Chapter 5: Discussion and Conclusion
The results of the survey study show that the outdoor trip program and
elective classes enhance students’ academics and independence. The qualitative study supports this theory more than the quantitative study. The quantitative study was based upon a set of questions in which the student was to respond on a scale of 1-5 (one being “not at all” and five being “very much”). When answering a range question, the student is limited in making a distinction between what the pros and
cons are, forcing him or her to make a choice numerically, which may not be totally accurate. The advantage of collecting numerical data is that it also provides a number reference for answering the hypothesis. The quantitative data reveals an array of positive and negative correlations between the outdoor program and electives to the students’ academics and independence. It was important to collect both qualitative and quantitative data because the qualitative data helped explain the quantitative results.
During the 2007-2008 school year survey, the qualitative answers were very positive on the whole. The biggest difference between the quantitative results and the qualitative results were the answers to the question, “Do the elective classes help you with your organizational skills?” The quantitative study showed a very negative correlation between the two, but in the qualitative study there were a total of 13 positive answers with reason and four negative answers. The missing numbers represent students who were unsure how to answer the question.
In the second year the study was conducted, the 2008-2009 school year survey, the quantitative results revealed a negative change in the answers, suggesting
that the students felt that electives helped less in helping them with their organizational skills for their academics. The qualitative studies in the second year also showed a decline.
Looking at Figure 7 from the 2007-2008 school year survey, “Do elective classes help you with your academics?” it is interesting that the results came out perfectly balanced on the scale of 1-5. In the qualitative study responses, the students responded with 30 positive explanations about why electives help with academics and only two answers about why they do not. This is a significant difference in the two study types. If a researcher graphed the qualitative responses, there would be many more responses on the 3-5 end of the scale rather than half on the 1-3 and the other half on 3-5. The qualitative responses definitely support my hypothesis of outdoor trips and elective programs enhancing students’ academics and independence, while the quantitative research responses remain neutral to my hypothesis.
In the second year, 2008-2009 school year, the same question is shown in Figure 7.2, revealing the biggest change in results when comparing the results for two years. In the second year the quantitative results show that more than 70% of the class answered on the 3-5 end of the scale, suggesting they felt overall as a class that electives helped greatly with academics. This was up from about 45% the year before. In the qualitative results, this correlation was reinforced with positive explanations of why they believed academics were enhanced by elective classes.
Errors
The survey was delivered the same day, Thursday September 5, 2007, to all participants. One area in which there could have been an effect on the results was the
environment in which the surveys were administered. There were a total of three classes in both seventh and eighth grade, and they were each inside a different classroom. Distractions in the specific location of the classroom and or the students in the class could have had an effect on the quality of the responses.
Another area where the results could be skewed is through the wording of the questions on the survey because it can place a bias on the answers. The wording can also confuse the student as to what they are answering.
During year two, the students were given surveys during an academically demanding time period, and they could have been more tired when answering the surveys as compared to the previous year. They had taken tests in the morning before the surveys were administered, unlike the previous year when the students were given the surveys on a day when there were no tests being administered. The survey was given in February the second year and in September the first year. The students had not been on a trip in over three months when they took the survey in February, while the students had been on a trip in August when they took the survey in September. Due to this time difference between trips and survey administration, the students may have had trouble remembering how much the trips actually affect them inside a classroom, which could have skewed the results.
Future Research
Further research and continued studies are needed regarding experiential education programs, such as outdoor trips and electives, and how they affect the students’ academics and independence. There is a significant lack of prior research and evidence in this area of study. When conducting further research in the future, I
will examine a comparison between beginning students’ views on trips and electives at the middle school and their ending responses right before they graduate from the middle school. This will help explain the overall effects of the middle school experiential education program on a student who completes all grades at the school. I will research the ways in which the outdoor program and electives continue to enhance academics and independence over the three to four years of the students’ middle school career. New studies using surveys and interviews could group participants into different categories based on age and or grade level, as well as include alumni, teachers, and parents into the experiment. Adding other participants to the school the research will provide more depth and support in the studies’ reliability and validity.
If this hypothesis is correct consistently over time, it may help educators and schools see the importance of outdoor education, as well as the creative arts and physical education classes during the school day. This may help prevent cutting electives, physical education, and experiential education due to funding.
Although it has been speculated by researchers and parents alike that outdoor trips and electives are not as important as sitting in a classroom and completing “academics,” educators cannot be sure until further investigation and experimental research is conducted and evidence is collected that confirms or rejects this hypothesis. This study on the effects of outdoor education programs and electives on students’ academics and independence was generally positive when combining the qualitative and quantitative studies in this research project. Further research needs to be conducted before a more definite answer can be found showing that students not only benefit from completing outdoor program and electives, but that they also benefit in their academic skills, learning and personal independence.
Conclusion
Brain Research in Relation to Survey Results and Summary Much of the brain research supports the results of this research study. Neurologist Dr. Judy Willis’ research supports students’ answers to elective questions, especially how electives positively enhance students’ academics. She explains that students need to have joy and fun in their school day to feel safe and motivated inside the classroom (Willis, 2006). Many of the students in the qualitative answers category explained that electives gave them something to look forward to, a break in their day, and time to relax and have some fun, which motivated them to do better and focus in their morning academic classes.
Dr. John Ratey explains in his book Spark that exercise plays a key role in enhancing academics because it allows students to reduce anxiety and stress by breaking down the negative chemicals stress produces inside the brain. When a student is relaxed and stress is reduced, their brains are healthier and more open to learning and focusing inside the classroom. (Ratey, 2008) The students’ qualitative explanations to the questions about the trips and electives reinforce his research. Students explained that the trips allowed them to let their energy out, let off some steam, give them a break from the classroom, and have time to exercise and feel good. They felt that when they returned to the classroom they were better able to focus and learn. The electives did the same for them, just in a smaller dose each day.
Dr. Roland Rotz, specialist on Attention Deficit Disorder and learning, explains that experiential activities in which the students can move around and interact allow the brain to become stimulated. This helps the students to focus and understand what they are learning better. The elective program allows students (those who have ADD and those who do not) to exercise their brains by doing creative arts and physical exercise. He explains that students with ADD need to “fidget to focus.” In activities found in experiential education programs, the ADD student will be able to learn at their highest potential because these activities are designed for movement and stimulation, which are physical and creative. (Rotz, 2005)
Dr. Daniel Amen further supports the theory that experiential education outdoor trips and elective programs enhance academics. He explains that exercising the brain mentally and physically each day helps keep the brain healthy, creating a stronger learning environment and social environment inside the classroom. Exercise helps with self-esteem, confidence, mood stability and happiness. It produces natural neuro-chemicals that keep the brain happy and balanced. By having art and sports electives available, students are exercising thei