The forest offers countless opportunities for holistic learning in nature, as children gather new experiences, organize, upgrade, connect, and expand their understanding, while developing a positive attitude towards living in nature. In a forest environment, a child’s role, which is often passive in the classroom, changes to an active one, as they become active and involved explorers of the forest and their own actions and feelings.
In the theoretical part, we presented experiential learning, followed by definitions of forest, forest school, and forest pedagogy. The significance of forest pedagogy was elaborated on. The role of the teacher as a forest pedagogue was evaluated, as well as the importance of forest pedagogy as a teaching method in primary schools, its learning outcomes, and the principles of successful learning in nature. Additionally, didactic tools for forest education were presented. Finally, three of de Bono's thinking techniques were introduced, which are also useful in the forest.
The empirical part presents how regular visits to the forest influence first graders' perceptions and thoughts about the forest, the activities children engage in in the forest, and how much they enjoy and feel in the forest. The research is based on a qualitative approach, using a descriptive method. The research involved 25 first graders (14 "forest" and 11 "non-forest") who were interviewed three times in three different seasons. The empirical part also lists learning objectives from all first grade subjects that teachers can achieve in the forest and provides an overview of lesson plans of a teacher who conducts forest-based lessons once a week.
The research results indicate a positive contribution of school-based forest visits, particularly in terms of children's perceptions and descriptions of the forest. Overall, both groups of children generally enjoy visiting the forest, and most feel comfortable in the forest environment. The specific aspects of the forest that children enjoy, dislike, or find interesting change significantly throughout the school year. The research revealed differences in the activities that "forest" and "non-forest" children engage in, while some activities remain consistent across both groups.
The primary academic contribution of this master's thesis lies in advancing our understanding of children's perceptions of nature, the development of environmental awareness, and the significance of forest education as an effective method for exploring, experiencing, and reflecting upon forests.
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