School Gardens: Are they Fruitful Harvests or Barren Fields for 21st Century Schools?

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School Gardens:  Are they Fruitful Harvests or Barren Fields for 21st
Century Schools?
Master’s Project
In Partial Fulfillment of the requirements for the Degree
Master of Science in Childhood Education
With Specialization in Math and Science
State University College at Cortland
By:
Lee M. Kaltman
May 12th, 2011

Approved:
_______________________________________________
Beth Shiner Klein, Ph.D , First Reader
_______________________________________________
                                                                        Cynthia J. Benton, Ph.D. , Second Reader
            _______________________________________________
Andrea Lachance, Ph.D, Department Chair
         ___________________
          Date

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Acknowledgements
This study was made possible because of the instruction of Dr. Benton.  She
taught me how to research and organize a thesis.   Her structure made the process
possible.  This study was also possible because of my advisor Dr. Klein who helped
guide me through my Master’s degree and also in completing my Master’s project.  I also
would like to acknowledge Tracy Wixson for being a great Peer reviewer. I also need to
thank Lara Parrilla Kaltman as she always helps me think, process and write.  Without
her I wouldn’t have made it passed the first page.   Thank you for always pushing me
down the right path.

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Table of Contents
Abstract 4
Introduction 5
Research Questions 7
Literature Review 7
Methods 19
Data Analysis 26
Findings / Discussion 26
Conclusion / Implications 37
References 39
Appendix 43

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Abstract
This study examined the topic of school gardens to discern if school gardens
enhance learning in 21st
century schools.  The study has an extensive literature review
involving current research about school gardens as well as an in depth history of school
gardens.  After the literature review the researcher had three questions:  Can school
gardens enhance a student’s ability to utilize skills to solve real world problems? Do
school gardens allow students to appreciate the importance of good nutrition and
healthier eating choices? Do school gardens help students appreciate nature? The
researcher chose to perform action research to gather information to find answers to these
questions.  This research was conducted in a middle school in central New York.  The
conclusions of this study indicate that school gardens help promote learning by engaging
students to solve real world problems. School gardens also offer students the opportunity
to appreciate nature and help entice them to be outside instead of inside watching
television or playing video games.  School gardens also offer students the freedom to
make healthier choices when choosing food in the cafeteria.

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Introduction
"If you want to eat for a year, plant a tree; five years, plant a garden; fifty years, educate
the people." Chinese Proverb
Close your eyes and imagine being a middle school student filled with wonder
and curiosity.  Do you remember your school?  I do. It was a place where I went from
classroom to classroom, sitting behind a desk, passively listening and learning.  Now
change that scene and enhance it.  What if the school had a magical garden where the
teachers took you outside to learn during Math, Science, Social Studies, and Language
Arts?  Doesn’t this scene look brighter?
The bureaucracy of 19th
and 20th century schooling was created during the
Industrial Revolution (Gerstner, 1994). Schools were set up so that students could learn
the skills they needed to work in factories. Teachers would teach the class a concept or
skill and the students would sit and listen.  Learning would be measured by students
regurgitating facts on a written test (Sizer, 2004).
In the 21st
century, factories that were products of the industrial revolution had
been sent overseas or were run by a computer.  However, many of our students are still
passively receiving information in the same manner considered effective in the past two
centuries.  The United States’ future is not in creating a new Industrial Revolution; the
future of this country is in ingenuity, creative problem solving, and discovery (Gerstner,
2004) How can schools be organized to support this?
Urbanization also played a major role in students’ behavior over the last century.
Students are living in tighter spaces, with limited access to outdoor play and nature.
Technology is their main source of stimulation, and many students are scared of going
outside.  Further, many have no concept of where their food comes from; inferring it all

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comes from supermarkets.  How can schools address students' increasing disconnection
with nature?  How can schools help students learn to appreciate nature?
More than 30 million children eat school food twice a day, five days a week
(USDA, 2010).  The school lunch program has dramatically reduced hunger in children
but unfortunately has set the stage for a different social problem, childhood obesity.  The
majority of the foods children consume in school lunches are processed and unhealthy
(CDC, 2010).  Students often shy away from choosing food that is healthy for them.
According to the Center for Disease Control (2010), childhood obesity has escalated
significantly over the last 30 years.  Obesity rates among elementary children have
doubled in the last decade and have tripled for adolescents (Ogden, Curtin, Lamb &
Flegal, 2010).  This rate of increase is catastrophic. How can schools help promote
healthier eating choices for students?
School gardens have gained significant attention in the fifteen years as a resource
for educators to enhance student development.  However, research on the impact of
school gardens on student development is limited.   There must be compelling evidence
that school gardens enhance student development to compel educators to embrace the
value of incorporating school gardens in the curriculum.
This study examined whether school gardens enhance students' abilities to utilize
skills to solve real world problems in 21st century schools. It also investigated whether
schools gardens might help to build safe, communal environments where students grow
and learn to become productive informed citizens. This study also investigated whether
school gardens instill an appreciation for healthier eating choices and a greater
appreciation of nature.

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Research Questions
This study explored several research questions. Can school gardens enhance a
student’s ability to utilize skills to solve real world problems? Do school gardens allow
students to appreciate the importance of good nutrition and healthier eating choices?  Do
school gardens help students appreciate nature?
The following review examines the research literature on the role that school
gardens have in enhancing a student’s ability to apply skills to solve real world problems
and allow them to appreciate nature and fruits and vegetables. An extensive literature
review explores research on the impact of school gardens on student development.  It is
followed by the results of an action research plan conducted at Middle School in Central
New York to evaluate the impact of its school garden on its students.  Finally an analysis
of the action research is presented
Literature Review
Teachers, parents, students and community members start school gardens for a
variety of reasons. For many, school gardens offer a promising strategy for increasing
student exposure to and consumption of fruits and vegetables both within and outside the
school meal program, thereby improving nutrition, reducing hunger, and preventing
obesity and obesityrelated diseases (Blair, 2009). Others focus on the potential for
building community and school bonding (Englefried, 2006).  Most school gardeners are
working to strengthen children’s and community knowledge of, and attitudes toward,
agriculture, food, nutrition and the environment.  A select few recognize that school
gardens offer a unique opportunity to enhance student’s ability to apply skills to solve
real world problems.

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What is a school garden?
Depending on the geographic location and physical parameters of a school, school
gardens can be anything from container gardens, to window boxes, to a fullfledged farm.
In urban locations, some schools have put school gardens on their rooftops.  Other school
gardens can be created in greenhouses or using hydroponics in the classroom.  Some
urban areas identify neighborhood plots to garden that are maintained by a school and the
community.  Other schools that have ample arable land set up full fledge farms on their
property, which are also classified as school gardens.
Although school gardens are can be found nationwide, they are most prevalent in
California (California Department of Education, 2010).  Many schools with gardens are
also involved with the Farm to School Programs, in which schools purchase produce for
snacks or meals from local farms.  Although there are no statistics on the number of
school gardens in the United States, the National Farm to School Network sites that there
is at least one Farm to School Program in every state (2010).
Figure 1 Farm to School across the Nation
   Source: National Farm to School Network.
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phttp://www.farmtoschool.org/states.phphttp://www.farmtosc
hool.org/states.php

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History of School Gardens
When farms and nature were readily accessible to most children, school gardens
served a very practical and standard purpose: to teach through experience, to connect
children with nature, and to influence their moral outlook (BundschuMooney, 2003).
Through the urbanization of America, more and more students were removed from this
pastoral and natural learning environment.  In the 1890s, progressive educators such as
John Dewey started a movement that would better integrate schools with society, which
would include creating gardens in schools (BundschuMooney, 2003).  According to
Wilbur Jackman, whose Nature Study for the Common Schools textbook was a catalyst
for teaching nature study, “The process of gardening was a way to stimulate children’s
curiosity and enthusiasm” (Kohlstedt, 2008, p.59). During the early movement school
gardens were initially promoted as a way to teach natural sciences.  In 1917, during WWI
the United States School Garden Army was created to avert a food crisis in America and
school gardens grew to the hundred thousands (Kohlstedt, 2008).
With school gardens blossoming around the country, there was debate on what
these gardens where good for. Was it to create community, to teach wonder, to help
youths who don’t listen become disciplined, to instill an appreciation of outdoors in the
students, to experience nature, or to teach about where food comes from? Whatever the
reason, the movement gained steam and schools utilized gardens until the 1920s
(Kohlstedt, 2008).
With the advent of vocational programs and resistance to the progressive
movement in the 1920s, enthusiasm for school gardens declined.  As quickly as they
sprouted up across the United States, the use of school gardens abruptly ended

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(Kohlstedt, 2008). Schools once again became a place to focus on academic learning.
Learning from nature was reserved for the summer, scouts, and parks (Kohlstedt, 2008).
It wasn’t until the 1990s in California when another movement arose called “A
Garden in Every School” (California Department of Education, 2010).  This movement
was later reinforced by legislation that strongly suggested schools set up school gardens.
This legislation awarded $15 million in grants to get programs started.  In 1993, it was
estimated that there were 1,000 school gardens in California. In 2003, the number had
grown to 3,100 (Hayden Smith, 2008). Other states quickly followed suit. In 2010, the
USDA was offering $1 million in grants for schools to start gardens (United States
Department of Agriculture, 2010).
Appreciation of Fruits and Vegetables
In the last ten years, obesity rates among children have doubled.  Obesity rates
among adolescents have tripled (CDC, 2010). In response to these alarming trends the
majority of the literature on school gardens evaluates their ability to impact students’
appreciation of fruits and vegetables as a promising way to address childhood obesity.
School gardens "give kids exposure to where food comes from and encourages them to
try foods they might not otherwise try” (USA Today, 2010, p.10). Children’s tastes in
food need to expand beyond the fatty, salty, sweet and unnatural (Blair, 1996). Through
their work in the garden, students are exposed to a wider, seasonal variety of fruits and
vegetables in their own school backyard.
Schools that incorporate fresh garden produce into classroom snacks or school
meals give students the opportunity to taste new fruits and vegetables. Exposing students
to fresh produce as it becomes available may lead to changes in dietary habits as students

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gain an awareness of the origins of their food (Morris & ZidenbergCherr, 2002). Some
schools with gardens have found that students are more interested in snacking on fruits
and vegetables. Among 592 teachers surveyed in California and Texas elementary
schools with school gardens, the majority reported that their students demonstrated an
increased desire to snack on fruits (Morris & ZidenbergCherr, 2002).
One teacher who prepares the garden produce with the students remarked,
“Surprising, even cooked Swiss chard had students begging for second and third
helpings” (Graham & ZidenbergCherr, 2002, p. 1798). Another teacher commented,
“Our garden has provided children the experience of fresh veggies versus fast food which
has made a huge difference to diet, nutrition education, and pride in growing food. I wish
the state would offer more sources for teacher training to further integrate gardening and
the opportunity for handson learning in all subjects". (Graham & ZidenbergCherr, 2002,
p. 1798). It is clear that teachers could benefit from additional resources and professional
development to incorporate food and nutrition activities in the classroom to complement
the garden work and promote healthy eating.
In addition to serving the garden fresh produce in the classrooms and cafeterias,
schools need to incorporate nutrition education into the curriculum for successful
physical and intellectual growth (Oxenham & King, 2010). School gardens often are
complemented by local foods related curriculum development and additional experiential
learning opportunities through farm tours, farmer in the classroom sessions, chefs in the
classroom, culinary education, educational sessions for parents and community members
and visits to farmers’ markets. Gardenbased nutrition education programs give students a
working knowledge of the seasonality of growing food including planting seeds,

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weeding, harvesting, eating, and composting. In other words, school gardens teach “how
a plant goes from seed to plate” (Rahm, 2000, p.175). A study in Idaho found that after a
group of sixth grade students completed a 12week gardenbased learning series, there
was an increase in consumption of fruits and vegetables (Morris and ZidenbergCherr,
2002). Teaching young children to love fruits and vegetables may be viewed as vital to
ensuring the health of our population (Reeve, 2010).
Appreciation of Nature
Most children lack experience with natural ecosystem complexity.  Eightythree
percent of the U.S. population lives in metropolitan areas (USDA, 2010). Television,
video games, and organized sports have taken the place of unsupervised wandering and
environmental exploration (Moore, 1995).  A study of three generations of children in
New York City neighborhoods shows a decline in natural areas and an increase in
restricted access to the neighborhood and reliance on supervised play (Gaster, 1991).
The average American between eight and 18 years old spends more than 7.5 hours per
day using a phone, computer, television or other electronic device (Rideout & Foehr &
Roberts, 2010).    Figure 2:  Digital media used by 8 to 18 year olds
NNewtrow.http://www.farmtoschool.org/statesNorg/states
.phphttp://www.farmtoschool.org/states.phphttp://www.fa
rmtoschool.org/states.php
   Source: The Kaiser Family Foundation, 2010
KaiseFoundaFoundaNNewtrow.http://www.farmtoschool.
org/statesNorg/states.phphttp://www.farmtoschool.org/stat
es.phphttp://www.farmtoschool.org/states.php

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For healthy human development, children need to develop confidence in the
process of nature. School gardens provide children with close, personal experiences with
the earth, repeated sensory contact, and interaction with a particular intimately known
space (Thorp & Townsend, 2001). School gardens have emerged as outdoor learning
laboratories. Since nature changes rapidly, students are stimulated and their attention is
grabbed.
Not everyone learns the same way. People have different intelligences of which
we have our strengths and weaknesses. Howard Gardner (1998) defines this best in his
Theory of Multiple Intelligences.  Of these intelligences, the one best supported by a
school garden is the naturalist intelligence.  As stated by Gardner, “Naturalist intelligence
designates the human ability to discriminate among living things (plants, animals) as well
as sensitivity to other features of the natural world (clouds, rock configurations)”
(Gardener 1998, p.15).  This ability to recognize and classify numerous species of flora
and fauna in our environment was critical to our survival in our evolutionary past as
hunters, gatherers, and farmers (Gardener, 1998).
Academic Skills
Science achievement of third, fourth, and fifth grade students was studied using a
sample of 647 students in Temple, Texas (Klemmer, Waliczek, & Zajicek, 2005).  Of the
two control groups, one combined gardening activities with science instruction; the other
used only science instruction. Results showed the experimental groups scored
significantly higher on the science achievement test compared to the control group. Third,
fourth and fifth grade students who participated in school gardening activities also scored

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significantly higher on science achievement tests than students who did not experience
any gardenbased learning activities (Klemmer, Waliczek, & Zajicek, 2005).
Food and nutrition education is tied into violence prevention, critical thinking,
reading, and emotional health amongst other life skills.  Many school garden programs
claim success in academics but more well designed studies are needed to report who
benefits and how (Oxenham & King, 2010).
Gardening and naturebased curriculum support children’s development and
learning in academic, social, and health related domains (Ozer, 2007). Both State
Departments of Education and University Extension Programs of California and Texas
encourage school gardening by providing support and evaluative research (Dirks &
Orvis, 2005). A survey examining 592 California fourth grade teachers reported 72% of
teachers responded positively saying school gardens enhance academic instruction
(Graham & ZidenbergCherr, 2005). In the same study, it was reported that 68% of
teachers used the school garden for academic instruction in this order: science, nutrition,
environmental studies, language arts, math, agriculture studies (Graham & Zidenberg
Cherr, 2005).
The majority of teachers stated that without professional development connecting
curriculum and the school garden, lack of teacher interest in gardening, lack of teacher
experience in gardening, and time were factors which hindered them from using the
school garden. The pressure to teach in a standardbased educational system was also
noted as a barrier to using school garden (Morris & ZidenbergCherr, 2002).
Klemmer, Waliczek, and Zajicek (2005) state, scientific aptitude can be
quantifiably increased by using gardens instructionally.  The key is to give educators the

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resources and training to make their students learning in the school garden meaningful.
Without that, the majority of teachers will have a hard time creating a structured learning
environment for students in the school garden.
Why School Gardens Don’t Work
School gardens don’t work for everybody.  Those teachers who are used to the
safety, predictability and organization of their classroom will not feel comfortable with
going outside and getting their hands dirty.  According to DeMarco, Relf and McDaniel
(1999) school gardens have many obstacles because of funding, staff support, curricular
materials linked to academic standards, and lack of teacher knowledge, training and
experience in gardening. Teachers may lack interest in gardening and have limited
capabilities and time (Blair, 2009). There are many teachers who just do not feel
comfortable out of the classroom, in which case gardenbased learning would not be
feasible.
Professional development to support teachers in this endeavor should be sustained
by the principal (Blair, 2009).  Without training, the majority of teachers would have
limited knowledge of how to align their curriculum in the garden. As one teacher noted,
“I wish the state would offer more resources for teacher training to further integrate our
garden and the opportunity for hands on leaning in all subject areas” (Graham &
ZidenbergCherr, 2002, pp. 17981799).
Flanagan (2010) believes school gardens take time away from teaching students
the essentials of school.  Instead of working and maintaining a garden, students should be
spending all their school time doing reading, writing and arithmetic (Flanagan, 2010).
Only sustained academic emphasis will prepare students for advanced studies in college

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(Flanagan, 2010).  Further, if a teacher does not have the interest, skills and resources
necessary to incorporate learning into the garden work, students would certainly benefit
more from classroombased instruction (Flanagan, 2010).
Direct Instruction or Inquiry Learning
Direct instruction is a teacherfocused method where students follow directions
and generally learn from static exchange of information.  This model of instruction is
usually followed by drill and practice and is applied regularly in many classrooms.  In a
typical science or math classroom, students will be told their expected outcomes and then
will be shown how to get there or perform an experiment or experiments to prove this
outcome.
In contrast, inquiry or experiential learning is where students are guided in their
learning but do not know the outcome ahead of time; they have to discover this though
the experience (Brooks & Brooks, 2001). In this model, students perform experiments or
try to solve problems and then they have to look at their results to figure out their
outcomes.  In science, their answers are not right or wrong, but rather students have to
figure out how and why they got their results and which results make better sense than
the others.  With this information they can identify and explain the outcomes.
In math inquiry learning students are given a problem and are challenged to figure
out how to solve it (Brooks & Brooks, 2001). There may be more than one way to solve
the problem and through the process students find their answers and share how they
solved the problems.  They then decide which methods were easier or harder to use.  By
doing this students are constructing their knowledge, and by constructing it, it will be
retained that much better (Brooks & Brooks, 2001).

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A perfect place to have students construct knowledge and gain new experiences in
the natural environment, engage in social interactions, and develop their own knowledge
base is learning in a school garden (Bowker & Tearle, 2006). School gardens have the
potential to create hands on learning opportunities in a natural environment and allow
students to use this shared experience for communication and perhaps about global issues
relating to our shared responsibility of our natural environment (Bowker & Tearle, 2006,
p.98).
Examples of Successful School Gardens
There are many examples of successful school gardens.  The following are
descriptions of two different approaches to school gardening that illustrate a national
model and a locally based model.
Rainwater Environmental Alliance for Learning (REAL).  REAL school
gardens located all over Texas, “create safe outdoor spaces to engage young children to
use nature to enhance student learning, encourage family and community involvement in
schools, and to create vibrant, sharing networks of educators and partners who commit to
putting school gardens at the heart of urban neighborhoods” (Reeves & Emeagwali, 2010,
p.35).  Gardens provide opportunities for students to explore subjects learned in the
classroom in a handson way (Reeves & Emeagwali, 2010).
Gardens help students connect, even ones who may find school to be a
disappointment.  For example, a fifth grade student who had just repeated the fifth grade
was a bully and disrespectful to teachers.  After being empowered with the responsibility
of managing the compost for the school garden, the student became more successful at
school and made friends with other students (Reeves & Emeagwali, 2010). A juvenile

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offenders program that rehabilitates students by offering them learning and exploration in
school gardens has the potential to help troubled children find their purpose and work
toward preventing future delinquency (Reeves & Emeagwali, 2010).
Grove School. The second example is the Grove School’s farm campus (school
garden), which provides food and flowers to the local community (Engelfired, 2006). The
Grove School located in Redlands, California offers seventh through ninth grade students
an integrated curriculum with the farm.  In tenth through twelfth grade, students work on
entrepreneurial endeavors for the farm and help younger students with the farm work.
The farm has built a great community at the Grove (Engelfired, 2006).
“These young adults tell us how their years at Grove prepared them in ways that
go well beyond academic requirements.  They talked about the importance of being
grounded in community and of the critical thinking skills, the self expression tools and
the moral spiritual direction that many of their college age peers seem to lack”
(Engelfired, 2006, p.336).   Many felt that the sense of community offered by the school
garden during their school experience helped them gain this.
Summary
School gardens have an interesting history, starting with the progressive education
movement and the U.S. government’s desire to help feed families during WWI. This
movement abruptly ended because of the rise in vocational schools and administrators’
interpretations that schools were not a place for outdoor curriculum.  In the 1990s the
school garden movement once again gained traction. With this increased interest the
question followed, do school gardens enhance a student’s development? The literature
review showed that school gardens allow students to experience nature, which the

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students enjoy.  It also clearly stated that school gardens offer elementary school students
the opportunity to create better eating habits and nutrition. There was some evidence that
demonstrated that school gardens increase academic achievement. Based on this
information, I performed my own study to see if school gardens enhance a student’s
development in middle school.
Methods
Participants
Participants for this study included middle school students, teachers, a school
lunch director and graduate education students in a research methods course. The middle
school students were in grades six through eight and ranged in age from ten to fourteen
years old.  Students who attend the school lived in either a downtown area, urban
location, suburban setting, or in a rural community.  The student population was 60 %
white, 13% black or African American, 19% Asian, 1% Native American, and 7%
Hispanic.  There was a significant English Language Learner population with students
from China, Burma, Pakistan, Brazil, Nepal, Germany, Kosovo, Norway, Italy, Egypt,
Tibet, Cuba, Puerto Rico, India, and Iran.  The student population came from a diverse
mixture of socioeconomics households with 31% receiving free and reduced lunch.
There are 55 teachers who teach a variety of subjects at the middle school.  The
teachers varied from first year teachers to experienced teachers with more than 30 years
of teaching.  All teachers offered different teaching approaches and were all certified
appropriately in the subjects that they taught.  There were 21 teaching assistants and
teaching aids that assisted with the classroom instruction.  The two administrators were

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experienced and encouraged teachers to try progressive approaches to instruction.  All the
instructional and administrative staff came from diverse backgrounds.
In the cafeteria, there were three servers and cashiers that processed food and
served food to students and staff.  These people offered a very friendly attitude to the
students and tried to encourage the students to try fruits and vegetables on a regular basis.
There was also a lunch director who was in charge of ordering all food, preparing it and
creating a diverse menu.  She must make sure that meals served adhere to nutritional
requirements that are stipulated by USDA.   The entire cafeteria personal individually had
20 or more years of experience.
The graduate education students in from the research methods course ranged in
age from 22 to 50 years old.  There were both male and females in the class and all of
students had completed student teaching and many had substitute teaching experience.
Four of the graduate students were teaching in grades ranging from three through six
during the study.
Setting
This study was conducted at a middle school in Central New York.   The school
was located in a college town.  The school was one of two middle schools in the district
and was in one big building that occupied all the students.  The school was accessible by
many walkers in the nearby community.  The school had nice landscaping outside with a
significant field area and trees for students to enjoy.
    In the front area of the school there was a school garden.  The garden was L
shaped and had an area of about 700 square meters.  The garden harvests flowers, herbs,
broccoli, beets, parsnips, carrots, peppers, tomatoes, many different lettuces, kale, swiss

21
chard, spinach, potatoes, turnips, zucchini, pumpkins, sweat peas, onions, garlic, acorn
squash, and butternut squash.  The garden had a shed that is inside the garden and is
surrounded by a fence.
The school cafeteria was set up in a big room.  Students came to the cafeteria
during three different periods to eat their lunch.  They could sit at any table they wished
and were able to socialize.  Some students brought their lunch from home.  The majority
of students ate food from the cafeteria.   Every day the cafeteria served a different hot
meal or sandwich, breaded chicken on a roll, bagel, a hot vegetable, salad bar, fruits, and
milk and juices.  There were also two vending machines in the cafeteria offering snacks.
As a part of the study, there were two academic lessons presented in the
researcher's classroom in the middle school.  The classroom was set up with students
sitting cooperatively in groups of four.  Around the room there were posters of Math
puzzles and out the window was a garden.
Another part of the study was a student survey on nature, which was given in a
science teacher's classroom.  This classroom was set up cooperatively with students
sitting in groups of four.  All around the room there were mounted animals and pictures
of plants for students to see.
Researcher
As the primary investigator of this thesis project I have been teaching Math to 6th

graders for the last six years.  I am certified to teach mathematics in New York State as
well as in the state of Florida, and I am completing my Masters Degree in Childhood
Education at SUNY Cortland with a concentration in Math and Science. I started teaching
in southern Florida where the district mandated inclass direct instruction. I then received

22
a job opportunity in Central New York where I have taught for the last four years. In this
district, I have more freedom to try alternative teaching approaches.
A coteacher was instrumental in assisting with this study during two of the
classes.  The coteacher is a special education teacher who has been teaching for three
years.  She is very experienced and helped plan the academic lessons that were used in
this study.
There were two teaching aids that also assisted during the academic lessons.
They each had been teaching assistants for two years and assisted with helping the
students stay on task during the activities.
The teacher who built the school garden was also instrumental in assisting with
this study, as it was his class that the primary investigator observed to see the change in
appreciation of nature for students.  This teacher had been a certified science teacher in
New York State for 22 years.
Procedure
Instruments.  For this study the researcher used specific instruments to create
data in each sub group.  These measures are:
Academic Measures.  One lesson was created to allow the researcher’s math class
to utilize school garden for learning.  The participants of this instrument are all sixth
grade students in the researcher’s math class.  The lesson that was presented was finding
perimeter.  The worksheet used can be found in Appendix A.
When students entered the researcher’s classroom they were instructed to answer
a preassessment question: “Your science teacher told me that he needs to put up a new
fence around the school garden. He would like our math class to figure out how much

23
fencing he needs to buy. How would you figure out how much fencing your science
teacher needs to buy?   Please describe in detail.”  Students were then given five minutes
to answer this question.  After that time students were broken up into groups of four or
five students each.  The groups were assigned to be heterogeneous.  Then students were
given a Group worksheet (Appendix B) and three meter sticks and told to go outside to
solve the problem.  Five minutes before the end of the period students were instructed to
come back into class and individually answer the rest of questions on class worksheet.
The following day there was a quiz and one question was on perimeter (Appendix C).
Nutrition surveys. Two instruments were utilized to collect data on students’
appreciation to nutrition and healthy eating. The participants of the survey were a random
sampling of sixth and seventh grade students at the school. The first was a survey
(Appendix D) that asked a series of questions pertaining to student's interest in vegetables
utilizing a Likert scale and as a culminating question asking if they would be more apt to
eat school vegetables if they came from the school garden.  This survey was given to all
students who wanted to take it in the cafeteria
The second instrument (Appendix E) used was a questionnaire that was given to
the school cook manager.  This questionnaire utilized openended format to give her
opinions and findings on how students perceived vegetables and whether she thought
serving food from the school garden had increased student's consumption of vegetables.
Nature survey. A survey was used to determine if school gardens enhanced
students’ appreciation of nature (Appendix F). This survey was constructed with a Likert
structure with two questions at the end asking students to tell their favorite activity in the

24
school garden and their least favorite.   This survey was given as a warmup in all of the
science teacher’s classes.  Students were given five minutes to complete this survey.
Observations. The researcher kept a journal on allimportant incidents during the
research process.  These observations were done with the research as a participant
observer, an active participant observer, and a passive observer.  When the researcher
was the active participant observer, the coteacher took notes in the journal for the
researcher. The researcher completed a journal entry of the stepbystep, day/month
accounting of the data gathering.
Validity, Reliability and Bias
In determining whether school gardens enhance a student’s ability to utilize skills
to solve real world problems and allowed them to appreciate nutrition and nature, the
researcher had to record many observations for data purposes.  While recording this data
he noted all favorable as well as unfavorable outcomes as without that the research would
be invalid.
Students in a research methods class at SUNY Cortland critiqued all surveys and
pre and post assessments of academic lessons.  Also the science teacher, who gave the
survey, reviewed it for accuracy of data collection.  The researcher’s colleagues in the
school’s math department reviewed the math pre and post assessment and lesson design.
These qualitative instruments coupled with his observations and interviews justified a
triangulation that presents solid data (see following triangulation matrix).

25
Figure 3.  Triangulation Matrix
Do school
gardens
enhance
student
development
:
Food
Sampling
Survey Observation Problem
Based
Learning
Exercise
Interview
s
Pertaining to
developing
appreciation
to good
nutrition
Compare
school
garden
veggies
with
school
lunch
veggies
X with Likert
scale
X
Walk around
cafeteria
asking
students what
they are
eating and
why
School
Cook
Manager
Pertaining to
students
learning to
appreciate
nature
Retrospectiv
e Pre and
Post Survey
X
X
Pertaining to
utilizing
skills to solve
real world
problems
On lesson
ask students
what they
thought of
activity.
X while
students are
working
constantly
document in
journal what
they are
doing
Do at least
two lessons
with
problem
based
components
and
discovery.
Assess
students’
net day and
see how
they did.
There are
biases that are
present in this
study coming
from both the
participants and
the researcher
himself.  As the
community in
which the
research was
done is in an
area with many
parks and farms,
students have
the opportunity
to experience and enjoy nature.  As this is the case, their bias might lean toward enjoying
nature, as that is what they have enjoyed all their lives.  There are also biases in regards
to healthy eating and nutrition, as health and wellness plays an important role for many
people in the community that the school is in.  Lastly there are biases from the
researcher’s point of view, as the researcher may be more excited and enthusiastic during

26
a lesson in the garden as he would be in a direct instruction classroom lesson and this
may affect students’ outcomes.
Data Analysis
All data were accumulated during the school day.  I expected to see that students
enjoyed learning outside in the school garden and this enjoyment might lead to better
problem solving for reallife situations.  I also believed I would find students more
appreciative of nature in the science class as they had learned to enjoy being outside.  I
also anticipated that data from the student cafeteria survey would show an increase in
appreciation for vegetables that were grown in the school garden.
After compiling the data, I created bar graphs and circle graphs showing the
results of each individual question and assessment score and analyzed the results.  I
compiled this data into Microsoft Excel.  I followed the same process with the Nature
survey and also the Nutrition survey.  Finally I made notes of the major comments
provided by students and staff and stressed these in my findings.
Findings and Discussion
Academics
Perimeter Lessons in the Garden. The first lesson on perimeter was done on
October 18th
, 2010.  The students worked silently to figure out how much fence the
garden would need and write in on their paper (Appendix A). The researcher noticed that
many students were interested in whether the science teacher had in fact asked them to
figure out the amount of fencing he needed to buy. The researcher asked the students why
they needed to know this, and they said it made them feel important if they were helping
out with something “real” at school.

27
After five minutes the coteacher, assistant teachers and the researcher broke
students into heterogeneous groups. He gave the students the worksheet (Appendix B)
and three rulers to expedite the measuring process. He told them to go figure out how
much new fence was required for the garden. When they went outside it was very
interesting to watch the students pause for a moment as if to say, “How are we going to
do this?”  After some time, one group would start and then other groups would get the
hang of it.  By the time the exercise was over and the students were instructed to go
inside all the groups had completed the task.
When they got back to the classroom they were instructed to complete the rest of
the worksheet (Appendix A) and turn in the following day.  The next day the students
came into class and had an assessment (Appendix C).  Eightyfour percent of the students
got the right answer (Figure 4).
Figure 4   Perimeter Assessment
Discussion
For the most part, students seemed to enjoy the activity.  The observations were
that they liked working in the groups and running around outside.  Students learned

28
quickly that they needed to work together to solve the problem as the garden was about
700 feet of perimeter and unless they developed a system to work together the task would
have taken all day.  It was also very interesting to see how other groups chose a strategy
to do the measuring and then saw how another group was doing it and thought that way
was better and decided use that strategy.  Thus allowing discovery and show and tell
helped them complete their activity faster.
It was interesting to see how many students complained about going outside since
it was a cold and rainy day (see Figure 5).
Figure 5 Did you enjoy being outside even though it was raining?
Did you Enjoy Activity
Yes
51%
No
39%
No answer
10%
Other complaints were that their shoes and clothes got dirty. This was good information
as it is very important to make students understand that although the outside wasn’t the
nicest weather, farmers need to go outside all year round during all types of weather.
Once they heard this they were more able to relate to farmers.
Looking at the next day’s assessment, 84% of the students got a correct answer.
The researcher believed that a greater percentage of students got the correct answer due

29
to the previous day’s handson learning.  However, he recognized that perimeter was a
concept that students learned in previous grades and might have been taught another way
that was the precursor to their success on the assessment.
Findings: Appreciation of Nature
A ninequestion survey (see appendix I) was administered by the science teacher
on January 16, 2011 as a warm up activity.  Fifty surveys were returned completed and
the results were compiled in a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet.
Figure 6 – Nature survey question 1.
Figure 6 shows that the majority of students surveyed strongly agree that they
enjoy spending more time outside than inside. participants.  No students strongly
disagreed with this statement.
Figure 7: Nature survey question 3.

30
Figure 7 shows that the majority of students agree that it is more important to
spend time outside in nature than inside playing video games or watching television.
There were 12 students who were undecided and two who strongly disagreed.
Figure 8 Nature survey question 2.
Figure 8 shows that the majority of students are split between agreeing and being
undecided about whether it is more enjoyable working in a garden than playing video

31
games or watching television.  10% of students strongly agree with the statement and
14% strongly disagree.
Figure 9– Nature survey question 4.
Figure 9 shows that the majority of students agree or strongly agree that they
know where there food comes from.  Only 6% disagree or strongly disagree with this
statement.
Figure 10 – Nature survey questions 5. Figure 11 – Nature survey question 6

32
Figures 10 and 11 show a sidebyside comparison of appreciation of the work
involved with growing food and where food comes from. More students indicated that
they appreciate the work involved with growing food than where their food comes from.
Discussion: Appreciation of Nature
These findings demonstrate that 68% of students surveyed enjoyed being outside
more than being inside. Seventytwo percent of students surveyed believed that it is more
important to be outside rather than playing video games and watching television.
However, only 38% of students surveyed enjoyed working outside in a garden more than
playing video games or watching television inside. Despite enjoying the outdoors and
believing it is important to spend time outdoors, most students preferred television and
video games to working outside in a garden.
The majority of students indicated that they knew where their food came from
(74%) and appreciated where their food came from (60%).  This presents the opportunity
to influence students eating behaviors based on an appreciation of the source of their
food.
Seventytwo percent of students said they appreciated the work involved with
growing food which demonstrated that working in a garden may have taught these
students a valuable lesson on the hard work it takes to grow food.
In addition to the likert scale questions, students were asked to indicate what they
enjoyed most about working in the garden. Responses included: making compost bins,
picking fruits and vegetables, planting, working/collaborating with friends, raking leaves
and fresh air.  A few students indicated that they enjoyed the hands on work more than
being in the classroom.  Students were also asked to indicate what they disliked about

33
working in the garden.  Responses included: working on wet days, hard work, digging
holes, and getting dirty.  It would be interesting to see how these responses may change
over time, with either the same group or different groups who have seen their older peers
working outdoors and growing to appreciate the work.
Findings:  Healthier Eating Choices
A survey on school cafeteria food choices (see appendix D) was piloted with 24
students in the cafeteria during lunch on March 16, 2011. Many students took the survey
to their seat and did not fill it out. Those who did fill it out discussed the questions with
their friends. This dialogue may have caused students to give answers that they otherwise
may not have chosen.  One student was overhead remarking, “Who wants to eat fruits
and vegetables when we can have these cookies?” To reduce peer influence on responses,
the survey was administered using an online survey tool called www.surveymonkey.com.
The Vegetable survey was given via survey monkey on April 25th
, 2011.  Forty
eight students participated in the survey.  In figure 12 the results show students
consumption of vegetables at school.  The results show 42% of students never eat
vegetables at school and 38% eat vegetables almost every day or every day at school.  In
figure 12 the question was asked whether a student would be more apt to eat vegetables if
they came from the school garden.  Sixtyfive percent of the students said they would be
more likely and 35% of the students said they would not be more likely.

34
Figure 12:  Survey cafeteria question 3           Figure 13: Survey cafeteria question 4
In Figure 14 students are asked how often they eat vegetables at home.  Seventy
seven percent of students said that they eat vegetables at home every day or almost every
day.  Two percent of students said they never eat vegetables at home.  In Figure 15
students are asked if they know the can tell the difference between fresh produce and
canned produce. 90% can tell the difference between canned vegetables and fresh
vegetables and 10% of those responded said they could not.
Figure 14: Survey cafeteria question 2   Figure 15: Survey cafeteria question 1

35
Student’s favorite vegetable choices were: corn, sugar snap peas, carrots,
potatoes, cucumbers, and broccoli.  Students didn’t have a strong preference to dislike
any particular vegetables.
Discussion:  School Cafeteria Food Choices
It was very interesting to see that only 38% of students eat vegetables at school
almost every day or every day.  More interesting was the fact, 42% of students said they
never eat vegetables at school.  If the cafeteria at the school served produce from the
school garden, 65% of students said they would be more likely to eat vegetables at
school.  This would most likely encourage students to eat healthier at school.  That is a
good case for implementing school gardens into school, as they would promote healthier
eating choices.  School gardens should make sure they grow the vegetables that students
would be most apt to eat.  The best way to do this would be to survey the school before
hand to see what vegetables the students would like to have served in the cafeteria that
was grown in the school garden.
Another interesting statistic was the fact that 77% of the students surveyed eat
vegetables at home every day or almost every day.  This proves that students are being
exposed to good choices at home but when given the choice at school they choose not to
eat the vegetables.  Is it because the vegetables are canned and not fresh, that could be?
Ninety percent of students surveyed know the difference between fresh fruits and
vegetables and the canned produce.  Getting food from the school garden will encourage
students to make healthier eating choices at school.
Findings: School Cafeteria Interview
A fourquestion interview on students’ eating behavior in the school cafeteria (see

36
Appendix E) was given to the school cook manager on April 15, 2011. In response to
which vegetables student ate most, the cook manager indicated that most of the students
were eating fresh roasted vegetables.  In response to which vegetables students eat least,
the cook manager indicated “all canned vegetables, with the exception of canned corn”.
The cook manager also noted that students were eating less canned and frozen vegetables
in the past year and a half. In response to whether she thought serving fresh vegetables
from the school garden made a difference, and why or why not, the cook manager wrote,
I saw a big difference with the garden.  The students were excited to see their
vegetables and produce on the serving lines.  The flavor and texture of a fresh
vegetable is so different from canned and frozen and I feel the students like this
better.
In response to whether she thought some kids did not know the difference between fresh
vegetables and canned vegetables, she wrote,
I absolutely think the students know the difference, they ask questions about the
vegetables being served, where they come from and did we make them at the
school.  Did we season them?  I have seen a big change in the habits of the
students eating vegetables this past year. I do have some students that come back
in for seconds.  The sixth grade students are the hardest to convince that the
vegetables we serve do have flavor and are good, not just good for them. The
school garden was more labor, but the reward at the end, seeing the students enjoy
eating what they grew was priceless!!!

37
Discussion: School Cafeteria Interview
The school’s cook manager provided valuable input on increased student
vegetable consumption over the past year since the school garden began producing
vegetables to serve in the cafeteria.  She noted that although it takes more work to grow
the food, students demonstrate an interest in the vegetables served and enjoyed what they
were eating.  She also noted that they were consuming less canned and frozen vegetables
over the past year, which may be related to the increased consumption and appreciation
of the fresh vegetables that they grew in their garden.
Implications and Conclusion
The original questions of this study were: can school gardens enhance a student’s
ability to utilize skills to solve real world problems, do school gardens allow students to
appreciate the importance of good nutrition and healthier eating choices and do school
gardens help students appreciate nature?
The perimeter lesson showed that students were actively engaged in a learning
experience in the garden using problem solving skills to solve a real world problem.
Further studies can be done to show engagement with solving real world problems in the
school garden utilizing other math skills.  Some ideas that can be explored are: students
could make garden beds utilizing area and measurement.  Students could also figure out
optimum plantings of crops in the field utilizing greatest common factor.  These other
lessons will provide further research to see if school gardens assist student learning.
The nature survey showed that students were well aware that being outside in
school gardens is better for them then playing inside watching television or playing video
games.  The problem was the majority of students would rather be inside playing video

38
games and watching television then being outside.  Further studies allowing more
opportunity in multi subjects for students to go outside in the garden and have learning
experiences would be able to see if these experiences could change student behavior.  As
they know the benefits of being outside, the more time students are outside in nature the
more opportunity they will have to appreciate it and make their own choice to be outside
rather than inside in their free time.
In the district that the action research was done a significant majority could tell
the difference between canned vegetables and fresh vegetables.  Further studies at other
schools should be done to clarify this question and see if it is an isolated incident.
Students just need more opportunities to eat fresh vegetables.  As the school cook
manager clearly explained the school garden vegetables take much more work but
students want to eat them, which in turn promotes healthier eating habits.  Further studies
can be done at multiple schools starting in elementary schools to provide students with
fresh vegetables and see if it gets students to choose healthier eating choices.
For school gardens to enhance student development, teachers and schools need
the appropriate support from professional development, community member volunteers,
school food service and local and state agricultural agencies. Without this support and
collaboration, school gardens can result in frustrated teachers, and disengaged students.
With the proper framework school gardens can assist students with academic work and
help them appreciate nature.  Most importantly the school garden can assist students in
learning to appreciate fruits and vegetables and where their food comes from. More
schools can benefit from establishing gardens and may be encouraged by further
participatory action research that demonstrates the diversity of benefits for students.

39
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43
Appendix A
Name: Date:
Period:
The science teacher told me that he needs to put up a new fence around the school
garden. He would like our Math class to figure out how much fencing he needs to buy.
How would you figure out how much fencing the science teacher needs to buy?   Please
describe in detail.
Now let’s go outside.
Please describe in detail how you figured out how much fencing to buy.
Did you find this activity enjoyable?  Why or why not?
What new Math skills did you use today?
Lee Kaltman
THESIS PROJECT
November 2010

44
Appendix B
Measuring the school garden
Group members:
Draw a diagram of the school garden
What is the perimeter of the school garden in meters?
You may use a calculator for this activity.
Did every student contribute to this activity?
Lee Kaltman
THESIS PROJECT
November 2010

46
Appendix D
Survey of students in cafeteria
What vegetables do you enjoy most?
What vegetable do you enjoy least?
Please circle your choices.
1.  Can you taste the difference between fresh vegetables and canned vegetables?
Yes No
2. Do you eat vegetables at home?
1 2 3 4       5
Never every other day every day
3. Do you eat vegetables at school?
1 2 3 4       5
Never every other day every day
4. Would you be more apt to eat vegetables at school if they were grown in our
school garden?
Yes No
Lee Kaltman
Thesis Project

47
Appendix E
Interview with School Cafeteria Lady?
What vegetables do children eat most?
What vegetables do they eat least?
Do you think serving fresh vegetables from the school garden have made a difference?
Why or why not?
Do you think some kids do not know the difference between fresh vegetables and canned
vegetables?
Lee Kaltman
THESIS PROJECT
November 2010

48
Appendix F
Compared to before you started taking this science class, rate how strongly you agree or
disagree with each of these statements (circle):
7. I enjoy spending more time outside than inside.
Strongly Agree __Agree __Undecided __Disagree __Strongly Disagree
8. I enjoy working outside in a garden more than inside playing video games or
watching television.
9. I think it is more important to spend time outside in nature than inside playing
video games or watching television.
4. I know where my food comes from
5. I appreciate where my food comes from.
6. I appreciate the work involved with growing food.
7. What is the one thing you have enjoyed most about working in the school
garden?
_______________________________________________________________________
8. What is the one thing that you have enjoyed least about working in the school
garden?
________________________________________________________________________
9. Do you think you learn better in the classroom or outside while in the school
garden?
_______________________________________________________________________
Lee Kaltman
THESIS PROJECT
November 2010

School Gardens: Are they Fruitful Harvests or Barren Fields for 21st Century Schools?

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