Using online narratives to explore participant experiences in a residential environmental education program

Abstract

Field-based, residential environmental education programs are immersive, science-rich learning experiences that aim to achieve educational, personal growth, and behavioral outcomes. Evaluations of such programs typically use pre- and post-surveys or interviews and, in some cases, participant observation. Understanding how participants respond to, and make meaning of, their experiences in the moment is an understudied facet that could improve program outcomes; thus, this study explored participant narratives of their experience through online journaling, or ‘blogging'. We piloted the blogging activity with students during their participation in a four-to-five-day program and conducted follow-up retrospective evaluation upon students' return to the classroom. Our findings demonstrate that connection to place, personal growth, and identity were critical aspects of the participant experience; these aspects may be conditioned by participants' previous nature experiences, as well as access to nature. We reflect on the utility of blogging in assessing intermediary and ultimate programmatic outcomes.

Keywords:

• environmental education
• blogging
• national park
• field science
• evaluation
• nature

Acknowledgements

We appreciate the support provided by the staff, administrators, and board members at NatureBridge. In particular, the field science educators at NatureBridge's Golden Gate campus were critical to this study. We also appreciate the students, parents, and educators at the participating schools. Thanks to Noelle Wyman Roth and Tessaly Jen for assistance with data coding and manuscript preparation.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes

1. By “nature,” we refer to a range of physical spaces, including urban green spaces, parks, and wilderness areas, among others.

2. This study was one of three pilots that we conducted to test the feasibility of methods for measuring intermediary outcomes of residential EE programs. This was an attempt to understand whether blogging could be used to measure such outcomes; therefore, our methods were not entirely consistent between the two schools (e.g., blog prompts were fluid as we attempted to find those that were most effective).

3. The school is located in an area with an above-average annual household income compared with the surrounding county and state (www.census.gov/did/www/saipe/data/statecounty/data/2010.html).

4. This study was conducted under the IRB of Stanford University. Parents/guardians completed consent forms for participants; children gave verbal assent to participate.

5. School 1 was on campus for one day less than School 2, allowing fewer opportunities for end-of-day blogging. Additionally, School 1 had three hiking groups, while School 2 had two. Due to time restrictions, we could only accommodate two hiking groups per day for blogging. This accounts for the discrepancy in the number of on-campus blog posts, in addition to the fact that School 2's chaperones brought laptops with them and allowed the students to blog in the dorm at night, if desired.

6. The initial coding went beyond these three themes to also include environmental behavior and social interactions; however, because the majority of participants' words were coded to the three main themes of this paper, we discuss those here.

7. Names are pseudonyms.

Additional information

Funding

We are grateful to the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation for financial support of this study.