Effective Environmental Education through Half-Day Teaching Programmes Outside School

The “Green Classroom” in the Botanical Garden of the University of Ulm is a learning forum outside school. Its educational concept is based on experiential learning and is geared towards expanding students’ biological knowledge and developing positive attitudes towards small animals such as invertebrates. In the first study, we assessed attitudes towards small animals of 43 students before and after they visited the “Green Classroom”, and we compared the answers they gave in their questionnaires with those of 46 students from a control group. Although the students spent only one morning in the “Green Classroom”, some of their attitudes improved after their visit. In the second study, 102 secondary-school students (56 who had previously visited the “Green Classroom”) were asked to write an essay about small animals. Students who had visited the “Green Classroom” before portrayed more positive emotions towards small animals and showed more biological understanding than their peers. 1. Introduction Sustainable development is seen as the key to securing decent living conditions for future generations. Ecological, economical, and cultural aspects must be considered globally. Every person and every institution is encouraged to make a contribution towards sustainable development. Educational institutions obviously play a major role in this endeavour. The basic educational aspects for sustainable development for the German school system are already mapped out [1]. This German concept offers a guideline for content, learning methods, and didactics of a modern environmental education. The concept calls for hands-on experiential learning through direct contact with animals in their environment, the involvement of emotions, and the aim to shape values in a holistic approach. Normally, experiential learning such as excursions and programmes like the “Green Classroom” are suggested as means for a modern environmental education. In addition to the German concept [1], Palmer [2] acknowledges that prior knowledge and experiences, which are crucial for subsequent learning, differ (to varying extent) from one student to the next. “Research has demonstrated that these formative influences may indeed be more significant than planned formal educational programs in the development of environmental understanding and concern, and, wherever possible, educators need to be aware of prior knowledge and build upon it in a meaningful way,” [2]. What do children already know about animals? When asked to list the species they know, children generally talk about animals that are not