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

Urban Farm DB summary

A within-subjects study of 65 second- and third-grade students in Europe compared a single regular lesson taught in a green school garden with a similar lesson taught in the classroom. Cognitive measures were selective and sustained attention and math calculation performance; affective measures were positive/negative mood and perceived environmental restorativeness. After the green-space lesson, children showed greater selective attention and better math calculation performance on two tasks than after the classroom lesson. Children with higher self-reported emotional difficulties showed a larger increase in selective attention, a statistically significant increase in positive affect, and a near-significant decrease in negative affect. Students also rated the green space as more restorative than the classroom.