Sparkling Science

Everyday school life challenges pupils reducing their cognitive abilities while at the same time increasing their stress levels. Pupils are less able to concentrate, can not sufficiently absorb the subject matters and are not balanced.
The question of where pupil can restore and reload their batteries to increase their cognitive capacities arises. Do they restore during playing computer games, face booking, attending a coffee shop or walking in a park or forest?
The project “A break please!” investigates the restorative effects of indoor and outdoor places on the cognitive abilities and perceived well-being of Viennese pupils. The pupils use video diaries to document and analyse their favourite places regarding perceived restorative effects. They reflect their everyday behaviours regarding stress and strains and the role of restorative places for their life quality. They measure the restorative effects of several places using psychological and physical methods in order to compare perceived versus measured effects. In addition, the pupils investigate the role of restorative places for different age groups. They develop strategies how to integrate restorative effects of specific places and activities into their daily life including everyday school life. They will propose measures regarding the access of restorative places and present their results to stakeholders from public health, city planning, and environment.

The study results serve for the research on the effects of restorative places for adolescents compared to other age groups and in dependence of place types. In this inter- and transdisciplinary project pupils work together with researchers, practitioners and administration officers from public and environmental health, recreation planning and environmental engineering.

Text: project management