benefits of plants in the classrooms

What Are Benefits Of Plants In Classrooms?

Indoor plants have been proven to have various health and wellness advantages for both children and adults. However, there are few articles regarding the educational and health benefits of plants in classrooms.

The presence of plants in the classroom improves children’s grades and behavior. Empirical studies reveal that the presence of plants in university classrooms can increase university students’ performance and reduce the physical discomfort. Due to the importance of this topic, we will go through it in this article.

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    What are the benefits of plants in the classrooms?

    Improve the performance of students

    In 2010 [1], a study revealed that having plants in the classroom can help students improve their spelling, arithmetic, and science skills across the curriculum. It was found that another benefit of plants in the classroom is that it improves the aesthetic and atmosphere of the classroom.

    benefits of studying plant by students

    Teaching tools

    Another benefit of plants in the classroom is that they can be utilized as a teaching tool, particularly for botany and biology. Students can learn a lot from plants in this condition, including: 

    • Watching the growth and flowering of plants
    • Developing patience required for plant growth and maintenance
    • Observing living organisms that exist in the soil of plants
    • Comparing high-light and low-light plants 
    • Studying the origin of various plants
    • Learning to distinguish between safe and poisonous plants

    Decreasing the stress

    To reduce stress, much research has looked into observing the effect of natural environments on mental health and academic performance. According to their findings, students’ recovery from stressful events was aided by views of green scenery. This means that creating a specific space in the classroom for indoor plants will be beneficial in educational facilities such as schools. This also indicates that having plants in the classroom can help students cope with stress and improve their performance.

    benefits of plants in the classrooms - dieffenbachia plant

    Happy students

    Among all benefits, it seems that the most important benefit of plants in the classroom could be an increase in happiness. Happiness is a powerful human emotion that is directly related to mental health. Happiness encompasses more than just a feeling of well-being; it is essential to students since it can significantly impact their future.

    School administrators, architects, teachers, and planners have spent many years transforming schools and classrooms into cheerful environments. Students who have a good time in the classroom will have a good time in life. Thermal comfort, color, light, and noise are all known to impact mental health and well-being.

    One of the most important environmental elements influencing mental health is a person’s interaction with nature. A study on female students conducted in 2018 [2] revealed that the presence of plants in the classroom could increase students’ happiness. This could confirm the biophilia theory, which asserts that people’s mental health is linked to their interactions with nature.

    Clean air, healthy and happy students

    Indoor plants have been shown to help primary school students stay healthy. In the presence of green plants, behavior, and class grades improved. Doxey et al. [3] looked into the link between student performance and indoor plants. According to their findings, while students’ grades did not change much when green plants were present in the classroom, students’ happiness ratings improved, implying that both staff and students were happier due to the presence of plants in their workspace.

    A study by Najafi et al. in 2018 [2] also revealed that Indoor plants made high school students happier. In this study, Epipremnum Aureum, a member of the Araceae family with over 100 species, was employed as the indoor plant. Epipremnum Aureum is among the most effective plants at removing pollutants from the air.

    Indoor plants like Epipremnum Aureum can help to clean the air and minimize pollution. According to this study, one of the additional benefits of this plant in the classroom is that it can purify the air and keep the students healthy.

    studying plants by kids

    Conclusion

    Unfortunately, not all kids from different geographical locations can interact with nature. The lack of plants and green spaces in many schools has deprived students of the most important benefit of plants in classrooms, which is increased happiness.

    Using indoor plants in the classroom is one way to benefit from contact with nature. Several research studies have proved the benefits of outdoor education and connection with nature. However, not all schools can provide outdoor education in today’s educational world. As a result, using indoor plants in the classroom may be the most effective approach to foster a connection between kids and nature while also reaping the benefits of that connection.

    Empirical studies have revealed that the benefits of plants in classrooms are numerous. These plants can be used as a teaching tool while purifying the air, improving students’ performance, reducing sickness, and increasing students’ happiness.

    References:

    1. Daly J, Burchett M, Torpy F, plants in the classroom can improve students performance, 2010
    2. Najafi N and Keshmiri H, The Relationship Between Classroom Indoor Plants and Happiness of Female High School Students, 2018
    3. Doxey JS, Waliczek TM, Zajicek JM. The impact of interior plants in university classrooms on student course performance and on student perceptions of the course and instructor. 2009.

    If you have ever had indoor plants or would like to try it out, please share your experiences and views in the comments section below.

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