Weber State researchers find growth in student success by adding plants to classrooms
OGDEN, Utah — A greener classroom can help students perform better, according to researchers at Weber State University.
Sarah Herrmann, psychological science associate professor, and student Taylor Evans spent multiple semesters learning more about the power of plants in classrooms. Their goal is to investigate a connection between indoor plants and academic performance.
Herrmann and Evans found that students had significantly higher grades after adding plants to a classroom.
“This is a fairly simple way to increase student performance,” Evans said. “It’s a really good opportunity for students to have a better space to learn in.”
Evans came up with the idea while she was part of the Office of Undergraduate Research Fellows program, which pairs students with a faculty mentor for high-impact learning opportunities.
As a psychological science major with a botany and neuroscience minor, she said this research topic combined several of her passions. It was also a great fit for Herrmann, whose research focuses on student persistence.
Most of all, they both love plants and expected adding greenery to classrooms could grow student success: “Just walking in and seeing a plant, it really makes the classroom feel homey,” Herrmann said.
They placed plants purchased from Ogden’s Jungle Room Plant Co. in 14 classrooms in Lindquist Hall — adding a small plant on the teaching podium and a large plant elsewhere in the room. The remaining 15 classrooms in the building were left without plants.
“On Tuesday nights, I’d walk around the building with my watering can and pruning shears,” Herrmann said. “I recognize adding plants does involve some additional work, but it really does brighten up the space.”
Herrmann and Evans received several grants, including both internal sources of funding and an external award. This allowed them to buy the plants and incentivize students to take surveys examining things like mental well-being, self-efficiency, and performance.
The research began with a pilot study in spring 2024, when Herrmann and Evans found that growth mindset was significantly higher in classrooms with plants. That means students were more likely to believe their knowledge and skills could be improved with effort, as opposed to feeling like their abilities are innate and won’t change.
Since then, they’ve made some adjustments, like additional data analysis to account for classrooms that typically hold classes with historically lower grades.
Evans has presented these findings at several undergraduate research symposiums. Her efforts earned her this year’s Office of Undergraduate Research Outstanding Student Researcher award, and Herrmann received the Outstanding Research Mentor award.
They plan to continue their research together, switching where the plants live within Lindquist Hall classrooms as they collect more performance data.
“I think the main takeaway for me is that nature and plants help students perform better,” Evans said. “There’s something to be said about incorporating natural settings into learning to see these impacts.”
Funding to conduct this research came from Nature and Human Health Utah, the Office of Undergraduate Research, the Sustainability Practices and Research Center, and the Research, Scholarship, and Professional Growth Committee.
Rachel Badali, news coordinator
801-626-7362, rachelbadali@weber.edu- Contact:
Rachel Badali, news coordinator
801-626-7362, rachelbadali@weber.edu