quality education of children from middle or lower middle class families. An outdoor classroom was built by 3 rd year students of SABA in a village of Gujrat in India for the Center for Environmental Education (Children s Corner, Center for Rural Knowledge, Halwad / SABA 2012) while they were in a field trip in India. Chapter 2 Literature Review

50 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 33 Figure 16: Outdoor Class at Children s Corner, Center for Rural Knowledge (Children s Corner, Center for Rural Knowledge, Halwad / SABA 2012) Figure 17: Outdoor Classes in Shantiniketan But the tradition of taking classes is very old in this sub-continent when the guru (the Chapter 2 Literature Review

51 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 34 teacher) taught his disciples under a large tree in traditional maqtab or tole. In Shantiniketan, most of the classes are taken in outdoor (Figure 17). In Bangladesh, a pavilion type classroom has been designed and built by Ar Shehzad Zahir and Tarek Mahbub in a village of Faridpur district taking queue from ancient tradition of South East Asia Guru teaching the pupils sitting under the trees (Figure 18) (Zahir 2011). Some attempts were taken by individual districts to watch the drop-out rates of the children of primary schools. Baufal upazila parishad has taken an innovative approach to help bring down dropouts in government primary schools. It is setting up children's parks (Figure 19) in schools and constructing roads to give students easy access to schools (Hossain 2011). Figure 18: Classroom Pavilion at Faridpur(Photo: Zahir, S) Figure 19: Children on the slide of the Nawmala Primary School park in Patuakhali. 2.7 Variables of Learning Although this study is concerned about the relationship between built environment variables and children s learning, in this section a summary of all the variables of learning is discussed. In many times Learning is defined as a function of the interaction of personal and environmental factors (Sharma, Pathak and Sinha 2009). L = f (EF x PF) L = learning; f = function; EF = environmental factors; PF = personal factors. Chapter 2 Literature Review

52 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 35 Equation 1: Learning as a Function of Environmental and Personal Factors Personal factors comprise of socio-demographic factors, psychological factors whereas environmental factors are the contextual factors which highlight the role of the environment in learning, such as the pedagogical, socio-emotional, societal, cultural and built environment factors. The learner and the learning process can only be completely understood with reference to the interaction of both environmental and personal factors (Figure 20). Figure 20: Factors Affecting Learning Socio-Demographic Variables Several studies claim the impact of some of the socio-demographic variables in children s learning. Different age groups of children learn in different ways. Children at adolescence can memorize a thing after listening or reading whereas at concrete operation stage the abstract way of thinking is not developed in children, they learn better while it is associated with concrete objects (Haq and Jahan 1999, Snowman, et al. 2009). Beside age, gender is also a very significant variable of learning styles. Educational psychologists have consistently found that girls tend to have higher standards in the classroom, and evaluate their own performance more critically. Girls also outperform boys in school (as measured by students' grades), in all subjects and in all age groups (Algoe 2012). A noisy busy classroom is ideally suited for many boys but girls learn better in quiet places (Adcox 2012) Chapter 2 Literature Review

53 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Pedagogical Variables Four classroom factors critical to learning are teaching, curriculum, instructional materials and learning time (Anderson 2000). In many studies it is found that teacher characteristics and teaching or classroom style to be major determining factors affecting education quality and grade repetition (Anderson 2000, Nath and Mahbub 2008, Chowdhury, et al. 2009, Traylor 2010, Rose 2010). Studies have found that pedagogical factors are influenced by environment. Teachers are enthusiastic about teaching in outdoor, they think environment give them opportunities to teach better (Lieberman, Hoody and Lieberman 2000, Spencer and Metz 2008) Personal Variables Most of the factors that may affect students learning dealt with external causes. However, a very critical factor some may say the most important one is the student s willingness to learn. Personal factors are the psychological factors or defined as intra individual factors like motivation, interests, abilities, intelligence, willingness to learn, maturation etc. If a student is eager, motivated, or goal oriented, the likelihood is that student will learn (Sharma, Pathak and Sinha 2009, Traylor 2010). Children s personal factors are sometimes affected by socio-economic variables like students backgroundparents education level, financial condition. Students from affluent neighborhood will most likely have more educational support and resources to help them through school. Often, these neighborhoods have more tutoring companies, afterschool activities, and education stores than the working class or poor neighborhoods. These personal variables are also influenced by built environment variables. Better physical environment in school motivates students to better education (Tai, Haque, et al. 2006) Built Environment Variables A wide body of literature spanning several decades substantiates, with quantitative data, a positive relationship between the conditions of the built environment of the school and both student achievement and behavior (G. I. Earthman 1995). It has been repeatedly documented that students learning outcomes (often measured by standardized tests) improve when the physical conditions of their classrooms and school buildings are improved (Weinstein 1979, Earthman and Lemasters 1998 ). McGuffey concludes from his review of 232 articles that improved facilities enhance the learning process, although the particular impact on the learner varies with the grade level and subject area (McGuffey 1982). In general, the studies cited above refer to the traditional classroom and internal school Chapter 2 Literature Review

54 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 37 facilities as the key features of the built environment. However, one can extrapolate that if the conditions of the indoor learning environment have such a clear and consistent impact on learning outcomes, then the condition of the outdoor learning environment must also have a similar impact on these outcomes, and the conclusions about the built environment can be considered in relation to the outdoor class. Although much of the literature looks at the internal classroom as the built environment, school grounds, (here school grounds is used to mean outdoor areas within the school environment,) are very much a part of the built environment (Education Development Center, Inc.; the Boston Schoolyard Funders Collaborative 2000). However, the impacts of school grounds on the students who use them are not generalizable. There are many ways that school grounds can be developed (Brett, Provenzo and Moore 1993) and can be used as outdoor class. Inside the school, care is taken to make corridors and classrooms inviting and to use spaces imaginatively. It is believed that this inside care will communicate certain ideas, attitudes and values to the children. Strangely, however, the outside of the school is often a neglected environment (Threlfall 1986). In this particular study, the impact of outdoor environment on students learning has been investigated where the traditional classroom and the outdoor class are two independent variables Domain Variables of Learning As this study is concerned about the relationship between outdoor environment and children s learning, in this section the variables of learning is discussed. To categorize the variables of learning of children, bloom s taxonomy of learning objectives (Bloom, et al. 1956) is given prior importance. 'Bloom's Taxonomy' was originally created in and for an academic context, (the development commencing in 1948), whose aim was to develop a system of categories of learning behaviour to assist in the design and assessment of educational learning (Bloom's taxonomy: Learning domains 2011, Snowman, et al. 2009). Bloom's Taxonomy has therefore since 1956 provided a basis for ideas which have been used (and developed) around the world by academics, educators, teachers and trainers, for the preparation of learning evaluation materials. In Bloom s own words- after the publication of his book on cognitive domain. it is estimated that over 90% of test questions that US public school students are now expected o answer deal with little more than information (Benjamin 1984) Taxonomy means 'a set of classification principles', or 'structure', and Domain simply means 'category'. Bloom's Taxonomy model is in three parts or domains- cognitive, affective and psychomotor. (Snowman, et al. 2009, Krathwohl 2002). This research Chapter 2 Literature Review

55 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 38 works with cognitive and affective domain variable of learning (Table 4). In this study the achievement test paper is prepared based on educational objectives by Bloom which is also followed in a study by Lieberman and Hoody in 1998 (Table 5). Data from both the Learning and Domain surveys indicate that teachers and administrators have found EIC based learning to be an effective means of helping students develop their scientific knowledge and skills. Chapter 2 Literature Review

56 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 39 Table 4: Taxonomy of Educational Objectives- Cognitive and Affective Domain (Snowman, et al. 2009) Cognitive Domain Knowledge Remembering previously learnt information, such as facts, terms, procedures and principles Comprehension Grasping the meaning of information by putting it into one s own words, drawing conclusions or stating implications Application Applying knowledge to actual situations Analysis Breaking down concepts or ideas into simpler parts and seeing how the parts are interrelated and organized Synthesis Rearranging component ideas into a new whole Evaluation Making judgments based on internal evidence or external criteria Affective Domain Receiving (Attending) Willingness to receive or attend Responding Active participation indicating positive response or acceptance of an idea or policy Valuing Expressing a belief or attitude about the value or worth of something Organizing conceptualizing and Organizing various values into an internalized system Characterizing by a value or value complex The value system becomes a way of life Chapter 2 Literature Review

57 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 40 Table 5: Summary of Learning and Domain Surveys on Science (Lieberman and Hoody 1998) 2.8 Summary of Literature Review Improved academic performance, better grades in science, interpersonal and intrapersonal relationships through outdoor learning in meaningful ways represent some of the main benefits of outdoor learning. Benefits for the natural environment are not as readily evident, yet indirectly noted as developing more sensitive individuals and communities towards the environment, and the development of environmental awareness and stewardship ethics. Health and learning benefits were evident in the physical, psychological and spiritual context, specifically with regards to developing self efficacy, intellectual flexibility, personal skills, and relationship building. The benefits that result from learning in outdoor activities can be enhanced through appropriate facility provision and access to natural resources as well as the design of proper outdoor classroom. Outdoor Environments are found to be designed relating to formal curriculum Chapter 2 Literature Review

58 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 41 on the belief that outdoor experience enhances children s increased involvement and motivation in science learning where learning takes place in the outdoor classroom. Substantial researches and evidence over the years has shown a number of benefits of outdoor learning for school aged children. These benefits, in general, are presented graphically in Table 6 and Figure 21. In a nutshell it is well expressed by Broda (H. Broda 2007) Increased academic achievement and heightened enthusiasm for learning, coupled with decreased discipline problems, all have been associated with learning that happens beyond the school walls. The concepts of learning style and multiple intelligences are also very compatible with outdoor learning activities. Frankly, outdoor learning would be a logical addition to our instructional repertoire simply because it adds interest and variety to our teaching a change of pace and place. These researches are basically conducted in the context of developed countries, no such researches are found in developing countries. Therefore, this elucidates the necessity of such study in our context. In these studies, learning outcome is measured through some standardized test where the test is prepared based on Bloom s taxonomy of educational objectives i.e. cognitive and affective domain. Improvement of Academic Performance The capability experience new to Promotion of questioning, exploratory stance Sense of ownership, pride and belonging Communication with local community Outdoor Learning Environmenta l knowledge S d Chapter 2 Literature Review

59 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 42 Figure 21: Positive Impact of Outdoor Learning Chapter 2 Literature Review

60 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 43 Table 6: Learning in outdoor and its consequences (Summary from Literature Review) Consequences References Promotion of questioning, exploratory stance of the child Physical/motor skill development of the child (Lieberman and Hoody 1998, Malone and Tranter 2002, H. Broda 2007, Tai, Haque, et al. 2006) (Adams 1993, Malone and Tranter 2002, Charles 2012) Cognitive competency of the child (Haq and Jahan 1999, H. Broda 2007, French, Contag and Sundharam 2012) Social development of the child (Malone and Tranter 2002, H. Broda 2007) Learning in outdoor Creative development of the child Environmental knowledge of the child Sense of ownership, pride and belonging in the child (The Early Years Foundation Stage 2007) (L. Chawla 2002, Adkins and Simmons 2003, Tai, Haque, et al. 2006) (Malone and Tranter 2002) Improvement of Academic Performance The capability to experience new challenges, assess risk and develop the skills to manage difficult situations Communication of local community with children What school environments will look like in the future (Place-based education and student achievement 2006, Kollie 2012) (Lieberman and Hoody 1998, The Early Years Foundation Stage 2007) (Moore and Wong 1997, H. W. Broda 2011) (Adams 1993, H. W. Broda 2011) Chapter 2 Literature Review

61 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 44 Chapter 3: Theoretical and Conceptual Framework This chapter describes the conceptual base of the study which guides the hypothesis and methodology in later parts. The broad theoretical ground of the study is based on Environmental Psychology which claims that human behaviour is a construct of the environment. In the conceptual level, the study claims to establish relationship between environment and children s behaviour. The child shapes the environment and environment in its turn shape the child (Figure 22) (Björklid 1982). ENVIRONMENT home school park Figure 22: The Child Shapes the Environment and in Turn Shaped by It However, children s behaviour is a very complex construct of numerous variables and the environment is a multidimensional entity. Learning is considered to be a behaviour of children and among the range of environmental variables; this study is concerned about built environment. To be more specific, the study aims at investigating the effect of Outdoor environment on children s learning. This study focused on learning of science because children s science learning is associated with learning by doing and exploration of real life materials as established in the literature review (see Chapter 2, Section 2.2.1). The study selected Kurt Lewin s Equation (Lewin 1936) as its base theoretical perspective. Lewin s Equation claims that behaviour is a function of person and environment relation (Equation 1), B = f (PE), where B = Behaviour, P = Person, and E = Environment. When first presented in Lewin's book Principles of Topological Psychology, published in 1936, it contradicted most popular theories. In that it gave importance to a person's momentary situation in understanding his or her behaviour, rather than relying entirely on the past. This theory is of utmost significance for this Chapter 3 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

62 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 45 research because it emphasizes the role of environment as a determinant factor of human behaviour. B ehaviour = ƒ (P erson,e nvironment ) Equation 2: Kurt Lewin s Equation Both built and social environments act upon children s behaviour. The focus of this particular study is on outdoor environment which is supposed to be addressed by architects, landscape architects, urban designers, and planners. To understand the concept of learning one particular theory is discussed, the taxonomy of educational objectives as proposed by Benjamin Bloom (Bloom, et al. 1956). The dependent variables of this research and their measurement techniques are influenced by the idea of educational objectives by Bloom. Chapter 3 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

63 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 46 Environment Child Behavior Built Environment : Outdoor class Children s learning: Science cognitive domain knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and affective domai receiving, responding, valuing, organizing and conceptualizing Figure 23: Conceptual Framework of the Study 3.1 Conceptual Level At its conceptual level, the study claims to investigate whether there is a relationship between the child s behaviour and its environment. Although this relationship is mentioned as to be a reciprocal one in many studies (Björklid 1982, R. Moore 1986), this research is only interested to investigate the role of environment on children s learning behaviour, and, therefore, consists of a mono directional relationship. Therefore, all ranges of factors of learning are addressed at the conceptual level. The discussion of all the four ranges of variables (i.e. psychological, pedagogical, Chapter 3 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

64 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 47 environmental and demographic variables) also has guided methodological issues such as sampling strategies etc. However, the complexity, variance and the large number of independent variables/factors have guided the choice of research strategy and quasiexperimental research design is considered to be most appropriate. Demographic Factors Pedagogical Factors Environmenta l Factors Psychologica l Factors Figure 24: Conceptual Level of the Study: Four categories of factors that can influence children s learning 3.2 Operational Level The operational level of the study is discussed under three phases Operational Level: Phase 01 This research aims at neutralizing the three other sets of variables (i.e. demographic, pedagogical and psychological factors) and examines the impact of environmental Chapter 3 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

65 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 48 variable on children s learning. Among the demographic variables, age and gender were found to be most significant on learning of children (Adcox 2012, Anderson 2000, Kreitler S 1984). At Phase 01 of operational level, age is defined in sample assignment and demographic factors are readily neutralized as children of same age group (concrete operational stage) are selected as samples of this study. Pedagogical factors are neutralized by selecting the same teacher for both environments: indoor and outdoor, and the sample assignment of children of the same class. The hypothesis of operational level 01 is that, the demographic and pedagogical factors being neutralized and eliminated, the role of environmental variable on learning behaviour would be clearly examined. Operational level 01 assumes that environmental variables and psychological factors are inter-related. Figure 25: Operational Level 01: Demographic and Pedagogical Variables Neutralized Operational Level: Phase 02 At phase 02 of operational level, children s learning is measured in terms of score based on cognitive domain variables. The environmental factors are limited to only types of the built environment- the outdoor environment and indoor classroom. Chapter 3 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

66 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 49 Personal factors are the intra-individual factors like motivation, interests, and abilities etc which predispose an individual towards learning. The environmental factors provide the context within which the personal factors operate (Sharma, Pathak and Sinha 2009). In operational level 02, personal variables are considered to be a construct of the built environment and eliminated from the experimental part of the research. Measurement of personal variables for the experimental part is considered to be beyond the legislation of this research which is limited to the genre of architecture or design. This limitation of the research forces a qualitative part in the third operational phase: operational level 03. Cognitiv e Domain Variables Effective Domain Variable Built Environmen t Variables Figure 26: Operational Level 02: Cognitive and Effective Domain Variables are Construct of the Children s Learning Operational Level: Phase 03 The third operational level is the conclusive part of the research. Through analysis and experiment, the impact of outdoor environment will be investigated on children s learning and other significant built environment variables will be taken into account as well. The third operational level also accommodates the qualitative phase of the research which will contain a descriptive account of opinions of children and their teachers regarding outdoor class and children s learning. Chapter 3 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

67 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 50 Statistical Analysis Cognitive Domain variable for Classroom Cognitive Domain variables Outdoor for Learning of Children Affective Domain Variables Quasi Experimental Research Qualitative Research Figure 27: Operational Level 03: Impact of Environment on Children s Learning Conclusion of the research will be drawn based on the findings of both the experimental and the qualitative part. Thus the framework of the research will enclose all ranges of variables of children s learning and underline the impact of outdoor environment on children s learning of science. 3.3 Hypothesis and Research Question The background literature leads the study towards its primary hypothesis and poses the research question (Figure 28). A review of the literature indicated that outdoor environment has a positive impact on children s learning (see Chapter 2, Section 2.8). The literature review, by showing the relative scarcity of previously done research in the context of developing countries, establishes the necessity of this particular research. Chapter 3 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

68 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 51 Literature Review Present Scenario No proper Classroom Outdoor 's positive impact on learning Children love to be in outdoor Why not in Outdoor? Figure 28: Formulation of Research Question Hypothesis The hypothesis of the study is that there is significant difference between learning in indoor and outdoor classrooms. To test this hypothesis the study follows the track of previously completed research which claimed significant difference between learning in indoor and outdoor classrooms (Lieberman and Hoody 1998, Lieberman, Hoody and Lieberman 2000, Place-based education and student achievement 2006, Jones, Klosterman and Mesa 2006, Lopez, Campbell and Jennings 2008, Paisley, et al. 2008, Lopez and Daly 2009, Place-based education and student achievement 2011). However, these studies are conducted mainly in developed countries and require verification in the context of developing countries Research Question Is there any significant difference in learning between indoor and outdoor classrooms? 3.4 Glossary Since all the variables are framed, the Glossary of the study is stated below. Chapter 3 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

69 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh General Terms Children Children refer to the school aged children living in Bangladesh i.e. from 7 to 11 years old. Definition of children for this research is elaborated in Chapter 4, Section Learning Learning is only the acquisition at cognitive domain (knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation) and affective domain (receiving, responding, valuing, organizing and conceptualizing, characterizing by value or value concept). In this study it is measured by the score gained in an achievement test. Environment Environment refers to the physical environment, the physical characteristics of a primary school. Intervention In this specific study intervention refers to the construction of an outdoor class in a primary school Terms related to Dependent and Independent Variables Classroom/ Indoor Environment Indoor Environment or Classroom refers to the classroom of Class IV of the school building where the regular classes are conducted. Outdoor Environment Outdoor Environment refers to the spaces in the school premise excluding the school building in the ownership of school authority. In this study outdoor environment specifically referred to the outdoor class designed by the researcher and constructed in the school premise. The Control Group The group of students who were taught in their traditional classroom is referred to as the control group. Chapter 3 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

70 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 53 The Treatment Group The group of students who were taught in the outdoor class is defined as the treatment group. Achievement Test Achievement test is a test tool developed to measure children s learning within cognitive domain. This definition is elaborated in Chapter 4, Section Cognitive Domain Cognitive Domain encompasses the acquisition of knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis and evaluation, the gain of which is measured by achievement test stated before. Affective Domain Affective Domain is the measure of receiving, responding, valuing, organizing and conceptualizing, characterizing by value or value concept which is explored through structured questionnaire survey. Knowledge Knowledge refers to the numerical gain in that part of the achievement test which was developed to assess children s ability to remember previously learnt information. Comprehension Comprehension refers to the numerical gain in that part of the achievement test which was developed to assess children s ability to grasp the meaning of the information. Application Application refers to the numerical gain in that part of the achievement test which was developed to assess children s ability of applying knowledge to actual situation. Analysis Analysis refers to the numerical gain in that part of the achievement test which was developed to assess children s capability of analyzing or breaking down concepts or ideas to smaller parts and seeing how these parts interrelated and organized. Synthesis Synthesis refers to the numerical gain in that part of the achievement test which was Chapter 3 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

71 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 54 developed to assess children s ability of synthesizing or rearranging ideas into words. Evaluation Evaluation refers to the numerical gain in that part of the achievement test which was developed to assess children s ability of making judgements. Chapter 3 Theoretical and Conceptual Framework

72 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 55 Chapter 4: Methodology The conceptual framework formulates the hypothesis and research questions of the study. This section gives an account of the methods which are adopted for finding answers to the research questions. This section is arranged in three sections. The first section discusses the overall research design and the reason for its adoption. The second discusses the reasons for the choice of the research area and also its respondents. The third discusses in details the methods that were adopted for the study. 4.1 Overview of the Research Design The best research strategy is one that maximizes generalizability, increases precision in controlling and measuring variables, and ensures existential realism for the participants. (McGrath 1994). Initially, this study intended to follow a multiple case study approach. The aim was to select three or four comparable primary schools with designed outdoor class and then compare children s performance in indoor and outdoor to find out whether there is any significant relation between environment and learning. If there is any significant impact of outdoor environment on children s learning, then the researcher intended to figure out the attributes of outdoor environment that influence children s learning. But it is unfortunate that there is no such designed outdoor class in primary schools of Bangladesh, as such the idea of using multiple case studies was abandoned. The current study followed an experimental research strategy to find out the relationship between outdoor environment and learning. Qualitative information collected through FGD and in-depth interview was incorporated with the first stage analysis to reach a conclusion Why Experimental Research? The overall objective of this study is to explore if there is any connection or relationship between children s learning and outdoor environment of school. This parallels the purpose of experimental research strategy as given by Groat and Wang, Experimental research seeks causal connections between two or more variables. (Groat and Wang 2002) Chapter 4 Methodology

73 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 56 The experimental research method is suitable in the following situations Use of a Treatment or Independent Variable: In experimental research, the researcher seeks to test impact of one or more specific, identifiable variables on the phenomenon under study (Groat and Wang 2002). In the current study, to test the influence of the independent variable i.e. outdoor learning environment on the learning behavior of children (dependent variable) was the purpose of the study. The measurement of Outcome Variables: Careful measurement of certain outcome measures or dependent variables specifies the impact of the independent variable. In this particular study the learning outcomes were measured to find out the impact of outdoor environment. The designation of a Unit of Assignment: In experimental method, the treatment is applied to a specified unit of assignment. In this study a child is the designated unit of assignment. The Use of a Control Group: Most experimental studies measure the impact of treatments against a comparison or control group. In this case, a group of children will work as control group where as after giving the treatment the group of children will be measured against the control group. Focus on Causality: In this type of research method, the researcher seeks to establish a cause-effect relationship. In a primary school the researcher measures the extent to which the treatment that is learning in outdoor causes a clearly measured outcome within a specified research setting Why Qualitative Research? An Experimental research strategy has the weakness of reduction of complex causality reality to identify causal or independent variables (Groat and Wang 2002). As such the setting or phenomenon might not be explored in depth or the holistic quality of life might not be captured as well. This weakness has been partially alleviated in this study by the addition of Focus Group Discussion (FGD) with children and teachers in the 2 nd phase. As this study is about children s behaviour and learning in their natural settings, a qualitative approach is especially appropriate, as it leads to understanding the meanings and processes of people s activities and artifacts (Groat and Wang 2002). Chapter 4 Methodology

74 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 57 Figure 29: Methodological Sequence Diagram Chapter 4 Methodology

75 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh What Age Group of Children and Why? The definition of children is taken from National Child Policy 2011 declared by the Government of the People s Republic of Bangladesh. In Bangladesh, a child is a person whose age is below 18 years (Ministry of Women and Children Affairs 2011). But as this is a study of learning behaviour of children, children of Concrete Operational Stage of cognitive development are considered to be included in this research. The age range of children of this study is determined by Piaget s Theory of Cognitive Development as proposed by the legendary developmental psychologist Jean Piaget. Children of 7 years to 11 years of age comprise this stage (Ginsburg and Opper 1979). This is the age range when children are more likely to roam outdoors than any other period of their childhood (R. Moore 1986, O'Brien, Jones and Rustin 2000). The style of thinking of this age is concrete, meaning that their thinking and reasoning is more logical, flexible and organized than it was during early childhood. So unlike the pre-schoolers who view the mind as a passive container, older children regard it as an active, constructive agent capable of selecting and transforming information (Halliburton and Gable 2003). Through interaction with the physical and social environment, children build on knowledge and understanding (Kahn 2002) and after this age children become capable of abstract thinking. So this age range of 7 to 11 years old has been selected for sample assignment because before this age the capability to think and learn independently is not grown in children and they are not acquainted with knowledge of science. In primary schools, the learning of science starts at class three while the children are 7 to 8 years old. And at adolescent the children become capable of thinking in abstract ways. The children at the concrete operational stage need to experiment and explore different ideas to understand it thoroughly. 4.2 Sampling Strategy The Study adopted a three phase sampling method. A government primary school at Raipura in the district of Narsingdi, the researcher s hometown, 190 Kilometer from Dhaka, was selected due to the convenience. The reason for choosing Kandapara Shahid Bashirul Islam Government Primary School and class IV children was purposive. Finally unit of assignment for the treatment group and controlled group was proposed to be selected randomly. Chapter 4 Methodology

76 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Convenient Sampling of School The list of DPE contained 147 Government Primary Schools and 30 Registered Non- Government Primary Schools. The researcher during her undergraduate thesis surveyed about 20 Schools from Normal Plain Area, Normal Flooded Area and Severe Flooded Area (LGED 2008) based on familiarity and accessibility to the researcher. Every School must possess a total area of.33 Acre for registration and approval by the Government. But it is unfortunate that most of the schools do not have that required area. Kandapara Shahid Bashirul Islam Government Primary School (Figure 30), about 5 km from the upazilla has been selected for the intervention and study because of its proper area and accessibility. The student body of the participating school was an exact representation of the elementary student population demographic in the entire district in terms of socioeconomic status and ethnicity Purposive Sampling of Class The Age range of class IV is 8 to 10, the midrange of the concrete operational stage. The children of Class IV are acquainted to learning science as in Primary level the lesson of science is started from class III. For this reason, this class is selected for the study. The textbook of Science is thoroughly explored by the researcher and thereafter from open discussion with the science teacher of the school it is revealed that the elements of this book is mostly from nature which requires children s being amidst nature. Besides from the data collected from DPE, it is observed that the dropout rate is highest in class IV. The children are less likely to attend the school regularly in this class. As such the average attendance of the students of is also very poor. Chapter 4 Methodology

77 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 60 Figure 30: Image of Kandapara Shahid Bashirul Islam Govt Primary School Figure 31: Image of Class IV of Kandapara Shahid Bashirul Islam Govt Primary School Chapter 4 Methodology

78 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Random Sampling of Children There are fifty two students (see Appendix 1) currently enrolled in class IV in the studied school. At first it was decided that selection of control group (the group that will not be treated) and treatment group will be done from this class by random sampling process. Half of the enrolled students i.e. twenty six children will be randomly selected for treatment and the rest twenty six will form the control group. But it is unfortunate that while her intervention work in the school, the researcher found that the attendance rate of the students in the classes is very poor. Nearly fifty percent students do not come to school regularly. So the research method went through some revision. The number of the students who are regularly present in the classes is around fifty percent of the total enrolled. Thirty students who come to school regularly will be first taught one chapter in indoor. After that the same group will be taught another chapter at their outdoor class. There will be two separate tests for two chapters. The score of the two tests will be converted into Z score and then it will be compared. Chapter 4 Methodology

79 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 62 Figure 32: Sampling Method Flow Diagram Chapter 4 Methodology

80 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Pre-Survey Works Obtaining Permission from School Once Kandapara Shahid Bashirul Islam Government Primary School were selected, the Headmaster of the school was approached immediately with a formal letter that will request the Headmaster and the teachers to cooperate with the study. After the grant of the formal letter, the Headmaster along with the teachers of the selected school was given a brief explanation of the topic, the targeted age group, the process of selection, intervention and study. They were enthusiastic about the study and eagerly agreed to give all sort of support required for the study. The Headmaster was also asked for permission to give a brief slide presentation (see Appendix 2) to class IV and the teachers. Once this was approved, a date and time was fixed for the presentation. The Headmaster was asked to inform the school managing committee members and the parents of the children about the study and the presentation. After that the researcher also informed the chairman of the school managing committee and gave a presentation School Presentation The presentation involved an LCD projector and a laptop computer. The researcher was equipped with long range multi-plugs. Class room walls were used for projection. The presentation consisted of four main parts: The headmaster introduced the researcher and her supervisor to the students. The researcher explained the research topic (Figure 33). Then the researcher showed some examples of outdoor class done in foreign countries with some of which the supervisor was involved during his PhD in USA with the help of slides. The researcher and the supervisor answered different enquiries asked by the teachers The headmaster concluded the session. Chapter 4 Methodology

81 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 64 Figure 33: The Researcher explaining the Research topic Figure 34: Dr M Zakiul Islam responding to queries of children and teachers Chapter 4 Methodology

82 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Discussion with School Managing Committee members and parents The researcher went for open discussion with School Managing Committee (SMC) members and parents on a previously fixed date and time. Ms Kamrunnahar Begum who is also the younger sister of Shahid Bashirul Islam after whose name the school was built, accepted the proposal with great enthusiasm and ensured total support and cooperation from her committee. Figure 35: Discussion with the chairperson of SMC and stakeholders at site 4.4 Design and Intervention An outdoor classroom has been designed under the supervision of the supervisor to be constructed in the school which will work as the lab for the experiment. After that the researcher went for the intervention. When the construction has been completed the units of assignment i.e. the children were taught there for the purpose of the experimentation Design of an outdoor classroom The primary design was formulated by the researcher and the cost for the construction was estimated based on the Schedule of rates published by PWD (PWD 2008). With the Chapter 4 Methodology

83 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 66 approval of the supervisor this was then placed for BPGS and CASR approval. After the preliminary design, there was discussion with the Headmaster, the teachers and the chairman of the school managing committee for their suggestions and comments. Three dimensional sketch-up models were prepared for easy demonstration to the stakeholders and also the mason and labor for their clear understanding of what is going to be built. They expressed their opinions which were later addressed by the researcher in the final design of the outdoor class. Chapter 4 Methodology

84 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 67 Figure 36: Plan of the Outdoor Classroom Chapter 4 Methodology

85 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 68 Figure 37: Section AA Figure 38: Section BB Chapter 4 Methodology

86 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 69 Figure 39: Sketch-up model of the designed outdoor class from southern side Figure 40: Sketch-up model of the designed outdoor class from north-east corner Intervention in School The construction of the outdoor class has been started in the mid of February 2012 and completed at the mid of March. The researcher supervised the construction from buying first class bricks from the brick kiln to working in the site all day long. Many major decisions about construction method and materials, tiny details of the construction have been taken on site depending on varied situations and inexperience of the local mason. Many detailed drawings were generated on site. The children were engaged in the construction process so that a sense of belongingness can grow in them. They were Chapter 4 Methodology

87 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 70 very much enthusiastic about the outdoor class. They helped by bringing bricks to the masons, pouring water to brick walls for curing. The phases of construction have been showed sequentially from Figure 41 to Figure 47. Figure 41: Children curing the bricks just brought from brick kiln Figure 42: Preparation of the site, children and teachers participating Chapter 4 Methodology

88 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 71 Figure 43: Here starts the construction work Figure 44: Children helping with the bricks Chapter 4 Methodology

89 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 72 Figure 45: Class IV children are working for their outdoor class The construction works have been gone throughout the month of March with some intervals. During this period some stakeholders like the Superintendent and instructors of Raipura Primary Training Institute located at the Thana proper, Thana Education Officer and key-personals of the community visited the site and inspired the researcher about the work. The construction ended at the middle of March and right afterward, the experiment started. Chapter 4 Methodology

90 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 73 Figure 46: The last phases of construction Figure 47: The completed Outdoor Class Chapter 4 Methodology

91 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Experimentation The children were taught two consecutive chapters (see Appendix 3) but of different content in indoor and outdoor respectively. The chapters are from the science book of Class IV and of same difficulty level to the children. After that data were collected from the achievement test developed through a rigorous process Use of the control group The children of class IV were taught Chapter 01 of their Science Book in the indoor class by their science teacher Ms Shikha Rani. Ms Shikha prepared the lesson plans (see Appendix 4) and conducted the classes from the 5 th March to the 8 th March 2012 (Figure 48). The Achievement test (See Section of this chapter) was undertaken on the 15 th March just after a week of completion of Chapter 01 in order to minimize the memorizing affect Use of the treatment group The students were taken outside to the newly constructed outdoor class just after it is ready for commencing lessons. Any innovation or new construction is a matter of great interest to the people of any age especially to children. So they were taught outside for about two weeks to make them accustomed with the new environment. The experiment started in outdoor class on the 25 th March and continued upto the 28 th March until Chapter 02 of their science book is completed (Figure 49). Then the achievement test was taken on the 4 th April 2012 just after a week. Chapter 4 Methodology

92 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 75 Figure 48: Children in their Indoor Class Figure 49: Children in their Outdoor Class Chapter 4 Methodology

93 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 76 Figure 50: Children working in groups 4.6 Data Collection Methods Four methods were used to collect data related to children s learning (dependent variable). They are an achievement test to measure the cognitive domain, a structured questionnaire survey to collect data regarding the affective domain of children s learning, Focused Group Discussion and In-Depth interview of the children and teachers. FGD and in-depth interview followed the questionnaire interview and achievement test and provided in-depth information regarding the research. Data were collected from March to April Method 1: Achievement Test Single subject achievement test is a standardized test designed to assess learning or achievement in a particular basic school subject (Snowman, et al. 2009). An achievement test was used in this study to test the children s learning after they were taught indoor and outdoor classroom. The test provided a standard way of collecting information for later comparison in the analysis stage. Because of the lack of any standardized test for primary school children in our country (M. N. Haq 1994), an achievement test has to be formulated by the researcher for this particular study. Chapter 4 Methodology

94 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Validating the Achievement Test An Achievement Test tool has been formulated with the help of an expert of Child Psychology from IER, Dhaka University. The basis of the Achievement Test was the list of significant variables found in the literature review (Table 4) of this study. The test was developed in such manner that it ensured collection of data of all the significant variables of learning objectives. Structure of the question was largely motivated by Md Nazmul Haq s report on Primary Achievement Test (M. N. Haq 1994). The process of formulation of the test followed the process adopted by Md Haq. At first the teacher of the selected school was asked to formulate a test paper. This was gone through by the researcher and in the guidance of the resource person from IER, the researcher formulated the test paper. As this is not a standardized test tool, in order to validate the test, it was applied to the children of class IV (see Appendix 5) of another primary school outside the catchment area of KSBIGPS. Based on that test several changes were brought in the final test paper Achievement Test Instrument The Test Paper (See Appendix 6-7) for each chapter was consisted of total 17 questions. All the questions were of same value except one containing the value of two questions. Figures were used in the question which will judge the ability of comprehension of the children Process of the Achievement Test At the previously decided time and date, the researcher appeared at school for taking the test. The children or even the teacher was not informed about the date of the test for the authenticity of the test that the children would not have got the scope to prepare at home. After greetings and some small talk the children were asked whether they had any queries regarding the study before the start of the test. After that the test was started. The required time for both the tests (for indoor and outdoor) was 25 minutes. The tests started at 11:05 AM and ended at 11:30 AM on the selected dates Method 2: Survey questionnaire interview Survey questionnaire interview was used to collect information regarding each respondent s view about learning in outdoor environment. The questionnaire provided a standard way of collecting information for later comparison in the analysis stage. This current study has administered the questionnaire based on the affective domain of learning objectives (receiving, responding, valuing, organizing and conceptualizing, Chapter 4 Methodology

95 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 78 characterizing by value or value concept) (Bloom's taxonomy: Learning domains 2011) of children before and after the treatment through questionnaire survey. An interview enables a study to obtain both manifest and latent content of the respondent s answers (Sommer and Sommer 2002). Notes were taken about the latent content of the interviews Structured Questionnaire The basis of the questionnaire was the list of significant variables found in the literature review of this study (Table 4). The questionnaire was developed in such manner that it ensured collection of data of all the significant variables of affective domain. The questionnaire (See Appendix 8-9) was consisted of total 16 questions- 8 questions for their feedback about their classroom and the other 8 for the outdoor class. All the questions were closed ended Method 3: Focus Group Discussion In order to obtain the open remarks about learning in outdoor or indoor four focus group discussion (FGD) was conducted taking 10 students as a group randomly selected from Class IV who participated in the experiment. The teachers were not included in the focus group with the students as the children may feel shy or uneasy to some extent to share their ideas in front of their teachers. The teachers were asked separately forming another group. All the boys and girls were selected randomly from among the students available during the survey time. So more than thirty students, both boys and girls and seven teachers took part in the discussions. FGD proceedings were recorded both in written and audio form and on the basis of that a summary report was prepared. All the summaries were analyzed and finally the comprehensive summary was prepared Why Focus Group Discussion? Focus groups are facilitated group discussions using scripted questions that are generally populated by a homogenous audience of interest to the researcher. In most cases (including this one), focus group studies are qualitative in nature. Qualitative data can be analyzed to uncover a range of perspectives and themes on a given subject. The results may describe a dominant or a widely held or expressed opinion where there was consensus around some idea or issue. Focus groups do lead to important insights about topics and allow the facilitator to probe a group s thinking on matters both scripted and that arise spontaneously through conversation. This feature makes it a more flexible tool than quantitative surveys. Focus groups are also advantageous when compared with conducting one-on-one interviews Chapter 4 Methodology

96 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 79 because they allow participants to feed off of one another s ideas and spark thoughts that may not have been captured in isolation (Holsman 2002) Questionnaire Instrument The following are the FGD questions that were put to the students: What do you think of how do you learn best? (?) What is your view about learning/ doing classes in indoor and outdoor? (?) What is your view about the environment (light/air/sound) of indoor and outdoor class? ( ) What is your view about seating arrangement of the indoor and outdoor class?) ( ) Which subjects can be taught in outdoor class? (?) What is your view about learning science in outdoor? (?) Do you participate actively during science class and to what extent in indoor/outdoor? (?) Do you want to continue your science classes in outdoor? (?) Do you use the outdoor class for any other purpose except your classes? (?) Chapter 4 Methodology

97 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 80 What is your view about introducing outdoor class in other schools? The same questions were put to teachers to answer from their perspective Process of FGD On a previously fixed date the researcher appeared the school. After greetings and small talk, the students were informed about the process of focus group discussion. Ten students were selected randomly to form a group from the students who were present. They were led to the outdoor class for discussion in isolation. The researcher worked as moderator and ten open ended analytical questions were put to them. Each and every student of the group were given chance to respond to the questions. The next day the FGD was conducted with the teachers Method 4: In-depth Interview Purpose of this additional session was to enhance the qualitative phase of this research. There were no structured or closed ended set of questions for this session. The researcher opened the discussion from where the FGD ended. The parents were also asked in front of the students about what they feel about the study. Once parents and the child participated spontaneously the researcher took note on relevant information. The emphasis was on the perception of parents and the child regarding the outdoor class environment and learning there. Chapter 4 Methodology

98 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Measurement Techniques Table 7: Variables Data Collection Method and Measurement Variables Name Variable of Data collection method Type Coding/Unit Independent Variable Learning Environment knowledge 1= Outdoor Class, 0= Classroom Dependent Variable Cognitive Domain Affective Domain comprehension application analysis synthesis evaluation receiving responding valuing organizing and conceptualizing characterizing Achievement Test Scale Number Achievement Test Scale Number Achievement Test Scale Number Achievement Test Scale Number Achievement Test Scale Number Achievement Test Scale Number 2=very good, 1=good, -1=bad, -2=very bad Questionnaire Categorical 2=very good, 1=good, Questionnaire Categorical -1=bad, -2=very bad 2=very good, 1=good, Questionnaire Categorical -1=bad, -2=very bad 2=very good, 1=good, Questionnaire Categorical -1=bad, -2=very bad 2=very good, 1=good, Questionnaire Categorical -1=bad, -2=very bad 4.8 Data Analysis Method All variable measures were stored in a Master file in Microsoft Excel (Appendix 11) for analysis. For data analysis (mean calculation, frequency analysis, chi-square analysis) SPSS Statistics 17.0 (released August 23, 2008) and Microsoft Excel 2007 were used. Chapter 4 Methodology

99 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 82 Chapter 5: Analysis- Looking for the Advantageous Environment The research question of this study concerns the relationship between outdoor environment and children s learning. It thrives for finding out whether there is any significant difference between children s learning in indoor and outdoor. This study has employed different measures to represent the learning of children. The analysis has been conducted at various levels. First, descriptive statistics of each measurement i.e. achievement test were examined. The second stage involved frequency analysis of the responses of the children within affective domain. The chapter is divided into two sections. The first section presents the summary statistics for the samples achievement test scores and also the variables of affective domain. The second section discusses the qualitative measures (FGD) employed in the study. Research question is answered by the findings of these two parts. 5.1 Causal Relationship analysis between main variables Relationship between Independent Variable and Cognitive Domain Variable The purpose of this study was to investigate whether there is any relation between children s learning and environment. As mentioned earlier the study observed that having the classes in outdoor as beneficial to children s learning. The assumption was that when children learn science in outdoor environment they learn better than they do in the classroom. The analysis of the achievement test formulated based on cognitive domain of learning might indicate this. This is done using descriptive statistics (comparing means, one sample statistics), normal distribution curve, frequency analysis and chi-square analysis Descriptive Statistics: Table 8 states the score of the achievement tests which were taken respectively after the children were taught a chapter in the classroom and another in their outdoor class. The table shows the total scores of the tests undertaken by the control group (children after being taught indoor) and the treatment group (children after being in the outdoor class) i.e. T i and T o respectively. The Z scores of the tests i.e. Z i and Z o were also Chapter 5 Analysis- Looking for the Advantageous Environment

100 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 83 indicated in the table. The Z score is a standardized test score that tells how far a given raw score differs from the mean in standard deviation units (Snowman, et al. 2009). Table 8: Score of Achievement Test taken in the Classroom and Outdoor Class Test Score: T i Z score: Z i Test Score: T o Z score: Z o Sl No The descriptive statistics (Table 9) shows that there is a considerable difference between the mean, minimum and maximum score and standard deviation of T i (Score of the Test taken in Classroom) and T o (Score of the Test taken in Outdoor Class). The mean for control group is whereas it s almost double in the case of treatment group. It might be argued that the two groups were taught two different chapters but Chapter 5 Analysis- Looking for the Advantageous Environment

101 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 84 these chapters are two consecutive chapters of the science book of Class IV, Chapter 2 is taught after they were taught Chapter 1. It is observed that the standard deviation is higher in T i than T o. The higher mean and lower standard deviation indicate the better achievement of students in T o. Table 9: Descriptive Statistics of the Achievement Test taken in the Classroom and Outdoor Class Descriptive Statistics N Minimum Maximum Mean Std. Deviation T i Score (Test Classroom) T o Score (Test Outdoor Class) Valid N (list wise) Normal Distribution Curve (Bell Curve): Normal Distribution Curve depicts a hypothetical bell shaped distribution of scores that tends to occur when a particular characteristic is measured (Snowman, et al. 2009). The horizontal axis indicates the score, ranging from low on the left to high on the right; the vertical axis represents the number of cases correspond to each score. If we observe Figure 51 we can identify a more or less symmetrical bell shape for the treatment group which tends to be normal, while in case of the control group, the curve does not seem so. Chapter 5 Analysis- Looking for the Advantageous Environment

102 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 85 Control Group (Classroom) Vs Treatment Group (Outdoor Class) Outdoor Class (To) Classroom (Ti) Figure 51: Normal Distribution Curve (Bell Curve) Frequency Analysis (Histogram): Comparing Z-Score: As the tests could not be taken on the same chapters, z score analysis and chi-square tests (See Section ) are done. The scores were converted to Z-score (standard score) for comparison where the mean of the Z-score (Table 8) is always zero for any test. If we compare the scores below and above the mean of Z i and Z o, the difference can be easily distinguished. 18 students got below mean in the test taken after teaching in classroom whereas the number is 14 in case of outdoor class (Table 10, Figure 52). 4 students i.e. 13% of the students showed better achievement while they were taught in the outdoor class. Table 10: Analysis of Z-score in Classroom and Outdoor Class Bin Frequency Cumulative % Below Mean % Above Mean % Total % Bin Frequency Cumulative % Below Mean % Above Mean % Total % Chapter 5 Analysis- Looking for the Advantageous Environment

103 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 86 Z Score (Classroom) Z Score (Outdoor Class) 40% 60% Below Mean Above Mean 53% 47% Below Mean Above Mean Figure 52: Analysis of Z-score Analysis of Low, Medium and High Score: In the frequency analysis of low, medium and high score, it is observed that no student has gained high score while they were taught indoor. 60% of them have availed low score whereas in the case of outdoor learning the percentage is much lower, only 10% (Table 11, Figure 53). And 17% of the students have got high score. The chapters were two consecutive chapters of the science book of class IV, which were expected to be of nearly same difficulty level. Table 11: Frequency analysis of Low, Medium and High Score Bin Frequency Cumulative % 0-6 (Low) % 7-12 (Medium) % (High) % More % Bin Frequency Cumulative % 0-6 (Low) % 7-12 (Medium) % (High) % More % Test (Classroom) Test (Outdoor Class) 40% 60% 0-6 (Low) 7-12 (Medium) (High) 17% 10% 73% 0-6 (Low) 7-12 (Medium) (High) More More Figure 53: Frequency analysis of Low, Medium and High Score Chi-square Analysis: The chi-square test represents a useful method of comparing experimentally obtained results with those to be expected theoretically on some hypothesis. The equation for chi- Chapter 5 Analysis- Looking for the Advantageous Environment

104 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 8 7 square is stated as follows (Garrett and Woodworth 1973)- Equation 3: Chi-square Equation An expected frequency is a theoretical predicted frequency obtained from an experiment presumed to be true until statistical evidence in the form of a hypothesis test indicates otherwise. An observed frequency, on the other hand, is the actual frequency that is obtained from the experiment. The events being predicted must be mutually exclusive. This analysis was done to investigate the relationships between the independent variables i.e. the environments- classroom or outdoor and the dependent variables (children s learning i.e. test score). The research hypothesis states that the two variables are dependent or related i.e. the score of the children depend on the environment where they learn. This will be true if the observed counts for the categories of the variables in the sample are different from the expected counts. The null hypothesis is that the two variables are independent that means there is no relation between the learning environment and test score. This will be true if the observed counts in the sample are similar to the expected counts. The amount of difference needed to make a decision about difference or similarity is the amount corresponding to the alpha level of significance, which will be either 0.05 or If the probability of the test statistic is less than or equal to the probability of the alpha error rate, we will reject the null hypothesis and conclude that our data supports the research hypothesis. We conclude that there is a relationship between the variables. If the probability of the test statistic is greater than the probability of the alpha error rate, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. We conclude that there is no relationship between the variables, i.e. they are independent. Chapter 5 Analysis- Looking for the Advantageous Environment

105 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 88 Table 12: Chi-square analysis Frequency (Test score_ Classroom) Frequency (Test Score_ Outdoor Class) High Medium Low Row total (r) Column Total (c) X² If df=(r-1)(c-1)= (3-1)(2-1)=2, Probability of the test statistics is less than the probability of alpha error rate, it is significant at level (from Chi-square Table in Appendix 10) As the probability of test statistics is less than the probability of alpha error rate, we can reject the null hypothesis and say that the variables are dependent i.e. the learning of children is dependent to environment. It is significant at level which establishes the hypothesis that the students while learning outdoor performed significantly better than while they were learning in the classroom Comparative Analysis between Individual Cognitive Domain Variables: Within the cognitive domain if we investigate the gain of the children, the major difference is found in Application and Analysis levels between the control and treatment group (Figure 54). The children are doing much better in these two levels while they are learning in their outdoor class; there is also significant difference in the gain of knowledge and synthesis levels. But it is observed that the gain is almost similar in comprehension and evaluation levels between the two groups. Though the sample size is very small and the test was not based on any nationally accepted standardized test, still it establishes the findings in the literature about children s gain in domain variables (Lieberman and Hoody 1998, Jones, Klosterman and Mesa 2006). Students who werw taught outdoor demonstrate- increased knowledge and understanding of science content and they are also better able to discern the connections between what they learn in science classes and applications in the real world. Chapter 5 Analysis- Looking for the Advantageous Environment

106 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 89 Table 13: Comparative Analysis of means of Cognitive Domain Variables Independent Variable Dependent Variable (Cognitive Domain) Environment Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation Total Indoor (Classroom) Outdoor Class Cognitive Domain Variable vs Independent Variable Indoor (Classroom) 2.00 Outdoor Class 0.00 Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation Total Dependent Variable (Cognitive Domain) Figure 54: Comparative Analysis of Cognitive Domain Variables Chapter 5 Analysis- Looking for the Advantageous Environment

107 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Relationship between Independent Variable and Affective Domain Variable The questionnaire developed by the researcher based on the affective domain of learning is analyzed with Microsoft Excel 2007 to find out how the children receive, respond, value, organize or internalize values about learning science in their classroom and outdoor. The children s responses were not scored; rather the questionnaire was formulated to bring out their opinions about learning in two different environments. Within the affective domain, some significant differences were identified between the environmental attitudes of the children. The students were asked how they evaluate their learning Science in their classroom and the outdoor class. 10% of them said that learning in classroom is good, 77% receives learning in classroom as bad whereas 87% of them said that learning in outdoor class is very good and 13% said outdoor learning is good (Figure 55). Science Learning in Classroom Science Learning in Outdoor 10% 13% 13% 77% Very Bad Bad Good 87% Very Bad Bad Good Very Good Very Good Figure 55: Feedback about learning Science in Classroom and Outdoor Class In answer to the question about their participation during classes, 3% students responded that they sometimes participate in classroom but not frequent. 13% of the children never participated in their science class and 77% of the children participate seldom while learning science in classroom whereas the participation of 80% student is frequent in outdoor class and the rest 20% sometimes participate (Figure 56). Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

108 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 91 Active Participation Active Participation 10% 13% Nil 20% Nil Seldom Seldom 77% Sometimes Frequent 80% Sometimes Frequent Figure 56: Feedback about active participation in Science Class Figure 57 indicates the children s willingness to learn in their traditional classroom or the outdoor class. 100% of them were agreed that they don t want to continue their science class in indoor, rather 93% of them wants to learn science in their outdoor class very much. The researchers investigated the reason for their opinion in form of Focus Group Discussion illustrated in Section 5.2. Willingness to learn in Classroom Willingness to Learn in Outdoor 0% 0% 4% 3% No 93% Not at all No Yes Yes 100% Very Much Figure 57: Feedback about willingness to learn Science in Classroom and Outdoor Class 100% of the students want change in their science learning specifically change of space. They were enthusiastic about learning in outdoor and all of them wanted to continue their lesson in outdoor. 97% of them want that the outdoor class should be constructed in other schools also (Figure 58). Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

109 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 92 Change of Space Outdoor class in every School? 0% 3% 100% No Yes 97% No Yes Figure 58: Feedback about their desire about change of space When they were asked about whether they want other subjects to be taught in the outdoor class, 97% of them think that it is a very good idea. 77% of the children were not happy about their classes in the classroom (Figure 59) and opined to have all their classes outdoor. Other subjects in Classroom Other subjects in outdoor class 10% 13% 3% 77% Very Bad Bad Good 97% Very Bad Bad Good Very Good Very Good Figure 59: Feedback about willingness to learn other subjects in Classroom and Outdoor Class Relationship between Independent Variable and Some Built- Environment Variables The hypothesis that the children learn better in outdoor was based on the idea that it provides a fun, interesting, safe and rich learning environment for children (Tai, Haque, et al. 2006). The children consider outdoor open space as their favourite places (Andel 1990), they like the ample light, airflow, ease of movement. Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

110 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 93 While the students were asked about their learning in indoor and outdoor, they were spontaneously talking about different built-environment variables: the ample light, natural air, ease of movement and seating arrangement. Each of them was rating the light in outdoor as very good (Figure 60) while they were not so enthusiastic about the light in the classroom. 90% of them said that the lighting inside the classroom is good, 7% said it s very bad. But 100% of them agreed that one of the reasons, they like their outdoor class is ample light. Light in Classroom Light in Outdoor Class 7% 0% 3% Very Bad Bad 0% 100% Very Bad Bad Good Good Very Good Very Good 90% Figure 60: Feedback of Lighting condition in Classroom and Outdoor Class 93% of the children said that the acoustical condition is very bad in their classroom- they can t listen to their teachers, sound travels from the adjacent. But 90% of them were very happy about the acoustical condition of the outdoor class, they rated it very good and the rest 10% said it is good, they could listen to their teacher clearly (Figure 61). Sound in Classroom Sound in Outdoor Class 4% 3% Very Bad 10% Very Bad 93% Bad Good Bad Good Very Good 90% Very Good Figure 61: Feedback about acoustical condition in Classroom and Outdoor Class Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

111 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 94 Most of the children were unhappy about their seating in the classroom. 77% of the students think their seating in classroom is bad, whereas 90% of them rated the seating in outdoor class very good, 3% said the seating in outdoor class is good (Figure 62). Seating in Classroom Seating in Outdoor Class 13% 3% 7% Very Bad 7% 3% Very Bad Bad Bad Good Good 77% Very Good 90% Very Good Figure 62: Feedback about seating in Classroom and Outdoor Class Summary of Findings from all Statistical Analysis From all the statistical analysis, the findings are summarized in Table 14 considering their significance for the research which aims at establishing relationships between children s learning and outdoor environment. Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

112 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 95 Table 14: Summary of Findings from all Statistical Analysis Type Terms Classroom Outdoor Class Cognitive Domain Variables Affective Domain Variables Built-Environment Variables Total Achievement Test Score Knowledge Comprehension Application Analysis Synthesis Evaluation Receive Mean Standard Error Median Mode Standard Deviation Sample Variance Range Minimum Maximum Sum Count Confidence Level (95.0%) Mean Opinion about learning Science Bad (77%) Very Good (87%) Respond Active Participation Seldom (77%) Frequent (80%) Value Organise or Conceptualize Values Internalize characterise values Light or Willingness to learn science Change Opinion about learning Other Subjects No (100%) Yes (93%) Change Required (100%) Required in every school (97%) Bad (77%) Very Good (97%) Good (90%) Very Good (100%) Sound Very Bad (93%) Very Good (90%) Remarks Seating Bad (77%) Very Good (90%) Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

113 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Qualitative Attributes of Outdoor Learning The aim of this part is to incorporate the perception of the children about learning in outdoor environment which were missing in the statistical analysis and to complete the study by trying to find answers to the unresolved parts of the quantitative analysis. Students expressed their opinions in structured questionnaire which were analyzed quantitatively, but the reasons underneath those opinions were not known which were tried to be addressed through FGD and in-depth discussion with the children. Contribution of this section is made by the notes taken during FGD and aided by photographic survey and informal discussion with children and their parents by the researcher. By means of this section, it is expected that a comprehensive answer would be found for the research question regarding the relationship between outdoor environment and learning of children in primary schools of Bangladesh Focus Group Discussion (FGD) The focus group discussion was the researcher s primary instrument for the qualitative findings of the study. It provided in depth information regarding the relationship between children s learning and outdoor environment. It helped overcome the inherent bias in any questionnaire and explained factors that cannot be examined quantitatively through statistical analysis. View about learning in outdoor among the students and the teachers, is somewhat universal. In general, intergroup differences in responses became very less and majority expressed somewhat similar view regarding the study. The summary of the focus group discussion on the basis of the questions (see Chapter 4, Section ) can be discussed under several headings: Children learn while experimenting and exploring in the nature: At the beginning of FGD, the researcher started from the very basics of learning. How children can learn specifically how they learn Science. While the students were asked about this, majority expressed the same opinion i.e. through exploration and experimentation of the content or subject matters that are in their science text books. Some also mentioned that they learn better while they listen to what their teachers say more attentively and said that it happens while they do their classes amidst nature. The teachers expressed more or less the same opinion about children s learning. One of the teachers said that students learn while they are taught playfully showing elements from Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

114 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 97 nature. She said, When children don t even realize they are learning a lesson from their text book, they learn best. This is only possible while they are given the opportunity to explore the nature and experiment the lessons in their text books. Figure 63: Focus Group Discussion with children Outdoor Environment provides the opportunity to learn better: Where do you learn Science better? in response to this question most of the students expressed that they can learn better in their outdoor class. They think they are more attentive in the outdoor class than they are in their traditional classroom. They were asked the reasons behind their better learning in outdoor. They said that they lose attention soon in their classroom as most of them can t see the blackboard properly and some can t even hear their teacher. They think the opportunity for experimentation is less in the classroom. The students also mentioned about better connection to teacher and other classmates in the outdoor class. They feel as such that they belong to nature and also to the peers and the teacher. According to the teachers, the students show increased engagement, enthusiasm and interest while learning in outdoor. The teachers were also asked the reason. Most of them said, they feel more comfortable and active while teaching in outdoor class. Mr Mazibur Rahman, the Headmaster of the school said, The teachers are like actors in the outdoor class, they give up the lethargy what they feel while teaching in the classroom. Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

115 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 98 The statistical analysis (Figure 55) confirms this opinion of teachers where it is observed that 87% of the students rated their learning science in outdoor class very good. The analysis of their achievement in the test scores also shows that the learning outcomes in the outdoor class are significantly different than learning in classroom (Table 14) Outdoor Environment: Sufficient light and air flow, better acoustical condition Before they were asked about the light, sound or airflow, the students spontaneously were telling about the physical condition of built environment. According to them, There is no sufficient light in all the working levels of their traditional classroom. The children sitting near the windows have better light but the condition is very poor in the middle of the class. The children feel suffocated because of insufficient air flow. They can t even hear their teacher clearly as sound travels from the next class. The teachers also complained about the poor acoustical condition of the classroom as they can t hear to the children sitting at the back. On the contrary, the outdoor class is full of light, they feel comfortable because of natural air flow and there is no noise, no travelling of sound from the other classes; rather chirping of birds make them feel good Outdoor Class: Comfortable seating, Ease of Movement, Better visibility Comfortable seating, ease of movement, better visibilities etc are some of the prime conditions for better learning. The students said that the seating (the benches) in their traditional classroom is not comfortable, the benches move back and forth. Some students also mentioned that if the tall students sit in front of the class, the smaller ones can t see the blackboard and sometimes can t see the teacher also if she shows any material of their books. The students who sit in the middle can see the blackboard clearly but students sitting beside the window can t see clearly because of glare. According to all of the children participating in FGD, in the outdoor class they can sit comfortably, can move easily, don t get hurt and can get to the blackboard in a short time. All of them can have eye-contact with their teacher and can see their peers too. They can experiment in the front platform which is visible to every child. The blackboard is large in the outdoor class and all the students can see it sitting anywhere there, the problem of glare no longer exists. According to the teachers, they also feel confident while teaching as they can see the facial expression of every child in the outdoor class which is utterly impossible in the classroom because of insufficient light and also for seating arrangement. Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

116 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Outdoor Class: Nature enhances the innate interest to learn any subject Which subjects can be taught in outdoor class? - In response to this question both the students and the teachers expressed the same opinion that any subject can be taught better in outdoor class. In classroom the children feel confined, isolated from nature but they learn joyously and playfully in outdoor class amidst nature. Ms Shahida says, The children are spontaneous and enthusiastic in their outdoor class. The inertia which is observed in them in the classroom is never seen in their outdoor class. Besides Science, specifically the teachers mentioned math of class I and II where leaves, seeds or sticks can be collected from nature to teach the children how to count, add, subtract, multiplication or division etc. One of the teachers also mentioned about rapid readers and other co-curricular activities like singing, dancing, play and story-telling (Figure 64). In primary schools, the pre-schoolers or the baby class are not allotted any classroom because of lack of space. Previously they were taught in the verandah but after the completion of the costruction of outdoor class they are given their lessons there. The little boys and girls can now comfortably sit in the outdoor class and learn with joy Learning Science: Learning the nature being amidst nature All of the children were unified in their opinion that outdoor class offers the opportunity for exploration and experimentation which is the prime way of their learning science. According to them there is sufficient space and scope for experimentation in outdoor class which they miss in their classroom. Tofajjol mentioned that the classroom gets dirty if they do any experiment and it s difficult to clean the classroom, as such hands on teaching is avoided in classroom. On the other hand, it is much easier to do any experiment in their outdoor class. Jerine and Swapna said, All the elements we learn such as trees, animals, soil, air, water etc are around ourselves in nature which the teachers can cite while teaching in outdoor. In the classroom they are isolated from nature and in that way are confined to learn what they don t see. The teachers also mentioned about their easy access to the elements of nature what they teach in science class. Their Science teacher Ms Shikha said that, While teaching the chapter of Classification of Plants or Earth I can easily show them the tree under which the outdoor class is located or can tell a child to Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

117 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 100 bring some soil from the school ground or the nearby ditch while I teach them about different types of soil. She says, There is no better way to study science than to collect and analyze data on your own field Active participation: Enhanced opportunity for group work In their classroom, only the children who are in the front desk participate in any task demonstrated by the teacher. The children who sit in the back never respond, they sit as the passive learners. But no child can learn better if he or she does not participate actively in the learning process. The children said that group works can t be done because of lack of space, because of piles of benches and tables. But according to them, in their outdoor class almost all of them try to respond. Arman says, We work in group in the outdoor class. While Samia was separating the crops of clayey soil from all the crops I was writing their names in the blackboard. Others were saying if I was doing any wrong, or even checking the spelling mistakes. Everybody is participating which never happened in the classroom. From Figure 56 it is evident that 80% of the children participate actively in the learning process in their outdoor classroom Outdoor Class: An all-time necessity for science learning The children want to continue their classes in their outdoor class. Not only class IV students but children from the other classes are also eager about doing their classes in outdoor. The researcher has come to know about this interest from the children of the other classes and the teachers. During the construction of the outdoor class, the children from different classes participated eagerly; as such a sense of belongingness to this space has grown up in them. From this feeling they want to do classes there. One of the teachers said in the voice of a child reading in class V, Madam, we have worked there. That outdoor class belongs to us also; we want to continue our classes there because we enjoy doing classes in the outdoor class Outdoor Class: A place for play, chat and to be on one s own One of the qualities of a better space is the flexibility to change i.e. multiple use of space. (Perkins and Cocking 1957). The children were asked if they use this space for any other purpose. They said, they sit here when there is no class and chat. Some students just pass leisure time sitting there and contemplating. The space is very attractive to the girls. As the school field is always used by the boys, they seldom get the chance to play in the field. So they use this space for various structure and nonstructured spontaneous play activities (Figure 65). Some of the games are named: O dear friend ludu singing with the last word lemon Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

118 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 101 lemon etc. Figure 64: Co-curricular activities: A child dancing Figure 65: Children playing in the Outdoor Class Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

119 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Outdoor Class: A necessity for every school The children say, We enjoy learning in outdoor class. All the children should have this opportunity, so every school should have an outdoor class. According to the teachers, as they have the positive results of what the researcher has done in their school, so every school should have this chance to taste the fruit and as such the children can be benefitted In-depth Interview of the children In-depth discussion with children was undertaken to find out if there is anything missing in the FGD. The in-depth interview supported what we have already known from FGD but did not provide any new-insight. 5.3 Answer of Research Question Based on the above discussion, answer to the research question stated in Chapter 3, Section is given below. Is there any significant difference in learning between indoor and outdoor classrooms? There is significant difference in children s learning between indoor and outdoor classrooms. This difference is significant at P= Level (see Table 12 and Table 14) 5.4 Quality Consideration The best research strategy is one that maximizes generalizability, increases precision in controlling and measuring variables, and ensures existential realism for the participants. (Government 2003). This study was conducted on a Proto-type Government School in the context of Bangladesh. While considering the quality of the research, the following issues are strictly considered: Internal Validity The main concern of internal validity is whether the key concepts and operations of the study are truthful representations of the object of the study (Groat and Wang 2002). This research adopted several measures to ensure internal validity. The question of the achievement test developed by the researcher was examined by an expert from Institute of Education and Research, the University of Dhaka and also validated by taking a test Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

120 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 103 in another primary school; this method is widely used in developing of achievement test (M. N. Haq 1994). The structured questionnaire was also examined by the expert, most questions were closed ended and answers of the child were verified by their teachers. Most of the statistical analysis and descriptive statistics are generated by SPSS 17.0 which is also globally being employed by researchers from numerous fields including behavioural studies (O Connor 2002). The rest were done by Microsoft Office Excel 2007 which is also a globally used tool for statistical analysis. In order to make sure that the study might be beneficial for the mass people, the intervention was done in a Government Primary School. In this way, the sampling strategy also contributed in reinforcing the internal validity of the study External Validity The main concern of external validity is whether the result of the study is applicable to the larger world or other places, or at least whether there are defining contextual constraints within which the results are valid (Groat and Wang 2002). The experiment was conducted in a Government Proto-type Primary School. The Government Primary Schools in Bangladesh are built from a proto-type design; the minimum site area is.33 acre for all the schools. This similarity widened the external validity of this study. The structures of the schools are similar with equal number of teachers, following same curricular. However, the experiment was done in only one school may limit its external validity Reliability The main concern of reliability is the consistency of measurements or findings (Groat and Wang 2002). This means that the research method should yield the same result if the study was carried out under the same conditions at another location or time or by single researcher. To ensure reliability, a consistent method was adopted throughout the study for data collection and analysis. The system of measurement is fixed and the achievement test is numbered in score, so the results are quantitative and reliable. Moreover, the Achievement Test of this research is written in Bangla. So this instrument is adoptable in any other primary school in Bangladesh following the same curriculum. Finally, the research was conducted by one researcher, the studies were done, data were collected by the same person Objectivity The goal for research procedures is to keep the potential bias or interference of the researcher out of the process (Groat and Wang 2002). This is achieved in this study by Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

121 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 104 strict specification and administration of the relevant procedures. Detailed diagrams of the outdoor class and the test instruments are provided. All the data are quantifiable. Armed with these specifications another researcher could choose to replicate the study, providing yet another test of results. 5.4 Limitations of the Study The main limitation of the study is the non-random sampling of the children in control and treatment group because of their low attendance in the school. However, this was overcome by using the same children as both control and treatment group and the difference in their learning was measured. The second limitation is that the experiment was executed in only one school because of limitation of time and funding. This might cause a problem of generalizability of the research, but careful sampling of the school i.e. a Government Primary School which is a proto-type of all the primary schools of Bangladesh minimizes the impact of choosing only one school. Only physical outdoor environment in relationship with children s learning is researched here. There are other issues related with the learning of children like: Competence of the teacher, Teacher-student relationship, Policy Decisions, Schooling systems etc are not within the scope of the thesis because of time constraint and other issues. Chapter 5 Analysis: Looking for the Advantageous Environment

122 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 105 Chapter 6: Discussion and Conclusion The study started as a reaction to the poor quality environment (Nath and Chowdhury 2010), alarming dropping out rate (Chowdhury, et al. 2009) of children of primary school of Bangladesh. The main aim was to identify whether outdoor environment is supportive for children s learning. The objective was to investigate the prospects of outdoor as learning environment for primary school children of Bangladesh. Therefore, this study was initially directed towards architects, landscape architects, educators, researchers and also decision-makers at the policy level. However, this thesis is also a contribution to the scientific study of children s learning environment, particularly children of developing countries, from lower-middle income families from countries like Bangladesh. Most studies of children in Bangladesh are focused on children in poverty and issues such a child labour, child trafficking and street children. Children who are not in extreme poverty are missing from the picture. The quality learning environment for children is always absent from the research focus. This study will help future research focusing on learning environment of children in Bangladesh and similar developing context. The chapter is divided into three sections. The first section discusses the main findings. The second section discusses possible strategies that could be taken to implement the findings in practice. The third section proposes direction for future research relevant to this topic. 6.1 Main Findings A number of significant findings identify positive relationship between cognitive domain variables and outdoor environment both in conceptual and practical levels. Significant relationships were found between affective domain variables and outdoor class. Several built-environment variables were also found important. In addition to the statistical analysis, this study also included a qualitative study which explains the mechanisms behind the scenes. These findings suggest that outdoor environment alone will have optimum effect on primary children s learning in Bangladesh. The issue needs to be addressed by interdisciplinary efforts. However the role of the outdoor environment in supporting children s learning was clearly established as a major influence. The major findings of this study are discussed below- Chapter 6 Discussion and Conclusion

123 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Improved Academic Learning The study observed children s learning in terms of score they achieved in the achievement test designed for the purpose of the research. The relationship was positive in case of outdoor environment. The difference of the learning outdomes between the control group and the treatment group was significant at level. Earlier studies of children s learning environment found associations between children s learning and outdoor environment (Lieberman and Hoody 1998, Place-based education and student achievement 2011, Children and Nature Network 2010). Theory and research support the benefits of learning in an outdoor environment. Dewey (Dewey 1963) recognized that children s experiences may be shaped through the use of authentic environments by educators to nurture growth. Studies have shown that direct experience and exploration in this context influences learning (Harvey , Backman and Crompton 1985, National Wildlife Federation 2001). In this particular study, significant improvement in test score has been observed, 13% of the children who scored less than mean in the test of classroom, gained above mean after their outdoor learning (see Chapter 5, Section ). This is a very important finding which tells us further research should be conducted on this issue Outdoor Environment: A laboratory for learning Science Affective domain survey and qualitative measures of children s learning in outdoor environment establishes outdoor class as a laboratory for science learning. 87% of the children rated the outdoor environment very good for science learning and 100% of the children want to continue their science classes outdoor. The outdoor group is obviously the most authentic since the children were able to see the concepts firsthand in the environment (Dietz 2002). It has also been established that direct experiences in an authentic context are important in learning, which is why a lesson involving objects occurring in nature should take place in nature (Backman & Crompton, 1985; Gonzelez- Mena, l998). Teaching science and environmental education provides unique opportunities for children and teachers to investigate the natural world. The findings of this study support other studies (Haines and Kilpatrick 2007, Place-based education and student achievement 2006) showing that schoolgrounds can be important sites for fieldbased investigations and that these investigations can promote cognitive learning and other worthy outcomes. In this study, both the children and the teachers think that outdoor environment itself is the laboratory as all the elements of science text book are around them and are easily accessible. Previously we thought science learning is a classroom activity, not as something we are actually living within. Learning outside is so Chapter 6 Discussion and Conclusion

124 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 107 enlightening for us - said one of the children Increased knowledge and Understanding of Science Content, Better ability to apply science Outdoor environment as a context for learning appears to be especially effective in helping students gain knowledge of science content, observe and analyze what they see and learn. They show better ability in application of science. Statistical analysis showed that within cognitive domain variable, the gain of the students is significant in knowledge, analysis, application and synthesis levels. The gain is most significant in analysis and application levels. They demonstrated a deeper understanding of complex scientific knowledge than they did before. Historian Kevin Armitage notes that, although nature was viewed as an excellent vehicle for teaching science, nature study enthusiasts also saw the outdoors as an innovation for teaching a variety of concepts, in areas from critical investigation to spiritual, literary, and aesthetic knowledge (H. Broda 2007). This study also strengthens the previous study by Lieberman and Hoody (Lieberman, Hoody and Lieberman 2000). At Minnesota s Little Falls High School, for example, science teacher Wayne Pikal has observed tremendous improvement in his students ability to grasp science concepts regardless of their individual ability (Lieberman and Hoody 1998) and the same thing occurs at Oil City Elementary Magnet School, Oil City, Louisiana (Haines and Kilpatrick 2007) Improved Attitudes about Learning Science: Engagement, Enthusiasm and Interest Evidence from this study indicates that students in their outdoor classes become more excited about learning science than their traditional classroom. The children frequently respond with enthusiasm and an eagerness to share what they have learnt with the teacher and other peers. Even students previously considered apathetic about their science classes have participated in their outdoor class with greater enthusiasm and motivation. Children at play are likely to be more highly motivated to learn due to increased engagement and interaction with external activities. Thus, they are more able to dictate certain aspects of their own learning and experiences while at play, such as the place of the activities and the complexity of their experiences (Yunker, Orion and Lernao 2011). One of the teachers said that, The improvements to our schoolyard have made teaching and learning more interesting. In fact, attendance is better on days when classes are scheduled outside for both students and faculty! Previously 13% children never participated in any activity in the science classes, now the spontaneous Chapter 6 Discussion and Conclusion

125 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 108 participation is almost 100%. 80% of the children participate very frequently in almost every class. In the study of (Lieberman and Hoody 1998), a fully 98% of domain survey respondents demonstrated increased engagement, enthusiasm and interest which is again proved in the context of developing countries. In the study of Katey Nelson, there was no significant difference between the academic achievement of the indoor and outdoor groups, however many students specially mentioned the outdoor environment and hands on component of the lesson as engaging and effective (Nelson 2010). An educator and writer said, I frequently will take a class outside simply to conduct a discussion. Of course, we could have done the same thing indoors, but there is something very energizing about moving to an outdoor setting, even if it is only a few feet from the school building. We all crave some variety and the outdoors can easily provide that change with a minimum of hassle. (H. Broda 2007) Outdoor Class: Not a Replacement rather an Extension of the Classroom Although outdoor class is a powerful teaching and learning environment, one thing must be made clear that all or even most traditional instruction need not to be moved outdoors. There are many concepts and objectives that are best learned in an indoor setting with the equipment and facilities that are readily available there. Harvey (Harvey ) did a study on the cognitive domain of environmental education. He suggested that use of an outdoor classroom needs to be an extension of the indoor class and not a spontaneous discovery approach to the lessons. He believes there should be a combination of classroom preparation with outdoor experiences. In addition, Backman and Crompton (Backman and Crompton 1985) said that It is likely that environmental concepts may be learned effectively if students are oriented in the classroom with relevant concepts so that they have some sense of structure before going into the outdoor experiences. Outdoor environment should always be regarded as an aid to indoor learning which enhances it in stead of replacing it Vision for New School Landscape Outdoor Class not only enhances children s learning of science, it also adds something to the totality of school environment. Natural elements provide opportunities for exploration, experimentation, and appreciation of nature. They also add to the sensory richness and diversity of the school environment (Heusser, Adelson and Ross 1986). Through this study the importance of outdoor in the learning process is known which in turn can guide future design of primary school of Bangladesh. The vision for a new Chapter 6 Discussion and Conclusion

126 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 109 school landscape is a challenging one. It rejects the preconceptions of the designers what the school environment is for and what it should look like. It requires them to project into the future and to consider the nature of schooling in the next century. It obliges to question the need for school grounds and consider what function they should serve. It might be that the technology and information revolution will mean that the school's traditional role will be usurped and that the designers will have to reinvent the school all over again. For the moment, perhaps they can look again at a familiar environment which they have neglected and taken for granted and recognize the potential it has as an educational and community resource. The starting point needs to be children's experience and perceptions. The architects need to understand how to create learning environments that both cherish and challenge, that promote rather than inhibit learning and which can contribute in some measure to schooldays being the happiest days of people s life. 6.2 Steps to remove the Gap between Research and Practice The issue of gap between research and practice is not new. Prior planned strategies and research designs are required to implement the findings of research by affecting education policy. To accomplish this objective, studies should select controllable independent variables to maximize the impact on the real world (Kuo 2002). Otherwise implementation of findings is difficult. Outdoor class- the built-environment variable is controllable. LGED is responsible for all types of primary school construction all over Bangladesh and DPE under Ministry of Primary and Mass Education has the capability and authority to control the built environment included in this study for the benefit of future generation. A topic in daily media is children having insufficient facilities i.e. poor environment to quality education (Hasanuzzaman 2010, M. Z. Islam 2010, Ahmed 2010, Hossain 2011) which is not well addressed. The study included the design and construction of an outdoor class in a primary school funded by CASR, BUET which is in someway practical implication of the research. But more stakeholders are needed to be involved for the wide scale practical implication of such researches. Good political will of our policy makers are required after all of these. Chapter 6 Discussion and Conclusion

127 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Directions for Future Research This study involved a sample of 30 children. A similar research design with a larger sample would be helpful to investigate the relationships between children s learning and outdoor environment with more confidence. In addition, more independent variables could be included with a larger sample which may extend understanding of children s learning, related to outdoor classroom design characteristics. An important realization demonstrated by this study is that children s learning has many potentially influential dimensions. After finding a positive relationship between outdoor environment and learning, this study was interested in characteristic properties of outdoor environment, but as an M. Arch thesis this study kept it out of its scope. This model examined with 30 children from one school. But for a larger sample size, the same model may have different results. Research incorporating outdoor class with different design characteristics may be conducted in the future to investigate relationship between different outdoor class characteristics and learning of children. Besides, this study did not measure the achievement of children in affective domain rather worked on their opinions. Individual items in both the domain variables are needed to be investigated thoroughly. Large sample size with well designed domain survey questionnaire can work on the learning of the children related to outdoor environment in depth. The qualitative findings identified delicate built environment features which were case specific and hence absent in statistical models as variables. However, these features of environment were found to be influential for learning of children. Future research can incorporate these features as variables for quantitative analyses and investigate their relationship with learning. Interdisciplinary research is very important, particularly when quality learning and teaching is concerned. Architects, educators, policy makers need to work in the same platform for better result. This research faced difficulties to formulate achievement test as there is no standardized test available to assess the learning of class IV children of primary school. Another important future direction identified is the need for research in the context of developing country primary schools. Using results of western research literature is problematic and of doubtful value in improving the situation in developing countries. Chapter 6 Discussion and Conclusion

128 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh Conclusion Humans have always had a connection with the world around them. From the time we are born we are learning from our environment through exploration. Educators should continue to encourage those explorations of our environment so that this connection is not lost because it still holds a lot for us to learn. The results of this study seem to reinforce and support the idea that the outdoor environment can be a very important tool for teachers and learners. The results suggest that children do seem to be influenced by the environment in which they are learning. The outdoor environment does appear to influence learning when the concepts being presented can be found in nature. Ideally, the natural environment on school grounds will become a second classroom that is no less important than the one inside because so many first-hand, authentic experiences are available to children outside, Sharp said, "That which can be best taught inside the school rooms should there be taught, and that which can be best learned through experience dealing directly with native materials and life situations outside the school should there be learned" (Richardson and Simmons 1996) Chapter 6 Discussion and Conclusion

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142 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 125 Appendices Appendix 1: Class IV Students of KSBIGPS Class IV Students Roll No Name 1 Sharmin Akter 2 Julekha Begum 3 Samia Begum 4 Tofajjol Hossain 5 Yasmin Mollah 6 Shuktara Akter (1) 7 Swarna Akter 8 Madhobi Akter 9 Urmi Akter 10 Rupali Akter 11 Asma Akter 12 Parul Begum 13 Rupali Begum 14 Mahbuba Akter (Jerine) 15 Swapna Akter 16 Kamrunnahar 17 Shuktara Akter (2) 18 Sweety Akter 19 Jahangir Alam 20 Farida Akter 21 Sheuly Akter 22 Rubel Miah 23 Fatema Akter 24 Sonia Akter (1) 25 Taslima Akter 26 Ripon Miah 27 Jonaki Akter (1) 28 Bithee Akter 29 Jonaki Akter (Nipa) 30 Musa Miah 31 Sohrab Hossain 32 Shaon Miah 33 Rois Miah 34 Nayeem Miah 35 Marufa Akter 36 Sujon Miah 37 Shamima Akter 38 Tofajjol Hossain (Ujjol) 39 Noyon Moni Akter 40 Shaheenur Akter (1) 41 Farhad Miah 42 Swadhin Miah 43 Shilpi Akter 44 Rachana Akter 45 Shaheenur Akter (2) 46 Arman Miah 47 Sonia Akter (2) 48 Khalil Miah 49 Roudra Chandra Barman 50 Ditee Rani Barman 51 Beauty Rani Barman 52 Kawsar Miah Appendices

143 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 126 Appendix 2: Selected Slides from Presentation at KSBIGPS Slide 3 Slide 10 Slide 22 Slide 24 Slide 30 Slide 32 Appendices

144 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 127 Appendix 3: Chapters from Class IV Science Book Chapter 01 Chapter 02 Appendix 4: Lesson Plans prepared by Science Teacher of KSBIGPS Lesson Plan for Chapter 01 Lesson Plan for Chapter 02 Appendices

145 Outdoor as Learning Environment for Children at a Primary School of Bangladesh 128 Appendix 5: Test tool for Validation of Achievement Test Page 01 Page 02 Appendices