Poster #56 - Outdoor Learning Environments for Infants and Toddlers: Perceived Impact of Affordances on Development and Behavior

• In Event: Poster Session 11

Abstract

This study explored teachers' and directors' reports of their recently renovated outdoor learning environments (OLE) and perceived changes in children’s development and behavior related to observed affordances in their OLEs. The notion of affordance (Gibson, 1979) suggests we perceive and notice an object’s or environment’s affordances, rather than their qualities. Affordance occurs in the interaction between individual and environment. Kyttä (2004) expanded on this theory by proposing the notion of potential and actualized affordances. Potential affordances are perceived as possible by an individual, whereas actualized affordances are observable behaviors with the environment. Children may perceive different possibilities related to what the outdoor environment can offer them to do, and their perceptions might also vary as a function of age. Children's development and behavior are often influenced by the type, frequency, and depth of activities they engage in (Bronfenbrenner & Morris, 2006). To identify and categorize affordances offered to infants and toddlers outdoors, we used the Childcare Outdoor Learning Environments Quality Tool (COLEQT; Natural Learning Initiative). This tool allows the observer to rate (1 to 4) a range of quality indicators including settings, pathway design, natural elements, shade, loose parts, portable play equipment, physical activity affordances, storage, and gathering spaces. A revised version of the Program Domain of the Preschool Outdoor Environment Measurement Scale (DeBord et al., 2005) was piloted to assess affordances related to specific curricular areas of the program, such as language, art, drama, music, math, and sciences. Teachers and directors from 7 childcare programs participated in semi-structured interviews answering questions about the impact of their renewed outdoor environment on infants/toddlers' outdoor play and overall development. A total of 12 interviews (7 directors and 5 teachers) were conducted over Zoom and lasted between 30 to 60 minutes. Memos of each interview were utilized to code and group inductive and deductive themes. To ensure reliability on coding, each interview was memoed by two researchers. Findings from the qualitative interviews indicate that teachers and directors mentioned specific elements of the environment that afforded certain child behaviors or actions. Additionally, there were multiple areas of development and child behavior changes that were mentioned as being impacted by the higher quality elements of the OLE (Tables 1 and 2). The quantitative data collected was analyzed for the presence of each element per each OLE (n=7). Observed centers had a high number of physical activity affordances and play and learning settings. Among the least frequent materials observed in the OLEs were natural loose parts as well as materials to support language, art, drama, and music. Teachers and directors interviewed pointed to behavior changes associated with elements of the high-quality OLE and the resulting impact on overall child development that was afforded by these elements. These results support the value of high-quality outdoor environments and their potential to impact young children’s learning and development.

Authors

• Miranda L. Denham, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
  Presenting Author

• Blenda Chor Rodrigues, University of North Carolina at Greensboro

• Linda Hestenes, University of North Carolina at Greensboro