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Abstract
This study examined the relationship between learner involvement, outdoor recreation, grades and environmental attitudes. Specifically the study was of a collegiate level course entitled Outdoor Recreation and Environmental Awareness. The specific research questions addressed in this study were: 1. What are the interrelationships among college student perceptions of the pedagogical dimensions of a course, their grades and their environmental attitudes? 2. How do the aforementioned relationships vary with respect to students self-reported participation in outdoor recreation? 3. How do the aforementioned relationships vary with respect to selected demographic variables (e.g., age, gender, academic classification and academic major)? This study used an exploratory correlational design to examine the relationships between student perceptions of course design variables (pedagogical dimensions) and cognitive outcomes, as indicated by course grades, and affective outcomes, as measured by environmental attitudes. In addition to exploring relationships among college student perceptions of the pedagogical dimensions of a course, their grades, and their environmental attitudes, the nature of relationships found was examined in light of several other variables, including self-reported participation in outdoor recreation, and several demographic variables (e.g. gender, academic classification, and academic major). Overall, students perceived the course to be less constructivist and more instructivist, but only slightly so. (In other words, students were slightly less likely to see the course as one in which they were more actively engaged in how they learned). Correlational data suggested a modest positive relationship between scores on the Pedagogical Dimensions of Interactive Learning (PDIL) and New Ecological Paradigm (NEP) measures, but the relationship was not statistically significant and subsequent regression analyses, controlling for the influence of pretest NEP scores, resulted in little additional variance in NEP post scores attributable to the PDIL or other variables. Further research should attempt to incorporate a larger number of participants, refine the measure further, and perhaps compare students from a variety of disciplines in order to examine a more heterogeneous population.