Outdoor Science Approach with Peer Tutoring at University Level as an Example of Implementing Sustainable Development Strategies

Abstract

(1) Background: Education for sustainable development emphasizes the need to train future teachers to apply effective approaches to ensure the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals defined by the 2030 Agenda. (2) Methods: The research aim was to determine empirical data to introduce an outdoor science teaching approach with peer tutoring to teacher candidates through its impact on their performance, i.e., achievement, perceived mental effort, and opinion on the applied approach. The applied approach represents the integration of physics and geography through the elective course homeland geography at the Faculty of Teacher Education in Belgrade. Students performed outdoor measurements of physical quantities in created tasks. The tasks aimed to engage students’ spatial thinking and critical observation skills, whereas the use of verbal skills and content presentation skills was encouraged through peer tutoring. (3) Results: The research results showed a positive impact of an outdoor science teaching approach with peer tutoring on students’ achievement. Additionally, we found that perceived mental effort decreases with the use of this approach. Lower mental effort indicated more space in working memory, which can be used for processing new information. Therefore, obtained results indicated that the applied teaching approach is suitable for students. (4) Conclusions: The obtained results should incentivize other faculties that train future teachers to apply an outdoor teaching approach with peer tutoring. As a result of preparing future teachers in a way that promotes awareness of sustainable development and the local environment, it can be expected that young people will be more interested in solving these important issues because they will see them in their environment and be connected to them.

1. Introduction

Changes in nature caused by human activities have led to the need to define strategies that will ensure sustainable development (SD). These strategies aim to shape policies to ensure the coexistence of humans and their environment [1]. This is why the main goal of the Agenda for SD 2030 is to educate pupils on how to harmonize their needs with the environment from their first day of school. Therefore, two topics are highlighted; Topic 4, which is related to emphasizing the quality learning content and their contribution to the survival and prosperity of humanity, and Topic 13, which is related to fighting climate change by improving education and awareness of human product activities [2]. Introducing these topics into higher education, especially in pedagogical faculties, is of vital importance for achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The implementation of these topics at pedagogical faculties increases the awareness of young people. Future teachers change their attitudes and values, and through an initial education, adopt a way of thinking that includes the identification, planning and implementation of sustainable solutions to local sustainability issues [3], and will include it in their teaching practice. Therefore, higher education is recognized as the key to promoting the transition toward a more sustainable society and delivering graduates to foster this transition [4] (p. 2). Thus, the task of universities and faculties is no longer to only educate students; it is necessary to make them facilitators of change in their communities or working environments in the future [5] (p. 3).

Based on Europe SD reports, almost every country has had some improvements in the SDG index and SDG rank, but the results of Elliot and Davis, who emphasize that young students are apart from environmental problems [6] (p. 2), indicated the problem in the implementations of SDG into education. This result highlights the need for changing approaches to present the problem as well as teaching approaches in order to make young students more interested in global and local environmental problems and their solutions. These changes seek new integrated approaches to studying nature and natural phenomena, which is not usually at university level [7,8]. Therefore, this paper presents the way of implementing SDGs; specifically, Topic 4 and Topic 13, in higher education through the elective course, homeland geography at the Teacher Education Faculty in Belgrade. Specifically, this course integrated the contents of physics and geography by applying outdoor science, peer tutoring, and an inquiry-based approach with the aim of promoting awareness of local environments.

Outdoor science activities positively influence attitudinal, physical/behavioral, and intersocial constructs among students [8] because they allow them to observe scientific concepts in special contexts that address and traverse the traditional boundaries between biology, chemistry, geography, and physics [8]. Outdoor science teaching approaches involve hands-on learning, varied learning, problem-based learning, and physical activity [9], and are described as an ideal instrument for combining theory and practice [10]. Outdoor science approaches are recognized as essential [11,12] because they develop both general and subject-specific skills, highlight the challenges of different learning environments, and allow fragmented or compartmentalized knowledge to be integrated into a coherent whole [13].

Despite the numerous benefits of outdoor science approaches [9,10,14,15], according to Arı [16] (p. 289), research reports show somewhat different results and highlight some challenges [8] (p. 1523). These differences can be understood through the complexity of students’ achievements. One of the cognitive factors that has a large impact on students’ achievement, and whose correlation with an outdoor science approach was not examined, is cognitive load, i.e., mental effort. Mental effort refers to the cognitive capacity needed to solve a task [17,18]. The capacity of working memory is limited to 7 ± 2 meaningful items [19]; therefore, if students are given tasks that cause great mental effort, some of the information that exceeds the capacity of working memory will not be adopted. Due to the relatively small capacity of working memory, how information, in the form of meaningful items, is presented to the student is of great importance.

2. Research Methodology

According to Europe SD Report from 2018 [20], the Serbian SDG index rank was 40 and the SDG index score was 72.1. Even though there were some improvements, it is still necessary to work on some parts. As education is recognized as one of the most important parts of increasing the SDG index, Serbia put a lot of effort in this part. Therefore, numerous faculties include SD into their programs. In order to increase the SDG index, this paper presents empirical data of implementation of SDGs; specifically, Topic 4 and Topic 13, in higher education through elective course homeland geography at Teacher Education Faculty in Belgrade. Specifically, this course integrated the contents of physics and geography by applying outdoor science, peer tutoring, and an inquiry-based approach with the aim of promoting awareness of local environments. Focusing on local environments was considered as important in order to show young people that the problems of sustainable development are also present in their environment, and thus, bring them closer and connect with them. By bringing problems closer to students, it is expected that they will become more interested in solving them and finding conditions so that new problems do not arise.

The aim of this research is to determine empirical data to introduce an outdoor science teaching approach with peer tutoring to teachers candidates through its impact on their performance, i.e., achievement, perceived mental effort, and opinion on the applied approach. In order to measure the potential impact, it was defined in three research questions:

• Is there a difference in students’ achievement on the test of knowledge about physical and geography content in the post- and pre-test assessments?
• Is there a difference in perceived mental effort while completing the test of knowledge in the post- and pre-test assessments?
• Is there a difference in students’ opinions about the outdoor science approach in the post- and pre-test assessments?

2.1. Sample

The sample consists of 69 second-year undergraduates, 37 of them completed the course homeland geography and represented the experimental group, while 32 were the control group. The sample size of E group was limited by the specifics of the course, such as fieldwork, and the formal limitation of the number of attendees, which cannot exceed 40 students. C group consisted of students who did not take this course. All students take the obligatory course Introduction to Natural Sciences on first year of study. Due to the difference in the representation of male and female students, in favor of female students, gender differences were not considered in the paper. The quasi-experiment was conducted from February to August 2021. This kind of experiment was closely related to the limitations of the research. Specifically, different teachers were in C and E group, students chose elective course by their preference, and the number of students was limited because of two reasons.

2.2. Instrument and Procedures

This research was conducted in four phases:

• Preparation for the applied teaching approach and pre-test assessment;
• Implementation and evaluation of students’ measurement results;
• Reporting and peer tutoring;
• Post-test assessment.

Prior to the pre-test assessment, an analysis was performed on the choice of locations where data were collected, on the choice of data that would be collected, and finally, on the choice of instruments that would be used. In this research, the focus was on physics and geography contents, which included the physical concepts of pressure, temperature, and velocity.

After defining the contents, the pre-test assessment was performed, which included determining the initial level of knowledge on the physical and geographical contents and the students’ previous experience and opinion on teaching outside the classroom. Therefore, the pre- and post-test assessments included quantitative and quality data, obtained through a questionnaire that was part Likert scale and part ranking of a list of reasons for not engaging in fieldwork. The same instruments were used for the post-test assessment at the end of the semester.

The test of knowledge contained 11 closed-ended questions constructed to assess three cognitive levels: factual knowledge, understanding of relations, and application, including implementation, analysis, evaluation, and creation. These items from the revised Bloom taxonomy were combined into one level because the tasks required linking information through text analysis to create a topographic map with route directions, which required us to evaluate relations. The total number of points on the test of knowledge was 11; that is, the points were 3, 4, and 4, in that order, according to the aforementioned levels.

Each question included a five-point Likert scale to assess the mental effort spent on solving the questions. A value of 1 indicates the lowest perceived effort (very easy), while a value of 5 indicates the highest perceived mental effort (very difficult). This kind of measuring mental effort is recognized as a valid method by numerous of researches [18,21,22]. The validity and reliability of the test were assessed by using Cronbach’s alpha as a measure of internal consistency. The value of Cronbach’s alpha was 0.718. This means that the questions were well-defined and measured students’ knowledge of the examined concepts. The questionnaire on students’ experience and opinions on teaching outside the classroom contained both open-ended and closed-ended questions.

The third part of questionnaire was related to students’ previous experience and opinion on teaching outside the classroom. This part asked questions about the frequency of engaging in fieldwork, the way their teachers applied fieldwork in previous educational levels, and what fieldwork students are allowed based on their experience. Questions were prepared for this research. Question examples are given in Appendix A.

Homeland geography was introduced into study curricula in the school year 2016/2017. The course integrated the contents of physics and geography by applying outdoor science, peer tutoring, and an inquiry-based approach. Therefore, students performed measurements of physical quantities (pressure, temperature, air humidity, and fluid flow rate) in the created tasks. Classic instruments were used to measure these quantities, as well as a mobile phone application (weather). This is one of the mobile phone applications for measuring physical quantities such as pressure, temperature, wind speed, etc. Measurements were performed at three locations, in the town of Sremski Karlovci and on Fruska Gora Mountain. The locations were chosen according to the tasks and the absence of large fluctuations in the data of the required physical quantities. At each location, students were divided into groups of 6. Each group was given a task that was related to determining the impact of pressure, temperature, air humidity, and fluid flow rate on the formation of relief and how the same factors influenced the erosion of the soil or riverbed. An example of certain tasks with their outcomes is given in

Table 1. Example of certain tasks.

Tasks	Outcomes
Determine the landforms of the Pannonian region. What is the relief in relation to the altitude? What types of erosion can be observed in relief? Which co-existence is the most represented in the geological composition of the relief?	Recognize the landforms of the Pannonian region; connect the influence of altitude with the shape of the relief; observe and differentiate types of erosion for a given landform; connect the types of erosion with their cause; classify rocks based on mineral composition and structure.
Measure temperatures and air humidity. Measure the atmospheric pressure, observe the relationship between pressure and temperature and air humidity. Measure the speed of air flow and observe the connection with atmospheric pressure. Compare the measured data with databases and determine the connection of physical parameters with the shape of the relief.	Students can use various instruments to measure temperature, pressure, air humidity and air flow speed. They can observe the connection between physical quantities and critically observe and compare data. It relates the influence of physical quantities on the shape of the relief.

. Tasks and detailed materials for carrying out the outdoor teaching approach are also found in the textbook [23], so that they can use them in their teaching practice.

Each student had to perform one measurement with classical instruments and one with their mobile phone in order to compare the data. Additionally, when all students finished collecting the data, the mean value and standard deviation of the data were obtained. The teacher had prepared a database of measured physical quantities in the previous five years so that students could compare their data with the previously measured data. The aim was to encourage a critical approach when reviewing the data, for them to pay attention to the units in which the measured physical quantities were expressed, and to develop spatial thinking skills. After comparing the results and taking a critical approach, the students reported in the form of peer tutoring on how a particular physical quantity affected relief. For example, a higher air flow rate causes soil to dry faster, which makes survival, and often soil erosion (on the mountain Fruska Gora), more difficult for plant species. As another example, it was observed that a larger amount of water vapor in the air causes more frequent precipitation, and a larger amount of precipitation causes the leaching of the soil that is on a slope. Once all reports were presented, the students were expected to reveal the relations between physical quantities through discussion. Therefore, in this part—peer tutoring explanations—students focused on the influence of some parameters on climate, i.e., they searched for correlations between measured physical quantities and the local environment. Additionally, by comparing the data, students can see that there are trends in climate change, i.e., does the value of temperature increase, and if there are some changes, what is the difference in the values, what is the speed of that difference, what can be the reason for that, does it the effect the drought visible on the trees or plant?, etc. Therefore, students can compare measured and given data with the live pictures of the locations. The objective of this part is to connect teaching and learning to a local sustainability issue, i.e., to combine implementation of Topics 4 and 13 in teacher higher education. The control group takes social subjects, and they were randomly selected. After completing the fieldwork, the post-test assessment was completed.

2.3. Data Analysis

Descriptive statistics, Mann–Whitney test, was used to determine the difference in students’ knowledge and perceived mental effort, while the Wilcoxon test was used for paired samples. The r-indicator was used as an estimator of the size of the variables’ effect. The SPSS.20 program was used for statistical data processing. Values of skewness and kurtosis were in the range between −6.083 to 3.861, i.e., 37.000 to 1.171, which indicated a need to use non-parametric analyses. This was also confirmed with the Kruskal–Wallis test for knowledge (χ² = 16.999, p < 0.001) and for mental effort (χ² = 50.134, p < 0.001).

3. Results

According to the set research tasks, the results were divided into three parts.

3.1. Students’ Achievement on the Tests of Knowledge

Table 2. Mann–Whitney U test and descriptive statistics of students’ achievement on the test of knowledge.

	Group	M	SD	U	z
pre-test achievement	C	7.47	0.84	585.000	−0.095
	E	7.46	1.01
post-test achievement	C	7.53	0.95	50.000	−6.665 **
	E	10.08	0.95

** p < 0.001.

shows the Mann–Whitney U test and descriptive statistics to determine the difference between the achievements of C and E group.

The obtained results indicate that there is the similar achievement on the pre-tests, while statistical significance is obtained for the post-test achievements. Specifically, E group students showed higher achievement than C group students. To better understand the changes in the students’ performance within each group over time,

Table 3. Difference in students’ achievements for paired tests (pre- and post-test).

Group	z	r
C	−1.890	-
E	−5.149 **	0.599

** p < 0.001.

shows the Wilcoxon test for paired samples.

The obtained value of the r-indicator highlights the great influence of the applied outdoor science approach with peer tutoring on students’ achievement on the tests of knowledge.

Table 4. Difference in E students’ achievements for the cognitive levels.

	Maximum Number of Points	Pre-Test Assessment		Post-Test Assessment		z	r
		M	SD	M	SD
I level	3.00	2.49	0.65	3.00	0.00	−3.755 **	0.437
II level	4.00	3.89	0.52	4.00	0.00	−1.300	-
III level	4.00	1.08	0.49	3.08	0.95	−5.072 **	0.590

** p < 0.001.

shows the difference in students’ achievements for the examined cognitive levels.

The obtained results show the largest difference for Levels I and III. The questions at the third level require students to be critical of the given text from which they had to distinguish between accurate and inaccurate information, sketch a topographic map and a person’s route, and to solve a scientific crossword puzzle. Therefore, it can be assumed that a comparison and critical view of physical quantities encouraged the development of higher levels of thinking, i.e., they learn how to critically look at the given information. The test was on students’ native language, Serbian, from which examples were translated and are given in Appendix B.

3.2. Perceived Mental Effort

Table 5. Mann–Whitney U test and descriptive statistics of students’ perceived mental effort.

	Group	M	SD	U	z
pre-test achievement	C	2.95	0.38	481.000	−1.351
	E	2.84	0.20
post-test achievement	C	3.01	0.35	7.000	−7.081 **
	E	2.18	0.14

** p < 0.001.

shows the difference in students’ perceived mental effort.

Obtained results show that there is no difference in students’ perceived mental effort between groups on pre-test, while after quasi-experiment research, the difference is significant. Students in E group perceived less mental effort than students in C group.

Table 6. Difference in students’ perceived mental effort for paired tests (pre- and post-test).

Group	z	r
C	−2.842 *	0.355
E	−5.304 **	0.617

* p < 0.05 ** p < 0.001.

shows the difference in perceived mental effort in each group during the time of the test.

The Wilcoxon test for paired samples shows a statistically significant change in students’ perceived mental effort, which is larger in E group than in C group. Lower values of perceived mental effort indicate less working memory, which means that students can process more information and relate it to information in their long-term memory.

Table 7. Difference in the perceived mental effort for the cognitive levels for E group students.

	Maximum of Mental Effort	Pre-Test Assessment		Post-Test Assessment		z	r
		M	SD	M	SD
I level	5.00	2.09	0.39	1.19	0.26	−5.023 **	0.584
II level	5.00	1.81	0.53	1.12	0.21	−4.657 **	0.542
III level	5.00	4.61	0.36	4.25	0.30	−4.412 **	0.513

** p < 0.001.

shows a difference in the perceived mental effort for observed cognitive levels.

Based on the obtained values, there is a decrease of perceived mental effort on each cognitive level, which means that an applied approach is suitable for students to leave free space in their working memory for processing more information.

3.3. Experience and Opinion on the Applied Approach

The majority of the surveyed students stated that in their former educational experiences, their teachers did not generally use the outdoor approach (68%) or did not use it at all (13%). Around 14% of them occasionally had classes using this approach, lasting up to 90 min and without emphasizing interdisciplinarity. Teachers used the dialogic teaching method so students did not have practical activities during classes.

Due to the assumed low level of the implementation of the outdoor teaching approach, the questionnaire contained a question related to the reasons for the scarce use of the outdoor teaching approach in physics and geography lessons. The three most significant problems reported by the respondents were: teachers’ financial demotivation for the implementation of outdoor teaching, large numbers of students, and difficulties in obtaining consent. After an applied quasi-experimental research that included a full-day interdisciplinary teaching approach with an emphasis on the active role of students through scientific observations and measurements of physical quantities, all students stated that the applied teaching approach could improve the efficiency of the teaching process.

The benefits of the outdoor teaching approach with peer tutoring are recognized in the students’ complete agreement with the items that allow students to:

-

Actively participate in the implementation of problem tasks in small groups;

-

Cooperate with others in joint work and show willingness to help;

-

Develop teamwork skills by developing communicative and cooperative skills following the rules of good communication;

-

Think critically, showing tolerance for different opinions;

-

Develop a research spirit and a critical attitude towards processes in nature;

-

Independently perform elementary measurements in the geographical area to classify, make sketches, and keep diary records;

-

Better understand the facts related to the physical and geographical contents;

-

Better remember the facts related to the physical and geographical contents;

-

Creatively present the fieldwork results;

-

Discuss the topic they are dealing with;

-

Better understand how physics and geography are connected as natural sciences.

Taking into account personal experience during the implementation of outdoor teaching, students identified the following as the most significant problems: financial demotivation, insufficiently equipped schools lacking resources to conduct outdoor teaching, and difficulties in obtaining consent. The number of students, in this case, was perceived as the least serious problem. It is interesting to note that the number of students is no longer recognized as one of the main problems in the implementation of this approach. However, the item related to the financial stimulation of teachers remained at a high level of importance, which indicates the need for finding a systemic solution to the problem of implementing the outdoor teaching approach.

4. Discussion

According to some researchers, the lack of necessary natural resources, the deterioration of the ecological state of the environment, and climate change caused the need for education for SD [24]. Because the complexity of the environmental problems, UNESCO in its reports noted that education for SD should be interdisciplinary, i.e., not seen from one point of view, and locally relevant [25] (p. 285). Taking into account these characteristics and the positive results of other studies [3], this paper suggested a way of implementing SDGs, specifically Topic 4 and Topic 13, in teacher higher education, and gave empirical data of these implementations on future teachers’ performance. The implementation was carried out within the homeland geography course. This course integrated the contents of physics and geography by applying outdoor science, peer tutoring, and an inquiry-based approach. This kind of combination of teaching and learning approaches is based on the positive results of others studies. Therefore, according to Prince, outdoor learning may promote awareness of local environments, knowledge and understanding, skill development, shifting of attitudes and values, and exploration of ways of taking action to address sustainability issues [3]. Positive impacts of the outdoor teaching approach on achievement, spatial thinking skills, and critical thinking were also found in other studies [15,26,27,28,29,30,31]. Others studies highlight the positive effects of peer tutoring on students’ performance at all educational level [31,32,33]. Through the homeland geography course, students performed measurements of the physical quantities pressure, temperature, air humidity, and fluid flow rate to determine the influence of these factors on the formation of the relief of a given locality. These procedures encouraged students’ spatial thinking skills and critical observation of information, and peer tutoring, engaged their verbal skills and content presentation skills. Accordingly, the goal of the created tasks was to stimulate the students’ cognitive and socio-affective domains.

In order to measure the impact of the applied approach, the current research was based on three research tasks: determining the impact of an outdoor science teaching approach with peer tutoring on students’ achievement, perceived mental effort, and opinions on the applied approach. In order to show this impact, a difference on pre- and post-testing was observed, and it was used in the control group. The control group consisted of students who did take social subjects, while the experimental group students took the homeland geography course.

The main results showed a positive impact of the applied approach in E group on students’ achievement on knowledge tests. Significant changes were achieved at cognitive levels I and III. Because of the increasing achievement at the third cognitive level, it can be assumed that the implementation of an outdoor science teaching approach with peer tutoring encourages the development of higher forms of thinking. The applied approach puts students in a position to research and critically evaluate the information they receive. Additionally, students have the opportunity to compare data obtained by classical instruments and by a mobile phone application. The use of mobile phone applications is very convenient for outdoor teaching. Therefore, the obtained results are in accordance with Max’s statements that the outdoor approach can improve the participants’ understanding, which will enable them to develop specific, transferable skills, encourage more active learning and connect theory to the real world [26] (p. 798). As suggested in Elliott and Davis’ paper and UNESCO’s report, fostering students’ critical thinking could involve reflection on their personal beliefs and socio-cultural values and their ability to take action to address sustainability issues [3] (p. 9). Therefore, the tasks that students obtained during the classes in E group had the objective of causing critical observations of data and nature, and change the way of looking at the local environment and the human impact on it.

The second research task is related to the students’ perceived mental effort. E group students perceived less mental effort than C group students. While creating activities for the outdoor approach, the positive results of other studies were taken into account [21,34] since, to the best of the authors’ knowledge, there are no reports of studies including the outdoor science teaching approach with peer tutoring and mental effort. According to the results of Radulović’s studies, students’ mental effort can be reduced through their active role achieved by applying experiments when teaching physics. Our research, therefore, includes the positive elements recognized in these studies and expands them by changing the environment in which physical measurements are performed. Measurements were made in an outdoor environment that requires information to be combined with geographical content. In addition to this change, the teaching approach was improved with the inclusion of peer tutoring. This combination of teaching approaches causes a decrease in mental effort, which leaves more space for the working memory to perceive and process new information.

In addition to the research related to the cognitive domain, this research also included the socio-affective domain. The surveyed students noticed the many benefits of the applied teaching approach. They saw this approach as a series of opportunities for active and creative work. They partially changed their perception of the causes for the underrepresentation of the outdoor teaching approach. A large number of students is no longer recognized as one of the main obstacles for the implementation of this approach, which implies that the extensive preparation of teachers can eliminate this problem. The obtained positive results are in agreement with other research findings [9,28,35].

Taking into account all the characteristics of applied approach, especially the need to combine knowledge from several scientific disciplines into one coherent whole, it was considered important to empirically determine its impact on future teachers’ performance. Preparing students during theirs initial education, will allow them to adopt a way of thinking that includes identification, planning and the implementation of sustainable solutions to the local sustainability issue [3], which they will include in their teaching practice. Therefore, adequately preparing future preschool teachers ensures that the SDGs will be implemented because it appropriately presents the problem and possible solutions regarding teaching SD to young generations.

5. Conclusions

In this paper, the potential impact of an outdoor teaching approach for science with peer tutoring on students’ knowledge, perceived mental effort, and opinion about outdoor teaching were reviewed. The obtained results showed the positive impact of the applied teaching approach on the examined students’ performances. Students’ achievement increased, while their perceived mental effort decreased during the quasi-experiments. Obtaining lower mental effort means that more information could be processed in the long-term memory. The results also showed a positive impact on students’ opinions about outdoor teaching. Although the research was conducted using a limited sample, the obtained positive results are guidelines for physics and geography teachers with regard to how they can apply an outdoor approach in their teaching. Additionally, the obtained results could be an incentive for other faculties that train future teachers to apply an outdoor teaching approach with peer tutoring, in order to better prepare future teachers for the teaching profession and ensure society better understands and works towards achieving the SDGs.

Limitations

The obtained results need to be viewed in light of their limitations. In addition to the size of the sample and students’ personal characteristic, it is necessary to include teaching contents from other natural sciences for further research. Additionally, further research should involve preschool teachers in order to monitor changes in students’ competencies and abilities necessary for sustainable development.