Event
The Power of Outdoor Learning: Impacts on Early Childhood Development & Educator Well-Being

educator with group of young children outside doing artwork

Date

–

Event Type

Webinar

Topic

  • Research

Tags

  • Children's Health and Wellness

Register to Attend

Spending time outdoors isn’t just refreshing—it’s increasingly linked to meaningful gains in children’s physical, academic, and social-emotional development, with emerging research also pointing to benefits for educator well-being. As concerns grow around screen time and reduced outdoor play, nature-based learning is gaining attention as a powerful, holistic approach.

In a webinar taking place on April 22 at 2 PM ET / 11 AM PT, we’ll hear from Dr. Arianna Pikus, an assistant professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture and a core faculty member of the Institute for Early Childhood Development and Education at Texas A&M University. She’ll share findings from three recent studies exploring the impacts of outdoor learning environments on early childhood development and educator well-being.

Participants will learn:

  • How nature-based preschool and early elementary programs support early literacy, numeracy, and executive function skills
  • The ways outdoor learning fosters children’s physical health and social-emotional development
  • What the research says about time outdoors and its impact on educator stress, well-being, and burnout

Register to Attend

This webinar will take place on April 22 at 2 PM ET and the recording will be made available to within a week following the live event.

Speakers

  • Dr. Arianna Pikus headshot

    Dr. Arianna Pikus

    Arianna Pikus, PhD is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture and a core faculty member of the Institute for Early Childhood Development and Education at Texas A&M University. Her research focuses on expanding access to high-quality science education in early childhood, with an emphasis on leveraging nature as a meaningful context for introducing scientific concepts to young children. She also investigates how natural environments support children’s learning, growth, and overall development. Dr. Pikus applies her findings to the design of early childhood science curricula, assessments, and professional development, helping educators bring more meaningful, nature-based science experiences into their classrooms. Her work has been published in leading academic journals such as AERA Open, Early Childhood Research Quarterly and Early Education & Development, and she regularly contributes to practitioner-focused publications, including Young Children and Science & Children. She is also the co-author of the book Evaluating Natureness Measuring the Quality of Nature-based Classrooms in Pre-K through 3rd Grade and the Nature-based Education Rating Scale (NABERS) which measures the quality of nature integration into Pre-K and K-3rd grade classrooms. She is a former outdoor environmental educator and preschool teacher.