LORELYN C.

CAMARIG
Cabuan ES

CONTEXT AND RATIONALE

Most of the children have that feeling of inquisitiveness as regards to nature.

The outdoors offers opportunities for open-ended play and discovery that are not

available in indoors. Children’s outdoor learning is deep and complex. Teachers

were fully aware that outdoor learning activities such as field trips are strictly

prohibited in Department of Education for such reason that children are at risk

in any possible accident that may cause death.

Pupils learn and study only inside the classroom where teacher-learner

process takes place. Field trips and other outdoor activities have been banished

in the curriculum most specifically in grade 1 to 6 level to which pupils are being

lock-up inside the classroom doing the activities collaboratively with peers and

classmates. It found out that children get bored in listening teacher’s discussion

and uninterested in participating the lesson activities working it inside the

classroom that they struggle much which leads them to poor performance that

affects their behavioral stability in achieving high academic performance.

Changing the environment offers students a uniquely rich context to frame

student learning and provides them with movement, stimulation and grabs their

attention so they can focus better (Bjorge, Hannah, Rekstad and Pauly, 2017). “If

students are more focused, it is less likely for them to cause disruptive behaviors”

(Bjorge, et. al, p. 4). This positive change in behavior is beneficial for everyone

including students, teachers and parents.

LORELYN C. CAMARIG
Cabuan ES

Action Research Questions

1. What are the behavioral effect of outdoor learning with regards in achieving

high academic performance of the pupils in the class?

2. How bringing outdoor education into the curriculum will impact behaviors,

such as motivation and concentration, and the wellbeing of students in the

elementary classroom?

3. What are the strategies involving outdoor learning activities should be used

by the teacher in the class that is most effective with pupils behavioral

learning?

Proposed Innovation, Intervention, and Strategy

By integrating outdoor learning regularly in a classroom, children are given

the freedom to move and delve on a sensational level that may upgrade positive

learning abilities. Using the outdoor environment as a classroom setting can have

impact on children who are not successful in an indoor classroom setting. Many

factors affect pupil’s behavior inside and outside the classroom where teachers

must explore and innovate teaching strategies that catch the attention of the

learners. Outdoor learning activities provides positive behavioral intervention to

pupils where they can learn freely and discover new things in nature on their own

as including outdoor learning activities in classroom setting. Pearce (2015)

concluded field trips and daytime school outings are the best ways to reach all

children to let them gain a deeper understanding of an educational topic being

discussed at the institutional level at that time (p. 3). Fox (1995) wrote: “Through
LORELYN C. CAMARIG
Cabuan ES

research collected by observing young children’s cognitive development during

outdoor play, it was indicated that children learn best in an environment which

allows them to explore, discover, and play” (p. 2) and that “high participation was

observed during most outdoor activities as students asked more questions and

were more involved with looking for answers about the things we were discussing”

(p. 45).

Many teachers struggle to apply outdoor learning in their daily schedule.

Some find outdoor education does not outrank results for achieving test scores.

Teachers think they need additional resources out of their budget or means to

conduct an outdoor education program. Others think that weather and location

can also negatively affect developing an outdoor education program. Exposing

these kids to the outdoors and their surroundings are just the beginning of

developing an outdoor education program and the first step is to simply start

giving the same lessons normally given indoors taken outdoors. Behavioral effects

of outdoor learning activities normally show to those pupil struggling in learning

inside the classroom. They show different characteristics and attitudes when it

comes to engaging outdoor activities. When the pupils learning only takes place

inside the classroom and the teacher has many things to do in paper works and

called up to have a teachers meeting, the pupils were left in the room, there is a

tendency that pupils will roam around outside the classroom and make noises

that leads in fighting each other. Including outdoor learning activities in the

subject must be observe to test and develop pupil’s talent and ability in the

success of achieving high academic performance.

LORELYN C. CAMARIG
Cabuan ES

Methodology

The sample of this action research will consist all 28 pupils in grade six of

Cabuan Elementary School. The learners will choose to participate this study that

shows signs of difficulty with concentration and motivation in the classroom.

There will be a total of 15 girls and 13 boys chosen for this study because of their

behavior inside the classroom being lack of concentration and motivation. The

researcher will ask permission to the School Principal to conduct the survey and

observation. It will also obtain the parent permission to all of the pupils in grade

six to participate. The survey will be given to the parents at the beginning of the

first week of data collection that will last for the second quarter of this current

school year.

The surveys will consist of the same questions as the collective answers will

used to compare any changes that may have happened outside of school in the

duration of the study that may have affected the data collected in school. In order

to answer the research question, data will be collected in multiple ways. Prior to

starting the outdoor learning activities, all students’ parents completed a Time

Spent Outside of School Student Survey to provide background information on

student interest in and time spent outdoors. In addition to the Survey, all students

were given an Attitude Assessment before outdoor learning activities to determine

attitudinal changes. Anecdotal Observations will be used to write down any

additional notes on behaviors each week for the Araling Panlipunan class in grade

six lessons given. If there will be an unusual behavior, unforeseen changes in

schedule or abnormal circumstances, they will be documented here and described

LORELYN C. CAMARIG
Cabuan ES

by the researcher. Finally, Tally Sheets will be used to collect observational data

to inform the researchers the levels of engagement and participation of students

before, after and during the lessons.

This study will use indoor and outdoor classroom observations using Tally

Sheets along with pre- and post-Attitude Assessment Scales and Anecdotal

Observations with commentary on each student’s overall behavior. Parent Surveys

will also be used to learn about the students’ time spent outdoors outside of

school. This study will be experimental utilizing outdoor education curriculum

implement in four lesson of four different subject. Some lessons will be conducted

outdoors if weather permits and if the lesson will be conducted indoors it included

nature-based materials and topics.

Observational behavioral data will be collected before, during and after each

lesson to evaluate to what degree students were exhibiting on or off task behaviors.

We categorized each observational data point as follows:

1. Attentive to instruction/teacher (before).

2. Displayed on-task behaviors (during).

3. Participated in class discussion (after).

The way we measured the variability of observable behavior used words to

describe concentration, attentiveness, on-task behaviors, and participation:

1. A=All of the time 4. L = Little of the time

2. M=Most of the time 5. N=None

3. S=Some of the time

LORELYN C. CAMARIG
Cabuan ES

Work Plan:

This pre-behavioral observation survey will start on the first week of second

quarter in the month of September this current school year and post-behavioral

observation will be conducted at the end of the month of September. It will only

last for a month to conduct this kind of survey.

Cost Estimates:

Action Plan

The intention of this study is to attempt to use outdoor and nature-based

education as a positive influence on students’ behavior. The research design

focused on changes in motivation and concentration measured by observing the

students’ behavior before, during and after lessons were given as well as their own

evaluation of the experiences.

References:

Bjorge, Shannon, Hannah, Tracy, Rekstad, Peggy, & Pauly, Tara. (2017).

The Behavioral Effects of Learning Outdoors. Masters of Arts in

Education Action Research Papers.

Fox, J. (n.d.). Back-to-Basics: Play in Early Childhood. Retrieved March 15, 2015,

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID

=240

Makena, Cameron, Samantha McGue 2019.

Behavioral Effects of Outdoor Learning on Primary Students.

LORELYN C. CAMARIG
Cabuan ES

Pearce, Megan (2015). Fundamental Benefits of Outdoor Education in Primary

Grades. Capstone Projects and Theses. California State University, Monterey Bay,

California. Paper 496.