Connecting Students with Nature through a Monthly Outdoor Experience and Self-Regulatory Processes
Suzanne E. Hiller
Beth McCook – Frederick County Public Schools
(Photos courtesy of Donn Dobkin, Donn Dobkin Photography; Deeper Storytelling)

Across the Potomac from Goose Creek, Leesburg Virginia
Throughout the academic year, educators work with students outdoors, in varied geographical areas and in different climates. This practice corresponds with the benefits of outdoor instruction for student well-being and development. Recent research has found that students benefit from being outdoors in terms of interest and motivation for learning (Keleman-Finan et al., 2018); developing scientific observation skills (Zimmerman & Land, 2022); physical comfort levels (Khan et al., 2020), and improved memory retention and attention focusing (Mason et al., 2022), as some examples.

Fall Forest at Goose Creek, Leesburg, VA
It can be surprising to learners that there are differences in an outdoor space across the seasons. By encouraging students to visit the same location, they can utilize their observational skills to take records of abiotic and biotic factors that they encounter. Not only that, but students can draw inferences from these observations. A student might notice that in the spring by a river, there has been an accumulation of plastics by the bank that was not seen previously. A student might infer that the trash came from upstream as ice melted at the end of the winter, bringing down the debris.
The activity can be modified for various age groups/grade levels. Students can be encouraged to make diagrams, take photos and audio/video recordings, write descriptions, and take measurements-tasks suited to the academic goals and needs of the students.

Redbud along Goose Creek, Leesburg Virginia
Another benefit of this type of work is to support self-regulation, which is when a student sets a goal, makes a plan to reach the goal, and then reflects on how well they did to reach the original goal (Zimmerman, 2013). Students who self-regulate tend to be highly motivated and perform well in school. When assignments include practice in self-regulation, students are likely to be more successful. The ultimate goal is for children to have sustained engagement (Hidi & Renninger, 2005)-something that educators often strive for to connect individuals to the natural world.
The following activity, Monthly Outdoor Experiences, by Beth McCook, an environmental educator, is a way to engage secondary students with nature as part of an Environmental Science/Biology course by visiting a specific location several times of year and can be modified to account for grade level and specific course objectives. Within the assignment, students are encouraged to create systems for record keeping, noting their observations, and reflecting on the way a specific location changes over time. These are all strategies that reinforce self-regulatory processes (Dabbagh & Kitsantas, 2010: Hiller, 2017).
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