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In the Swedish biology curriculum for upper secondary school, it is stated that teaching in ecology should include field studies. The purpose of this study was to answer whether students increased their understanding in ecology after they had participated in a field trip, compared to traditional classroom teaching.

The students’ (n=64) prior knowledge of ecology was measured by questionnaires. One group of students (G1) was then exposed to a theoretical teaching strategy. A second group (G2) was directly exposed to a field study. When the groups had been exposed to the same central concepts, the knowledge of ecosystem concepts were again tested by questionnaires. In a second learning cycle, we exposed group one to outdoor ecology teaching and group two to traditional theoretical teaching. A pretest was performed, followed by the educational settings. After this second learning cycle, a second test was administered and the results were evaluated.

When our results were evaluated, no difference between traditional classroom teaching and outdoor teaching could be found. In our opinion well motivated students in general – i.e. the students included in this study – could be, to a lesser degree, motivated by changes in the learning context.

The method we used enabled us to study progress and achievement, this can also be easily applied to the Swedish natural science curriculum. Although our results didn’t show any differences between indoor and outdoor learning, we feel encouraged to use this method to further explore potential benefits from outdoor learning.