Learning to See Plants: Overcoming Future Teachers’ Plant Blindness Through Outdoor Educational Activities

Plant blindness—defined as a lack of awareness and appreciation for the essential role of plants in human life and biodiversity—has gained increasing attention as a barrier to environmental literacy. Addressing this issue is crucial, particularly for future biology teachers who will guide the next generation’s understanding of plants. This study investigates the impact of outdoor plant observation activities on the plant identification knowledge and attitudes of biology pre-service teachers and explores their perspectives on outdoor education. Using a one-group pre-test, posttest, and retention test design, 81 biology pre-service teachers participated in 90-minute observation sessions spanning four weeks, during which they observed plants across diverse ecological contexts and compiled memory cards for each species documented. Results show a significant improvement in plant identification skills and positive shifts in attitudes towards plants, with partial retention observed over time. Qualitative data from semi-structured interviews indicate that participants found outdoor education motivating and beneficial for long-term retention. Despite challenges such as weather conditions and group size, participants emphasized the effectiveness and engagement of learning directly in nature. Many expressed intentions to incorporate outdoor activities and technological tools in their future teaching practices to enrich student learning and combat plant blindness.