This fellow is sponsored by EPA’s STAR or Greater Research Opportunities (GRO) Program. The Header font The Subhead font Abstract Richard Louv (2008) calls the increasing alienation of today’s children from the environment “nature-deficit disorder.” Research suggests this disconnect can adversely impact young people’s physical and psychological well-being. This research explores whether online multimedia journaling about nature can increase the amount of time students spend outdoors, enhancing their environmental awareness and changing their nature-related perceptions. Students in a 60-person introductory environmental studies course at Indiana University-Bloomington completed weekly online multimedia nature journals for one semester. The poster displays nature journal instructions, prompts, and examples of high- quality student journal entries (used with permission). A survey assessed students' experiences with the project. The median survey respondent spent an additional 11–20 minutes outdoors weekly. Seventy-four percent of respondents said that the project increased their awareness of nature, 68% said it changed the way they thought about nature, and 56% said it increased their interest in spending time outdoors. Though these findings are promising, there are some theoretical reasons for questioning their depth and duration.. Project Goals and Procedures (1) Get students outside during the semester at least 15 additional minutes weekly. (2) Foster among students greater environmental awareness. (3) Challenge students’ misconceptions about the environment, altering their thinking. (4) Enrich and reinforce classroom concepts. (5) Encourage students to spend more time outside in the future. The journals were hosted by Blogger, a free online platform. They were only visible to the instructor, graduate TA, and the student. Students completed 12 entries, analyzing the same site in each. Most prompts required writing. Nearly all required students to post digital pictures or create sketches and scan and post them as images. Some prompts required research. I told students that to produce quality journal entries, they should examine their sites carefully for at least 15 minutes, and then do additional work. I gave students all journal prompts and grading rubrics at the start of the semester. They had to meet weekly deadlines but could complete journals sooner. Example grading rubric: 6) Investigate the human history of your nature place. This may mean looking up information about the location in Indiana University historical documents, City of Bloomington resources, or histories of the state of Indiana; cite as appropriate. If there is a lack of official information about the place, speculate. Does it look like it was once used for agriculture? For waste disposal? Flood control, irrigation, recreation, construction, gardening, storage, or other purposes? Explain the evidence that forms the basis for your inference. Provide at least two digital photos or PDF/JPEG/TIFF sketches of the signs or evidence you use to infer past human uses. (25 points) Source: EPA 2011, Source: EPA 2011, Enhancing College Students’ Environmental Sensibilities through Online Nature Journaling Gwen Arnold Public Policy PhD Candidate Workshop on Political Theory and Policy Analysis Indiana University-Bloomington 10) Spend at least 15 minutes at your location sitting quietly. What are the dominant forms of vegetation at this place? Provide a digital photo or a PDF/JPEG/TIFF sketch of four plants, trees, shrubs, and/or flowers. Look up the scientific (Latin) name of each and provide it. Choose one plant and briefly research its characteristics and habitat. Provide a write-up of your research with appropriate citations. If you did not find four different forms of vegetation, photograph/sketch, identify, and research those you did encounter. Then answer the following questions as well: What other plants might you have expected to find in this environment? Why would you expect this to be their habitat? Why do you think you did not observe them? (25 points) 5) Pretend that you have seen the entire history of your nature place pass in front of you in five minutes. What would you have seen? This entry is different from the third one because now you are now being asked to imagine a timeline and to describe how the place might have looked at different points in history. (15 points) 2) Sketch the place you have selected. Draw each of the key features you identified in your first journal entry. Label the features so that the TA/instructor can tell what they are. Scan your sketch as a PDF, JPEG, or TIFF and post it. (15 points) Questions? Contact Gwen Arnold at