När biologiundervisningen flyttar ut. En litteraturstudie om utomhusundervisning kopplat till elevers intresse och lärande

Abstract

Outdoor education in the subject of biology has been shown to provide numerous positive effects; however, such teaching practices are still relatively uncommon. Moreover, children and adolescents spend less time outdoors today, which results in fewer experiences of nature. The purpose of this literature review is to examine students’ interest in outdoor education and to explore how experiences in nature influence their interest in biology as a subject. The study also aims to highlight other potential effects that outdoor education may have on students. The research questions addressed are: How interested are students in outdoor education, and how do experiences in nature influence their interest in biology? What additional effects can outdoor education have on students? The method involved systematic searches in the databases Educational Collection and Scopus, complemented by chain searches. The results indicate that students generally have a strong interest in outdoor education. Furthermore, experiences in nature were found to have a positive impact on students’ interest in biology, although the degree of influence may vary depending on the specific topic. The results also reveal that outdoor education yields several additional effects, which can be categorized as learning effects, health effects, as well as personal and social effects. The study indicates that outdoor education enhances learning by engaging students’ interest and enhancing their motivation for biology. Outdoor education enables students to observe and interact with biological phenomena in their natural context. Through experiential learning, theoretical knowledge is integrated with practical understanding, thereby fostering a more meaningful and profound learning experience.