2022 Muddy Sneakers Evaluation Report

2021-22
Muddy
Sneakers
Evaluation
Report
Evaluating team:
Kathryn Stevenson,
NC State University

2021-22 Muddy Sneakers Evaluation Report
Evaluating team: Kathryn Stevenson, NC State University
Executive Summary 2
Background 3
Process and Results 3
Evaluation Goals 3
Outcomes of Interest 4
Data Collection 4
Evaluation Results: 6
Significant gains in science learning, connection to nature, and critical thinking 11
Variation across gender 11
Affinity for science and nature 13
Connection to place 14
Support for learning and teaching 15
Recommendations 17
Conclusions 17
References 20
Appendices 22
Appendix A. Student Survey instrument 22
Appendix B. Teacher Survey instrument 26
Appendix C. Qualitative Responses 34
Student responses: 34
Table C1. Student Response Themes for Questions: 34
Figure C1. Hierarchy Chart of Student Response Themes 35
Teacher responses: 47
Table C2. Teacher Responses to “What is the most valuable part of Muddy Sneakers?” 47
Table C3. Teacher Responses to “What are the selling points you would share with Muddy Sneakers?” 47

Executive Summary
Over the 2021-22 school year, Muddy Sneakers again partnered with NC State to refine and implement an
evaluation plan. Drawing on considerable effort over the 2020-21 school year, we modified the student
and teacher evaluation instruments and used these to collect data in spring of 2022. Prioritization of both
what we measured it and how we measured it (e.g., timing, length of surveys) was driven primarily by
program needs, with input from development on data that would support reporting and storytelling.
For students, we were interested in measuring general satisfaction with the program, as well as changes in
science knowledge, science confidence, connection to nature, critical thinking, nature and science affinity,
and connection to local geography. For teachers, we measured general satisfaction with the program and
associated logistics and support from Muddy Sneakers, as well as the degree to which teachers felt the
program supported their teaching, made them more confident and comfortable teaching science and in the
outdoors, and supported student science and social-emotional learning.
We were able to reach a total of 401 students across 17 schools, and 16 teachers responded to the teacher
survey. This response rate was a bit lower than expected for a few reasons. First, we learned this year that
many schools do not have devices available to students in the last few weeks of school, so an earlier survey
date in the future should raise response rates. Second, one of the questions around gender caused many
teachers to avoid administering the survey. We have addressed those concerns and anticipate higher
participation in the future.
From the students and teachers we did survey, results were overwhelmingly positive. Students were
enthusiastic about the program and listed many memorable experiences – particularly related to the creek
– and often referenced experiences that referred to activities directly tied to science standards (e.g., pine
needle tea, an activity about heat transfer). Among students, we saw significant positive gains in each
outcome of interest – science knowledge, science confidence, connection to nature, and critical thinking.
These gains were similar for boys and girls, which is encouraging given documented disparities in science
confidence and engagement between boys and girls in late elementary school. Muddy Sneakers also
seemed to build an appreciation for local geography, as students consistently reported going somewhere
new, wanting to return to places they went with Muddy Sneakers, and learning more about nature in their
part of North Carolina.
Teachers were similarly enthusiastic about the program, were supportive of Muddy Sneakers instructors
and lead instructors, and felt the program did a good job supporting their teaching of science standards.
60% of the responding teachers used the Skype a Sneaker virtual lessons, and about a quarter of them used
both the Remote Expeditions curriculum and Skype a Sneaker. Among those that used these remote
options, teachers felt the resources helped meet cross-curricular standards. Teachers also felt Muddy
Sneakers helped support student learning, including among students who can struggle in the classroom;
positively supported the social and emotional wellbeing of students; supported their own confidence taking
students outdoors; and positively impacted their own teaching in general.
Muddy Sneakers seems to be meeting many of its programmatic goals. Though all responses were positive,
a group of items around student engagement suggests that instructors might create more time for group
discussion to allow students to share with and learn from one another. The amount of ownership that
Muddy Sneakers was able to assume in the process is admirable, and they seem to be on a path to making
more and more data-based programming decisions and telling their stories in powerful ways.
2

Gains in the outcomes measured here are consistent with emerging research on how nature-based
instruction can support student academic and social emotional learning. Specifically, research suggests that
outdoor experience can support this type of learning and, as has been found with Muddy Sneakers, can do
it in a way that mitigates learning gaps typically found in classroom settings. Further, gains in outcomes like
connection to nature point to the potential of Muddy Sneakers to support students’ mental health as well
as their lasting connection with the outdoors and support for conservation.
Background
This 2021-22 evaluation cycle is in the context of a partnership between Muddy Sneakers and NC State that
was initiated in 2015. To date, we completed an extensive control-treatment experimental evaluation of
student outcomes (science knowledge, connection to nature, and science efficacy) in 2015-17. In the 2020-
21 year, we began conversations again to form a sustainable evaluation plan, including making evaluation a
more central programmatic practice, with NC State continuing as an external consultant. We revisited
evaluation goals, outcomes of interest, and piloted a student instrument in April 2022, with encouraging
results related to the usability of this instrument and to students’ positive experiences during an unusual
year. In 2021-22, we continued to refine this process, with some changes to the student instrument and a
revision of the teacher survey to provide more information on program benefits to teachers. The
partnership between Muddy Sneakers and NC State continues to evolve, as evaluation capacity and
competency among Muddy Sneakers staff continues to grow. This report represents the results of a
program-driven approach, with NC State serving as a consultant to help execute goals defined by the
programming team, with the needs for development and storytelling to stakeholders in mind.
Process and Results
Evaluation Goals
The goals for this year’s evaluation were primarily to inform programming. Program staff led prioritization
of outcomes of interest and data collection processes (e.g., ensuring low burdens on teachers, participants,
and Muddy Sneakers staff). In addition, as grant reporting requirements need to be met (e.g., measuring
engagement with nature), and evaluation results can be useful in storytelling and development work, we
worked closely with Jordan Robbins, Development Director, to align programmatic, development, and
reporting evaluation goals. Overall, the evaluation process seemed to create high levels of buy in from
both program and development staff, which bodes well for usability of the evaluation results.
The primary emphasis this year remained on refining the student instrument, but we also turned our
attention to the teacher evaluation process. Program staff stay in close contact with teachers, collecting
mid-year and end-of year surveys and/or interviews as appropriate and preferred by teachers. The general
feeling was that this process was serving program needs well in its current form, with an emphasis on
program satisfaction and logistics (e.g., communication processes, whether the program was valuable to
support teacher goals). NC State reviewed the current teacher surveys and made editorial suggestions
based on survey best practices, including condensing some of the questions. In addition, we added a few
questions to better understand the program benefits teachers attribute to Muddy Sneakers, including
supporting their own science teaching, as well as student critical thinking, science confidence, and socialemotional
well-being.
3

Outcomes of Interest
We leveraged considerable effort made in 2020-21 to refine our student outcomes of interest this year.
We began with the student instrument piloted in 2020-21, and program staff took the lead on edits and
questions. We had periodic meetings between program and development staff as well as NC State to
iteratively edit the instrument to make sure it served program needs first while also fulfilling requirements
of grant reporting and providing useful information for storytelling.
2020-21 Pilot instrument outcomes 2021-22 Student instrument outcomes
Science knowledge
Science knowledge
Science efficacy
Science confidence
Connection to nature
Connection to nature
Critical thinking
Critical thinking
Interest in science
Nature & science affinity
Interest in nature
Connection to local geography
For teachers, we primarily focused on streamlining the existing teacher surveys. The bulk of the survey still
focuses on teacher satisfaction and program feedback, but we did add some questions to better
understand benefits that teachers identify for themselves and students. We measured:
Program satisfaction
• Helpfulness of program elements in supporting teaching and learning goals
• Assessment of Muddy Sneakers instructors
• Assessment of Muddy Sneakers lead instructors
Use of program (e.g., in-person expeditions, Skype a Sneaker, Remote Expeditions curriculum)
Program benefits
• Supporting students who struggle in the classroom through outdoor learning
• Supporting social-emotional learning, critical thinking, science confidence, familiarity with local
natural resources, connection to nature
• Supporting confidence teaching outdoors, relationships between teachers and students and among
students, supporting science teaching
The final instruments can be found as Appendices at the end of this report.
Data Collection
We began with electronic versions of both the student and teacher instruments and provided paper copies
of the student instrument upon request. Because we surveyed students once at the end of the year, the
survey was designed as a retrospective pre-post, asking students to reflect on how they felt at the
beginning of the year versus now. NC State loaded the student surveys into Qualtrics in order to utilize the
added functionality of that software and provided Muddy Sneakers program staff with the link to
distribute. We used Google Forms to house the teacher survey. Muddy Sneakers staff led all teacher
communication around surveys. We learned this year that many districts collect student devices several
weeks before the end of school, which unfortunately resulted in a lower response rate among students
(i.e., some schools are missing entirely). However, we were able to collect enough student data to report
4

fairly robust results for students, and 16 teachers completed their survey. The general process of NC State
providing survey formats and Muddy Sneakers liaising with teachers seemed to work well, although earlier
distribution of surveys next year should help response rates.
We should also note that a lively discussion emerged among some school districts in response to our
original wording of a question around student gender. In the past, understanding how the program works
for different genders has been helpful for program and development, as well as has generated publishable
research. In an attempt to use inclusive language, our original wording included four choices: Boy, Girl,
Nonbinary, and Something not listed here. In response to considerable pushback from some districts, we
changed the question to an open ended format, “What is your gender?” This recommendation is
supported by both program staff and an informal poll and literature review NC State completed with fellow
researchers. However, as a result of this public conversation, many schools opted out of the student
and/or teacher survey.
Responses rates by schools were as follows:
# of Student responses # teacher responses
Central Elementary 0 1
Hall Fletcher Elementary 0 1
Mills River Elementary 0 1
Mt. Ulla Elementary 0 1
Pisgah Forest Elementary 0 1
Polk Central Elementary 0 1
Sugarloaf Elementary 0 1
TC Henderson School of Science and Technology 0 1
West Rowan Elementary 0 1
Rockwell Elementary 0 2
Overton Elementary 0 3
Brevard Academy 1 0
Clear Creek Elementary 1 0
Atkinson Elementary 1 1
Hendersonville Elementary 2 0
Sunny View Elementary 6 1
Hot Springs Elementary 13 0
Ira B. Jones Elementary 13 1
Claxton Elementary 15 0
Saluda Elementary 18 1
The Mountain Community School 20 1
Brevard Elementary 35 1
Whitaker Elementary 38 2
Isaac Dickson Elementary 39 0
Tryon Elementary 43 0
Bruce Drysdale Elementary 44 0
Hillandale Elementary (Henderson County) 60 2
Hillandale Elementary (Durham County) 66 1
No response: Cove Creek School, Fletcher Elementary, Francine Delany New School for Children, Granite
Quarry Elementary, Hurley Elementary, Isenberg Elementary, Knollwood Elementary, Lake Lure Classical
5

Percentage of Students
Frequencies
Academy, Lucy S. Herring Elementary, Mars Hill Elementary, North Rowan Elementary, Shining Rock
Classical Academy, The Learning Center
Evaluation Results:
Overall enjoyment and use of the program. Students reported overwhelmingly positive experiences with
Muddy Sneakers, with 89% of students responding positively (Figure 1).
Did you enjoy your time with with
Muddy Sneakers?
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
39.4%
49.5%
8.0%
3.1%
Yes! Yes No No!
Figure 1. Enjoyment of Muddy Sneakers. Percentage of students
responding to each answer choice.
Students also rated their instructors highly, as
seen in Figure 2. The “Group Dynamics Score”
represents a sum of all the responses to the
questions displayed in Figure 3. In particular,
students felt their instructors showed kindness
and respect, made learning fun, and made
students feel safe. One area to focus on next
year might be encouraging more group
discussion, as “learning things from my
classmates,” “learning things about my
classmates,” and feeling encouraged to share
ideas with the group where among the lowest
scoring in this section (although around or more
than 50% positive). In terms of how challenging
they thought the experience was, students
generally thought everything was as expected
or easier than expected (Figure 4).
Instructor Score
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32
Figure 2. Trends of total Group dynamics score. Bars represent the amount of times student total scores added to a certain
number. The positive trend indicates most students felt positively about the group dynamics.
6

Group Dynamics
I felt valuable in my group.
I learned new things from my classmates.
I learned new things about my classmates.
My instructor made learning fun.
I felt encouraged to share my ideas with the group.
I felt confident exploring nature with my group.
I felt safe to be myself with my instructor.
My instructor showed kindness and respect to everyone in
the group.
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Yes! Yes No No!
Figure 4. Detailed responses to items around group dynamics. Bars represent the percentage of students choosing a given
answer choice for each item.
Were the following activities easier or harder than you
expected?
Doing science experiments outside
Sitting on the ground
Using the bathroom outside
Eating lunch outside
Hiking
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Much easier Easier About as I expected Harder Much harder Didn't do
Figure 3. Percentage of student selecting each answer choice for how hard or easy they found Muddy Sneakers activities.
7

We also asked students about their favorite and most memorable parts of Muddy Sneakers. Answers were
very similar across the two questions and generally expressed lots of excitement. The experiences in the
creek seemed especially impactful, with many students mentioning “the creek,” “going to the creek,”
“crystal creek,” “The aquatic avenger,” or “making boats.” Several mentioned solo hikes, being in nature, or
being with friends. The goats at Carl Sandburg Home National Historic Site were also very popular. Few
students mentioned things like “doing science,” but many mentioned specific natural science or standard
aligned activities such as “making nests for water bottles,” “making pine tea,” “making an obstacle course,”
or “seeing a salamander.” A full list of responses is found in the Appendices.
Figure 5. Word cloud of student responses to "What was your favorite part of Muddy Sneakers?"
8

In terms of teacher feedback,
teachers all felt that Muddy
Sneakers does a good or excellent
job at prioritizing safety (100%
excellent), learning (28% good,
72% excellent), and fun (20%
good, 80% excellent). Their
assessment of the Muddy
Sneakers instructors was also very
positive, as represented in Figure
5.
In terms of supporting logistics,
lead instructors also scored well
with teachers (Figure 6).
Content presentation
Group management
Student engagement
Safety awareness
Knowledge of topic
Please rate the Muddy Sneakers
instructors on the following criteria
Enthusiasm
64%
72%
72%
84%
84%
96%
32%
24%
24%
4%
4%
16% 0%
4%
4% 0%
16% 0%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Excellent Good Fair Poor
Figure 6. Teacher (n = 16) assessment of Muddy Sneakers instructors.
Touched base frequently
School event attendance
Please rate your Lead Instructor on the
following criteria
Overall
Clear logistics plans
Response time
Communication
84%
80%
88%
84%
92%
88%
12% 4%
4% 8%
When we asked teachers the
most valuable part of Muddy
Sneakers, they responded with
general positive support (e.g.,
“the best program with the
best instructors!” “it’s hard to
choose one thing!”), and with
references to learning science,
connecting with students and
the outdoors, and having fun.
Teachers commented that
their “understanding of
science is more well-rounded,”
and appreciated the “crosscurricular
teaching
opportunities,” “hands on
learning,” and that Muddy Sneakers encourages students to make connections between science and the
real world. One teacher mentioned she used the Remote Expedition activities on a daily basis, commenting,
“I can’t imagine bringing the science standards to my students in any other way.” Many teachers thought
that being outside, building relationships with nature, and learning to explore and become more
comfortable with nature was a key benefit for students. When we asked teachers how they would
promote the program, they said similar things, emphasizing getting kids outside and off devices, that it
does a good job connecting to the science standards, that it connected to social-emotional goals, and that
it “encourages out of town people to learn about and invest in the new area that they live in.” One teacher
highlighted the benefit of the program for their own teaching, “I personally was really nervous about
Muddy Sneakers, I myself am not an outdoor person AT ALL. I found myself trying new things and even got
in the creek and held critters for my students. Muddy Sneakers challenged me to be a better teacher.”
0%
8%
12% 0%
8%
4% 0%
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Excellent Good Fair Poor N/A
Figure 7. Teacher (n = 16) assessment of lead instructors
9

Percentage of teachers
Percentage of teachers
In 2021-22, Muddy Sneakers continued offering remote options in the forms of Remote Expeditions
activities and Skype a Sneaker virtual sessions. About half of the responding teachers took advantage of
Skype a Sneaker, but fewer used Remote Expeditions. When used, the activities seem to be facilitated in a
variety of settings (Figure 7). When teachers used these activities, they general found them useful in
meeting cross-curricular standards, which may present an opportunity for schools to consider incorporating
more Muddy Sneakers activities for higher impact.
Which parts of the expanded
partnership did you use with
students this year?
100%
75%
92%
60%
75%
50%
Where do you use Remote
Expedition activities?
68%
50%
25%
0%
In-person
expeditions
24%
Remote
Expedition
activities -
a few
4%
Remote
Expedition
activities -
many
Skype a
Sneaker
virtual
sessions
Figure 9. Figure 9. Use of remote options as reported by teachers (n = 16).
25%
0%
4%
Always in
the
classroom
20%
In the
classroom
and
outdoors
8%
Always
outdoors, if
possible
I haven't
used any
activities.
100%
How much do the Remote Expedition activities and
Skype a Sneaker sessions help you meet cross-curricular
standards?
75%
50%
25%
60%
4%
0%
8%
28%
40%
4%
4%
16%
36%
I haven't used any activities
I haven't used cross-curricular
activities
None
A little
A lot
0%
Remote Expedition activities
Skype a Sneaker
Figure 8. Usefulness of remote activities in meeting cross-curricular standards.
10

Mean values (-12 to 12)
Mean values (-12 to 12)
Mean values (-8 to 8)
Mean (-4 to 4)
Significant gains in science learning, connection to nature, and critical thinking
In aggregate, students who responded to the survey showed significant gains in each of the outcomes of
interest, including science knowledge, science confidence, critical thinking, connection to nature, affinity
for science and nature, and connection to local geography. Below is a series of figures showing the average
pre- and post-experience responses for each outcome. We measured science knowledge, science
confidence, and connection to nature with scales, meaning multiple items designed to measure a single
outcome. For all other outcomes, we used one item each (full survey in the Appendix).
Connection to Nature
Science Confidence
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
3.04
Before
4.51
After
6
5
4
3
2
1
0
0.43
Before
2.30
After
Science Knowledge
Critical Thinking
5
4
3
2
1
2.21
4.13
3
2
1
1.32
2.05
0
Before
After
0
Before
After
Figure 10. Gains in connection to nature, science confidence, science knowledge, and critical thinking. Error bars represent a 95%
confidence interval, meaning there is a less than 5% chance the mean falls outside this range. When error bars do not overlap, as is
the case here, differences are significant.
Variation across gender
We included an analysis across genders because we have found that Muddy Sneakers is particularly
effective at helping girls stay engaged in science compared with a control group (Stevenson et al., 2021).
Related to the concerns around the gender question, about half of responding students did not provide
their gender. This means our sample size for this analysis is considerably smaller, and results should be
interpreted with caution. However, results in general are encouraging in that boys and girls tended to
11

perform about the same across the board. As seen in Figure 10, most error bars overlap, indicating no
difference between boys and girls across measures. However, there are some differences in magnitude of
scores that are consistent with other literature, in that girls tend to be less confident than boys in science
but have stronger connection to nature. Especially given that Muddy Sneakers has been found to be an
equalizer across genders (e.g., mitigating gaps in science engagement: Stevenson et al., 2021), these are
trends to continue to watch.
Boys
Girls
7.00
6.00
5.00
4.00
3.00
2.00
1.00
0.00
-1.00
Before After Before After Before After Before After
Science Confidence CTN Science Knowledge Critical Thinking
-2.00
Figure 11. Outcomes of interest across gender. Note that most students did not provide their gender. We had 8 students identify as
non-binary and 5 students identify as something not listed on the survey. These numbers were too small to complete a comparative
analysis here, but we will look to do this in the future with more student responding.
12

Mean values (0 to 4)
Mean values (0 to 3)
Mean values (-2 to 2)
Percentage of Students
Affinity for science and nature
Students reported gains in all these measures so that compared with the beginning of the year, they liked
science more, thought science was more interesting, and found more wonder in nature. Importantly, most
students also attributed their increased interest in nature with their experiences in Muddy Sneakers.
Like Science
Science Interesting
2
2
1
0.62
0.87
1
0.61
0.95
0
Before
After
0
Before
After
3
2
1
0
Nature Wonder
1.91
1.58
Before
After
Did Muddy Sneakers make
you more interested in
learning about nature?
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
29.6%
45.0%
19.9%
5.5%
Yes! Yes No No!
Figure 12. Gains in affinity for science and nature. All gains are significant, and most students reported that Muddy
Sneakers made the more interested in learning about nature.
13

Percentage of Students
Percentage of Students
Percentage of Students
Connection to place
One of the goals of Muddy Sneakers is exposing students to nearby nature and building a connection with
those places. Most students reported going somewhere new at least once, or seeing new parts of familiar
places. Only 6% of students reported that this never happened. Encouragingly, over 80% of students
wanted to go back to a place they had been with Muddy Sneakers, and even more (87.5%) learned more
about nature in their part of North Carolina.
During Muddy Sneakers, did
you learn more about nature in
your part of North Carolina?
60%
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
36.3%
51.2%
9.5%
3.0%
Yes! Yes No No!
Do you want to go back to
a place you went with
Muddy Sneakers?
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
41.0% 39.3%
14.5%
5.3%
Yes! Yes No No!
50%
40%
30%
20%
10%
0%
How many times did Muddy Sneakers take you
to somewhere new?
6.0%
Never
9.2%
Never, but I saw
new parts of
places I had
visited
14.7%
Once
43.1%
About half the
time
26.9%
Every time
Figure 13. Percentage of respondents selecting each choice.
14

Support for learning and teaching
In-person expeditions are the most popular aspect of Muddy Sneakers among reporting teachers.
However, among those that tried Remote Expeditions and Skype a Sneaker, the proportion of teachers
rating the experience as “extremely helpful” in meeting NC Science Essential Standards was similar across
the board. Small proportions found them somewhat helpful, and smaller proportions found them
unhelpful.
How much do these experiences help your
students learn the NC Science Essential
Standards?
Skype a Sneaker live virtual sessions
Remote Expedition activities
In-person Expeditions
0% 25% 50% 75% 100%
Extremely helpful Quite helpful Somewhat helpful Unhelpful N/A
Figure 14. Percentage of teachers reporting on helpfulness of Muddy Sneakers formats.
Encouraging were the reports of the benefits that teachers saw to themselves and their students.
Teachers’ perceptions of student gains in the outcomes we measured among students (connection to
nature, science learning, science confidence, critical thinking) were consistent to the positive gains that
students reported. Consistent with previous findings associated with Muddy Sneakers, teachers also felt
that Muddy Sneakers especially supports students who can struggle in the classroom. In addition, teachers
overwhelming agreed that Muddy Sneakers supported the social-emotional wellbeing of their students,
including positively impacting relationships among students and between teachers and students. Notably,
teachers also felt Muddy Sneakers supported their own teaching and made them more confident taking
their students outside.
15

Impact on
teaching
Social-emotional
learning
Connection
with nature
Science confidence and
learning
Muddy Sneakers especially supports students who can
struggle in the classroom.
60%
40%
0%
Muddy Sneakers helps build critical thinking skills among
students.
68%
28%
4%
Muddy Sneakers helps students understand the
importance of science.
68%
28%
4%
Muddy Sneakers helps build science confidence among
students.
72%
24%
4%
Muddy Sneakers familiarizes students with the natural
resources of their local area.
80%
16%
4%
Muddy Sneakers helps students connect with nature.
88%
12% 0%
Muddy Sneakers supports the social and emotional wellbeing
of students.
60%
36%
4%
Muddy Sneakers has positively impacted relationships
among students.
60%
40%
0%
Muddy Sneakers has positively impacted relationships
between me and my students.
60%
40%
0%
I feel more confident taking my students outdoors
because of my partnership with Muddy Sneakers.
64%
36%
0%
Muddy Sneakers has positively impacted my own
teaching.
64%
36%
0%
0% 10% 20% 30% 40% 50% 60% 70% 80% 90% 100%
Strongly Agree Agree Neutral Disagree Strongly Disagree
Figure 15. Perceived benefits of Muddy Sneakers by teachers (n = 16).
16

Recommendations
Minor programmatic adjustments. Gains across the board in each outcome of interest suggest the
program is on an excellent path. One aspect that arose in data analysis is considering dedicating more time
to student interactions. While all positive, teachers rated “student engagement” lower than other aspects,
and students were a little less supportive of statements, “I feel encouraged to share my ideas with the
group,” “I learned new things about my classmates,” and “I learned new things from my classmates.” Peer
interaction also supports student learning on many levels including academics (Krasny & Lee, 2002) and
social-emotional outcomes (Cohen, 2006), so leaving more time for sharing on expeditions may be fruitful
on many levels.
Remote formats seem to be relatively underutilized, but when they are taken up, teachers seem to like
them. Given that these offerings are in their early stages, it may be too soon to understand whether more
teachers will adopt the supplementary remote options over time, or if many will stick to the in-person
model exclusively instead of adding other options. Data from more teachers may shed light on these
questions and allow analysis of how student outcomes may differ with use of remote options.
Continued commitment to sustainable evaluation system. One outcome not represented formally in this
report is the within-team learning achieved through this evaluation process. Increasingly, funders want to
see more rigorous evaluation of programming, stakeholders want to see evidence-supported outcomes,
and there is a general increased valuation on data-based programming decisions (Monroe, 2010).
Ultimately, this will require programs to build their own capacity for evaluation, as making data-based
decisions requires the use of evaluation as a regular practice rather than an accountability or “check-thebox”
measure. A recent report by Learning for Action recommended building staff capacity for evaluation
as a key step to move toward data-driven programming (Learning for Action, 2022).
This year, the program staff led the creation of student and teacher surveys that spoke to their needs and
successfully integrated development needs. The organization continues to invest considerable time and
money into fully utilizing evaluation data to improve programming and communicate impact. As we move
forward, a goal to consider will be continued investment in evaluation, not only in partnering with NC State,
but by continuing to make evaluation conversations part of the regular rhythm of the year. Specific steps
under discussion are adjusting data collection timelines so that reporting is complete in June for use by
program staff in school recruitment. At this stage, partnership with NC State as a consultant likely makes
sense in terms of data analysis and general process consultation, but the organization seems to be on a
good path to increasingly take ownership over the process.
Conclusions
These evaluation results suggest that Muddy Sneakers is making progress on their target outcomes of
science learning, connection to nature, and interest in learning about and visiting local natural areas. We
should note that a self-reported retrospective pre-post survey has limited ability to speak to the direct
impact of the program. That is, though students reported gains in outcomes, without a control group, it is
hard to say that these changes were specifically attributable to Muddy Sneakers instead of general
development over a school year. However, the consistent responses across a variety of data sources
(student and teacher, qualitative and quantitative data) points to a high likelihood that Muddy Sneakers is
contributing positively to science learning, science confidence, connection to nature, and critical thinking,
as well as supporting a connection to place and an overall positive experience with science and the
outdoors.
17

These positive findings are encouraging on a day-to-day programmatic level, but also in terms of
organizational impact goals. Long term impact is difficult to measure at a program evaluation level, but
measuring short-term gains can help us understand how we are likely making progress toward larger goals.
Increasingly, there are rigorous studies becoming available pointing to the power of nature-based learning
in supporting a host of student outcomes. For instance, a 2019 literature review examined links between
how nature-based instruction shaped both the learner and learning context to promote learning outcomes
(Figure 16, sourced from Kuo et al., 2019). Muddy Sneakers provides clear nature exposure, and many of
the responses in this and previous Muddy Sneakers evaluations are congruent with the findings of how
nature exposure shapes the learner. Teachers reported high student engagement, and enthusiastic
student responses support that assessment. Similarly, previous evaluations showed that Muddy Sneakers
supported student attention and behavior, particularly among students with emotional, cognitive, or
behavioral disabilities (Szczytko et al., 2018). Students and teachers also supported the Kuo et al. (2019)
findings of nature settings being calm and cooperative, as many students reported learning from and about
their classmates (although this may be an area for focus, as discussed above). Not surprisingly, we also
measured gains in learning outcomes as similar to found in the Kou et al. (2019), literature review. Though
we did not measure some of the outcomes listed in the paper (e.g., better leadership skills, more resilience,
higher graduation rates), it is not unreasonable to suggest that Muddy Sneakers may be supporting these
goals given its close alignment with the literature around nature-based learning. A key emergent finding
from this research is that nature-based learning may not be more effective than classroom-based learning
in aggregate, but it seems to level the playing field (Stevenson et al., 2019). This has been found in
association with Muddy Sneakers in terms of supporting girls in learning science (Stevenson et al., 2021)
and as mentioned above, with students with emotional, cognitive or behavioral disabilities (Szczytko et al.,
2018). A recent study found this to be true in terms of socio-economic status and gender (Faber Taylor et
al., 2022).
Figure 16. Figure from Kuo, M., Barnes, M., & Jordan, C. (2019). Do experiences with nature promote learning? Converging evidence
of a cause-and-effect relationship. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 305. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00305.
18

Similarly, more and more research points to how shorter-term outcomes, like building connection to
nature, can be linked to larger outcomes such as improved health and commitment to conservation. There
is a growing and strong body of literature linking time outdoors with mental health, including in children
(Herrington & Brussoni, 2015; McCurdy et al., 2010). This was true specifically in the context of the
pandemic, with children that reported regular outdoor time maintaining levels of well-being similar to
those pre-pandemic (Beall et al., 2022; Jackson, Stevenson, Larson, et al., 2021). Similarly, childhood
experiences in nature tend to support positive youth development (Bowers et al., 2021) as well as a long
term engagement with the environment (Chawla, 2015; Jackson, Stevenson, Peterson, et al., 2021). Again,
though these larger and more long-term impacts are difficult to measure in the context of a program
evaluation, it is reasonable to suggest that Muddy Sneakers is supporting these larger goals.
In addition to student outcomes, Muddy Sneakers seems to support teachers in a few ways. First, many
report that the program does a good job connecting to science standards. Many elementary school
teachers rank science as a subject in which they are least confident (Bleicher, 2007), so this alone is likely
helpful for teachers. Similarly, many teachers reported that participation in the program supported their
own teaching and made them more confident taking students outside. This is consistent with previous
observations we have made in which teachers benefit from Muddy Sneakers as a professional development
opportunity (Carrier et al., in review).
On the whole, Muddy Sneakers checks the boxes of many of the established promising practices for
outdoor-based instruction. Not surprisingly, these lead to positive outcomes for participants. Continued
use of evaluation data will support the organization to continually improve and respond to the needs of
their stakeholders and communities.
19

References
Beall, J. M., Jackson, S. B., Casola, W. R., Peterson, M. N., Larson, L. R., Stevenson, K. T., & Seekamp, E.
(2022). Self-reported participation in outdoor and nature-based recreation before and during the
COVID-19 pandemic supports psychological health and well-being. Wellbeing, Space and Society, 3,
100094. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wss.2022.100094
Bleicher, R. E. (2007). Nurturing Confidence in Preservice Elementary Science Teachers. Journal of Science
Teacher Education, 18(6), 841–860. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10972-007-9067-2
Bowers, E. P., Larson, L. R., & Parry, B. J. (2021). Nature as an Ecological Asset for Positive Youth
Development: Empirical Evidence From Rural Communities. Frontiers in Psychology, 12, 688574.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.688574
Chawla, L. (2015). Benefits of Nature Contact for Children. Journal of Planning Literature, 30(4), 433–452.
https://doi.org/10.1177/0885412215595441
Cohen, J. (2006). Social, Emotional, Ethical, and Academic Education: Creating a Climate for Learning,
Participation in Democracy, and Well-Being. Harvard Educational Review, 76(2), 201–237.
https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.76.2.j44854x1524644vn
Faber Taylor, A., Butts-Wilmsmeyer, C., & Jordan, C. (2022). Nature-based instruction for science learning –
a good fit for all: A controlled comparison of classroom versus nature. Environmental Education
Research, 0(0), 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504622.2022.2076811
Herrington, S., & Brussoni, M. (2015). Beyond Physical Activity: The Importance of Play and Nature-Based
Play Spaces for Children’s Health and Development. Current Obesity Reports, 4(4), 477–483.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s13679-015-0179-2
Jackson, S. B., Stevenson, K. T., Larson, L. R., Peterson, M. N., & Seekamp, E. (2021). Outdoor Activity
Participation Improves Adolescents’ Mental Health and Well-Being during the COVID-19 Pandemic.
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 18(5), 2506.
https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph18052506
Jackson, S. B., Stevenson, K. T., Peterson, M. N., Lawson, D. F., Olson, R. A., & Joseph, E. G. (2021). Lasting
Conservation and Science-Related Outcomes Associated with Science Education, Environmental
Education, and Outdoor Science Education. Children, Youth, and Environments.
Krasny, M. E., & Lee, S.-K. (2002). Social Learning as an Approach to Environmental Education: Lessons from
a program focusing on non-indigenous, invasive species. Environmental Education Research, 8(2),
101–119. https://doi.org/10.1080/13504620220128194
20

Kuo, M., Barnes, M., & Jordan, C. (2019). Do experiences with nature promote learning? Converging
evidence of a cause-and-effect relationship. Frontiers in Psychology, 10, 305.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00305
Learning for Action. (2022). Hiring Evaluation & Learning Staff to Support Data-Driven Reflection and
Improvement: Lessons from the PropelNext Initiative. Learning for Action.
http://learningforaction.com/lfa-blogpost/http/learningforactioncom/the-learning-curve/hiringevaluation-learning-staff-to-support-data-driven-reflection-and-improvement-lessons-from-thepropelnext-initiative
McCurdy, L. E., Winterbottom, K. E., Mehta, S. S., & Roberts, J. R. (2010). Using Nature and Outdoor Activity
to Improve Children’s Health. Current Problems in Pediatric and Adolescent Health Care, 40(5),
102–117. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cppeds.2010.02.003
Monroe, M. C. (2010). Challenges for environmental education evaluation. Evaluation and Program
Planning, 33(2), 194–196. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.evalprogplan.2009.07.012
Stevenson, K. T., Peterson, M. N., Carrier, S. J., Strnad, R. L., Olson, R. A., & Szczytko, R. E. (2019). Making
the case for a null effects framework in environmental education and K-12 academic outcomes:
When “just as good” Is a great thing. Frontiers in Communication, 3, 59.
https://doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2018.00059
Stevenson, K. T., Szczytko, R. E., Carrier, S. J., & Peterson, M. N. (2021). How outdoor science education can
help girls stay engaged with science. International Journal of Science Education, 1–22.
https://doi.org/10.1080/09500693.2021.1900948
Szczytko, R., Carrier, S. J., & Stevenson, K. T. (2018). Impacts of Outdoor Environmental Education on
Teacher Reports of Attention, Behavior, and Learning Outcomes for Students With Emotional,
Cognitive, and Behavioral Disabilities. Frontiers in Education, 3, 46.
https://doi.org/10.3389/feduc.2018.00046
21

Appendices
Appendix A. Student Survey instrument
2021-22 Muddy Sneakers evaluation
We hope you have had fun with us this year! We want to know a little more about what you learned with
us. This is to help us improve. This is not a test, and there are no right or wrong answers. Please answer
with your honest opinions. Thank you!
First, please tell us a little about yourself.
What is your school’s name?
Did you enjoy having Muddy Sneakers this year? Please circle one.
YES! Yes No NO!
What is your gender?
These questions are going to ask you about how you feel being in nature or outside. We'd like you to
think about how you felt BEFORE Muddy Sneakers, and now, AFTER Muddy Sneakers. Please circle one
answer for how you felt before and after Muddy Sneakers.
BEFORE Muddy Sneakers
AFTER Muddy Sneakers
Being in nature makes me happy. YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
Being in nature makes me feel peaceful. YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
I pay attention plants or animals wherever I am. YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
I like to spend my time outside. YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
I like being outside no matter what the weather
is like.
When I'm in a bad mood, being outside makes
me feel better.
YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
22

These questions are going to ask you about how you feel about doing science. Please circle one answer
for how you felt BEFORE and AFTER Muddy Sneakers.
BEFORE Muddy Sneakers
AFTER Muddy Sneakers
I think I’m very good at coming up with
questions about nature.
YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
I think I am very good at doing experiments. YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
I can easily share my thoughts about nature and
science.
If I created my own science activity, it would be
excellent.
YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
These questions are going to ask you about how you feel about science. Please circle one answer for
how you felt BEFORE and AFTER Muddy Sneakers.
BEFORE Muddy Sneakers
AFTER Muddy Sneakers
Knowing science helps me understand how the
world works.
Thinking like a scientist will help me do well in
all of my classes.
YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
Science makes the world a better place to live. YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
I think science ideas are valuable. YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
I want to know everything about science. YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
I want to learn how to do what scientists do. YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
23

These questions are going to ask you about how you think. Please circle one answer for how you felt
BEFORE and AFTER Muddy Sneakers.
BEFORE Muddy Sneakers
AFTER Muddy Sneakers
I keep my mind open to different ideas when
learning about something new.
I usually have more than one source of
information before making a decision.
YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
YES! Yes No NO! YES! Yes No NO!
These questions are going to ask you about what interests you. Please circle one answer for how you felt
BEFORE and AFTER Muddy Sneakers.
BEFORE Muddy Sneakers
AFTER Muddy Sneakers
I wonder about how nature
works...
Every
day
Once a
week
Once a
month
Never
Every
day
Once a
week
Once a
month
Never
In general, when I work on
science, I....
Love it
Like it
Don't
like it
Hate it Love it Like it
Don't
like it
Hate it
In general, I find science...
Very
interest
ing
Interest
ing
Boring
Very
Boring
Very
interest
ing
Interest
ing
Boring
Very
Boring
While with Muddy Sneakers, were the following things harder or easier than you expected?
Hiking
Much
easier
A little
easier
Like I
expected
A little
harder
Much
harder
I didn't do
this.
Eating lunch outside
Much
easier
A little
easier
Like I
expected
A little
harder
Much
harder
I didn't do
this.
Using the bathroom
outside
Much
easier
A little
easier
Like I
expected
A little
harder
Much
harder
I didn't do
this.
Sitting on the ground
Much
easier
A little
easier
Like I
expected
A little
harder
Much
harder
I didn't do
this.
Doing science experiments
outside
Much
easier
A little
easier
Like I
expected
A little
harder
Much
harder
I didn't do
this.
Did Muddy Sneakers make you more interested in learning about nature?
YES! Yes No NO!
24

During Muddy Sneakers, did you learn more about nature in your part of North Carolina?
YES! Yes No NO!
How many times did Muddy Sneakers take you to somewhere new?
Every time
About half the time
Once
Never
Never, but I saw new parts of places I had visited.
Do you want to go back to a place you went with Muddy Sneakers?
YES! Yes No NO!
Please tell us about your experience as a participant in Muddy Sneakers.
My instructor showed kindness and respect to everyone in the
group.
Always Mostly Sometimes Once Never
I felt safe to be myself with my instructor. Always Mostly Sometimes Once Never
I felt confident exploring nature with my group. Always Mostly Sometimes Once Never
I felt encouraged to share my ideas with the group. Always Mostly Sometimes Once Never
My instructor made learning fun. Always Mostly Sometimes Once Never
I learned new things about my classmates. Always Mostly Sometimes Once Never
I learned new things from my classmates. Always Mostly Sometimes Once Never
I felt valuable in my group. Always Mostly Sometimes Once Never
What was your favorite part of Muddy Sneakers?
What was the most memorable part of your Muddy Sneakers experience?
25

Appendix B. Teacher Survey instrument
26

27

28

29

30

31

32

33

Appendix C. Qualitative Responses
Student responses:
Table C1. Student Response Themes for Questions:
1. What was your favorite part of Muddy Sneakers?
2. What was the most memorable part of Muddy Sneakers.
Theme and Sub-theme
Number of Response
Mentions
Description of Theme
Example Survey
Response
Theme 1. Experiencing
Nature
70 Kids mentioned naturerelated
experiences: bugs,
water, animals, hiking,
walking, specific parks
“Most memorable
experience was when
we all got to go on a
long hike when it was
colder outside while it
was quiet and
peaceful”
1a. Animals 99 Kids mentioned catching,
finding, learning about,
seeing animals
“My favorite part was
when we went
searching for animals in
the river!”
Theme 2. Exploration 26 Kids mentioned they
enjoyed exploring new
places
“Exploring the different
places we went to”
2a. Creek 85 Kids specifically
mentioned exploring the
creek (water, river)
“Exploring the creek
area and finding new
things”
2b. Play 9 Kids mentioned playing,
i.e. games, water, with
friends
“Playing camouflage at
the Carl Sandburg
Home”
Theme 3: Learning for
Standards
40 Kids mentioned science
topics in relation to
learning and activities
“Taking observations of
the nature and asking
questions about the
nature”
34

3a. Hands-on activity 53 Kids mentioned science
activities where they
built, made, found, held,
or created things
“My favorite part of
Muddy Sneakers was
collecting
macroinvertebrates to
determine the health of
a stream”
Theme 4. Social 48 Kids mentioned socializing
with friends or teachers
“The most memorable
part was sharing the
stories with each other
before we went to the
bus to leave”
Theme 5. Physical
Activity
25 Kids mentioned
participating in physical
activities: hiking, walking,
running
“Doing the obstacle
course”
Figure C1. Hierarchy Chart of Student Response Themes
35

Full responses to questions:
1. What was your favorite part of Muddy Sneakers?
2. What was the most memorable part of Muddy Sneakers?
FavoritePart
Going to the creek
the aquatic avenger
The aquatic avenger
hiking and going in the creek and exploring
I don´t know
going to crystal creek
going to the crystal creek and having fun.
nothing
Going outside and finding new hings
the creack
ALL
going outside
Doing out at the creek and trying to find insects
going in the creek
going to the creek
going out the crystal creek
going to the creek
going to creek
exploring
Going to crystal creek
the fun stuff.
Fun Games
Hanging out with friends and learning new things.
outside
Going in the sea with animals.
I'm not sure
going to to the creek
ghftrftgttfyyb
Writing Notes
visiting new places
The adventures and going to exlpor creek .
i didn't really have one
a don't know
when we went to the creek
building boats out of natural materials
IDK
making tea
MemorablePart
Activitys
the aquatic avenger
catching things
when we were all in the creek and when we were
hiking
I don´t know
crayfish
exploring the creek area and findling new things.
nothing
Going to the Creek
under the rocks
ALL
the zoom meetings
going to crystal creek
leaving
leting us split in to groups and look around the
creek
we found a baby turtel
going to the creek
getting wet
trash experiment
Seeing a turkey vulture eat a groundhog while
observing a square
when we do cool stuff
Nature
Learning and hanging out with my friends
i dont know
I don't have one.
Also not sure
going to to the creek
tgvgggggghgvtgv
Exploring grass and
producers,decomposers,consumers
the creek
a snake and frog and cray fish.
our projects with the recycled items
ni
when we went to the creek
the starting circle
IDK
making tea
36

going home
building boats
the bus
building the boats
playing camouflage in the woods
the pine soup/tea
bus ride
building boats
leaving
building boats
making boats with my best friend
boat
Fluffy animals
making boats
building boats
When we went to Bent Creek
making white pine tea
All of it!
The goats
every part
when we played games
Playing camouflage at Carl Sandburg home
catching stuff in the creek
carl sandburg
finding little critters under rocks in the river and
eating.
when we got to go into a river
When we got in the river.
My favorite part was being in nature and quite time
at the waterfall.
My favorite part of Muddy Sneakers was when we
went into a creek and found a dead Suckerfish!
When we went to the Carl Sandburg house and pet
the goats.
the animals
going in a lake
I don't have a favorite part.
My favorite part of Muddy Sneakers was going to
the creek and getting small creatures
when we got to get in the water
going to harmonfild
When I went to carolsambergs.
sitting on the waterfall at walnut creek preserve
Playing games and eating outside.
caching animals
my favorite part was when we went in the river and
looking for creatures.
Going to different places
Making and racing boats.
Captain Piles swimming to the finish line
making boats
tea
Kidney tag and making boats
making boat
Making boats to win a race
Carl Sandburg
every part
when we went in the creek
Petting the goats at Carl Sandburg home
making insulators for the hot egg
camoflauge
building a boat with my friend and it started to break
apart.
the river
when I built the little town with my group.
My most memorable part of Muddy Sneakers was
see some rare flowers.
Finding a dead Suckerfish in the creek
When i saw a northern water snake at harmon feild
lunch
finding a died fish
I don't have one.
Going to the creek
when we caught the crawdads
playing in the water.
Getting into the water.
sitting on the waterfall at walnut creek preserve
We went to harmon field
caching 20 crawfish
the most memorable thing was when we found
millipedes under the nursing logs on the second to
last trip
When we explored the creek
Making boats with my best friend in my class.
37

playing in the creek on some of the muddy
going to pilot mountain
sneakers expidition
hiking
hiking at pilot mountain
trying to get the rope on the tree
hiking in the woods
being outside
i don't know
I didn't have one
Pilot mountain
hiking in the woods
making the boat and laghing with my frends
going to bethania
the eog sience review
catching stuff
caching stuff
being able to learn with every one and being able to
listen to nature
being at pilot mountain and having Mrs.A as my
instructure
Going outside
Taking the hikies
going some where new and being with my friends being shocked that someone went on a sea far
when we catched criters in the creek
the lunch and hanging out part
EVERYTHING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Catching Oliver the spider!
the river trip
when we got stuck in the creak
the creek
the creek
when i get on the bus
idk
I don't know
I don't know
idk:( idk :(
going to the wuods ?
Everything
I hope to do that again yeah
going outside and learning new things
finding live animals
haveing fun and luaghing when we find something
going out side with friends
cool
When we got to explore at the creek.
When we watched the animals on video.
Going out to the creek.
goin outside and learn and explore all my curios
Going outside to crystal creek
Crystal creek
The creek and zoom meetings
The zoo
IDK
IDK
when i saw something creepy in the lake i don´t
going on adventures going to the crystal creek know the name but it was moving
I enjoyed coming to class and wondering what we
will do today! It was the anticipation to see what we
were going to learn today or tomorrow that made
me enjoy Muddy Sneakers almost all of the time!
Every time we would do an experiment, we stayed
on campus which I never thought would me so cool
and it made me a lot more interested in the campus
and how huge and how much stuff it had/was!
mrs cindy
crystal creek
when we had to look at all the plants
when we look at the plants
when we go to the crystal creek.
when we went exploring.
Adventures and going to the Crystal Creek
Going to Crystal Creek and exploring
Going outside and visting exploring the crystal
creek
When we went to the creek with both ms cappellos
and are class.
rolling tiers and exploring and finding cool thing and
going outside and adventures
finding a crayfish
adventures
the outside
Going to the creek
Going outside
I liked exploring it was really fun and we got to learn
from just walking and looking around
The adventures
38

Going outside
going outside
That i learned stuff that me and more people did
not know about.
Being by the crystal creek.
My favorite part was going to Crystal Creek
seeing new animals and insects (i don't like bugs
though)
going outside to crystal creek
going out side
finding producers, consumers, and decomposers
most of the time!!
going outside
going to the Crystal Creek
We build a boat.
find bugs
friends
Doing those boat thingys and sending them down
the river.
I went once
running in road and almost dying
going on the floating bridge on the water
being in nature
Making the boats
birds
exploring
Field trips, animals
making boats
not being in school
when we went to the river
The river
carl sandburg
being able to go to different places with my
classmates and have fun with them
All of it.
My favorite part of Muddy Sneakers is when we did
force and motion projects.
almost everything
ecosystems
when we pulled the backpacy on the tree with the
pully
when we whent into the stream
Going in a river
When we went to Harmon field and went in the
creek
Exploring the different places we went to.
My most memorable part of muddy sneakers wad
when threw ropes around the tree,and when we
rolled down the wheels in the hill
crystal creek
That we did a go around the world online
Rolling tires.
Going to Crystal Creek
going outside
inding animal in the creek
going across the creek
When we answered some questions on pear deck
going across the creek
Finding cool things at crystal creek.
Nothing.
nothing but who was in my group
boats
When I was ALONE on the silent hike, I liked the
silence and was able to appreciate.
I went once
dying getting yelled at
don't know
eating onions
Making the boats with my friends.
rivers
finding salamander eggs
S.S. Divorce floating away
nearly falling in the creek
when I almost got bit by a black widow
when we went to the river
the river
getting in the water with our shoes on
putting backpack on a weel on a tree and try to pull
it up
All of the things we did.
The board game we played at the end of the
year/review.
playing at the flat rock park with my friends and
being with Miss. Salamander
going in the stream with my group too look for parts
of a ecosystem.
seeing all the bugs and plants
seeing nature
Catching two fish in a river
when we went to Harmon field in the creek
Seeing a turkey fly out of a tree.
39

Getting to see new places.
when we saw a turkey on our way back to closing
circle
My favorite part was when i caught a huge aquatic
creature.
Having fun
go to eat outside
When we got to see goats
When I pet the goats.
When we went in the water at Harmon Field.
I loved it when a type of fly from the very last
Muddy Sneakers landed on the tip of my finger, and
I also enjoyed Muddy Sneakers when I was able to
chose a goat to experiment on
My favorite part was when we went searching for
animals in the river! I never knew how may animals
lived in harman field
My favorite part of Muddy Sneakers was when we
went to harmon field and we got to go in the water
and look for freshwater animals.
Seeing at the goats.
When we got in the river!
My favorite part of Muddy Sneakers was when we
visited the waterfall.
My favorite part was when my group got to go in a
river.
When we went to Carl's sandburg
My favorite part of Muddy Sneakers was going
outside and drawing pictures of the nature we saw.
My favorite part in mud sneakers was when we
went in the creek.
My favorite part was when we went to harmend
field and got in the water.
Skipping with my instructor
Petting goats!!
When I saw a very pregnat goat.The goat looked
like it was going to exsplod
i dont know
when had to look at the sky for like 2 min
climing the hill
Eating outside with my group and instructer
eating food
nothing
learning new stuff about the world
body systems
When the goat ate the book at Carl Sandburg
Home.
when we saw a fern
The most memorable part abot muddy sneakers is
when the goat ate the book at the Carl Sandberg
home
I cant pick
nothing
When we played games outside
When I pet the goats.
When we find really cool things that most Muddy
Sneaker groups have not seen.
When I got to know about my instructors and
overcoming the fear of bugs...
Same as my favorite part.
The most memorable part of my Muddy Sneakers
experience was when we all got to go on a long
hike when it was colder outside while it was quiet
and peaceful.
Seeing the goats.
When we went to Carl Sandburgs!
The most memorable part of my Muddy Sneakers
was the goats.
All the insects or animals my group and me saw.
Getting to meet new people
The most memorable part of my Muddy Sneakers
experience was taking observations of the nature
and asking questions about the nature.
The most memorlade part was sharing the storsie
with each other before we went to the bus to leave.
The most memorable part was when we went to
harmend field
Exploring the best parts f nature
The last game we played.
The most memorable was how my last instruter
help me find bugs in the creek she is a great friend,
instuter
when we did the nest
peeing the woods =[ it was very merorble
climing that hill (i like climing)
Being able to find salamanders and little eggs in a
creek
finding a fish in the pond
my instructters
the start
digestive system
40

Pilot mountain
I dont know
My favorite part of Muddy Sneakers was eating and
exploring in the creeck
Going to Bethania was my favorite part when we
were throwing the waterbottle at the tree.
When our group went to a little lake and we got our
legs wet.
play with friend
I dont know
Eating
Being with my friends
Being With My Friends
eating
Being outside
doing new things everytime
I dont know
My most memorable part was when somebody
slipped in the water
The most memorable part of Muddy Sneakers was
when we were making nests.
When we go at Pilot Mountain.
learing some stuff
I dont know
Eating
i do not remember
Going Outside
idk
Being outside
Hide n seek
Having fun with my classmates and exploring new
ideas
Not being at school
I liked getting sticks.
the activities
Being in nature and seeing and learning about
something new
games
learning
the day i didnt go
catching critters
i do no
i liked eating
EVERY PART
Where I got to catch Salamanders.
Going to pink beds
the aquatic trip
Where we got to stay quiet in the woods
Eating nature stuff.
Playing in the water was my favorite part of Muddy
Sneakers.
When we went to the creek at pink beds and looked
for creatures in the water with the big nets
My favorite part of Muddy Sneakers was collecting
macroinvertebrates to determine the health of a
stream.
Getting to do class outside
hiking
Going outside and looking under rocks (Like we
always do)
getting sticks
all of it
Being in nature and talking with my friends
games
building boats
not being there
WE HAVE THE MEATS YOU KNOW IF YOU NOW
i do no
i dont know
Going to Pink Beds
When I got to catch Salamanders.
seeing all the nature and animals in the water
finding things in the water
jumping in water
Eating nature stuff.
Playing in the water was my most memorable part
of my Muddy Sneakers experience.
Looking for fish
The most memorable part of my Muddy Sneakers
experience was learning about edible plants.
On our first muddy sneakers which was very fun
and probably my favorite when we saw a bear.
41

The aquatic one when we went and got in the little
river/creek.
water
my favorite part about muddy sneakers is the trip to
pink beds.
going in the water
water
geting to be outside and playing with my group
hikeing
the creatures in before and after state it was
intresting
Getting to go outside.
going to pink beds
the water ecosystems
Catching crawfish.
i don't know
When we did the tea.
Our aquatic ecosystems lesson.
the last thing we did was get in the water
hiking
When we learned about forces and motion.
the aquatic muddy sneakers trip
Going out of the school to go places.
When we went to pink beds and saw the MTBers.
going on hikes
doing the kick net
how long it was
ever re thing
When we playd Simon Says
Nothing
When we got to go to DuPont
When we drank green tea
going to the forest and looking at the watefall
pulling stuff
going to the waterfall
outside
force and motion
gravity
Making the pine needle tea
Seeing the goats at Carl Sandburg
Making tea
Going to DuPont and making tea.
seeing a dead possum
all of it.
it ci the mothain
Going to Carl Sandburg and with the goats
When I caught a salamander.
water
The most memorable experience is catching
Salamanders.
going in the water
water
when i got poison ivy it was so painful i could not do
any thing for a week it was so bad.
crawdads
the techers being nice and fun to learn
catching crawdads.
getting to learn more about nature
all
Catching crawfish.
i don't know
When we burned the leaf.
Making tea.
having to use the restroom outside
making tea
When we went to pink beds
finding baby newts
Whenever I made a village with my friend Rileigh
and her mom
steping in horse poop
going in the water
doing the pine tea
when we made the tea
ever re thing
When we went to a waterfall
The cold
When we made white pine tea
Seeing the goats
the waterfall in the forest
pulling stuff
hiking
petting goats
doing the obstacle course
hiking
having fun with my friends/and the goats
DuPont waterfall
the goat at Carl Sandburg
Meeting the instructors because they were funny.
seeing a dead possum
I got to talk with my crush and she said she liked
me
evrisin
The waterfall at DuPont Forest
42

going to different places I never been to
Silent hikes
the time we made the boat and salamander tale tag
Nature
The waterfall
going to Flat Rock park
The salamander tail tag.
My favorite was hiking.
Hiking
Seeing a creek.
When we went to DuPont and searched for lizards
the place where it had the waterfall
making tea in the woods
Doing science outside.
hiking!!!
My favorite part of Muddy Sneakers was making
nests for the water bottles.
The closing circle and sharing what I did
being outdoors and doing fun activities
My favorite part was when we went on a silent
walk.
When we make a optinal course
My favorite part of Muddy Sneakers was the goats.
making a obsticle course
walking alone in the woods
Seeing friends and nature
When we got to see the goats and pet them
Achery
going in the water
My instructor and everyone else there
Being left alone
when the goat bahhed really loud
The last Muddy Sneakers because it was fun
The waterfall
making tea
The salamander tail tag.
When we did a tea.
The waterfall. Looking at it.
Eating at the creek.
When I fell and I laughed a lot and seeing the
Savannah goat
the waterfall
petting goats
I could survive the cold. 35F
hiking!
The most memorable part of my Muddy Sneakers
was when were at Carl Sandburgs when we saw
the goat.
When my friends were in the same group
being with friends
Making tea
When a bird throw a biscuit to us haha!
Was when we made tea with the pine needles.
a walk alone in nature
walking alone in the woods
The Flat Rock Park one
We got to go to different parts of places
The ghot
the water
going outside
The Lake.
ummm... all?.. of?.. it?.. p.s. add something
between the once a week and the every day
options
going out side
the grass lend and the creek and crystal creek
Ecosystem
Ecosystem
Ecosystem
goging hikking
All of them
Playing the games
Going in the creek and finding things
playing games
pulling back packs up a tree
i Remember half of it.
... all..? of..?it..?
falling in the creek
crabs
Exploring the water with ecosystem and getting the
crayfish
walking through the water searching for stuff
walking in water finding things
going the lake
All of them
Not going in the water EVER........
Insects name/ a little
going to DuPont
43

my favorite part of Muddy Sneakers is when we
went hiking at Flat Rock Park!
getting to lean about plants and insects
Going in the creek at East Flat Rock Park
the last one
geting wet
East Flat Rock Park
outside
East flat rock park and we got to go in the creek
exploring
caching craw fish
My favorite part about Muddy Sneakers is when we
got to go in the stream to look for cool creaters.
My favorite part about Muddy Sneakers was when
McKinley was being funny and when we caught
Crayfish and other animals.
building a boat.
My favorite part was learning outside.
My favorite part was the games and eating outside!
My favorite part about Muddy Sneakers was when
we got to build things like bird nests and boats
because I love engineering.
When we went to the creek on the last day of
muddy sneakers
when we played howe howe
going in the lake
going to the park to see aquatic ecosistoms
getting in the creak
that we got to go outside and hike and also when
we got in the stream to find animals
When we went to the creek and found animals
living in the creek
Were we went into the rivir it is fun
creek exploration
My favorite part of muddy sneakers is when we got
to go in the creek and eat lunch outside and talk
with friends.
Going in the river
When we got to see all diffrent types of animal and
diffrent types of waters near eche other
when we got to go in the creek
we got to walk a lot cause i love hiking
Doing experiments
the crek
When we got in water
doing experiments
When we went into King creek at Flat Rock Park!
getting to make a nature house with your freinds
The view at Carl Sandburg
getting pinched by acrawfish
doing experments
getting in the creak
when a Gide tricked us with a snake
I rember half of it
when we went in the river
hiking in Carl Sandburg
I remember when we got to make boats and throw
them in the river.
When me and McKinley were goofing off and
playing around.
being with my group.
When we got to play in the creek and find cool stuff.
Getting to learn in a fun way with friends and
getting to know people better!
The most memorable part of Muddy Sneakers was
that me and Kyra (a girl from my class) got to work
together with Muddy Sneakers.
When i found a small dragonfly looking thing that i
named billy
pulling backpacks with a pulle
nothing
going in the creek
getting be learn about classmates and people i
know
when we got to go to the bamboo forest
when me made new friends in a group
Talking to the muddy sneakers instructor it was fun
most likely when Jaime and I caught a gigantic
mayfly larva (I thought it was a Crawfish)
Going to Carl Sandburg and petting the goats
nothing
The last muddy sneakers wen we went to the park
and going in the creek and seeing animal
when i fell in the creek and i didn't have extra
clothes
we got to go in the river
Doing the first muddy sneakers going to carl
sandburg home
all
when i made a boat and it went on for a long time
making boats
44

I still remember when we had saw 2 or 3 snapping
The aquatic fieldtrip.
turtles.
the expirments
that we bulit boats out of nature
hiking
napping on a big rock
going to Tryon
doing the bear bag activity
making a ship
exploring
every thing
cacthing a crlawfish
all the bugs we found and how big they were+ the
The creek we got to go in
cold water
refletion because we talk about the thing we did meeting the gouts at carol samburgs home
that you got to go new places
that we all learned new things
hiking
the creek
the creek
crayfish
we got to go in the water for our last muddy
sneakers. catching animals in the water .
go to the creek and caching anmalis
make tea
I loved the expirements like getting into the lake
making tea ect.
The hiking,EATING,expirements,and the relaxation
of the nature sounds around me.
when we got to play games but not only that we
learned a lot to
when everyone went in a creek and found lots or
cool animales
going inside the creek
finding so much crayfish
the creck
me smelling a tree branch
everything
being outside
learning more about science
Building a town out of stuff around us.
Going on the hikes
Going places and having a lot of fun!
Finding Critters in the creek, and learning about
them!
When we made tea.
when we got to hike and go in the water
when we played in the creek at river road
when we like made a little bon fire
My favorite part of muddy sneakers is when we
were on our first muddy sneakers we were just
sitting in the sun.
Aquatic ecosystems
UR MOM!
Playing in the water :)
getting in the water!!!!!!!!!!
having fun with my classmates
JOE
axolotl
NOTHING I HATED BEING OUT SIDE WITH ALL
BUGS
The bus ride
everything
learnig about nature
having fun with my classmates
When we went up upper shut in.
going to the creek
Spending time with my friends and having fun!
When we built interesting insulators and everyone
had a different design.
The expedition when we saw the Dogs.
going in the water and having fun
our very first Muddy Sneaker Experience
seeing everyone and learning a lot
The same thing as my favorite part.
Almost stepping on a snake
UR MOM!
Finding lil' buddy
Finding Nemo!!!!!!!!!!
going in the creek
The bus ride
#### this survey way to long.
NOTHING I HATED IT
Haiku's are easy ------- But sometimes there
confusing------ Refrigerator
45

eating leaves
My favorite part was going in the water.
palying
water
Going in the creek and finding animals.
EVERYTHING!!! I loved all the instructors, the
activities we did, and the places we went!
Getting to play in the water
Playing in the creek
Being outside in mother nature.
hmm if I had to chose, it probably would be the one
with the creek. SO COOL!
my favorite part was getting o roll down a giant hill
My favorite part was when we went to carl
sandburg house and when we went to jackson park
and played taco bell vs the digestive system.
I liked when we heard Mr.Than's dad jokes and I
liked there creative ways of teaching us.
My favorite part was when our instructor told us
new things we had never known before. And when
he taught us a game called "tohy tohy drink your
tea!"
I really loved the silent walk through Jackson park.
It was very nice and peaceful.
playing That's it.
going to different places
I loved all the hikes, and activities. we did were very
creative activities. When we were at Carlsand berg,
I loved making little goats and letting our
imagination wonder
My favorite part was getting to learn new things in
nature.
playing games
My favorite part was when we did the water
ecosystems.
inventering
Playing in the creek when we did abiotic and biotic.
I liked when we went to the river and got crawdads
and other creatures.
My favorite part was when we learned new things
and our instructor taught us a game called "tohy
tohy drink your tea!".
My favorite part was when we went to we carl
sandburg or when we went to flat rock park
carl sandburg
making teaaaa
Going in the water.
tea
idk
Going in the creek finding little animals
Probably when we went to Emberglow and played
in the creek. That was so much fun! I also liked the
instructors, too.
When we got to find all of the different types of
water creatures
playing in the creek
the fun
HA! water in my boot and the snapping turtle at the
creek.
I think the most memorable thing from muddy
sneakers was petting a bunch of goats at carl
sandburg's
The most memorable part was when we went to
carl sandburg house and got to see baby goats.
When I went to Carl Sandburg's for the first time
because of Muddy Sneakers.
The most memorable part was when we got two
collect creatures from the ponds and streams at
Flat Rock Park
The most memorable part for me was when we
collected critters in the water.
finding out super ugly bugs are in water I don't want
to go swimming in creeks
playing in the creek at Flat Rock park
Learning all about trees, and animals!
Getting to learn outside with my friends
playing with my friends
The most memorable part was when we did the
goats.
going to the goots with thanos
Mr. Than say materia girls to get our attention and
seeing the goats at Carl Sandburg.
I liked be able to get a difference feel of school that
just sitting in a chair
The most memorable part was when we went t
some ponds and streams at Flat Rock Park.
when we played the big board game with thanos
the goats
46

The fun games, the learning about nature and the
outdoors/
nothing
Teacher responses:
When we went to Carl Sandburg's home, and met
the goats, and going to the creek.
nothing
Table C2. Teacher Responses to “What is the most valuable part of Muddy Sneakers?”
Theme and Sub-theme
Number of Response
Mentions
Description of Theme
Example Survey Response
Theme 1. Being in
Nature
Theme 2. Positive
Development
16 Teachers described
spending time outdoors
as valuable
6 Teachers described kids
feeling more comfortable
and confident
“They love the times they get to
explore nature, and they really
value the time they get to spend
learning about their
surroundings”
“Being able to get outdoors and
feel more confident about their
own abilities in nature”
Theme 3. Contributing
to Standards
8 Teachers specifically
mentioned curriculum
contributing to meeting
science standards
“I think making connections
between content and the real
world is the most valuable part
of Muddy Sneakers”
Table C3. Teacher Responses to “What are the selling points you would share with Muddy Sneakers?”
Theme and Sub-theme
Number of
Response Mentions
Description of Theme
Example Survey Response
Theme 1. Benefits to
Curriculum/Meeting
Standards
7 Teachers mentioned the
Muddy Sneakers activities
as great ways to meet
science standards
“Tell how well Muddy Sneakers
expeditions tie to the NC Science
curriculum and that it gives
students the opportunity to
experience the forests in our
own backyard”
Theme 2. Social and
Emotional Learning for
both Kids/Teachers
6 Teachers mentioned both
personal and student
growth through new
experiences and
challenges
“Would promote it by sharing
my story and how Muddy
Sneakers has helped me grow as
a beginning first year teacher.
47

This program has influenced
how I teach”
48

Full responses to:
1. What was the most valuable part of Muddy Sneakers?
2. What are the selling points you would share with other teachers?
3. What else would you like us to know?
Most Valuable Selling Points What Else for MS to Know
Hands down the best program with
the best instructors! I can tell a
tremendous difference in the
students depth of knowledge.
Their understanding of science is
more well rounded and the joy that
sticks after our expeditions is
something that's going to stay with
them forever.
Activities in nature that help them
better understand our Science
standards
This was a difficult group this year
and all of the instructors handled
them so well! Kudos to Cindy for
being flexible when I had a student
vomit in the middle of our Skpye a
Sneaker! You all are amazing and we
Same as above!
are lucky to have you!
Tell how well Muddy Sneakers expeditions tie to the NC Science
curriculum and that it gives students the opportunity to experience the
forests in our own backyard.
Getting outdoors and seeing how enjoyable it can be for them and get off the games.
Muddy Sneakers program
helped to creatively cover all 5th
grade science topics with access
Fun learning activities
to nature.
Being able to get outdoors and feel
more confident about their own
abilities in nature.
To emphasize the joy students
have getting outside and
connecting the content to real
world experiences.
Hands on learning experiences and getting outside to do it
There are two components to the
Muddy Sneakers curriculum that I
find extremely valuable for my
students: Activities that encourage
daily outdoor experiences and the
cross -curricular teaching
opportunities. After utilizing the
remote learning activities in my
science class on a daily basis, I
can't imagine not bringing the
science standards to my students
any other way.
Being able to be out in nature with
their teachers and peers to try new
things and take on new
challenges.
I am very thankful for all the
experiences the students were given
through Muddy Sneakers.
I find it highly inappropriate to have
non binary as an option on the
student survey. These are
CHILDREN and having to explain to
my 5th graders what that meant was
not a conversation I was expecting to
have to have during the last days of
school. If you have much older
students then maybe there should be
a separate survey, otherwise let's
leave it at boy and girl the way nature
intended.
I would share the two components previously mentioned.
It is a great way to connect
science with the outdoors and it
is a lot of FUN!
I appreciate all that you do. Thanks
and have a great summer!
49

outdoor interactions ? n/a
Offsite expeditions
Exploratory time
I think making connections
between content and the real
world is the most valuable part of
Muddy Sneakers.
They love the times they get to
explore nature, and they really
value the time they get to spend
learning about their surroundings
I have - and strongly encourage them to include it as part of the regular
5th science curriculum in addition to the SEL goals for the class.
I would share personal stories
about my own experiences and
how my scholars responded.
I would tell them it's a great way
to get their kids outside and
curious about nature
The opportunity to learn science beyond the classroom walls.
emphasize content alignment a,
instructor skills, and love of
being comfortable outdoors nature
learning science standards in
hands on way
you need to do it
Hands on experience. Time in the
outdoors which many of them don't
usually get.
The way that it helps them connect Please see all those wonderful
with nature, how it helps them comments above. It can help
academically, how it helps them you be a better teacher and it
connect with science, etc. (It really can help your kiddos - in
is hard to choose just one thing.) numerous ways.
The relationships and connections
they make with outdoor learning
activities with science
OUTSIDE, so many students
never go out! The activity and
quick turnaround between
activities engages even our most
fidgety friends.
I would promote it by sharing my
story and how Muddy Sneakers
has helped me grow as a
beginning first year teacher.
This program has influenced
how I teach and helps me on
when to teach certain
units/topics. Also by promoting
being outdoors almost every
time. Who wouldn't rather be
outside than stuck in a
classroom all day?
Science enrichment, ability to
allow children to be more like
children experiencing outdoors,
encourages out of town people
to learn about and invest in the
new area that they live in.
Thank you for all of your help!
I really think Muddy Sneakers is a
great program -- it just seems to favor
the calmer, quieter kids. These kids
are not the ones who NEED
experiences like these to make
connections. The ones who need
engagement are the ones who are
climbing and touching everything.
They need more high-energy
activities and more time to explore
everything
Thank you!
Thanks again for a great year!
You're program is awesome keep
being amazing and making science
learning fun!
I personally was really nervous about
Muddy Sneakers, I myself am not an
outdoor person AT ALL. I found
myself trying new things and even got
in the creek and held critters for my
students. Muddy Sneakers
challenged me to be a better teacher.
50

Being outside, instilling wonder in
the natural world, science concept
introduction
being outside, respecting nature,
science objectives
Building relationships and applying
concepts to real world.
learning to explore outdoors and
pay attention to nature
The hands-on and critical thinking
experience....and the outdoors of
course!
Share feedback from my students and my own experience.
Giving examples, photos,
student testimonies.
Muddy Sneakers is a great
program for applying our 5th
grade science concepts.
I have loved working with you all!
It is a great COVID (because it is
outdoors) and post-COVID
(because so many kids spent the
COVID time on devices)
I enjoyed our experience and want to
Program
participate again.
I would strongly encourage them
to try it out at their school and
share my own personal
experience
Wonderful and engaging program. I
am so glad that we have been able to
participate!
51