Grundtanken med detta arbete är att se om utomhuspedagogik möjligtvis främjar lärandet och om det går att finna stöd inom neurologisk forskning för att ta reda på om lärandet stimuleras vid användandet av utomhusundervisning. Undersökningar har genomförts för att se om lärare och elevers syn på utomhusundervisning sammanfaller. Arbetet bygger på litteraturstudier, intervjuer, en observationsstudie, samt enkätundersökningar för att besvara forskningsfrågorna. I denna studie har det framkommit att utomhusundervisning främjar lärandet, främst beroende på de multipla sinnesintryck som utomhusvistelsen skapar. Denna iakttagelse stöds även av neurologisk och pedagogisk forskning. Det har även framkommit att lärare och elever tycker att utomhusundervisning är ett viktigt och positivt inslag i undervisningen.

National reforms, such as the Next Generation Science Standards (NGSS), Common Core State Standards Mathematical Practices (CCSMP), and Partnership for 21st Century Learning (P-21) challenge educators to provide students with dynamic learning experiences that address the needs of learners in today's society. These new standards represent a paradigm shift away from the meticulous content memorization of many state standards, toward more dynamic measures addressing the whole learner. To truly develop the leaders, innovators and thinkers of tomorrow, educators are beginning to look beyond the traditional schoolhouse walls to intertwine intentionally designed non-formal learning experiences within formal education. These non-formal experiences serve to connect seemingly disparate skills and knowledge through real-life, hands-on, minds-on learning. Embracing partnerships with individuals and organizations beyond the classroom fosters an environment seamlessly connecting life, work, and school. Although the importance of student engagement in 21st century skills is at the forefront of current educational reforms, little has been done to assess this engagement. While standards such as Common Core State Standards and NGSS have measures in place for domain-specific 21st century skills, aside from PISA's cross-curricular problem solving test, there are few resources to measure non-domain specific engagement in these skills. Without a viable measure, detractors can argue that the term 21st century skills is meaningless and it distracts students from learning core content. Bridging the divide between skills and content is essential to build support for skills that reach far beyond isolated subject-matter knowledge. Engaging students in these skills through non-formal learning, and measuring the extent of student engagement in these skills will drive the development of future opportunities for students to hone them in creative ways. The purpose of this study was to measure student engagement in 21st century skills while they participate in a non-formal learning experience. Once a viable measurement was developed, it was utilized to measure student percent of engagement in each specific 21st century Learning and Innovation skill (creativity and innovation, critical thinking, problem solving), Life and Career skill (flexibility and adaptability, initiative, self-direction and productivity, leadership, responsibility and accountability), and Socio-Cultural skill (communication and collaboration) while students participated in the intentionally designed non-formal learning experience of orienteering. The study also described what characterizes a viable non-formal learning experience facilitating student engagement in 21st century skills. Analysis of data revealed the non-formal learning experience of orienteering engages students in 21st century Learning and Innovation Skills, Life and Career Skills and Socio-Cultural Skills. Specifically, communication and collaboration, critical thinking skills and initiative, self-direction and productivity comprise the largest student engagement. Engagement in leadership, responsibility and accountability, problem solving, and flexibility and adaptability are also evident. This particular non-formal learning experience facilitates very little student engagement of creativity and innovation. While not generalizable to a larger population, this study confirms that students immersed in a non-formal learning activity will become engaged in essential 21st century skills for school, life and work, therefore, this type of learning is a valuable part of instructional time within the formal instructional day and beyond. / Ph. D.

Syftet med studien var att ta reda på hur gymnasieungdomar upplever utomhuspedagogiska moment i undervisningen. . Det är en kvalitativ undersökning gjord vid Bernadottegymnasiet i Stockholm. Studien baseras på deltagande observationer under drygt två fältdygn och på semi-strukturerade intervjufrågor med tolv elever, i tre fokusgrupper. Resultatet visar att elever upplever utomhuspedagogiska undervisningsmoment positivt. Eleverna anser att dessa moment utgör ett viktigt komplement till traditionell undervisning, och att utomhuspedagogik ökar både motivation och förståelse av begrepp, genom den autenticitet de erbjuder. Den positiva upplevelsen förstärks om lärsituationen upplevs som relevant och autentiskt. / The aim of this study was to investigate upper secondary school pupils' attitudes to outdoor learning. It is a qualitative study done at the Bernadotte upper secondary school in Stockholm. The study is based on participant observations during two days and on semi-structured interview questions with 12 pupils in three focus groups. The results show that pupils in upper secondary school experience outdoor learning as positive. The pupils argue that those exercises constitute an important complement to traditional education and that outdoor education increases both motivation and understanding due to the authenticity it offers. This positive impression is strengthened if the educational situation is perceived as relevant and authentic.

The aim of the study is to gain insight into Swedish preschool pedagogues’ conceptualization who work with a special outdoor learning concept, of including children with special needs within their groups. Sweden is a country which is famous for its “education for all” policy, however there is a little to know about the presence of children with special needs in the preschool setting. Children with special needs often risk being isolated as a result of limitations in the number of activities available for them in school. Although various studies examined both the effect of time spent outdoors, both inclusion’s positive effect on children with special needs. Interviews were conducted with four preschool pedagogues who work in the i Ur och Skur preschool, the outdoor education approach popular in Scandinavia. Sociocultural theory was applied as a conceptual framework for analysis of the interview transcripts. The pedagogues demonstrated to support inclusion of children with special needs in preschool activities. The pedagogues showed more willingness to include children with cognitive impairment or neurodevelopmental disorders, than with physical disabilities. Among their concerns, issues of safety, weather and the outdoor activities potential for highlighting differences in skills and abilities (mostly physical) were mentioned. In order to adapt the settings and practices to be more inclusive for children with special needs, pedagogues proposed including extra personnel to provide assistance.

The goal of this research was to create an educational, outdoor Augmented Reality tour for preschool children using Minnesmark editor and mobile application. It started with an ethnographic pre-study which aimed understand the children’s abilities, characteristics and interests. It was followed by a bodystorming session which allowed the children to contribute to the design process together with the designer. Based on all the findings, a context scenario was created which showed the concept of a practicable tour. All the functional and data requirements were specified before creating the tour. The design was intended to be user-centred and to have positive effect on the children’s learning of sustainability and biodiversity. The tour was refined and created as a final product. 10 children participated in the tour which was executed in a forest behind the preschool and the preschool garden. The tour was evaluated which identified the design problems and their possible solutions.

Titel: Oändliga möjligheter i naturen - En intervjustudie om förskollärares uppfattning om lek och lärandet i naturen Syftet med studien är att bidra med kunskap om förskollärarens syn på utomhuspedagogiken i naturen för att främja barns lek och lärande i förskolan. För att ge svar på syftet intervjuades fyra förskollärare om deras uppfattning av utomhuspedagogiken i naturen.Resultatet visar att utomhuspedagogiken är viktig för barns lek och lärande och att det finns oändligt med möjligheter i naturen och att läroplanens mål går lätt att göra utomhus. Det är bara förskollärarna själva som sätter gränserna. Förskollärarna tycker dock att det är viktigt att planera upp en aktivitet, så att det inte bara blir fri lek. De upplever också att de inte fått mycket undervisning om ämnet, vilket kan göra att de inte vet hur de ska ha utomhuspedagogik med barnen. Leken är grunden i förskolans verksamhet. Alla barn leker och genom leken så lär barnen sig och genom leken får barnen också ett lustfyllt lärande. Barnen lär sig lättare om de har roligt under leken. För att främja barnens lek och lärande utgår förskollärarna ifrån barnens intresse, för att komma åt det lustfyllda lärandet och ett lärande kan bli möjligt. / Title: Endless possibilities in nature - An interview study of preschool teachers' perceptions of play and learning in nature The purpose of the study is to contribute with knowledge about the preschool teacher's view of outdoor pedagogy in nature to promote children's play and learning in preschool. To provide an answer to the purpose, four preschool teachers were interviewed about their perception of outdoor pedagogy in nature. The results show that outdoor pedagogy is important for children's play and learning and that there are endless opportunities in nature and that the curriculum's goals are easy to do outdoors. Only the preschool teachers themselves set the boundaries. However, preschool teachers think that it is important to plan an activity, so that it does not just be free play. They also experience that they have not received much teaching on the subject, which may mean that they do not know how to have outdoor pedagogy with the children. Play is the basis of preschool activities. All children play and through play the children learn and through play the children also get a fun-filled learning. Children learn more easily if they have fun during play. To promote the children's play and learning, the preschool teachers start from the children's interest, to access the fun-filled learning and a learning can be possible.

Tidigare forskning kring utomhuspedagogik studerar i stor utsträckning fördelar och nackdelar. I denna studie lyfts frågor om hur förskollärare nyttjar tiden och miljön i utomhusvistelsen. Studien jämför hur mycket tid det läggs på planerade pedagogiska aktiviteter utomhus jämfört med hur mycket total utomhusvistelse förskolorna har. Vår upplevelse är att nästan all tid man vistas utomhus är förlagd till fri lek och orsakerna till detta är något vi undersöker i denna studie. Fyra förskolor medverkar i studien och enskilda intervjuer har gjorts med åtta utbildade förskollärare. Studien visar att miljön har betydelse för hur mycket lärandetid det är som läggs utomhus. Brist på tid och resurser (personal, pengar och utbildning) ses som en begränsning till hur mycket förskolorna arbetar med utomhuspedagogik. Kunskaper om utomhuspedagogik och förskollärares inställning och förhållningssätt till denna pedagogik tycks enligt de intervjuade påverka dem i hur mycket pedagogiskt planerade aktiviteter de förlägger utomhus. Studiens resultat visar att vistelsen utomhus mestadels är förlagd till fri lek. Det förvånade oss att en förskola med stor gård och närhet till både skog och hav/sjö sällan tar tillvara på miljön för att skapa ett lärande. Anledningen är att det är många barn per förskollärare. Samtidigt visar den procentuella jämförelsen på att denna förskola har ungefär lika mycket pedagogiskt planerade aktiviteter kontra total utomhusvistelse som några av de andra förskolorna i studien.  Förskollärarna i vår studie påpekar att de vill ha ett samspel mellan planerade aktiviteter och fri lek (där spontant lärande ingår) för att skapa en variation som ska hjälpa barnen att komma vidare i sin utveckling. Här ser vi att de har mycket att arbeta med för att skapa detta samspel då den största delen av tiden utomhus spenderas till fri lek. / Earlier studies show in big expansion of the positive and negative outcomes of outdoor education. The focus in this study is on how preschool teachers use the environment to create a learning situation and how they use the time spent outdoors. This study compares the time spent on planned educational activities outdoors versus total time spent outdoors. Our experience is that almost all time spent outdoors are located in free play and the reasons for this is something we examine in this study. Four preschools participate in this study where interviews were conducted with eight preschool teachers. The study showed that the environment had an impact on how much learning time is spent outdoors. Lack of time and resources (staff, money and education) is seen as a limitation on how much time the preschools are working with outdoor education. Knowledge about outdoor education and the attitude and approach of the preschool teachers to this type of pedagogy seem to have an impact on how much time they are using on planned educational activities placed outdoors. The results of the study show that almost all time spent outdoor was used for free play. We were surprised about that one of the preschools didn’t take advantages of outdoor environment even though they have a big yard and are placed near a forest, a lake and an ocean. The reason is that there are many children per preschool teachers. This preschool has about as much planned educational activities versus total time spent on free play outdoor as some of the other preschools in the study, in percentage terms. To create a variation that will help children to make progress in their development, the preschool teachers in our study point out that they want to have an interaction between planned activities and free play (where spontaneous learning are included). The teachers have much to work with to create this interaction since the study showed that they spent most of the time on free play outdoors.

The goal of this study was to determine the influence of sense of coherence on the experiences of participants in a developmental corporate adventure training programme. The corporate adventure training programme was described from an experiential learning paradigm, while sense of coherence was described from a salutogenic paradigm. The study was undertaken with 37 members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) from different seniority and position in the SAPS. In order to determine the participants' sense of coherence and their experiences in the corporate adventure training programme, one quantitative measuring instrument and one qualitative measuring instrument were used. The quantitative instrument used to determine the participants' sense of coherence, was the orientation to life questionnaire (OLQ). Five participants with the highest scores and five participants with the lowest scores on the orientation to life questionnaire were identified. These 10 participants were subjected to an interview, determining their experiences during the corporate adventure training programme. The results of this study have shown that people with a higher score on the orientation to life questionnaire approached and experienced the programme differently to those with a lower score on the orientation to life questionnaire. Various hypotheses were formulated from the results of the study. These hypotheses were based on the participants' feedback, and included the fact that all participants experienced the corporate adventure training programme as an opportunity to relax away from work, therefore enhancing their psychological well-being. Relationships between the participants' experiences in the corporate adventure training programme and their scores achieved on the orientation to life questionnaire, was found. The environment influenced the experiences of the participants to a large extend, a finding that differed from findings suggested by previous research. / Indust & Org Psychology / MCOM (IND AND ORG PSY)

The goal of this study was to determine the influence of sense of coherence on the experiences of participants in a developmental corporate adventure training programme. The corporate adventure training programme was described from an experiential learning paradigm, while sense of coherence was described from a salutogenic paradigm. The study was undertaken with 37 members of the South African Police Service (SAPS) from different seniority and position in the SAPS. In order to determine the participants' sense of coherence and their experiences in the corporate adventure training programme, one quantitative measuring instrument and one qualitative measuring instrument were used. The quantitative instrument used to determine the participants' sense of coherence, was the orientation to life questionnaire (OLQ). Five participants with the highest scores and five participants with the lowest scores on the orientation to life questionnaire were identified. These 10 participants were subjected to an interview, determining their experiences during the corporate adventure training programme. The results of this study have shown that people with a higher score on the orientation to life questionnaire approached and experienced the programme differently to those with a lower score on the orientation to life questionnaire. Various hypotheses were formulated from the results of the study. These hypotheses were based on the participants' feedback, and included the fact that all participants experienced the corporate adventure training programme as an opportunity to relax away from work, therefore enhancing their psychological well-being. Relationships between the participants' experiences in the corporate adventure training programme and their scores achieved on the orientation to life questionnaire, was found. The environment influenced the experiences of the participants to a large extend, a finding that differed from findings suggested by previous research. / Indust and Org Psychology / MCOM (IND AND ORG PSY)