Activities in the natural environment and experiential methodology as tools for the integral development of individuals

The teaching-learning processes can be developed in diverse contexts and with different educational methodologies. But not all of them, and not all the spaces, have the same potential to achieve that the students acquire the treated knowledge or to achieve a development of all their skills (physical, cognitive, psychological). This is the basis from which the following study arises. The main objective is to compare the benefits produced in students in relation to the teaching-learning processes and their integral development, depending on the classroom and on the educational methodology used. For this purpose, two questionnaires were given, one after the classroom sessions and the other after the practical sessions in the natural environment, to a group of 124 students of the subject of Activities in the Natural Environment, of the Faculty of Sciences of Physical Activity and Sports-INEF of Madrid. The results highlight the 17.05% difference between learning acquisition after sessions in nature compared to classroom sessions. It is concluded that activities in the natural environment, carried out with an experiential methodology, represent greater benefits in terms of the degree of knowledge acquired and in terms of the development of social and personal skills of the participants.