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Classrooms With Nature Views
Abstract
Viewing peaceful natural environments has been shown to restore cognitive abilities and reduce physiological arousal. As such, visual access to the natural environment is becoming more commonplace in built environments. One exception to that trend is in educational settings where windowless classrooms are used to reduce outside distractions. The current study examines differences across multiple sections of a college writing course in two types of identically designed classrooms—those with a view of a natural setting and those with a view of a concrete retaining wall. Results showed that students in the natural view classrooms were generally more positive when rating the course. Students in the natural view condition also had higher end of semester grades, but no differences in attendance were observed between conditions. Such findings suggest that classrooms with natural views offer advantages and also suggest that the inclusion of natural elements in courses could facilitate positive perceptions and better grades.
... A second substantial body of literature offers a person-centric perspective, which examines the predominantly positive effects on occupants of inhabiting green buildings. The primary documented benefits include increasing occupant awareness and concerns about indoor air quality, lighting quality, thermal comfort, acoustic quality, and degree of privacy (Benfield, Rainbolt, Bell, & Donovan, 2015;Hua, Göçer, & Göçer, 2014;Kelz, Evans, & Röderer, 2015;Lennon, Douglas, & Scott, 2017;Paul & Taylor, 2008;Thatcher & Milner, 2016). Additionally, secondary effects are documented that show how occupant awareness and concern subsequently impact job satisfaction, productivity, and employee absenteeism; these secondary effects are of substantial interest to employers (Guerin, Kim, Brigham, Choi, & Scott, 2011;Issa, Rankin, Attalla, & Christian, 2011;MacNaughton et al., 2017;McCunn & Gifford, 2012;Thatcher & Milner, 2016). ...
... With the demand for creating more sustainable built environments, there is a critical need for better understanding how humans interact with such spaces. Extensive research has documented the benefits of living in sustainable, or green buildings, including improved indoor air quality, lighting quality, thermal comfort, and acoustic qualities (Benfield et al., 2015;Hua et al., 2014;Kelz et al., 2015;Lennon et al., 2017;Paul & Taylor, 2008;Thatcher & Milner, 2016). ...
... In particular, the green building industry seeks to minimize the environmental impacts of the construction process and the ongoing maintenance of the built environment. Green buildings have been praised for their energy and resource efficiency, design innovation, and benefits to building occupants (Benfield et al., 2015;Hua et al., 2014;Kelz et al., 2015;Lennon et al., 2017;Paul & Taylor, 2008;Thatcher & Milner, 2016). ...
A changing climate and global resource degradation have prompted technological innovations that reduce greenhouse gas emissions and are responsive to local ecological conditions. Green buildings that minimize the environmental impacts of the construction process and ongoing maintenance of the built environment, have been praised for their resource efficiency, design innovation, and benefits to building occupants. Increasingly, a growing body of literature has begun to examine the mutually beneficial relationships between sustainable architecture and building occupants. In addition to the well-documented benefits of inhabiting green buildings, the environmentally responsible behaviors (ERBs) of building occupants are worthy of examination. As a counterbalance to the dominant narrative in the green building industry that frames the building occupant as a potential energy liability, this research adopts a hopeful perspective of human behavior. Human behavior, though a significant contributor to global climate change, can also be part of the solution. This dissertation asserts that the situational context of green buildings may be designed to support the ERBs of building occupants. Much of the current research examining occupant ERBs in green buildings has focused exclusively on educational buildings, or buildings designed with a pedagogical intent (e.g., schools, museums, libraries). Less is known about how occupants learn about issues of sustainability and adopt environmental behaviors in buildings that are not designed to teach. This dissertation focuses on the environmental behaviors emerging from the informal relationship between undergraduate students and their on-campus residence halls, asking how the built environment supports or undermines the ERBs of occupants in green and non-green buildings over time. This dissertation develops and tests a theoretical model for understanding how buildings may support occupant ERBs. The Positive Sustainable Built Environments (PSBE) model is composed of three principle domains: Prime, Permit, and Invite. Collectively, the three components of the PSBE model suggest that a building 1) may prepare occupants to participate in ERBs through the restoration of their mental resources and/or by communicating a sustainable ethos, 2) may allow building occupants to control aspects of the interior environment related to their own energy and resource consumption, and 3) may encourage occupants to engage in ERBs through building features that implement a variety of behavioral intervention strategies. Occupant ERBs were measured over the course of one academic year through an online survey conducted with the first-time residents of six undergraduate residence halls. While many studies have explored the effectiveness of environmental behavior change intervention strategies with undergraduate students, very little research has examined the pre-existing psychological dimensions and the situational context of green buildings that may influence students’ environmental behaviors. The results of a linear mixed-effects regression analysis revealed no significant relationship between occupying a green residence hall and students’ ERBs. However, a further analysis of specific building characteristics, analyzed according to the PSBE model, suggest strong support for two of the three domains. The Prime and Invite domains were found to positively support occupant ERBs, regardless of the greenness of the residence hall. Additionally, several personal characteristics (i.e., Biospheric values, Environmental Concern, Technology motive, and Egoistic values) were found to significantly impact students’ ERBs. Results are discussed in light of implications for designers seeking to harness the existing environmental inclinations of college students and to adapt the physical and informational environments of residence halls to better support environmentally responsible behavior.
... Studies were subsequently organized according to outcomes. (Mohai et al. 2011;Benfield et al. 2015). ...
... To date, only four studies were identified that explicitly set out to explore the relationship between views and academic performance, (see Table 5 and Figure 1). Two of these (Matsuoka 2010;Benfield et al. 2015) were previously reviewed in (de Keijzer, Carmen and Gascon, Mireia and Nieuwenhuijsen, Mark J and Dadvand, Payam 2016). Taken as a whole, the results are suggestive but do not rule out many alternative explanatory variables. ...
... However, this study was of a weak observational design. Two other studies in Table 5 were of cross-sectional design (Matsuoka 2010;Benfield et al. 2015) and consequently, some of the same uncertainties that apply to cross-sectional exposure studies described above also apply here. Only the most recent study (Li and Sullivan 2016) is a randomized controlled experiment. ...
The adoption of green building certification schemes, such as Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) for Schools, establishes common building factors among certified schools. Many building factors influence student performance outcomes including cognitive skills, standardized test scores and rates of absenteeism. This review synthesizes current research from 28 new studies and 101 other studies that were previously included in 15 reviews of associations between LEED-specified building factors and these performance outcomes in schools. In appraising the relative quantity and quality of studies, along with the frequency of LEED credits found in certified schools, this review finds that building features common to 100% of LEED-certified schools also have the strongest research supporting associations with academic outcomes, and largely come under the purview of indoor air quality (e.g., minimum ventilation rate, filtration or air cleaning) and acoustic performance. Comparatively, building factors related to the school site and daylighting have fewer associated studies, but findings suggest these are good targets for future research as they may be important for influencing student performance. Achieving a transition to a lower carbon future requires that schools be built with their energy impacts in mind; and this review provides value to those involved in the planning and design of these green schools that facilitate improved student performance outcomes.
... Several studies aim to show how green areas provide a "remedial" effect against stress to improve young people's cognitive performance [65][66][67]. Even just the classroom view of green landscapes produces better results on tests of attention, due to students' recovery from stressful experiences [68,69], therefore improving learning, behavior, and academic performance [68][69][70][71]. ...
... Several studies aim to show how green areas provide a "remedial" effect against stress to improve young people's cognitive performance [65][66][67]. Even just the classroom view of green landscapes produces better results on tests of attention, due to students' recovery from stressful experiences [68,69], therefore improving learning, behavior, and academic performance [68][69][70][71]. ...
The promotion of Climate Literacy is a central concern of our time. To achieve this ability, one can draw on different content areas. One possible area is Nature-Based Solutions (NBS), such as Vertical Greening Systems (VGS), and their effectiveness in mitigating climate change. However, VGS is not yet an established topic in environmental education, even if the pro-environmental effectiveness of VGS has been proven from a scientific point of view and this topic is close to everyday life. To facilitate the transfer of knowledge from research to school, this paper presents an example of a possible procedure. This procedure starts with a narrative review of the scientific literature on VGS. Then, the main results of this review are related to the Sustainable Development Goals, Climate Literacy, and general educational goals to capture its educational relevance. Finally, a flow chart for a teaching sequence is developed, with the phase sequence derived from the performed narrative review. Thus, a parallelism between the structure of a scientific review and an action-oriented environmental education becomes visible. To what extent this parallelization may be generalized, and whether teaching based on it is effective, will have to be tested.
... Three quasi-experimental studies used classroom window views of nature (Benfield et al., 2015) or placed plants within the classroom (Han, 2009;Doxey, Waliczek, & Zajicek, 2009) and recorded differences in class exam scores between the experimental and control groups, with mixed findings. One strength of these studies was their careful control of extraneous factors through using either identical settings differing only in greenness or the same setting with plants added or removed; one important limitation was that three of the four employed weak interventions -for example, plants situated behind students (Han, 2009), or three or four small house plants placed at the front of a 80-seat seat lecture hall (Doxey et al., 2009). ...
... One strength of these studies was their careful control of extraneous factors through using either identical settings differing only in greenness or the same setting with plants added or removed; one important limitation was that three of the four employed weak interventions -for example, plants situated behind students (Han, 2009), or three or four small house plants placed at the front of a 80-seat seat lecture hall (Doxey et al., 2009). Two of the three weak interventions yielded no significant differences in academic performance; however, the study employing a window view of nature showed a significant difference in exam performance (Benfield et al., 2015). These quasi-experimental findings are consistent with a causal greenness-achievement relationship; however, because random assignment was not employed, pre-existing differences between treatment and control groups cannot be ruled out. ...
Converging evidence from hundreds of studies suggests that contact with nature enhances learning in elementary and high school students-could greening in and around schoolyards improve academic achievement in sixth grade students, many of whom are negotiating the transition from elementary to middle school? This study examines the greenness-academic achievement relationship in 450 public schools in Washington State using two different measures of greenness (tree canopy cover and total green cover as assessed via NDVI), at two different scales (250m and 1000m radial buffers around a school), with two different measures of school achievement (the percentage of students meeting or exceeding state standards in reading and math). Six of eight spatial error models showed statistically significant, positive relationships between school greenness and achievement in sixth-graders-tree canopy within 250m of a school predicted better performance in both reading and math, as did total greenness within 250m, and tree canopy within 1000m-even after controlling for 17 potential confounders, including student characteristics, school resources, size, and location. Further analyses suggest that the greenness-achievement ties are primarily driven by the tree cover within 250m of a school. If a community wanted to experiment with greening schools for academic achievement, these findings provide clues as to what might be best to plant and where, suggesting that planting trees within 250m might maximize any effect on achievement.
... With the demand for creating more sustainable built environments, there is a critical need for better understanding how humans interact with such spaces. Extensive research has documented the benefits of living in sustainable buildings, including improved indoor air quality, lighting quality, thermal comfort, and acoustic qualities (Benfield et al., 2015;Hua et al., 2014;Kelz et al., 2015;Lennon et al., 2017;Paul & Taylor, 2008;Thatcher & Milner, 2016). In addition to the advantages of occupying a green building, researchers in the field of environmental education are increasingly interested in the role of the built environment as a tool for teaching about ecological systems, contemporary environmental challenges, and technological and behavioral solutions. ...
... Mental clarity is associated with the ability to solve problems, make plans, and monitor one's behavior (De Young, 2010;Kaplan & Kaplan, 2009), all of which are skills compatible with adopting and committing to long-term patterns of ERB. Nature is a frequently cited aspect of environments that support mental clarity because natural elements tend to be effortlessly engaging and a wide range of exposure to nature can be restorative (Benfield et al., 2015;Kaplan & Kaplan, 1989;Taylor & Kuo, 2009). In the built environment, research has shown that even nature enjoyed briefly-such as the view out a window or of indoor plants-is beneficial for reviving a tired mind (Kaplan, 2001;Raanaas et al., 2011;Tennessen & Cimprich, 1995). ...
This study examines the environmentally responsible behaviors (ERBs) of undergraduates ( n = 575). ERBs were measured in an online survey and the influence of situational context on behavior was explored at two scales: 1) green versus non-green building and 2) building characteristics. The Positive Sustainable Built Environments model was used to analyze three building characteristics: Prime, Permit, and Invite. Prime refers to characteristics that prepare occupants to adopt ERBs via communicating a sustainable ethos or restoring attentional capacity (e.g., use of natural materials and views to nature). Permit refers to features that allow occupants to conserve resources (e.g., operable light switches). Invite pertains to features that explicitly encourage ERBs (e.g., signage prompting occupants to turn off lights). Regression results demonstrated that living in a green building had no significant impact on ERBs. However, the Prime and Invite building characteristics significantly predicted improved Energy, Water, and Materials conservation. Results yield implications for designers seeking to create sustainable buildings that promote ERBs.
... Copyright In addition, a number of studies have examined the effect of viewing natural environment on mental health and academic achievements. Benfield et al. (16) found that the natural view of classrooms affected students grades. The study of Li and Sullivan (17) was done to investigate the effect of window views to green landscapes on student's mental fatigue. ...
Background: Nature relatedness and indoor plants can affect human mental health and behavior. In addition, students may take advantage of the green plant at schools.
Objectives: This study investigated the effect of indoor plants on the happiness of female high school students in the classrooms.
Methods: 384 students participated in this quasi-experimental study carried out with a pretest-posttest design and a control group. The subjects of this study were selected from among all female high school students studying in the 2016 - 2017 academic year. To randomize the students, a random allocation rule was used and the subjects were divided into intervention and control groups, each including six classes (n = 192). A demographic questionnaire and the Oxford Happiness Inventory (OHI) scale were answered by each group as a pretest. Living pot-plants were placed in the experimental group classrooms for 12 weeks and then the OHI was completed by the two groups as a posttest. Paired t-test was used to analyze the data.
Results: The results demonstrated that there was no significant difference in the mean happiness score between the intervention and control groups before the intervention. However, the mean happiness score increased from 41.17 to 55.58 after the intervention. In the posttest, the happiness score was significantly higher in the intervention group than in the control group (P < 0.001).
Conclusions: The presence of indoor plants in the classroom could be helpful in enhancing the happiness of female high school students.
... , (Tennesen, 1995), (Abkar, Mustafa Kamal, Suhardi & Manohar, 2010) ، )Fisher, Godwin1 & Seltman , 2014), (Berto,2014), (Suckley, 2015), (Benfield, Rainbolt, Bell & Donovan, 2015), (Collado & Staats,2016), (Li & Sullivan, 2016), Ohly, White, Wheeler, Bethel, Ukoumunne, Nikolaou & Garside, 2016), (Azemati, Pourbagher & mohammadi, 2017) (Bringslimark, Hartig & Patil, 2010), ( Li & Sullivan, 2016) ...
... It is not the natural environment of a living being, and it is precisely the relationship with nature another concern in this area of research. Benfield, Rainbold, Bell and Donovan [13], studied the perceptions and behaviors of students in classrooms with landscape views. Similarly, van de Berg, Wesselius, Maas and Tanja-Dijkstra [14] conducted a controlled evaluation study on green walls as a restorative environment in the classroom. ...
Optimization of environmental performance is one of the standards to be achieved towards designing sustainable buildings. Many researchers are focusing on zero emission building; however, it is essential that the indoor environment favors the performance of the building purpose. Empirical research has demonstrated the influence of architectural space variables on student performance, but they have not focused on holistic studies that compare how space influences different academic performance, such as Mathematics and Arts. This manuscript explores, under self-reported data, the relationship between learning space and the mathematics and art performance in 583 primary school students in Galicia (Spain). For this, the Indoor Physical Environment Perception scale has been adapted and validated and conducted in 27 classrooms. The results of the Exploratory Factor Analysis have evidenced that the learning space is structured in three categories: Workspace comfort, natural environment and building comfort. Multiple linear regression analyses have supported previous research and bring new findings concerning that the indoor environment variables do not influence in the same way different activities of school architecture.
... Most research on the educational value of learning in nature appears in K-12 contexts (Barnes, Cross, & Gresalfi, 2011;Benfield, Rainbolt, Bell, & Donovan, 2013). Researchers have found positive relationships between exposure to natural settings and students' cognitive abilities, focus (Chawla, 2015;Li & Sullivan, 2016;Louv, 2008), engagement (Rios & Brewer, 2014), enthusiasm for learning (Blair, 2010), and academic performance (Berezowitz, Bontrager Yoder, & Schoeller, 2015;Chawla, 2015). ...
This consensual qualitative research study investigated the experiences of 10 counselors-in-training after exposure to nature-based interventions during a semester-long human development class. Interview data revealed four central domains: interpersonal impact, intrapersonal impact, whole-group impact, and feedback on nature-based activities. These findings highlight the benefits of eco-education for counselor development.
... In outdoor learning environments, the element of being in and around nature is in and of itself beneficial for individuals (Benfield, Rainbolt, Bell, & Donovan, 2015). These findings are especially interesting in conjunction with Louv's theory of Nature Deficit Disorder (Louv, 2005;Louv, 2008). ...
This study examined the impact of a natural learning environment on the social-emotional development of students with Autism and/or Sensory Processing Disorder. For this research, social-emotional development consisted of social behavior, communication, and participation. The elements of a traditional classroom are characterized by confinement, harsh lighting/acoustics, and other habitual triggers for sensory discomfort. A natural learning environment can provide students with natural stimuli, fresh air, natural acoustics, natural lighting, etc. Additionally, the natural learning environment fosters a connection with nature, which research shows is important for the self-discovery, self-advocacy, and self-efficacy of all humans. Considering the artificial nature of the traditional classroom, this study attempted to inquire into how natural settings can serve as the Least Restrictive Environment for students with sensory processing challenges. Previous research regarding natural learning environments has been predominantly carried out among neurotypical individuals.This study was conducted with a sample of seven students with sensory processing challenges in natural learning environments wherein they engaged in academic and social learning. Data was collected through surveys, observations, and field notes. Results identified that the natural learning environment was conducive to increased sensory regulation, a less restrictive learning environment, and a greater sense of self-advocacy and efficacy from a connection with and exposure to nature.
Do more natural settings improve students’ learning? We collected surveys immediately following 283 U.S.-based environmental education (EE) field trip programs for youth and used land cover data to examine the relationship between levels of naturalness, defined as the percentage of natural land cover of the EE field trip site, and student learning outcomes. We also examined whether differences in levels of naturalness between students’ day-to-day environment and the field trip setting were related to student learning outcomes. When controlling for grade and race, both levels of naturalness and novel levels of naturalness accounted for approximately 4% of the variance in student outcomes suggesting that other field trip characteristics are more influential.
This work-in-progress aims to present educational content and pedagogical tools so that the Fractal Mindset may be defined, developed, and taught at different levels of education. The educational model will draw from a theoretical understanding of fractal patterns. A fractal pattern is a mathematical concept which defines a pattern that is self-similar across multiple scales. These patterns describe the complexity we see in nature and beyond while underlying positive psychological and physiological wellbeing responses. The novelty of this research lies in the leveraging of fractal patterning to create educational content and tools that value three branches: connections with nature, dimensions of wellbeing, and wicked problems in design thinking. In pursuit of the research aim, the following question is posed: what considerations must be satisfied for the Fractal Mindset’s educational content and pedagogical tools to be effective in expanding student perspectives at each educational level – general public, middle school, and undergraduate?KeywordsFractalsWellbeingEducationPedagogyBiophiliaNature
Given that human being inhabits approximately 80% of the time within the built environment, it is necessary to understand how this affects them. Therefore, this article analyzes the state of the art on the interaction between the interior built environment and the human being, -their health and well-being- with a holistic view. Considering the perceived and not perceived aspects. And the psychological and biological responses of human beings. Through an integrative review developed at the WOS database, between 1998 and 2018 with the question: What are the parameters that have been studied of the interaction between human beings and the built environment, perceived and not perceived, related to health and well-being? and In what contexts have these issues been scientifically developed from a systemic perspective? With 11,997 titles filtered, 244 articles are analyzed. Among the main results, it is observed that the most studied context is the domestic one, followed by the work and educational context. Air quality is the most intervened parameter, followed by the physical-environmental parameters. And it is observed that matter is occasionally related to human parameters. This article proposes a vision focused on interdisciplinarity, which allows updating knowledge and contributing to evidence-based design methods.
Daylight is an essential component of the classroom environment, and its role in improving the education and productivity of students has been widely studied. This research focuses on daylight and studies the quality of lighting in a typical classroom in Saudi Arabia, where the classroom chosen as the research sample was identical to the standard model for designing schools in Saudi Arabia, to investigate the quality of natural lighting in this space. The amount and quality of the daylight in the sample classroom was studied by simulating the response of the classroom design to the daylight entering it, using the environmental variables of time, date, and direction. After reviewing the simulation results, the darkest cases were chosen to try to improve them by using light shelves. Two cases were chosen for this research: one with a western orientation and the other with a northern orientation. Four design alternatives were designed for the light shelves, and then their effects on the selected cases were simulated to determine the extent of their impact on the amount and quality of daylight in the classroom. After examining and studying the simulation results, the experiment demonstrated that the use of light shelves in this case was not very effective, but they can help in a simple way to reduce the effect of the difference in lighting levels between areas near the windows and areas deeper in the classroom, and to reduce the contrast in general.
A growing body of research examines the impact of the natural world on mental health and well-being. The purpose of this study was to analyze experiences of counselors-in-training (CITs) in a semester-long ecotherapy course. CITs were exposed to theoretical constructs and interventions used to conceptualize clients and conduct therapy within an ecotherapy framework. Consensual qualitative research approach was used to explore how CITs understand and make meaning of the course content, as well as how participants integrated the concepts of ecotherapy into their counselor identity and clinical experiences. Results of the data analyzed produced the following domains: benefits, intent to take the class, class experiences, impact of the pandemic, class cohesion, and relationship to the natural world. Intrapersonal benefits and the effects of nature were two of the most prevalent themes detected.
Research has shown multiple effects of light correlated color temperature (CCT) on office staff. However, the CCT ranges in previous research were relatively narrow. This study investigated the effects of CCT over a wider range and examined the influence of task type and light exposure duration. A within-subject design involving 4 CCTs (4000, 6000, 8000, and 10,000 K) × 2 task types (computer vs. paper-based task) × 2 test times (5 vs. 90 min) was employed. The results showed that CCT had main effects on perception, mood, and performance. Participants felt more comfortable but also sleepier under the lighting of 4000 K than other CCTs. Positive mood deteriorated, but task performance might improve with a gradual CCT manipulation from 4000 K to 10,000 K. Furthermore, participants rated their mood more positively with computer tasks than with paper-based tasks, but no significant effect of light exposure duration was found in this study. These findings highlight that the optimal CCT level varies for different demands such as comfort, positive mood, alertness and task performance, so selection of office light CCT should be weighed according to the scenario demands.
This study explores how windows with a green view might affect the mental health (i.e., depressive/anxiety symptoms) of home-isolated populations. An online survey was conducted among 508 adults isolated under government quarantine policies for COVID-19 emergency pandemic control between 10 and 20 January 2022 in Xi’an, China. Structural equation modeling was employed to identify the pathways from green view through windows to isolated people’s depressive/anxiety symptoms. The relative frequency of plant/water exposure through windows was associated with fewer depressive/anxiety symptoms. Home-isolated people during COVID-19 reported better mental health when they were exposed to more natural settings. These findings could inspire public health authorities to adopt nature-based solutions to mitigate the adverse mental health consequences of isolated populations during the pandemic.
Background and objective: Mounting evidence suggests that nature-based recreation such as gardening can generate various mental and behavioral benefits. However, the benefits of gardening for older populations are largely unknown. This study aimed to assess how a seniors' gardening program affects older people's nature relatedness, psychological well-being, and intent to engage in pro-environmental behavior.Methods: We designed a one-group pretest-posttest study. Twelve seniors in their 60s and 70s participated in a gardening program occurring in a university botanical garden for 5 months. We used a 5-point Likert scale to measure the participants' nature relatedness, psychological well-being, and pro-environmental behavioral intentions at the beginning as well as the end of the program. We compared the pretest and posttest scores on each measure using a Wilcoxon signed-rank test for nature relatedness and paired t-tests for psychological well-being and behavioral intentions.Results: Our results indicated statistically significant increases in all three outcome variables after participation in the gardening program. The median score for nature relatedness was 4.167 after program participation compared to 3.500 before participation ( p < .05). Also, participants' psychological well-being mean score increased from 3.505 to 4.009 ( p < .01) while their intent to engage in pro-environmental behavior mean score increased from 4.115 to 4.427 ( p < .05).Conclusion: A seniors' gardening program can be an effective way for older people to connect with nature and improve their mental health. Also, gardening can foster the capacity of the elderly to help reduce human impacts on the environment.
Science lessons in nature are appealing and potentially supportive of children’s learning, but little is known about how and for whom they are effective. A within-subjects, experimental, mixed methods design was employed with 92 4th-graders to determine if, why and for whom science learning is better through outdoor, nature-based instruction (NBI) compared to indoor, classroom-based instruction (CBI). Moderating variables, including student socioeconomic status, gender, English Learner status and connectedness to nature and mechanistic variables of perceived stress, engagement in learning, attention, and impulsivity were evaluated. Though the physical conditions for NBI were less optimal, NBI supported science learning as well as CBI, and for a broader range of students. With CBI, child demographics had a significant impact on science scores. In contrast, with NBI, all students performed similarly, suggesting NBI is a supportive strategy for a broad range of students.
Exposure to nature can improve psychological well-being such as attention restoration. These restorative benefits may be provided by windows looking onto nature, yet studies on the restorative qualities of windows have largely taken place in calm environments where restoration demands are relatively low. Thus, the restorative effects of windows in busy environments warrant examination. This virtual reality (VR) experimental study measured the restorative qualities of windows with nature views in a busy setting. We exposed 88 undergraduate participants to an open, closed, or no window condition by creating a CAVE-like VR environment. The participants saw a 6-min wall-projected video of a busy university café along with indoor sounds played in the background and the scent of coffee created by an essential oil diffuser. Birdsongs and dirt smells were added to the open window condition. The Perceived Restorativeness Scale (PRS) and Restoration Outcomes Scale (ROS) were administered after VR exposure. Results showed that compared to no window, the open window was more restorative in terms of the ROS, PRS, and the PRS subscales related to fascination and being away. The closed window was more restorative in terms of the ROS and being away subscale. Unexpectedly, the addition of sounds and smells virtually coming through the open window did not provide restorative qualities beyond what was provided by the closed window. These findings provide suggestive evidence that virtual windows looking onto nature provide restorative effects for people in busy indoor environments.
Passive and active interactions with nature reduce stress, anxiety, and depression. Populations that experience increased stress often have fewer interactions with nature due to many factors. More recently, the COVID-19 pandemic has created a new stressor for all populations due to sickness, isolation, financial burdens, or other factors. University students were particularly impacted due to the change to online modalities, which isolated them from other students. To assess if any negative or other consequences were experienced and if nature factors could mitigate them, we examined how plant interactions affected university students (N = 353) in an online learning environment. Two modified Depression Anxiety Stress Surveys (DASS; Depression Anxiety Stress and Academic Stress, DASA) were administered over two semesters in 2020 to survey students on these interactions with nature. During the two semesters, most students experienced extremely severe self-reported mental health adversities. Further correlations between DASA scores and responses about nature interactions, home environments, plant exposure, and plant access showed that outdoor interactions were positively related to better self-reported mental health scores. However, the concerning and lingering effects of the pandemic were evidenced in our research as DASA scores increased across the two semesters. Nevertheless, going outdoors and interacting with nature brings some benefits that lessen the severity of depression, anxiety, and stress.
Although green schoolyards provide many benefits to children and communities, little research explores students’ perceptions of these benefits and how natural elements (e.g. gardens, trees) and associated use shape student experience. We examine the relationship between nature-based attributes, nature-based activities, and teacher-led activities with students’ perceptions of schoolyards’ benefits to self (e.g. feeling calm, good place to learn) and to community (e.g. contributions to cleaner water, increased biodiversity). We measured 199 3rd -6th grade students’ perceptions of schoolyards’ benefits from 9 schools in Raleigh, North Carolina. Overall, students viewed schoolyards positively, and recognized more benefits to self than community. We found that the relationship between the presence of nature-based attributes and students’ positive feelings was limited. Instead, we found that nature-based activities and teacher-led activities had a positive relationship with students’ positive feelings. Our findings suggest that school greening efforts need to be paired with policies and curricular practices to encourage interaction with natural elements to ensure benefits are fully realized by students.
Supplemental data for this article is available online at https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2022.2032612 .
The views that windows provide from inside a building affect human health and well-being. Although window view is an important element of architecture, there is no established framework to guide its design. The literature is widely dispersed across different disciplinary fields, and there is a need to coalesce this information into a framework that can be applied into the building design. Based on the literature, we present a framework for what constitutes “view quality.” At the basis of our framework, we propose three primary variables: View Content (the assessment of visual features seen in the window view); View Access (the measure of how much of the view can be seen through the window from the occupant’s position); and View Clarity (the assessment of how clear the view content appears in the window view when seen by an occupant). Each variable was thematically derived from different sources including daylighting standards, green certification systems, and scientific research studies. We describe the most important characteristics of each variable, and from our review of the literature, we propose a conceptual index that can evaluate the quality of a window view. While discussing the index, we summarize design recommendations for integrating these three variables into the building process and identify knowledge gaps for future research.
Accumulating evidence suggests that a range of benefits might accrue from conducting teaching and learning outside in natural environments, and more broadly, from incorporating some kind of contact with nature into teaching and learning activities. Although this evidence does not stem from studies that have focused on geographical higher education, geography educators may be interested in the possible implications for their teaching practice. Framed by this concern, this review considers the evidence for nature’s beneficial effects, primarily in relation to learning, but also in terms of academic performance, cognitive function, health, wellbeing and personal development. It is concluded that it might be desirable for geography educators to explore opportunities to increase geography students’ contact with nature. Practical recommendations for how this could be achieved are suggested.
International data suggest that exposure to nature is beneficial for mental health and well-being. The restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic have created a setting that allows us to investigate the importance of greenness exposure on mental health during a period of increased isolation and worry. Based on 2060 responses from an online survey in Stockholm County, Sweden, we investigated: (1) whether the COVID-19 pandemic changed peoples’ lifestyle and nature-related habits, and (2) if peoples’ mental health differed depending on their exposure to greenness. Neighborhood greenness levels were quantified by using the average normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) within 50 m, 100 m, 300 m, and 500 m buffers surrounding the participant’s place of residence. We found that the number of individuals that reported that they visited natural areas “often” was significantly higher during the pandemic than before the pandemic. Higher levels of greenness surrounding one’s location of residence were in general associated with higher mental health/well-being and vitality scores, and less symptoms of depression, anxiety, and perceived and cognitive stress, after adjustments for demographic variables and walkability. In conclusion, the results from the present study provided support to the suggestion that contact with nature may be important for mental health in extreme circumstances.
A questionnaire survey on the current state of school greening was conducted to identify the necessary elements to promote school greening to reduce teachers' stress. As a result, most local governments did not implement school greening as mental health measures for teachers. The education boards' involvement of school greening is low, and willingness to apply school greening flexible as a stress reduction measure for teachers, which is also low. However, issues such as budget for greening, sufficient evidence for teachers, spreading awareness of the effectiveness of greening, raising the level of interest in and leadership of school greening, and consideration of existing mental health measures could be clarified, it could contribute to the promotion of school greening for teachers.
Ecosystem services, including availability of greenspace, clean air, and clean water, can have benefits to human well‐being, but their relative importance compared to economic or social services is often overlooked. In Puerto Rico, for example, improving community well‐being, including economic and cultural opportunities, human health, and safety, are often overarching goals of environmental management decisions, but the degree to which improvements in ecological condition and provision of ecosystem services could impact local communities is complicated by wide variation in social and economic conditions. This study quantifies and maps neighborhood-scale indicators of human well‐being and ecosystem services for Puerto Rico to better understand the degree to which ecosystem services provisioning, alongside co‐occurring social and economic services, explains variability in a number of indicators of human well‐being. In Puerto Rico, variability in indicators of human well‐being were predominately explained by economic services related to accumulating income and personal savings, and social services, including availability of family services, healthcare services, and access to communication technology. Despite the large explanatory power of economic and social services, however, the analysis detected that substantial portions of well‐being, in particular education and human health, could be explained by variability in ecosystem services over space and time, especially availability of greenspace. Linking ecosystem services to multivariate elements of human well‐being can serve to complement more traditional community planning or environmental management efforts by helping identify potential unintended consequences or overlooked benefits of decisions.
The influence of learning space on users has been broadly accepted and tested. However, the literature has focused on single factor research, instead of holistic approaches. Additionally, lower educational levels have been the focus of interest, while higher education is moving towards multi-method teaching. This paper focuses on how learning spaces for different purposes (practice and lecture rooms) may influence academic performance from a holistic approach of learning physical environment perception. For this, the iPEP scale (Indoor physical environment perception) is used and validated through Cronbach Alpha and Exploratory Factorial Analysis. Then, multiple linear regression is conducted. The results indicate that iPEP measures near to 63 percent of the construct, which is structured in six factors. Moreover, linear regression analyses support previous literature concerning the influence of learning physical environment on academic performance (R 2 = 0.154). The differences obtained between practice and lecture room in terms of predictor variables bring to the light the need to diagnose learning environments before designing changes in educational buildings. This research provides a self-reported way to measure indoor environments, as well as evidence concerning the modern university, which desires to combine several teaching methods.
The biophilia hypothesis states that human beings have an innate tendency to connect with nature. The current study aimed to examine the psychometric properties of the full and short versions of both the Environmental Identity Scale (EID) and the Nature Relatedness Scale (NR). Participants were 209 Singaporean undergraduate students (67.9% females) from a medium-sized university in Singapore. Exploratory factor analyses revealed a unidimensional structure for the Full EID and the Short EID. Acceptable internal consistency coefficients of .96 and .92 were found for the two instruments, respectively. Exploratory factor analyses revealed a three-factor structure for the Full NR: (a) NR-Self; (b) NR-Experience; and (c) NR-Perspective. However, two items were removed, and there are differences in the items that load on each factor. In addition, the NR-Perspective is unreliable, with an internal consistency coefficient of .62. Exploratory factor analyses revealed a unidimensional structure for the Short NR. An acceptable internal consistency coefficient of .82 was found. Taken together, the current study provided support for the use of the Full and Short EID and the Short NR as psychometrically valid instruments among Singapore undergraduate students.
Nature positively impacts holistic wellness and K–12 student learning, although this phenomenon has largely been unstudied in school counseling. School counselors are in a unique position to champion nature connection in school communities to promote holistic wellness and positive learning outcomes. This article introduces EcoWellness as a framework for strategically infusing nature throughout the comprehensive school counseling program. We discuss strategies for school counseling practice and implications for school counselor preparation and research.
This article reflects on the relations between health and natural landscapes. The study explores how the landscape context - its textual and sensory aesthetics - positively shapes experiences and perceptions of the landscape, for those people who seek out natural environments for health. While health promotion is designated along the lines of encouraging choice or improving access to natural environments, this article wants to show how physical activities are intertwined with atmospheres and affects emanating from the natural and human world. An in-depth case-study of trail running across two sites (New Zealand, United Kingdom) is used to analyse the interconnections between health landscapes. It finds that when participants say that landscape 'matters' for health, they are referring to: (1) aesthetics and feelings, (2) flexibility and adaptiveness and (3) exploration and adventure. Avoiding the conclusion that the landscape is merely a resource for health, the analysis confirms that it is the complex of spaces, social practices, along with their physical fleshy selves, minds and emotions, and the particular quality of the earth beneath them, that gives rise to positively perceived health, for both immediate and enduring benefit.
Background: Scholars and policymakers have criticized public education in developed countries for perpetuating health and income disparities. Several studies have examined the ties between green space and academic performance, hypothesizing that green space can foster performance, and, over time, help reduce such disparities. Although numerous reviews have analyzed the link between nature and child health, none have focused on academic achievement. Methods: We identified 13 peer-reviewed articles that examined associations between academic outcomes, types of green spaces, and distances in which green spaces were measured around schools. Results: Of the 122 findings reported in the 13 articles, 64% were non-significant, 8% were significant and negative, and 28% were significant and positive. Positive findings were limited to greenness, tree cover, and green land cover at distances up to 2000 m around schools. End-of-semester grades and college preparatory exams showed greater shares of positive associations than math or reading test scores. Most findings regarding writing test scores were non-significant, and moderation effects of socioeconomic status, gender, and urbanization showed mixed results. Conclusions: The extant literature on green space and academic performance is small, shows mixed results, and mostly includes articles using observational, school-level research designs. Regardless, there is sufficient evidence to warrant further research on this topic, including effect moderation and mechanistic pathways.
We tested the hypothesis that exposure to the natural environment is associated with improved academic performance. Specifically, we examined the association between individual-level standardized math and reading test scores and exposure to the natural environment using data from Portland Public Schools (17,918 students attending 83 schools for the math model and 19,459 students attending 90 schools for the reading model). We found that a 1-SD increase in tree cover within 200 m of a child’s home was associated with moving from the 50th percentile to the 51st percentile on math tests. A 1-SD increase in tree cover within 100 m of a child’s school was associated with moving from the 50th percentile to the 56th percentile on reading tests. Finally, a 1-SD increase in road density within 100 m of a child’s home was associated with moving from the 50th percentile to the 47th percentile on reading tests.
Because of their importance to people, nature, and societies, domestic gardens have attracted increasing research interest. However, significant areas of interest remain unexplored, such as the variables that determine individuals’ satisfaction with their gardens. Our main goal was to address this gap. We surveyed 1,005 individuals with home gardens in Quito, Ecuador, to collect information on three groups of variables: (a) psychological and individual factors, (b) social and family aspects, and (c) garden characteristics. We used these groups of variables as predictors of satisfaction in a regression model (R2 = 0.242), with the first and third contributing the most to our understanding of satisfaction. In particular, people tended to be more satisfied with gardens composed of mostly native plants. In addition, individuals tended to be more satisfied if their motives for garden use were related to nature. In contrast, a high level of consumed resources negatively affected satisfaction.
Research into the design of learning environments is warranted as the classroom space impacts on students' wellbeing and learning performance. Studies on subjective evaluation of classrooms usually focus on the influence of more objective aspects like temperature or light, based on concepts or attributes defined by experts. Thus, the attributes used to find relations with design parameters might not be recognised by users, thereby conditioning the evaluation process itself. This paper aims to analyse students' affective response to a university classroom in their own words, and then, after obtaining the semantic space, to identify the design elements that generate a positive affective response. This analysis was carried out implementing the Semantic Differential method in the framework of Kansei Engineering. A sample of 918 university students was assessed in situ in 30 university classrooms. The results show that students' affective structure in relation to their classroom comprises 6 independent factors: functionality and layout, cosy and pleasant, concentration and comfort, modern design, daylight and outward facing, and artificial lighting. From these factors, efforts to improve the classroom environment should be directed mainly towards two aspects: improving classroom functionality-layout, which is significantly related to the work space allocated to students; and the sensation of cosy-pleasant which is generated by all the classroom design parameters, but in particular, those that refer to the relationship of the classroom with the outdoor environment.
The aim of this paper is to elucidate how occupants perceive their lit environments in a university setting and how they interact with lighting controls using qualitative methods. Semi-structured interviews were carried out with academic teaching and research staff. Thematic analysis identified four main themes: control and choice, connection with the outdoors, concentration and comfort. Participants were largely able to control and adapt their lighting using small power lighting in office spaces and they perceived this as beneficial to comfort and concentration. Participants expressed frustration with the light switches in classrooms, and a lack of consistency in lighting controls across the university buildings was particularly notable. Installers should consider how piecemeal upgrades on large estates affect the perception of buildings where occupiers face multiple control systems. The management of the lighting in classroom spaces including the type and location of blinds, lack of regular window cleaning in some buildings and difficulty in minimising light on projection screens in upgraded classrooms were cited as areas for improvement. Wider implications for lighting control and management highlighted by this study include most notably that a lack of end users consultation has serious consequences on their perception of lighting upgrades and their willingness to employ ‘workarounds.’
The influential scientist Rene J. Dubos (1901-1982) conducted groundbreaking studies concerning early-life environmental exposures (e.g., diet, social interactions, commensal microbiota, housing conditions) and adult disease. However, Dubos looked beyond the scientific focus on disease, arguing that “mere survival is not enough”. He defined mental health as fulfilling human potential, and expressed concerns about urbanization occurring in tandem with disappearing access to natural environments (and elements found within them); thus modernity could interfere with health via “missing exposures”. With the advantage of emerging research involving green space, the microbiome, biodiversity and positive psychology, we discuss ecological justice in the dysbiosphere and the forces—financial inequity, voids in public policy, marketing and otherwise—that interfere with the fundamental rights of children to thrive in a healthy urban ecosystem and learn respect for the natural environment. We emphasize health within the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) rubric and suggest that greater focus on positive exposures might uncover mechanisms of resiliency that contribute to maximizing human potential. We will entrain our perspective to socioeconomic disadvantage in developed nations and what we have described as “grey space”; this is a mental as much as a physical environment, a space that serves to insidiously reinforce unhealthy behavior, compromise positive psychological outlook and, ultimately, trans-generational health. It is a dwelling place that cannot be fixed with encephalobiotics or the drug-class known as psychobiotics.
Green exercise – physical activity or exercise while directly exposed to nature – positively affects psychological and physical well-being and health. Green exercise includes diverse activities (e.g. walking, running, cycling, swimming). It may be performed alone or in a group, with the aim of enhancing well-being, or combined with other aims such as leisure, social contact, health promotion or environmental education. Because of its role in health promotion, the level of activity of green exercise, as well as its psychological and physical outcomes, can be used as an indicator of quality of life.
Positive effects of physical activity are widely documented, but recent research on green exercise indicates that physical activity in natural settings brings additional positive effects beyond those of indoor activity: healthier levels of blood pressure and cortisol, vitality, increased energy, psychological restoration, well-being, positive emotions, and higher motivation to participate in physical activities. This is partly due to the emotional and physical benefits of contact with nature, which increases well-being and sense of life satisfaction. In contrast, urban life, separating and disconnecting people from nature, is associated with higher stress levels and loss of health status. Thus, urban planning and health promotion initiatives should take this into account in order to raise levels of contact with natural environments. Green exercise could thus be a useful tool to invert the sedentary trend of modern society and therefore improve human physical and psychological health and quality of life.
The Holistic Evidence and Design (HEAD) study of U.K. primary schools sought to isolate the impact of the physical design of classrooms on the learning progress of pupils aged from 5 to 11 years (U.S. kindergarten to fifth grade). One hundred fifty-three classrooms were assessed and links made to the learning of the 3,766 pupils in them. Through multilevel modeling, the role of physical design was isolated from the influences of the pupils’ characteristics. This article presents analyses for the three main subjects assessed, namely, reading, writing, and math. Variations in the importance of the physical design parameters are revealed for the learning of each subject. In addition to some common factors, such as lighting, a heavy salience for Individualization in relation to math becomes apparent and the importance emerges of Connection for reading and of Links to Nature for writing. Possible explanations are suggested. These results provide a stimulus for additional finesse in practice and for further investigation by researchers.
This paper aims to address higher education students' learning space preferences. The study is based on a survey that involved 697 business management students of a Dutch University of Applied Sciences. The research focuses on preferred learning spaces for individual study activities, which require concentration, and preferred learning spaces for collaborative study activities with peers, which require communication. The results show that students consider their physical learning environment to be relevant and assume that learning spaces contribute to the outcome of their study activities. In contrast to the literature, the findings reveal that learning space preferences of students cannot substantially be attributed to behavioral aspects, such as their individual preference for privacy, interaction, and autonomy, nor to aspects of the physical environment related to the perceived relevance of comfort, aesthetics, ICT facilities, and layout. Student characteristics, such as gender, age, study year, or living situation, have a significant, but limited influence on the learning space preferences of students. Students mainly prefer learning spaces related to their learning activities. Students prefer learning space at home for individual activities. For collaborative study activities with peers, they prefer learning space at the university. Public spaces are not popular for study activities. Overall, students particularly prefer quiet learning spaces with the possibility to retreat as an individual or as a small group. Apparently, learning space preferences are more related to perceived effectiveness rather than to experience value.
Post-secondary institutions require appropriately designed informal learning spaces (ILSs) outside of classrooms for studying and group-work activities, but few studies have investigated how these spaces perform, especially in terms of acoustics. We measured objective acoustical characteristics and architectural features in 23 such spaces, and captured environmental assessments and well-being outcomes from a survey of 850 student occupants. Objective measures indicated that sound levels generated by occupants and other sound sources tended to exceed maximum values recommended by standards. Some components of perceived suitability and well-being were greater in spaces with lower background sound levels (e.g., from ventilation systems), but with more occupant-generated sound, and more reverberation. Furthermore, some design features such as more vegetation, the presence of soft furnishings, and lower seating density predicted some components of perceived suitability and well-being. This evaluation of ILSs offers lessons for designers and suggests additional directions for further study.
Famed microbiologist René J. Dubos (1901¿1982) was an early pioneer in the developmental origins of health and disease (DOHaD) construct. In the 1960s, he conducted groundbreaking experimental research concerning the ways in which early-life experience with nutrition, microbiota, stress, and other environmental variables could influence later-life health outcomes. He also wrote extensively on potential health consequences of a progressive loss of contact with natural environments (now referred to as green or blue space), arguing that Paleolithic experiences have created needs, particularly in the mental realm, that might not be met in the context of rapid global urbanization. He posited that humans would certainly adapt to modern urban landscapes and high technology, but there might be a toll to be paid in the form of higher psychological distress (symptoms of anxiety and depression) and diminished quality of life. In particular, there might be an erosion of humanness, exemplified by declines in altruism/empathy. Here in the first of a two-part review, we examine contemporary research related to natural environments and question to what extent Dubos might have been correct in some of his 50-year-old assertions.
This is the 'second' school study on daylighting and view, looking at Fresno USD, for the CEC 2003. Much more detailed and nuanced than the first. There is also a detail appendix, which I will also upload.
Individuals residing in the rainforest belt of Nigeria were shown photographs of five biomes: rain forest, deciduous forest, coniferous forest, savanna, and desert. Subjects overwhelmingly selected savanna scenes as representing the most desirable place to live. These results, coupled with extensive American data, support the hypothesis that humans possess an innate preference for savanna-like settings, which then is modified through experience and enculturation. Findings are discussed in relation to anthropological, biological, and psychological research.
There is growing evidence to support the notion that contact with nature is helpful for emotional states, attention, mental fatigue, behavior, and personal health. This study adopts a quasi-experimental approach to investigate the effects of limitedly visible indoor plants on students' psychology, physiology, and behavior and uses a control-series design covering one semester. Two classes of sophomores at a Taiwanese junior high school (eighth grade, N = 76), of which one served as the experimental group and the other as control, were surveyed once every 2 weeks. After six plants were placed at the back of the classroom, the experimental group had immediately and significantly stronger feelings of preference, comfort, and friendliness as compared to the control group. Also, the experimental group had significantly fewer hours of sick leave and punishment records due to misbehavior than the control group. In addition to the visual and psychological mechanisms that contributed to restoration, there may have been other factors at work.
Depending on what is in the view, looking out the window may provide numerous opportunities for restoration. Unlike other restorative opportunities, however, window viewing is more frequent and for brief moments at a time. The setting is also experienced from afar rather than while being in it. A study conducted at six low-rise apartment communities, using a survey with both verbal and visual material, provides considerable support for the premise that having natural elements or settings in the view from the window contributes substantially to residents’ satisfaction with their neighborhood and with diverse aspects of their sense of well-being. Views of built elements, by contrast, affected satisfaction but not well-being. Views of the sky and weather did not have a substantial effect on either outcome. The potential of nature content in the view from home to contribute so significantly to satisfaction and well-being suggests clear action mandates.
A wide range of studies have generally found that humans appreciate certain characteristics of natural habitats, in particular the presence of other living vertebrates. This “biophilia” may reflect evolved adaptive preferences, preferences that may continue to affect our behavior today. The present study examined whether urban Europeans pay increased attention to natural stimuli even in an unnatural environment. An aquarium was installed in the window display of a Vienna, Austria, shopping mall and its effect on the responses of passers-by recorded. Assessment was by review of videotapes and quantification of duration of stay in front of the window, periods of facing the window, and such communications as pointing in the presence of others. The total number of episodes quantified was 1002 out of a total of 12,921 persons on the videotapes. As expected, all the behavioral measures of attention and exploration that were assessed indeed increased when the aquarium was present. These findings bear implications for marketing, and moreover, for ameliorating the stress that modern city environments may place on the ancient human organism.
Humans will continue to adapt to an increasingly technological world. But are there costs to such adaptations in terms of human well being? Toward broaching this question, we investigated physiological effects of experiencing a HDTV quality real-time view of nature through a plasma display ''window.'' In an office setting, 90 participants (30 per group) were exposed either to (a) a glass window that afforded a view of a nature scene, (b) a plasma window that afforded a real-time HDTV view of essentially the same scene, or (c) a blank wall. Results showed that in terms of heart rate recovery from low-level stress the glass window was more restorative than a blank wall; in turn, a plasma window was no more restorative than a blank wall. Moreover, when participants spent more time looking at the glass window, their heart rate tended to decrease more rapidly; that was not the case with the plasma window. Discussion focuses on how the purported benefits of viewing nature may be attenuated by a digital medium.
Children growing up in the inner city are at risk of academic underachievement, juvenile delinquency, teenage pregnancy, and other important negative outcomes. Avoiding these outcomes requires self-discipline. Self-discipline, in turn, may draw on directed attention, a limited resource that can be renewed through contact with nature. This study examined the relationship between near-home nature and three forms of self-discipline in 169 inner city girls and boys randomly assigned to 12 architecturally identical high-rise buildings with varying levels of nearby nature. Parent ratings of the naturalness of the view from home were used to predict children's performance on tests of concentration, impulse inhibition, and delay of gratification. Regressions indicated that, on average, the more natural a girl's view from home, the better her performance at each of these forms of self-discipline. For girls, view accounted for 20% of the variance in scores on the combined self-discipline index. For boys, who typically spend less time playing in and around their homes, view from home showed no relationship to performance on any measure. These findings suggest that, for girls, green space immediately outside the home can help them lead more effective, self-disciplined lives. For boys, perhaps more distant green spaces are equally important.
The paper concerns the effects of windows on work and well-being. Literature from a variety of disciplines was reviewed although most recent research was found in the area of environmental psychology. The most consistent finding in the literature is that people prefer natural rather than built or urban views from windows. Windows with views of nature were found to enhance work and well-being in a number of ways including increasing job satisfaction, interest value of the job, perceptions of self-productivity, perceptions of physical working conditions, life satisfaction, and decreasing intention to quit and the recovery time of surgical patients. However, the access to a view did not improve the performance of students or actual productivity of office workers. The positive psychological and health effects of natural views were explained in the context of recent psychological theories. The direction and potential for future research is discussed.
Art is assumed to possess therapeutic benefits of healing for children, as part of patient-focused design in health care. Since the psychological and physiological well-being of children in health care settings is extremely important in contributing to the healing process, it is vitally important to identify what type of art supports stress reduction. Based on adult studies, nature art was anticipated to be the most preferred and to have stress-reducing effects on pediatric patients. Nature art refers to art images dominated by natural vegetation, flowers or water. The objective of this study was to investigate what type of art image children prefer, and what type of art image has potentially stress-reducing effects on children in hospitals. This study used a three-phase, multi-method approach with children aged 5-17 years: a focus group study (129 participants), a randomized study (48 participants), and a quasi-experimental study design (48 participants). Findings were evaluated from three phases.
Records on recovery after cholecystectomy of patients in a suburban Pennsylvania hospital between 1972 and 1981 were examined
to determine whether assignment to a room with a window view of a natural setting might have restorative influences. Twenty-three
surgical patients assigned to rooms with windows looking out on a natural scene had shorter postoperative hospital stays,
received fewer negative evaluative comments in nurses' notes, and took fewer potent analgesics than 23 matched patients in
similar rooms with windows facing a brick building wall.
The authors thank the following people for their invaluable input and feedback: Kim McCarron and Don Siglin, SOSH Architects; Albert Patroni, Concord Atlantic Engineers; and Stephen Poniatowicz, Energenic LLC.
If office workers lack a view to natural features outdoors, do they compensate by bringing plants and pictures of nature indoors? The authors used cross-sectional survey data from 385 Norwegian office workers to investigate whether such compensation occurs. The authors found that workers without windows had roughly five times greater odds of having brought plants into their workspaces than workers with windows, independent of age, gender, type of office, job demands, control over work, and personalization. Windowless workers also had three times greater odds of having brought pictures of nature into their workspaces. The authors consider implications of the findings for environmental design that offers contact with nature to people who spend much of their time indoors.
The paper reports on a study that looks at the impact of a corrections environment upon prisoners through a process of monitoring inmate attendance at sick call clinic. Contrasting cell block designs and characteristics are compared on the basis of significant differential demands for health care services emanating from specific areas. Known psychological and physiological responses to situations perceived to be threatening provide the theory that health behavior may be used as one indirect measure of environmentally induced stress. Findings suggest there are architectural design features of the prison environment that provide basis of perceived threats to inmate safety and survival. Loss of privacy on several dimensions appears to be a critical environmental characteristic.
The aims of the study were to assess the effects of light on the production of stress hormones, classroom performance, body growth, and sick leave, of school children. About 90 children were investigated in their school environment for a duration of one school year. The children were situated in four classrooms differing in respect to the access to natural daylight and artificial fluorescent light. The results indicated the existence of a systematic seasonal variation with more stress hormones in summer than in winter. The children situated in the one classroom lacking both natural daylight and fluorescent daylight tubes demonstrated a marked deviation from this pattern. High levels of morning cortisol were associated with sociability, while moderate or low levels seemed to promote individual concentration. Annual body growth was smallest for the children with the highest levels of morning cortisol. Possibly, the production of cortisol had some influence on sick leave. It may be concluded, that windowless classrooms should be avoided for permanent use.
This study examined 274 college students' psycho-physiological responses to the six major terrestrial biomes (desert, tundra, grassland, coniferous forest, deciduous forest, and tropical forest), while taking into account the influences of three perceived physical variables (complexity, openness, and water features) presented in the biomes. The purpose of the study was to examine which specific natural setting can evoke the most positive reactions from people. ANCOVA tests and post hoc comparisons using the setting scores across the participants' data on the responses to 48 biome slides regarding scenic beauty, preference, the Short-version Revised Perceived Restorativeness Scale and the Short-version Revised Restoration Scale were performed. The results indicated that tundra and coniferous forest were the most favored biomes, whereas desert and grassland were the least favored. These findings appeared to support the forest hypothesis rather than the long-held savanna hypothesis. In addition, the results of multiple regression analyses indicated that the three perceived physical factors explained 9% more variance of the respondents' reactions than the biome classification. This finding suggested that a nonhabitat-specific approach to environmental responses holds more promise than a habitat-specific approach.
Teacher stress and coping research and restorative environments research were converged in this study to explore how elementary school teachers in Chicago seek out everyday places in their milieu to implement restorative coping strategies. Seventy-one survey responses revealed that teachers' spontaneous place choices are related to sources of stress and that the restorative potential of a place was related to its ability to support teachers'inward or outward coping strategies. Teachers implemented effective strategies in places such as home, nature, city places, third places, and church. The ways these places were experienced differed according to teachers' perceptions of frequency and type of stress and how the place enabled the inward or outward strategy as needed. Findings suggest directions for exploring restorative design interventions in teachers' environments, especially within school environments.
This review of the literature on health care environments and patient outcomes considers three research themes: patient involvement with health care (e.g., the role of patient control), the impact of the ambient environment (e.g., sound, light, art), and the emergence of specialized building types for defined populations (e.g., Alzheimer's patients). The article also describes the challenges presented in doing high-quality research focused on health care environments and contrasts the contributions made by two different traditions: architecture and behavioral science. The implications of managed care and opportunities for research are considered.
This paper presents summary findings from a literature search of the term ''daylighting''-using natural light in a building to offset or replace electric lighting. According to the Department of Energy's Office of Building Technology, State and Community Programs 2000 BTS Core Databook, in 1998, commercial buildings consumed 32% of the total electricity in the United States, of which more than one-third went to lighting. Using daylighting systems and turning off the lights will help reduce this energy load. Electrical lighting adds to both the electrical and cooling loads in a commercial building. Utility costs can be decreased when daylighting is properly designed to replace electrical lighting. Along with the importance of energy savings, studies have demonstrated the non-energy-related benefits of daylighting. We compiled the data from books, periodicals, Internet articles, and interviews. The books, periodicals, and Internet articles provided the background information used to identify the main subjects of the paper. The interviews provided us with details related to specific buildings and companies that have integrated daylighting into their buildings.
Windows have been found to be a particularly salient feature of the workplace, not only as a matter of preference but also for health and well-being. Depending on what is in the view, looking out of the window may provide numerous opportunities for restoration. This study investigated the effect of window views on job satisfaction and stress. The impact of two specific influencing mechanisms was examined: existence of forest views through windows in workplaces, and absence of forest views through windows in workplaces. The sample consisted of 931 office workers in Seoul, South Korea, 481 who could see forest views from their workplaces and 450 who could not see forest views. A set of self-administered questionnaires including job satisfaction and job stress measures was distributed to the sample from April to September 2004. The results showed a significant direct effect of forest views from windows on job satisfaction and stress. Respondents' personal information such as gender, age and job category did not influence on the window view effects. As expected, employees' job satisfaction and job stress were highly and negatively correlated.
Multilevel modeling (MLM) is growing in use throughout the social sciences. Although daunting from a mathematical perspective, MLM is relatively easy to employ once some basic concepts are understood. In this article, I present a primer on MLM, describing some of these principles and applying them to the analysis of a multilevel data set on doctor–patient communication during medical consultations.
Purpose – The purpose of this study is to compare student achievement with three school design classifications: movement and circulation, day lighting, and views. Design/methodology/approach – From a sample of 71 schools, measures of these three school designs, taken with a ten-point Likert scale, are compared to students' outcomes defined by six parts of the Iowa Test of Basic Skills (ITBS): Reading comprehension, Reading vocabulary, Language arts, Mathematics, Social studies, and Science. Data are tested through reduced regression analysis, where the difference between R 2 of the reduced regression is compared to the R 2 of the full regression. This result, in each case, is defined as the effect of the school's physical environment on students' outcomes represented by achievement scores on the ITBS. Findings – Significant effects are found for Reading vocabulary, Reading comprehension, Language arts, Mathematics, and Science. Practical implications – The study's findings regarding movement and circulation patterns, natural light, and classrooms with views have implications for designing new schools or modifying existing structures. They are especially important to school leaders, educational planners, and architects who engage in programming for educational facilities. Originality/value – This study is part of original research efforts at the University of Georgia, USA. Since 1997, the focus of research in the University of Georgia's School Design and Planning Laboratory (SDPL) has been the measurement of the impact of the school's physical environment on aspects of affective, behavioral, and cognitive learning. All SDPL research has been quantitative in nature, where measures of the physical environment were compared to measures of student outcomes. There are two immediate values to these studies: educational leaders may use the findings to assess their existing school facilities and determine where improvements will have the greatest impact, or planners may use the findings to guide architects in the design and construction of new educational facilities.
This study is based on a theoretical view which suggests that under increased demands for attention, individuals' capacity to direct attention may become fatigued. Once fatigued, attentional restoration must occur in order to return to an effectively functioning state. An attention-restoring experience can be as simple as looking at nature. The purpose of this study was to explore whether university dormitory residents with more natural views from their windows would score better than those with less natural views on tests of directed attention. Views from dormitory windows of 72 undergraduate students were categorized into four groups ranging from all natural to all built. The capacity to direct attention was measured using a battery of objective and subjective measures. Natural views were associated with better performance on attentional measures, providing support for the proposed theoretical view.
The well-being of the workforce is clearly a matter of concern to the employer. Such concern translates to considerable costs in the form of fringe benefit packages, health promotion programs, ergonomics, and other ways to reduce absence and enhance health and satisfaction. Despite such efforts, however, one way to address well-being that entails relatively low costs has been largely ignored in the work context. Proximity and availability of the natural environment can foster many desired outcomes, even if the employee does not spend a great amount of time in the natural setting. A theoretical framework is presented that helps explain why even the view from the window can have a positive impact with respect to well-being. Results from two studies offer some substantiation. Further research on the role of nature in the workplace is essential; however, decisions to provide health promoting programs and to enhance fringe benefit packages have not been offered as a direct consequence of empirical verification. While providing windows at work may not be a simple matter, other ways to increase contact with vegetation may provide a low-cost, high-gain approach to employee well-being and effectiveness. Peer Reviewed http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/30542/1/0000175.pdf
This paper describes the relevance of the literature on environmental psychology to the coping strategies a leukemia patient used in adapting to psychological and physical isolation on a hospital bone marrow transplant unit and oncology unit. The case study describes the difficulty of place attachment on the isolation unit and its evolution on the oncology unit. The power of a window with a natural view--including a view of a cemetery--was especially evident even as the disease became terminal.
This investigation examined the effects of a windowless classroom environment on high school students' drawings. The results showed that children ( N = 643) in a windowless classroom drew windows significantly more often than their peers ( N = 574) attending a school with windows. It was inferred that children in the windowless classroom had negative feelings toward their school and as a group tended to express themselves in a more maladjusted and unhappy way than children in the windowed environment.
Exposure to natural sunlight has been associated with improvement in mood, reduced mortality among patients with cancer, and reduced length of hospitalization for patients who have experienced myocardial infarction. Our aim was to evaluate whether the amount of sunlight in a hospital room modifies a patient's psychosocial health, the quantity of analgesic medication used, and the pain medication cost.
A prospective study of pain medication use was conducted in 89 patients undergoing elective cervical and lumbar spinal surgery where they were housed on either the "bright" or "dim" side of the same hospital unit. Analgesic medication was converted to standard morphine equivalents for interpatient comparison. The intensity of sunlight in each hospital room was measured daily and psychologic questionnaires were administered on the day after surgery and at discharge.
Patients staying on the bright side of the hospital unit were exposed to 46% higher-intensity sunlight on average (p = .005). Patients exposed to an increased intensity of sunlight experienced less perceived stress (p = .035), marginally less pain (p = .058), took 22% less analgesic medication per hour (p = .047), and had 21% less pain medication costs (p = .047). Age quartile was the only other variable found to be a predictor of analgesic use, with a significant negative correlation (p <.001). However, patients housed on the bright side of the hospital consistently used less analgesic medications in all age quartiles.
The exposure postoperatively of patients who have undergone spinal surgery to increased amounts of natural sunlight during their hospital recovery period may result in decreased stress, pain, analgesic medication use, and pain medication costs.
Visitor orientation: When are museums similar to casinos? Visitor Studies Today
- S Bitgood
Bitgood, S. (2003). Visitor orientation: When are museums similar to casinos? Visitor
Studies Today, 6(1), 10-12.
A literature review of the effects of natural light on building occupants (NREL/TP-550-30769) Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory The stress-reducing effect of art in pediatric health care: Art preferences of healthy children and hospitalized children
- L Edwards
- P Torcellini
- S L Eisen
- R S Ulrich
- M M Shepley
- J W Varni
- S Sherman
Edwards, L., & Torcellini, P. (2002). A literature review of the effects of natural light on building occupants (NREL/TP-550-30769). Golden, CO: National Renewable Energy Laboratory. Retrieved from http://www.scribd.com/doc/7687245/25/ Windowless-Classrooms Eisen, S. L., Ulrich, R. S., Shepley, M. M., Varni, J. W., & Sherman, S. (2008). The stress-reducing effect of art in pediatric health care: Art preferences of healthy children and hospitalized children. Journal of Child Health Care, 12, 173-190.
The psychological aspect of windows and window design Oklahoma City, OK: Environmental Design Research Association Day lighting in schools. Fair Oaks, CA: Heschong Mahone Group Windows and classrooms: A study of student performance and the indoor environment
- J H Heerwagen
Heerwagen, J. H. (1990). The psychological aspect of windows and window design. In K. H. Anthony, J. Choi, & B. Orland (Eds.), Proceedings of the 21st Annual Conference of the Environmental Design Research Association, EDRA 21/1990 (pp. 269-280). Oklahoma City, OK: Environmental Design Research Association. Heschong Mahone Group. (1999). Day lighting in schools. Fair Oaks, CA: Heschong Mahone Group. Heschong Mahone Group. (2003). Windows and classrooms: A study of student performance and the indoor environment (No. P500-03-082-A-7). Sacramento: California Energy Commission.
Discomfort in schools from overheating in summer. The Journal of the Institute of Heating & Ventilation Engineers
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- A G Loudon
Langdon, F. J., & Loudon, A. G. (1970). Discomfort in schools from overheating in
summer. The Journal of the Institute of Heating & Ventilation Engineers, 37,
265-274.
Multilevel analysis. An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. Thousand Oaks Sustainability in casino design and operation: " Green " is good for the bottom line
- T Snijders
- R Bosker
- K Sykes
- C Gaffney
- T Sykes
- I Posner
Snijders, T., & Bosker, R. (1999). Multilevel analysis. An introduction to basic and advanced multilevel modeling. Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE. Sykes, K., Gaffney, C., Sykes, T., & Posner, I. (2010). Sustainability in casino design and operation: " Green " is good for the bottom line. World Journal of Science, Technology and Sustainable Development, 9(1), 64-72.
Effects of school design on student outcomes View of nature and self-discipline: Evidence from inner city children
- C K Tanner
Tanner, C. K. (2009). Effects of school design on student outcomes. Journal of Educational Administration, 47, 381-399. at NATIONAL AGRICULTURAL LIBRARY on March 27, 2015 eab.sagepub.com Downloaded from Taylor, A. F., Kuo, F. E., & Sullivan, W. C. (2002). View of nature and self-discipline: Evidence from inner city children. Journal of Environmental Psychology, 22, 49-63.
Effects of nature and abstract pic-tures on patients recovering from open heart surgery
- R S Ulrich
- O Lunden
Ulrich, R. S., & Lunden, O. (1990, June 27-30). Effects of nature and abstract pic-tures on patients recovering from open heart surgery. Paper presented at the International Congress of Behavioral Medicine, Uppsala, Sweden.
Day lighting in schools
- Heschong Mahone Group
Heschong Mahone Group. (1999). Day lighting in schools. Fair Oaks, CA: Heschong
Mahone Group.
- E O Wilson
Wilson, E. O. (1984). Biophilia. Boston, MA: Harvard Press.
A room with a view: A review of the effects of windows on work and wellbeing (IRC-RR-136) National Research Council Canada, Institute for Research in Construction
- K M J Farley
- J A Veitch
Farley, K. M. J., & Veitch, J. A. (2001). A room with a view: A review of the effects
of windows on work and wellbeing (IRC-RR-136). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada:
National Research Council Canada, Institute for Research in Construction.
Retrieved from http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/doc/pubs/rr/rr136/rr136.pdf