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. 2022 Dec 15;19(24):16823.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph192416823.

Lessons in a Green School Environment and in the Classroom: Effects on Students' Cognitive Functioning and Affect

Lucia Mason  1 , Lucia Manzione  1 , Angelica Ronconi  1 , Francesca Pazzaglia  2
Affiliations

Lessons in a Green School Environment and in the Classroom: Effects on Students' Cognitive Functioning and Affect

Lucia Mason et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

The positive impact of short-term exposure to nature during a green recess in a school day is documented in the literature. In this study we investigated cognitive, academic, and affective effects of a single contact with nature during a regular school lesson in the greenness, compared to an usual classroom lesson, on young students in second and third grades (N = 65). In a within-subjects design, for the cognitive effects we examined children's (a) selective and sustained attention and (b) math calculation performance in common school tasks. For affective effects we considered (c) their positive and negative mood and (d) the perception of environmental restorativeness. Findings revealed that after a single lesson taught in the green school garden, children had greater selective attention and math calculation performance in two tasks than after a similar lesson in the classroom environment. Moreover, children with higher self-reported emotional difficulties showed greater selective attention and reported a statistically significant increase in positive affect and a tendency to a significant decrease in negative affect after the lesson in the greenness than in the classroom. Students also perceived the green space as more restorative than the classroom environment. Results are discussed against theories on the benefits of exposure to natural environments, highlighting the theoretical and practical significance of the study.

Keywords: attention; classroom environment; emotional difficulties; green environment; math performance; negative affect; positive affect; school lessons.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
The natural environment of the two schools.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Interaction effect of environment and emotional difficulties on selective attention.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Interaction effect of environment, pre-post positive affect, and emotional difficulties.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Interaction effect of environment, pre-post negative affect, and emotional difficulties.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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