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Traditional indoor lessons, in an Australian high school, were moved outdoors. Studies exploring teacher/student perceptions of a move to nature-based classrooms are limited in mainstream schools in disadvantaged areas. The research question was: how do teachers and students perceive and experience outdoor learning environments compared to indoor environments? Forty-seven students aged 13-14 years, and 2 teachers, took part in 5-weeks of indoor and 5-weeks of outdoor lessons. Students were approached for focus groups; teachers for interviews. A phenomenological approach explored the lived experiences of participants in the outdoor classroom; thematic analysis was used to interpret the data. Teachers reported learning and engagement as comparable in the indoor and outdoor settings. Teachers required resources, school support and guidelines to capitalise on the potential of nature-based learning. A practical 'how to' for teachers and schools looking to move outside is included. This study suggests guidelines for weather, class size and lessons content/styles.

Background: Deficits in visuospatial attention, known as neglect, are common following brain injury, but underdiagnosed and poorly treated, resulting in long-term cognitive disability. In clinical settings, neglect is often assessed using simple pen-and-paper tests. While convenient, these cannot characterise the full spectrum of neglect. This protocol reports a research programme that compares traditional neglect assessments with a novel virtual reality attention assessment platform: The Attention Atlas (AA). Methods/design: The AA was codesigned by researchers and clinicians to meet the clinical need for improved neglect assessment. The AA uses a visual search paradigm to map the attended space in three dimensions and seeks to identify the optimal parameters that best distinguish neglect from non-neglect, and the spectrum of neglect, by providing near-time feedback to clinicians on system-level behavioural performance. A series of experiments will address procedural, scientific, patient, and clinical feasibility domains. Results: Analyses focuses on descriptive measures of reaction time, accuracy data for target localisation, and histogram-based raycast attentional mapping analysis; which measures the individual's orientation in space, and inter- and intra-individual variation of visuospatial attention. We will compare neglect and control data using parametric between-subjects analyses. We present example individual-level results produced in near-time during visual search. Conclusions: The development and validation of the AA is part of a new generation of translational neuroscience that exploits the latest advances in technology and brain science, including technology repurposed from the consumer gaming market. This approach to rehabilitation has the potential for highly accurate, highly engaging, personalised care. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To systematically search for current research on the role of resilience in the physical rehabilitation of SCI and describe the research to date. The Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) approach was used. Five databases were searched for papers published up to March 2020. The sample included adults who have sustained an SCI; outcomes included a physical rehabilitation outcome and a measure of psychological or personal resilience/resilience training. The initial search found 2074 studies. 12 studies were included. Six suggest positive effects of resilience on physical functioning/recovery, six report resilience as not affecting physical functioning/recovery. Resilience may positively affect physical outcomes; however, the relationship is under-researched and contrasting findings may be due to measurements and methods employed by research. Future research may distinguish between two sources of resilience following an SCI: prior resilient experiences, and resilience as a product of the injury. Individuals' past events that triggered resilient behaviour may be able to promote a resilient response to an SCI. Focussing on emotional coping may result in poorer outcomes than building a sense of control. Resilience training may affect psychosocial rehabilitation; it is difficult to establish if it would affect physical outcomes. A negative approach to an injury can have negative effects on functioning; when identifying patients for psychoeducational training, those with the presence of negative appraisals of their injury are most in need. Resilience may positively affect physical outcomes; however, the relationship is under-researched. Individuals' past events that triggered resilient behaviour may be able to promote a resilient response to an SCI. Focussing on emotional coping may result in poorer outcomes than building a sense of control. When identifying patients for psychoeducational training, it may be those with the presence of negative appraisals of their injury that are most in need. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence suggests equine-assisted activities may provide psychological benefits to young people "at-risk." Results are presented from an equine program among 14- to 16-year-old children (N = 7), mostly boys (N = 6), attending a non-traditional flexi-school in Australia. Thematic analyses were undertaken on observations by facilitators, researchers, and a school teacher, and interviews with a school teacher. Key themes suggest that program participants benefited from positive engagement, social connectedness, and increased confidence, relationships, and attachment. Mechanisms were identified as a desire and an ability to connect with the horse and a positive environment. The social context of the equine program contrasts with other contexts in these young people's lives, which allowed them to engage through more positive relational, affectionate behavior. For the boys, positive rather than damaging masculine behavior was displayed. Furthermore, the compatible student-environment interactions provide a backdrop which makes other positive changes possible. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]