Natursti i naturfag på videregående skole: En studie av postene og elevenes erfaringer fra en natursti om radioaktivitet og stråling

A nature trail in science at an upper-secondary level: A study of the posts and students’ experiences from a nature trail about radioactivity and radiation

Abstract

This article explores how a nature trail can be used as an approach in science education at an uppersecondary
level in Norway. The topic of the trail is radioactivity and radiation. The article illuminates
obstacles and possibilities connected to the trail’s posts, how the students experience the posts, and what
takes place during the transport between posts. This inspires how the nature trail can be redesigned. The
findings point to that the assignments given in the posts are typically closed questions that to a small
degree are related to phenomena at the location. Video observations show that student groups meet
each other, and they help each other with the questions. The student group followed in this article, uses
approximately half of the time available for walking between posts. This is regarded as unused potential
for learning. The redesign is based on didactical reconsiderations consisting of seven questions that can
be adapted to other contexts. The contributions of this article are knowledge and experiences concerning
a nature trail in science, which is an unexplored area within the field of outdoor education pedagogy.