THE EFFECT OF A VISUAL CONNECTION WITH NATURE IN THE CLASSROOM ON HELPING TO REDUCE THE STRESS OF STUDENTS AGED 15-18 IN THE UK. by IEUAN THOMAS
Biophilic Classroom at Putney High School
Contents Image List .................................................................................................................................. 3 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 4 2. Literature Review ...................................................................................................................... 5 2.1. Biophilic Design and a Visual Connection with Nature ................................................................. 5 2.2. Stress Reducing Effects of a Visual Connection with Nature .......................................................... 7 2.3. Outdoor Classrooms as a Visual Connection with Nature ............................................................ 10 3. Methodology ......................................................................................................................... 11 3.1. Research Approach ........................................................................................................ 11 3.2. Method of Research ....................................................................................................... 11 3.3. Research Limitations ...................................................................................................... 12 4. Case Studies .......................................................................................................................... 12 4.1. Putney High School ........................................................................................................ 12 4.2. The Garden School ......................................................................................................... 13 4.3. Ralph Allen School ......................................................................................................... 14 4.4. EDspaces Classroom ....................................................................................................... 15 4.5. Case Study Comparison ................................................................................................... 16 5. Discussion ............................................................................................................................ 17 5.1. Discussion ................................................................................................................... 17 5.2. Implications and Limitations ............................................................................................. 18 6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 18 Reference List ........................................................................................................................... 20
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Image List Page 6:
Figure 1. Table showing the fourteen patterns of biophilic design and their effect on people. (Browining, Ryan and Clancy, 2014).
Page 8: Page 9:
Figure 2. Images of nature on the wall in a classroom. (Bowman, 2020).
Figure 3. Biophilic environments in virtual reality that registered lower stress levels. (Yin et al., 2020)
Page 12:
Figure 4. The biophilic English classroom. (Bowman, 2020). Figure 5. Example of plants in the classroom with a view of nature through the window. (Bowman, 2020). Figure 6. Example of plants in the classroom. (Bowman, 2020).
Page 13: Figure 7. Images of nature combined with plants in the classroom. (Bowman, 2020). Figure 8. View out of the classroom. (Oliver Heath Design). www.oliverheath.com/portfolio-item/ garden-school-hackney/ Figure 9. Images of nature on the walls. (Oliver Heath Design). www.oliverheath.com/portfolioitem/garden-school-hackney/ Page 14: Figure 10. Students working under the Larch Canopy at Ralph Allen School in the outdoor classroom. (Architects Journal). www.ajbuildingslibrary.co.uk/projects/display/id/6268 Figure 11. Students viewing the school grounds from the outdoor classroom. (Architects Journal). www.ajbuildingslibrary.co.uk/projects/display/id/6268 Page 15: Figure 12. Classroom seating next to images of nature. (Demco). ideas.demco.com/idea/biophilicdesign-edspaces-classroom/# Page 16: Figure 13. Example of the flooring representing moss-covered cobblestones. (Demco). ideas. demco.com/idea/biophilic-design-edspaces-classroom/# Figure 14. Example of plants in the classroom. (Demco). ideas.demco.com/idea/biophilic-designedspaces-classroom/#
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1. Introduction Secondary school students’ mental health has been deteriorating rapidly over the past decade. The rate of hospital admissions as a result of self-harm has grown by 36% in females aged between 10 and 24 during the years 2012 to 2019, to 1 in every 145 girls (Nuffield Trust, 2020). This, sadly, is likely a gross underestimate of those who are self-harming. This is because A&E attendances, GP visits and those who do not seek any medical attention are not counted in these figures. The Adult Psychiatric Morbidity Survey 2014 reported that 25.7% of females aged 16 to 24 in England have reported that they have self-harmed at some point in their lives (McManus et al., 2016). For young men, suicide is the biggest risk regarding their mental health. In 2019, the rate of suicides per 100,000 males aged 15 to 19 in the UK was 50% higher than it was in 2010 (Simms et al., 2019). Whilst suicides and self-harm are extremely complex things, rarely caused by just one factor, research shows that students experiencing academic pressures is one of the most common and largest risk factors for suicide in young people under 20 (Simms et al., 2019). Young people are struggling to cope with academic pressures and exam stress. Counselling sessions conducted by the service Childline were most commonly with 15 and 16-year olds who are preparing for their GCSE’s, who said exam stress was negatively impacting their mental health, causing some to self-harm or feel suicidal (NSPCC, 2019). Also, the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to students feeling even more stressed than before. Emerging evidence from the COVID-19 pandemic shows secondary school students have identified increased stress and pressure from their academics due to the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns. Young people have many concerns about their education being interrupted and the effect this will have on their future career opportunities as schools are constantly opening and closing due to national lockdowns (Millar et al., 2020). The learning environment for young people could be improved in order to help try and reduce the stress they are experiencing. There are many definitions of stress, and different professions define it in their own unique ways. Behavioural sciences regard stress as the “perception of threat, with resulting anxiety discomfort, emotional tension, and difficulty in adjustment.” (Fink, 2009). On a more biological level, the hypothalamus region in your brain stimulates the release of adrenaline and cortisol (the body’s primary stress hormone). The adrenaline that is released increases both a person’s heart rate and blood pressure, which the body shouldn’t sustain for long periods of time as it is detrimental. High cortisol levels stop certain nonessential body processes like your immune response and growth processes from functioning as normal incase of a fight or flight scenario (Mayo Clinic, 2019). This means stress has very negative effects on learning especially on young adults whose brains are still developing during adolescence. A number of studies show that stress can cause both functional and structural change to the hippocampus section of the brain (Yaribeygi et al., 2017), a section which is crucial for young people as it plays a pivotal role in learning and memory (Anand and Dhikav, 2012). Biophilia is defined as the innate and genetically pre-determined human connection with the natural world and natural systems (Wilson, 1984). Biophilic design is the attempt to implement biophilia into the design of the built environment (Kellert, Heerwagen and Mador, 2008). Biophilic design attempts to create a habitat that improves people’s health, fitness and wellbeing through interaction with the built environment (Kellert and Calabrese, 2015). It is believed that this connection to nature improves wellbeing because of the inherent human affiliation to nature. A study by Zelenski and Nisbet (2014) concluded that nature relatedness (the feeling of having a connection with nature) was a significant predictor of happiness. In addition, nature relatedness was distinct from other important human connections in promoting happiness. This suggests that having a connection to nature is inherent and genetically predetermined as 4
it acted independently of other subjective connections. This is likely why when asked to draw their absolute favourite space, 96% of children will draw a space in nature (Sturgeon, 2019). Implementing biophilic design into offices has been shown to increase worker’s productivity by 8% and their well-being by 13%. Whilst in schools, it has increased rates of students’ learning, and between 20-25% of students have had improved test results (Oliver Heath Design, 2015). This dissertation will explore whether implementing a visual connection with nature in the classroom can help to reduce stress in students aged between 15-18 in the UK. This is because there is a gap in the literature surrounding the effect of biophilic design in classrooms on stress felt by students in this age range. This age range was chosen in order to address the deteriorating mental health epidemic UK students aged 15-18 are finding themselves in. The location of the classroom was chosen because whilst school opening hours can vary depending on the location of the school, public schools must be open for at least 190 days during a school year and for the majority of that time, students are in the classroom (Long, 2019). The objectives of the thesis are there to help answer the research question ‘Can Having a Visual Connection with Nature in the Classroom Help to Reduce the Stress of Students Aged 15-18 in the UK?’. This research question will be answered by finding solutions to the following sub-questions: • What is biophilic design? • How can a visual connection with nature reduce stress? • How have visual connections to nature been implemented in schools already? • Will the visual connections to nature in these schools help reduce the stress of students? These research questions can be answered by completing the following objectives: • Identifying the patterns of biophilic design. • Identifying the stress reducing and preventative qualities of a visual connection with nature by assessing existing literature. • Analysing examples of schools that are designed to have a visual connection with nature in the classroom through the form of case studies. • Evaluating whether these examples are likely to reduce and prevent student stress and critically assessing whether the design decisions should be implemented in more classrooms across the UK.
2. Literature Review 2.1 Biophilic Design and a Visual Connection with Nature Implementing biophilic design in buildings has been shown to help reduce a person’s stress levels by lowering their cortisol levels and diastolic blood pressure; improving their cognitive function; and improving their well-being (Browning, Ryan and Clancy, 2014). Research into the role of exposure to nature in aiding stress recovery has shown that biophilic design can help mitigate stress, promote motivation, and produce higher levels of positive feelings in a person (Ulrich et al., 1991; Kaplan, 1995). Kaplan (1995) also identified that experience in natural environments can prevent stress, which is extremely important as not only should the learning environment reduce any stress students 5
may be feeling, but it should also help prevent them from experiencing it in the first place. Biophilic design is a broad term, so Browning, Ryan and Clancy (2014) separated biophilic design into fourteen ‘patterns’. These patterns are there to cover all aspects of biophilic design, whilst grouping similar aspects of the practice with applications for each so people’s health and wellbeing are improved. This dissertation will cover the first of the fourteen patterns (Fig. 1), ‘Visual Connection with Nature’, and its effect on reducing stress. This pattern was chosen as studies have shown when children are asked to identify changes to the physical features of the school environment, they would want to have a view of nature when they’re inside the school building (Ghaziani, 2008). Also, a visual connection with nature has stress-reducing benefits and there are various simplistic ways it can be implemented in a classroom setting. For example, through naturally occurring sources like vegetation being present in the classroom or through simulated sources like artwork on the walls that depict nature (Browning, Ryan and Clancy, 2014). Outdoor spaces in schools can be utilised by having outdoor classrooms. However, schools in urban environments often have little access to outdoor nature, causing many school children to become unaware of what it is like to be in nature, as they never have been (Collier, 2013). Therefore the stress-reducing effects of introducing a visual connection with nature into the indoor classroom setting should be explored first.
Figure 1. Table showing the fourteen patterns of biophilic design and their effect on people. (Browning, Ryan and Clancy, 2014). 6
2.2 Stress-Reducing Effects of a Visual Connection with Nature Being surrounded by nature whilst indoors can help to calm people. An online article by Casamassima (2020) describes how indoor biophilic design helps to engage our senses and bring us out of a state known as ‘autopilot’ which lowers the body’s cortisol levels. The article gives a reason for why the body’s stress hormone is lowered. We are informed of the psychological state known as ‘autopilot’ and can identify that in order to escape this state, we must engage our senses through biophilic design. This lowers any high cortisol levels in the body. This could be particularly useful for both reducing students’ stress and improving learning (which in turn could potentially lead to students feeling more prepared for exams, causing less exam-based stress). This is because research shows being stuck in autopilot is detrimental to our learning, as it is theorised that autopilot causes repetitive behaviours which can hinder learning engagement (Vatansever, Menon and Stamatakis, 2017; Koegel and Covert, 1972). However, this article covers indoor biophilic design, which is a broad topic. It likely covers more patterns than just a visual connection with nature, so more specified research must be conducted. One of the ways students can be surrounded by nature in the classroom is by including vegetation in the classroom, especially flowering plants. Kellert and Calabrese (2015) identified that the presence of plants in an indoor environment can reduce stress and enhance a person’s mental performance and productivity. Identifying specific ways in which a visual connection with nature can be introduced is important because it helps designers identify how they can introduce biophilic design elements that will have a positive effect on people. The article suggests that single or isolated plants rarely provide many benefits to people using the building. If vegetation is to be introduced, there should be an abundance of plants that are ecologically connected. This would indicate that classrooms need to go through a radical design shift to produce enough effect on the students inside them. In schools, plants are rarely introduced in the classroom, and just introducing a few plants is likely to have little to no effect on the stress levels of the students. Therefore the classroom should be designed as a habitat suitable for plants to thrive, so that an abundance of vegetation can be created. This should help reduce student stress. On the contrary, a study out of the University of Hyogo in Japan showed that even one small plant situated within sight of office workers initially produced stress-reducing benefits (Toyoda et al., 2019), suggesting a radical redesign of classrooms might not be necessary. This would be easier to implement because there is often a lack of space in the classroom, especially in urban schools, so introducing an abundance of plants may not be a practical solution. In addition, there is further evidence to show that having plants indoors facilitates stress recovery. An experiment into the effects of a biophilic indoor environment on stress recovery (Yin et al., 2020) detailed that participants of the experiment had consistently better stress recovery when exposed to biophilic environments. In particular, having green plants as the main aspect of the indoor biophilic environment facilitated the recovery of psychological stress the most. This provides evidence to support Kellert and Calabrese’s argument (2015) that introducing plants into the indoor environment helps with stress recovery. However, this experiment only looks into stress recovery, rather than both stress recovery and stress prevention. Changes to the classroom must aim to cover both aspects. Kaplan (1995) recognised that experience in natural environments can both mitigate stress and prevent it. But this covers the natural environment, which is a broad subject. Instead, we should focus on whether a visual connection with nature through indoor plants is enough to prevent extreme stress in students in the first place. However, there is little literature that investigates the preventative qualities of plants in an indoor environment. Therefore only introducing plants into the classroom is unlikely to be the most effective way of lowering stress through a visual connection with nature. 7
Figure 2. Images of nature on the wall in a classroom. (Bowman 2020). Instead, vegetation should be paired with another visual connection of nature to help support and bolster the stressreducing qualities. As there can often be limited space indoors (especially in classrooms) for too many plants, Grinde and Patil (2009) suggest that giving people a view of nature, even if it is just pictures of nature, can help facilitate stress relief further when plants are also present in the indoor environment. This is due to the brain often interpreting both images and views of nature as stimuli that is aesthetically pleasing. This helps to release tension in the brain. As many urban schools lack a direct view of nature out of the window, including images of nature in the classroom (Fig.2) is a more practical and space-efficient way of giving students a visual connection with nature. However, Grinde and Patil only offer the idea of including a view to nature as a potential subsidiary to their main study on the effect of indoor plants on stress. This means the journal article does not delve into the effects of a view to nature and provide evidence to back up their idea. It is merely a theory, and viewing images of nature compared to viewing actual nature may not have the same effect on a person’s stress. An experiment conducted by Yin et al (2020) into the effects of biophilic indoor environments on stress recovery, took place in virtual reality. It was able to record lowered stress levels and blood pressure in participants without using real nature; it was being simulated by computers and projected to participants using virtual reality (Fig.3). This would indicate Grinde and Patil’s theory is correct; people in indoor environments don’t necessarily have to have a visual connection to live nature. Instead, they can view images of nature as virtual reality was able to reduce stress levels, rather than live nature. However, more evidence should be provided before accepting the positive effects as fact. Research has been conducted into the effects of images of nature on people’s stress, and the results provide evidence supporting the theory that nature images can reduce stress. A study conducted by van den Berg et al (2015) concluded that greater stress recovery occurred in participants who viewed ‘green scenes’ after being exposed to a stressor, as opposed to those who viewed ‘built scenes’. However, stress relief was only displayed in the period of recovery after viewing the green scenes, and not whilst viewing them. This shows that viewing images of nature may only be effective in supporting stress recovery after experiencing a stressful event, and they are not as effective at lowering stress levels as a stressful event is happening. On the contrary, an earlier study by Brown, Barton and Gladwell (2013) claims to be 8
Figure 3. Biophilic environments in virtual reality that registered lowered stress levels. (Yin et al., 2020). the first study to provide evidence that viewing images and scenes of nature prior to the introduction of a stressor, can enhance the recovery of the autonomic nervous system, which regulates functions such as heart rate. The evidence from their study showed that nature had a “buffering” effect, whereby viewing it before a stressful event could limit the amount of stress a person feels. The implications of this are vast. This would suggest that including images of nature in a classroom would not only help facilitate stress recovery but also prevent it. However, this is just one study and so more evidence needs to be collected. There is still a gap in the literature surrounding this topic. There are examples of how combining both images of nature and vegetation in the classroom have a positive effect on students. A study by Bowman (2020) on the effects of introducing both the ‘nature in space’ and ‘natural analogue’ patterns of biophilic design into sixth form classrooms concluded that ‘nature in space’ had a stronger relationship with occupant’s cognitive wellbeing. In order to introduce ‘nature in space’ into the classroom, Bowman used both images of nature on the classroom walls and plants in the classroom. According to the student survey, students felt more relaxed when surrounded by nature rather than a natural analogue. However, larger increases in emotional wellbeing were seen when occupants were surrounded by a natural analogue. Some studies have shown that emotional wellbeing has been improved by exposure to actual nature (Lawton et al., 2017), suggesting that the images of nature on the wall may not improve emotional wellbeing as it is not real nature. However, the definition of emotional wellbeing can sometimes be subjective and may cover a person’s happiness or anxiety, but not their stress. The evidence from studies to suggest that images of nature can reduce stress (van den Berg et al., 2015; Brown, Barton and Gladwell, 2013), do not focus on the term ‘emotional wellbeing’ whilst suggesting such images reduce stress. This suggests Bowman’s use of the term ‘emotional wellbeing’ did not cover stress. Whilst Bowman’s study (2020) does not reference stress specifically, students saying they were more relaxed when surrounded by nature suggests the opposite to feeling stressed and that they were experiencing little stress in that classroom. This study makes it difficult to distinguish the effects of vegetation in the classroom versus images of nature on student stress. One of the two forms of a visual connection to nature could be the driving force of student relaxation as opposed to both. Kellert and Calabrese (2015) would argue the plants were the driving force. A way to examine the effects of giving students a visual connection of real nature (specifically in a classroom) on their stress, is to look into the effects of outdoor classrooms on stress levels. 9
2.3 Outdoor Classrooms as a Visual Connection with Nature The COVID-19 pandemic has put a real emphasis on the need to create socially distanced and well-ventilated spaces in order to create a space that is safe and accessible for multiple people to use without spreading the virus. An online article by Buxton (2020) identifies the need to think differently to improve social distancing in schools as space is already limited for many institutions. One approach considered is extending the classroom into the landscape to create a learning environment that is free from the constraints of current Building Bulletin standards. However, incorporating outdoor learning should not be introduced as a solution to social distancing during COVID-19 and then ignored once restrictions have been lifted. It is important to return to learning in a social environment because social interaction positively impacts learning and creates active engagement and support amongst students (Hurst, Wallace and Nixon, 2013; Bromley, 2008). Increased ability to socially distance should just be a secondary benefit to outdoor classrooms and not the driving force behind extending the learning environment outdoors. Children already have expectations that activity spaces in schools will include outdoor learning (Ghaziani, 2008), yet it is not utilised enough. Introducing classrooms into the landscape will constitute a visual connection with nature, with there also being the opportunity for a physical connection with nature. There are cognitive learning benefits to having outdoor classrooms. Thorburn and Allison (2015) explore how engaging students with experiential learning (learning by doing) in outdoor environments encourages students to participate in self-reflection and the environment helps the development of cognitive skills. However, this article only covers the learning benefits for the students and does not cover the potential stress-relieving qualities an outdoor classroom could have. A link can be made between experiential learning outdoors and engaging our senses with nature which takes us out of the state of autopilot and reduces cortisol levels (Casamassima, 2020). This is because experiential learning outdoors is likely to involve interaction with nature itself. However, the benefits are likely to come from physical engagement more than just the sense of sight, which is the only one of the five senses that a visual connection with nature engages. Thorburn and Allison’s article (2015) does not give enough evidence for outdoor learning being a catalyst for stress reduction by having a visual connection with nature. However, there are studies to show that learning in an outdoor environment can have a positive impact on student stress levels. A study by Dettweiler et al (2017) concluded that students who had their lessons in a natural environment showed a steady decline of cortisol levels throughout the school day, whilst the students in a regular classroom did not. As both classes received the same learning materials and conducted the same learning exercises, it would suggest having a visual connection with the outdoors had a large impact on the students’ stress. Because their learning exercises were the same as the class indoors, we can tell that a physical connection with nature will not have played a part in stress reduction. Instead it was being surrounded by nature that caused lower stress levels. However, students are unlikely to spend all of their teaching hours outdoors, so the effect on the cortisol levels of students could be minimal. If they only spend one hour of teaching outside every day, there might not be a noticeable decline in cortisol levels. The effects of the outdoor classroom in the study by Dettweiler et al were a gradual decline of cortisol levels throughout the day, rather than during a short space of time. Although, outdoor educational settings do have an impact on learning and the motivational behaviour of students (Dettweiler et al., 2015). This means students are more motivated to participate in work, which is a sign of lower stress because stress negatively impacts student’s intrinsic motivation (Kondo, 1998; Raufelder, Lazarides and Latsch, 2018). The only problem with these studies is that they cover young students, often between the ages of 5-11. There is little literature surrounding the stress effects on older students who 10
are taking exams. Whilst the outdoor classrooms could have the same effect on older students experiencing stress, there is a chance it will make less of a difference due to the causes of the stress. Younger students will not be suffering from exam-induced stress and are unlikely to be able to identify stress as easily as older students.
3. Methodology 3.1 Research Approach A mixed-method study approach has been conducted in this dissertation. The purpose of this thesis is to explore whether the current implementation of biophilic design in classrooms, specifically through a visual connection with nature, can help to reduce the stress of students aged 15-18. Qualitative data was collected because of the subject nature being related to stress. Stress is extremely difficult to quantify and measurement of stress can be inconsistent when using data (Epel et al., 2018) because the physiological side-effects of stress (for example raised cortisol levels) can also be caused by other un-related factors like moderate exercise (Hill et al., 2008). Collecting qualitative data allowed for a more articulate approach to stress measurement, as language can better describe the multi-level nature of stress. Both primary and secondary sources were used for this dissertation. Existing data from secondary sources were used regarding the impact a visual connection with nature can have on stress because of the plethora of research that has been conducted on this topic by experts in the field. However, the links to these effects and student stress in the classroom were scarce. Therefore case studies have been used as a primary source in order to apply the pattern of evidence to real-world locations. Due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, this was the most suitable research approach that offered both validity and reliability, as other methods of data collection would have either not been feasible at this time nor suitable for this subject matter. 3.2 Method of Research A mixed-method study was the most appropriate method of data collection as there is little existing literature surrounding the effects of a visual connection to nature on student stress. A qualitative analysis of archival data surrounding the stress-reducing qualities of a visual connection with nature was undertaken in order to establish common patterns of evidence. Predominantly online journals and articles were chosen for analysis because of the COVID-19 pandemic and the restrictions surrounding accessing physical copies of books. Textual analysis of many sources led to a pattern of evidence being established regarding some of the stress-reducing qualities of a visual connection with nature. However, the majority of sources had no connection to the location of a school classroom. Therefore case studies were used to apply the analysis of the archival data to real-world examples of biophilic classrooms to assess the stressreducing qualities these classrooms could possess. A case study is a suitable approach for analysis of a contemporary concept (Yin, 2018) and they best-allowed conclusions to be drawn up for answering the research question. The case studies are as follows: 1.
Putney High School, London, UK.
2.
The Garden School, London, UK.
3.
Ralph Allen School, Bath, UK.
4.
EDspaces Classroom, Pittsburgh, USA.
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Three real classrooms in the UK were chosen due to the research being centred around the stress of students in the UK. However, a theoretical classroom was also covered. This award-winning biophilic classroom was used to compare against the real-world examples in order to establish whether the UK schools are maximising their implementation of biophilic design, or whether they are falling short of the standard set by the award-winning classroom. 3.3 Research Limitations The research possibilities were limited due to both the nature of the research question and the restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. There are few examples of secondary school classrooms implementing specifically a visual connection with nature, making the possibilities for case studies limited. Applying existing knowledge of the stressreducing qualities of a visual connection to nature to the case studies allowed for the best potential for detailed analysis without conducting a real-world experiment (something not possible given the time limitations and the COVID-19 restrictions). This is why a mixed-method approach was the best approach as it allowed for in-depth research whilst respecting COVID-19 guidelines in the UK.
4. Case Studies 4.1 Putney High School Location: London, UK. Architect/Designer(s): Clare Bowman. As a part of a nine-month study on the effects of biophilic sixth form classrooms, Bowman created two classroom environments designed to stimulate alpha brain waves (associated with feelings of relaxation) and reduce high beta brain waves (associated with feelings of stress) to promote a calming learning environment (Bowman, 2020). These classrooms are excellent examples of the
Figure 4. The biophilic English classroom. (Bowman, 2020).
implementation of a visual connection to nature into the classroom. The classroom with less space for plants has been supplemented with images of nature on the walls (Fig.4; Fig.7) just as Grinde and Patil (2009) suggests. This maximises the visual connection with nature that the students have. No plants have been placed on students’ desks (Fig.4), meaning there is plenty of space for them to conduct work. However, there is a problem with the classroom arrangement (Fig.4; Fig.7) as the students’ chairs are facing the opposite direction to the wall that contains the image of the forest. This means during the majority of the lesson, the students will not be facing the image of nature, and therefore will not be
Figure 5. Example of plants
Figure 6. Example of plants
in the classroom with a
in the classroom (Bowman,
view of nature through the
2020).
window. (Bowman, 2020).
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experiencing any stress relieving benefits of this visual connection with nature. Stress relief only occurs when people are actually viewing the images of nature (van den Berg et al., 2015). Being able to view plants on the windowsill (Fig.6) is likely to help the recovery of stress in students as Kellert and Calabrese (2015) argued. Kellert and Calabrese (2015) emphasised the importance of flowering plants, and many flowering plants can be seen throughout the
Figure 7. Images of nature combined with plants in the
classrooms in figures 4, 5, 6 and 7. Whilst it is a limited
classroom. (Bowman, 2020).
view, there is a view of some nature outside the classroom window (Fig.5) despite the school being located in an urban environment. Overall, Putney High School’s biophilic sixth form classrooms are good examples of combining images of nature and vegetation in the space to create a visual connection with nature. The classroom looks very natural and everywhere the students look, there will be that visual connection to nature. This is likely to bring the student’s brains out of ‘autopilot’, which will help to reduce stress (Casamassima, 2019) and promote further nature relatedness (Zelenski and Nisbet, 2014). However, students must be facing the images of nature for the duration of the time spent in the classroom in order to experience the stress-relieving effects.
4.2 The Garden School Location: London, UK. Architect/Designer(s): Oliver Heath Design. Despite being a primary school, The Garden School in London is a good example to look at as it is one of the few schools that opts to exclusively have images of nature on the walls (Fig.9) rather than having plants in the classroom. This design decision for this particular school was made so that the children did not damage the plants, but it can also be applied to urban schools that have small classrooms and perhaps don’t have the space to have plants in the classroom - only images of nature. However, this goes against the ideas put forth by Grinde and Patil (2015) of combining images of nature and vegetation in order to maximise exposure to nature. The images of nature on the walls (Fig.9) are not images of actual nature scenes, rather they are just the outlining of trees. Whilst these still class as images 13
Figure 8. View out of the
Figure 9. Images of nature
classroom. (Oliver Heath
on the walls. (Oliver Heath
Design).
Design).
of nature, they are not technically the same as the nature scenes that have been shown to aid in stress recovery (van den Berg et al., 2015). However, the study by Brown, Barton and Gladwell (2013) that claims to be the first study to show the preventative qualities of images of nature on stress, argues that both images of natural objects and images of nature scenes have stress-reducing effects. This would suggest that the images of the trees in The Garden School (Fig.9) would be sufficient in reducing the stress of the students in that classroom and also preventing any stress that could occur.
4.3 Ralph Allen School Location: Bath, UK. Architect/ Designer(s): Feilden Fowles Architects. The Larch Canopy at Ralph Allen School in Bath, UK, is an excellent example of how students in a secondary school can utilise outdoor learning and still conduct good quality schoolwork (Fig.10). Given the current social distancing guidelines due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Larch Canopy would be able to facilitate
Figure 10. Students working under the Larch Canopy at
socially distanced learning, as recommended by Larch
Ralph Allen School in the outdoor classroom. (Architects
(2020), whilst giving students a visual connection to
Journal).
nature. Working outdoors like the students in Figure 10 are is likely to increase their motivation (Dettweiler et al., 2015), which is a sign of lower stress levels (Kondo, 1998; Raufelder, Lazarides and Latsch, 2018). However, the repercussions from the study by Dettweiler et al (2017) suggests that just a single hour a day in this outdoor classroom may not have a noticeable effect on the lowering of students’ cortisol levels. This means the burden of lowering student stress levels in a short space of time lies with the motivational qualities of learning in the outdoor classroom. There is not strong enough evidence to suggest this rise in student motivation will be enough to help reduce the severe stress levels students aged 15-18 find themselves under. Thanks to the outdoor classroom at Ralph Allen School being in Bath (a rural city), students get a suitable visual connection to nature when working under the Larch Canopy (Fig. 11). Because the school is not located in an urban environment, the students can enjoy the view
Figure 11. Students viewing the school grounds from the outdoor classroom. (Architects Journal).
of many trees and the grassy school grounds (Fig.11) 14
and do not rely solely on the planters nearby in order to have a visual connection with nature (Fig.10). If this school was situated in an urban environment, more planters and examples of small vegetation would need to be included in the learning environment in order to create a visual connection with nature. Whilst being an excellent example of how to utilise space to facilitate an outdoor classroom that gives students a visual connection to nature, the Larch Canopy at Ralph Hill School does not provide many solutions for creating an outdoor classroom in small urban schools. It relies heavily on the rural landscape of Bath to give the students a visual connection with nature. Students are unlikely to spend longer than an hour of teaching time outside when they are aged 15-18 because of the demands of their exams. Therefore there is unlikely to be a dramatic effect on the cortisol levels of the students, meaning student stress is unlikely to be greatly affected.
4.4 EDspaces Classroom Location: Pittsburgh, USA. Architect/Designer(s): Plunkett Raysich Architects & Demco. Whilst this is an example of a theoretical classroom in the United States of America, there are a lot of comparisons that can be drawn from this awardwinning classroom featured at EDspaces 2019. This classroom’s biophilic qualities are all based on students having a visual connection with nature. The EDspaces classroom features many images of nature scenes (Fig.12), and unlike Putney High School, has many of the seating arrangements facing the images. This means students should be constantly viewing nature scenes which will help reduce any stress they may have been feeling before entering the classroom (van den Berg et al., 2015), and it will help prevent any further stress occurring as a result of any academic pressures potentially experienced during the lesson (Brown, Barton, Gladwell, 2013). This is because viewing these
Figure 12. Classroom seating next to images of nature.
images of nature prior to the introduction of a stressor
(Demco).
(potentially academic pressures caused by difficult work or substantial workload) has been shown to ‘buffer’ the amount of stress felt (Brown, Barton, Gladwell, 2013). The designers introduce a unique way of including a synthetic visual connection to nature, which is through the flooring (Fig.13). The flooring represents moss-covered cobblestones and could be implemented in any school, urban or rural, regardless of size. The flooring should not be the exclusive visual connection with nature that a classroom has though, as this is highly unlikely to affect student stress levels. Instead, it should be another example of a visual connection with 15
nature to add to vegetation and images of nature, as combining more connections can help facilitate greater stress reduction (Grinde and Patil, 2015). The EDspaces classroom also features plants (Fig.14) on moveable shelving units. Just the inclusion of these small plants should help with stress recovery (Toyoda et al., 2019), however, they do not have the same physical presence as the plants in the Putney High School
Figure 13. Example of the flooring representing moss-
classrooms. Also, very few flowering plants have been
covered cobblestones. (Demco).
used and are not there in abundance - encouraged by Kellert and Calabrese (2015) - and can sometimes get lost in the view of the images of nature when placed in front of the images (Fig.12). Given the space this theoretical classroom covers, larger plants in greater numbers should have be used. However, for a smaller classroom, the tiered system of displaying plants could allow for greater amounts of vegetation to be present in a small space. This
award-winning
classroom
shows
unique
examples that a visual connection with nature can
Figure 14. Example of plants in the classroom. (Demco).
be implemented; has better examples of the types of images of nature scenes that should be used (compared to those used in The Garden School, London); and shows how plants can be introduced into the classroom if space was limited. These are good examples that can be applied to smaller, urban classrooms. However, given the space of the classroom, more vegetation should have been implemented as the stress-reducing effects of a visual connection to real nature are stronger than just images of nature (Kaplan, 1995; Kellert and Calabrese, 2015; Yin et al., 2020).
4.5 Case Study Comparison These case studies covered all three aspects of a visual connection with nature that were researched in the literature review. As table 1 shows, none of the case studies included all three aspects because the implementation of biophilic design into schools is still a relatively new thing. However, a range of methods for including the visual connections with nature were covered in both urban and rural environments. Images of nature are great for small urban schools (Fig. 5; Fig. 9; Fig. 12) as they do not take up any space, but students should always be facing the images in order to receive the stress-reducing benefits. Being outdoors and experiencing real nature is perfect for rural schools with a lot of space as it can break up the monotonous feel of current indoor classrooms. All classrooms, indoor and outdoor, should always feature vegetation wherever possible. It is more aesthetically pleasing and facilitates the most stress recovery (Kellert and Calabrese, 2015), so it is the most important feature of a visual connection with nature to include. 16
Table 1. Comparison of case studies. (by Author).
5. Discussion 5.1 Discussion The results indicate that most examples of existing indoor classrooms with a visual connection to nature should help to reduce the stress of students aged between 15-18 in the UK. Case study 1, Putney High School, is a perfect example of Grinde and Patil’s theory (2009) that images of nature combined with vegetation in the space introduces enough aesthetically pleasing stimuli to the brain that stress levels are reduced. This is due to our inherent nature relatedness (Zelenski and Nisbet, 2014) perceiving it as aesthetic. The study done by Bowman (2020) shows that this classroom had a positive effect on student’s relaxation levels, meaning the visual connection with nature helped reduce the stress of students. Whereas, just one image being used (case study 2) is unlikely to be effective at helping to reduce the stress of students. Whilst urban schools should include images of nature as it is a space-efficient way to incorporate a visual connection with nature and has been shown to help in stress recovery and prevention (van den Berg et al., 2015; Brown Barton and Gladwell, 2013), having no vegetation present with only images of nature means that the exposure to actual nature is limited and stress reduction is highly reduced. Whereas case studies 1 and 4 also have green plants present which, in an indoor biophilic environment, facilitates the most stress recovery (Yin et al., 2020). Case study 4, the EDspaces classroom, features an abundance of images of nature that vary in pattern and colour. More is better, and if wherever a student looks, there is a visual connection with nature, then stress reduction will occur. Whilst Toyoda et al’s study (2019) showed an initial reduction in office worker’s stress with just one plant, this isn’t a practice that should be implemented in classrooms as the number of students will far outweigh the number of plants, so the effects are likely to be minimal. Isolated plants rarely provide many benefits to multiple people and an abundance of vegetation 17
should be used (Kellert and Calabrese, 2015), which could be possible in urban schools with little space as the EDspaces classroom shows (Fig. 13) by using innovative design solutions. Outdoor classrooms, like case study 3, are good practice in rural schools that have space. However, outdoor classrooms alone will not help to reduce the stress of students because they will not be spending enough time in them to see the effects of cortisol reduction as found by Dettweiler et al (2017). What they will do is engage students’ senses with nature, which even for a short time will take them out of the state of autopilot which facilitates relaxation (Casamassima, 2020). Also, students are likely to engage in their work and feel more motivated when working in outdoor classrooms (Thorburn and Allison, 2015; Dettweiler et al., 2015). This could ease some of the academic pressures they’re facing which is one of the largest risk factors for suicide in students (Simms et al., 2019) - as hopefully, more motivation will lead to an improvement in work, meaning they feel more prepared and less pressurised when going into exams. Whilst designers of schools should try to implement outdoor classrooms wherever they can, the main priority should be to implement a visual connection with nature in indoor classrooms as this is where we will see the most reduction of student stress. More and more people are moving to cities (Ritchie and Roser, 2018) and mental health issues are greater in urban environments compared to rural (Gruebner et al., 2017). So initially, attention should be on indoor classrooms as both urban and rural schools have them. Students spend the majority of time in indoor classrooms and they can be comfortable all year round, regardless of the weather. Vegetation and images of nature must be combined, as case studies 1 and 4 were the most effective examples of the biophilic classrooms. Although, not every classroom should use the same images of nature and plants, as introducing new stimuli in each classroom will prolong the stressreducing qualities because students will not be used to the same nature stimuli. 5.2 Implications & Limitations The results imply that comparatively small design changes to the classroom, that are very achievable, will help reduce the stress of students. There is plenty of evidence in the literature to imply current biophilic classrooms, like those at Putney High School and the EDspaces classroom, will facilitate stress recovery in students. However, due to the nature of the research, it is still just a suggestion, despite being backed up with plenty of evidence. The only way we can know for sure is for the topic to be experimented within the real world further, focusing purely on stress reduction and not the effects a visual connection with nature has on learning. Bowman (2020) touches on how her biophilic classrooms were able to make students feel more relaxed, but it was not the main focus of the experiment. Due to the substantial amount of evidence suggesting implementing a visual connection to nature in the classroom will help to reduce student stress, not many experiments will have to be conducted in order to establish a clear pattern.
6. Conclusion Upon evaluation, it is evident from the literature that including a visual connection with nature in the classroom (like those in case studies 1 and 4) should help to reduce the stress of students aged 15-18 in the UK. However, more research should be conducted into how a visual connection with nature in the classroom affects stress exclusively using real-world experiments, as at the moment it is predominantly a substantiated hypothesis; we cannot be certain 18
of the effects until more experiments are conducted. Bowman (2020) showed that including a visual connection with nature in the classroom increases relaxation, but stress reduction was not the basis of her research. Only a few more experiments using real-world school environments will need to be conducted to establish a clear pattern based on empirical evidence and not just a pattern using archival data as evidence, as this thesis puts forth. A visual connection with nature is just the start, as it is an easy pattern of biophilic design to be able to implement to improve existing schools. There are thirteen other patterns that this thesis does not cover which could also provide stress-reducing qualities for students. They could provide new biophilic stimuli, which in turn is likely to prolong the effects of the classrooms that use a visual connection with nature. However, the burden of reducing student stress levels does not fall solely on the shoulders of architects. The mental health crisis that young students in the UK are facing is dire, and whilst improving school design can go a long way towards helping these struggling students feel less stressed whilst in the classroom, more support both in schools and society must be there. Whilst students spend a large majority of their time at school in the classroom (Long, 2019), almost half of the students’ year is spent outside school. If the support is not there for them during these times then it will negate all the work that having a visual connection with nature in the classroom will have done to reduce their stress. Whilst academic pressures are one of the largest risk factors for suicide in young people under 20 (Simms et al. 2019), it is not the only risk factor, and the other major risk factors do not occur in school where their biophilic classroom could help to relax them and lower their stress levels. Whilst implementing a visual connection with nature in the classroom should help to reduce the stress of students aged 15-18 in the UK, it should be seen as just the start of helping students. Similarly to how images of nature are a good subsidiary to vegetation in the classroom, designing classrooms to have a visual connection with nature should be seen as a good subsidiary to more support being provided for our school students. The aim should not be to just reduce the stress of students, it should be attempting to eradicate and prevent it altogether. A visual connection with nature in the classroom will help, but it does not provide the final solution.
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