Designing a Garden Learning Environment for Kindergarten School Children: A Psychological Perspective

This report emphasizes on designing a learning environment for the students in the garden. Therefore, while designing the garden as the learning environment it is necessary to consider psychological aspect of the individuals attending the learning environment. The report also consists of the basic plan of the garden that will be used for designing the learning environment. The garden learning environment also benefits the children by teaching them team work and responsibility along with gathering the experience of hands-on training. Theoretical aspects of designing the space by considering the psychological aspects are also discussed.

Running head: ENVIRONMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY
Environmental Psychology
Name of the Student:
Name of the University:
Author’s Note:

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Table of Contents
Introduction......................................................................................................................................2
Specifying the area selected for design...........................................................................................2
Identifying the people using the space.............................................................................................3
Identifying the activities taking place in the space..........................................................................4
Identifying the special needs relevant to space................................................................................5
Theoretical aspects of designing the space by considering the psychological aspects....................6
Integrating the theory for designing the space.................................................................................8
Conclusion.......................................................................................................................................9
References......................................................................................................................................11

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Introduction
Education is the key that determines the overall growth of the children by providing them
adequate learning and growing environment. It has been seen that educating the children are
generally conducted in confined places such as schools, seminars, libraries, and conservatories
thereby, restricting the overall growth of the children (Clayton, 2012). In the 21st-century
learning environment, the learning environment is designed in open spaces, playgrounds, street
corners, pars, and hallways. Therefore, the outdoor space needs to be designed in order to fulfil
the educational requirements of the students thereby, promoting learning and education (Cassidy,
2013).
This report emphasizes on designing a learning environment for the students in the
garden. Therefore, while designing the garden as the learning environment it is necessary to
consider psychological aspect of the individuals attending the learning environment.
Additionally, the report also emphasizes the theoretical aspects that need to be considered while
designing the learning environment by selecting specific components such as furniture and tools
appropriately. Moreover, the report also discusses the individuals using the space and the
activities conducted in the learning environment. The report also consists of the basic plan of the
garden that will be used for designing the learning environment.
Specifying the area selected for design
In this report, the garden is selected for designing the learning environment for the
children in order to ensure an educational retreat thereby, promoting cognitive restoration. As a
result, the learning environment will enhance the learning process. As commented by Gifford

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(2014), the school garden is considered as an innovative teaching tool that provides an
opportunity for the teachers to include hands on activities for students while learning. Using the
garden as the learning environment allows the students coming from disturbed or abused
background to find a newer approach to education and learning. As mentioned by Steg, Van Den
Berg and De Groot (2012), children tend to learn better when they are allowed to experience the
practicality of the theoretical aspect of the education and learning.
Rationale for selecting garden learning environment
The major advantage of selecting the garden as the learning environment is that the
children will be able to develop love and compassion for the surrounding environment.
Additionally, the garden will also provide an opportunity for the student to experience the
educational activities practically and personally thereby, enhancing their knowledge. Moreover,
learning in the garden also develops the urge and enthusiasm within the children for learning.
The garden learning environment also benefits the children by teaching them team work and
responsibility along with gathering the experience of hands-on training (Schmuck & Schultz,
2012).
Identifying the people using the space
The children will be primarily attending the learning environment in the garden. The
schools aim towards conducting the teaching classes in the garden for the students rather than
educating them in confined infrastructure. The children attending the learning environment in the
garden will mainly comprise of pre-school or kindergarten aged children. Educating the primary
school children in gardens is beneficial as this allows the children to learn about the surrounding
environment and develop love and compassion. Additionally, garden learning environment

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enables the kindergarten schoolchildren to develop community and social development (Block et
al., 2012).
The garden learning environment also allows the primary school children to learn and
develop interest beyond academics. The children are able to get a broader scope of learning
lessons of life along with learning approaches to leading a healthy life. The garden learning
environment will also provide an opportunity for the kindergarten students to develop an interest
in co-curriculum activities thereby, facilitating their personal development. The garden learning
environment also provides an opportunity for the primary schoolchildren to gain experience by
conducting hands on activities. As a result, the primary kindergarten schoolchildren become
more attentive thereby, developing the ability of better recollection of information (Sellmann &
Bogner, 2013).
Identifying the activities taking place in the space
The kindergarten children will be allowed to perform a range of activities in the garden
learning environment. The main activity that will take place in the garden learning environment
includes educating the children by providing them hands on training. For instance, in order to
educate the children about the significance of environment, the children will be educated by
providing hands-on training. As commented by Wong, Chen and Jan (2012), it is important for
the children to develop a sense of belongingness and compassion for the surrounding
environment from an early age. Therefore, the garden learning environment will provide an
opportunity for the children to relate to the environment.
Secondly, the teacher will engage the primary school children in various playful and co
curricular activities. For example, the children will be allowed to play games that will enhance

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their coordination and cooperation skills. The teachers can also use the garden learning
environment for organizing a competition among the children. This will help in developing the
overall nature of the children. Moreover, the garden learning environment can also be used for
organizing an interactive session for the children. This will provide an opportunity for the
children to develop attentive, interactive and participative nature within them (Williams &
Dixon, 2013).
Other activities that can be conducted in the learning garden environment includes
organizing planting trees, playing soccer, organizing daily lunch picnics and educating the
children about the surrounding environment such as the sun and the trees. Educating the children
in the garden learning environment will help the children in gaining better knowledge, as the
children will be able to experience the educational materials personally (Laaksoharju, Rappe &
Kaivola, 2012). Moreover, the garden learning environment can also include playful activities
such as homemade rubbery goop recipe, primary colours squishy bag experiment, designing
fossils, making sand foams along with colouring and drawing activities (Nedovic & Morrissey,
2013).
Identifying the special needs relevant to space
As the garden learning environment will be dealing with children, the authorities
organizing and conducting the learning environment needs to emphasize on health and hygiene
(Wilson, 2012). Therefore, it is important for the authorities for identifying the needs of the
selected space. The garden learning needs to have appropriate sitting arrangements for the
children that also need to consider the hygienic factor. Therefore, the garden learning
environment needs to have chairs and tables under the shade. This will allow the students to sit

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and take rest according to their convenience. Additionally, considering the nature of the children,
the garden learning environment needs to have waste bins at regular space. This will provide an
opportunity to ensure cleanliness and tidiness within the learning environment (Cosco, Moore &
Smith, 2014). Moreover, the garden learning area needs to have appropriate sanitation facilities
for the children. This will help the authority in maintaining the hygienic factor of the children
along with maintaining the cleanliness and tidiness of the surrounding environment.
Apart from the specific needs for ensuring health and hygiene for the children, the garden
learning environment also needs to ensure the safety of the children. Therefore, having an
adequate number of volunteers for individual children is significant. Additionally, the authorities
and the teachers need to ensure that the garden learning environment is free of sharp objects and
insects that are injurious to the children. Thus, ensuring this will provide an opportunity for the
authorities to ensure safety for the children while attending classes in the garden (Ernst &
Tornabene, 2012). Apart from the aforementioned needs, the garden learning environment also
needs to have hygienic food and water arrangements for the meals. This will also ensure both
health and hygiene for the children. Therefore, the aforementioned needs are relevant for
designing a garden learning environment for the kindergarten children.
Theoretical aspects of designing the space by considering the psychological aspects
In terms of theoretical aspect, the psychology of both the teacher and the students play a
significant role in designing the classroom. Therefore, while designing the garden learning
environment, the authorities need to consider various areas of psychology such as environmental,
educational, social and human psychology (Bonnes, 2017). As the garden learning environment
is set up in outdoor settings, it is exposed to light, temperature, and noise that might be

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challenging for the children for education. As commented by Huijts, Molin, and Steg (2012),
excessive or inadequate light, temperature and noise hamper the education of the children.
Therefore, while designing the garden classroom, the authority needs to consider the
environmental psychology of the children.
Secondly, while designing the garden learning environment, the authority needs to
consider the human psychology of the children. This is because the human psychology of the
children will greatly influence their education in the outdoor learning setting. For instance, some
of the children might learn better with practical experiences whereas some of the children might
be distracted due to practical experiences. Moreover, the outdoor environment might distract
some of the children, as they are able to see the surrounding environment and get distracted
whereas some of the children might learn much better when exposed to the external
environment. Considering the human psychology of the children is crucial, as this determines the
rate of educational success for the children thereby, ensuring overall personality growth and
development (Jacquet & Stedman, 2014).
The social psychology greatly influences the education and learning of the children, as
this provides an opportunity to study the individual thoughts, behaviours, actions, and feelings.
Therefore, while designing the garden learning environment, the social psychology of the
attending children needs consideration (Schunk, 2012). Considering the social psychology of the
children will help in analysing how the presence of the external environment will affect the
education of the children. For instance, some children might develop better attentive and social
skills due to outdoor learning environment whereas some children might be less inattentive, as
they might be easily distracted due to the external environment. Additionally, considering the
social psychology will also provide an opportunity to determine the impact of other surrounding

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people on the individuals (Greaves, Zibarras & Stride, 2013). Therefore, designing the
theoretical perspectives in terms of psychological aspects of children will enhance the quality of
learning and education in the garden learning environment.
Integrating the theory for designing the space
As discussed in the aforementioned section, the psychological aspects of the children in
terms of human, social and environmental psychology needs to be considered critically while
designing the outdoor garden learning environment. The environmental psychology of the
children needs to be considered while designing the garden learning environment. Therefore, the
garden learning environment needs to have adequate light and temperature so that the children
are able to concentrate on learning. As it is an outdoor learning environment, excessive sunlight
and temperature will distract the children, as they will suffer extreme conditions. Therefore, the
big trees in the garden can be used for protecting the children from excessive light and
temperature (Jonassen & Land, 2012). Moreover, appropriate noise control mechanism also
needs to be implemented so that the children are not easily disturbed by excessive noise.
The human psychology of the children needs to be considered as this will help in
determining the impact of the outdoor setting of the learning environment on the children. As
discussed, the outdoor learning environment helps in developing attentive skills in the children.
Therefore, the teachers need to consider and include the use of materials that can be used by the
children for learning. The learning environment might include big and distinctive materials that
can be used by the children that will help in creating an impression in them thereby, leaving a
mark for enhancing overall development (Bishop & Verleger, 2013). Moreover, it is also

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essential for the teachers and the volunteers to identify and understand the interest of the children
and provide them with necessary support thereby, fulfilling their human psychology.
Additionally, implementing the place theory will provide an opportunity for the
authorities to establish a relationship between the physical environment and the children.
Therefore, it is essential to identify the appropriate place within the garden that will be most
suitable for establishing the outdoor garden learning environment. The learning environment
might be established away from the road or factors that might distract the children. This will
enable the kindergarten schoolchildren to relate to the learning environment thereby, facilitating
a positive connection and influence learning.
Conclusion
In this report, it can be concluded that outdoor garden learning environment for
kindergarten school children are important for overall development of the child as well as
enhance their quality of education. The garden learning environment will help in developing
compassion and respect for the children about the surrounding environment, as the children will
be directly exposed to the natural environment. The garden learning environment for the
kindergarten schoolchildren will promote a range of playful activities that will help in engaging
the children thereby, developing personal characteristics such as attentiveness, discipline,
coordination, teamwork, and compassion of the natural environment. However, the health and
safety of the children need to be considered while designing a garden learning environment. This
can be achieved by keeping waste bins at places, hygienic sanitation, and drinking facilities and
ensure that the place is devoid of sharp objects and infections.

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It can also be concluded that the psychological aspect of the children needs to be
considered while designing the garden learning environment. The human, environmental and
social psychology of the children play a critical role in determining the success of the garden
learning environment. Therefore, the learning environment might be established away from the
road or factors that might distract the children. Also, it is essential to identify the appropriate
place within the garden that will be most suitable for establishing the outdoor garden learning
environment. Considering the theoretical and psychological aspect of the children will provide
an opportunity to ensure that the children are psychological satisfied and concentrate more on
learning rather than being distracted.

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