‘There is no better way to study science than to collect and analyse data in your own yard’: outdoor classrooms and primary school children in Bangladesh

ABSTRACT

The design and use of outdoor spaces for primary school teaching and learning has been given little consideration in the present context. The existing evidence base is mostly from western perspectives. In this study, an outdoor classroom was designed and built in a primary school in Bangladesh and used to teach children (n = 30) their science curriculum. Multiple methods were used to investigate the impact of the outdoor classroom on students’ learning and engagement, including achievement tests, a questionnaire and focus groups with children and teachers. Children’s science scores were significantly higher after they had been taught outdoors, compared to indoors. Physical qualities of their outdoor classroom (lighting, acoustics, seating), in addition to greater enjoyment and active participation in learning likely explained improved attainment. Qualitative insights from children and teachers supported the quantitative findings. These results provide empirical support for building outdoor classrooms as an effective environment for teaching and learning.

KEYWORDS:

• Outdoor classroom
• science
• mixed methods
• attainment
• engagement
• Bangladesh

Acknowledgement

We thank the children, teachers and the managing committee of the primary school for their participation and assistance in the intervention and collection of data. We also thank Mr Kabirul Islam, a local for his support in the construction of the school ground.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

ORCID

Matluba Khan http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5546-1870

Notes

1. Made with durable materials.

2. The exposure to trees and vegetation.

3. The ‘Classification of Plants’ chapter covered: the purpose and importance of classification, identifying groups of plants based on their characteristics, different parts of a plant, and comparing and contrasting plants to identify special characters that distinguish one plant group from other.

4. The soil chapter covered: the definition of soil, different types of soil, which plants grow in which type of soil, reasons of soil erosion and how to prevent it, different types of manure and how to make compost and green fertiliser from organic materials.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by The Committee for Advanced Studies and Research, Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology.