SL-CN: Science of Nature-based Learning Collaborative Research Network

University Of Minnesota-Twin Cities, Minneapolis MN

Investigators

Abstract

This Science of Learning Collaborative Research Network project is a partnership among the University of Minnesota, the Children and Nature Network, the North American Association of Environmental Education and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The network is composed of researchers from across the country, as well as practitioner leaders in the non-profit, professional society, public education and museum sectors, who have an interest in accelerating the pace of research to understand if, and how, nature exposure influences children's learning, cognitive development and academic performance. The network serves three functions 1) to develop a long-term interdisciplinary research agenda about nature and learning, 2) to conduct exploratory research to understand possible mechanisms explaining how time spent in nature influences children's classroom learning and behavior, and 3) to synthesize and disseminate existing knowledge about nature and learning as well as the network's research findings. Enhancing our understanding of the mechanisms of the nature-learning connection, and particularly the questions of what works, for whom, how, and under what circumstances, will inform the practice of educators, educational administrators, policy makers, planners and designers, among others. Our best chances of enhancing our understanding of this complex phenomenon is to accelerate research progress on the science of nature-based learning. The Science of Nature-based Learning Collaborative Research Network aims to provide the structure and resources to permit such acceleration. There is increasing evidence that time spent in nature produces a host of developmental benefits, including enhanced learning and academic achievement. What are the mechanisms that underlie the relationship between nature and learning? This is the focal scientific question grounding the funded network and exploratory research. This Science of Learning Collaborative Research Network project is a partnership among the University of Minnesota, the Children and Nature Network, the North American Association of Environmental Education and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The network is composed of researchers from across the country, as well as practitioner leaders in the non-profit, professional society, public education and museum sectors, who have an interest in accelerating the pace of research to understand if, and how, nature exposure influences children's learning, cognitive development and academic performance. The network serves three functions 1) to develop a long-term interdisciplinary agenda appropriate for sustained collaborative research, 2) to conduct collaborative, exploratory research to ground future rigorous studies of the impact of nature on learning and of the explanatory mechanisms of this effect, particularly for disadvantaged students, and 3) to synthesize and disseminate existing knowledge about nature and learning as well as the network's research findings. The exploratory research study embedded in within this project is intended to begin to elucidate the mechanisms that explain why nature exposure enhances learning. In addition, building on others' preliminary findings of differential impact of nature on learning based on economic disadvantage, this study examines socioeconomic status as an independent variable and attempts to elucidate possible explanations for this effect. Three mechanisms - stress dysregulation, attention fatigue, and behavioral disruption - are hypothesized as mediators of the relationship between nature exposure and learning. In each case, there is a rationale for why economically disadvantaged students might experience the mediating effect to a greater degree than more advantaged students.