Showing papers in "Journal of Outdoor Education in 2013"

Changing Spaces, Changing Relationships: The Positive Impact of Learning out of Doors

Abstract: Introduction Our interest in outdoor learning is particularly focused upon the value of an authentic experience of animals and plants in their natural environment as part of formal (or informal) education related to nature, ecology and environmental studies (e.g. Scott, Churchill, Grassam, & Scott, 2011; Scott & Boyd, 2012 and Scott et al., 2012). Through these cited studies we have sought to demonstrate a positive relationship between cognitive learning and learning in the outdoor environment. This learning may be discipline specific as in the case in Scott et al., (2012) where we showed that the acquisition of laboratory skills needed by ecologists can be enhanced if undergraduate students are provided with an outdoor context to their learning. Or it may be learning at the interface of traditional discipline areas as in the cases of Scott, et al. (2011) and Scott and Boyd (2012) where we demonstrated both short (weeks) and medium (months) term improvement in aspects of literacy amongst children (8-10 years old) who were involved in experiential learning activities related to ecology/biodiversity topics in an outdoor setting. Similarly Drissner, Haase and Hille (2010) have shown that a positive outcome of learning in an outdoor setting, a green classroom, was that children demonstrated higher levels of motivation and interest in learning about the environment than children who did not have an outdoor learning experience. For younger children the emphasis might be upon learning about nature through outdoors play (Dowdell, Gray & Malone, 2011). Older children and young adults on the other hand have been shown to develop an improved relationship with the natural world through participation in outdoor based adventure activities and physical challenges (Martin, 2004). Waite (2007) has suggested that actual contact with plants and animals in an outdoor setting interacts strongly with memory and as a result enhances subsequent retention and recall of learned material and fosters motivation to learn. Chawla (1999) and Ballantyne and Packer (2002) have shown that direct interaction with nature during childhood significantly influences the development of positive attitudes towards environmental issues that are likely to be maintained into adulthood. It is significant that learning in any setting involves an interaction of place, body, mind, culture and society (Waite, 2011) and the act of moving learning from an indoor classroom setting to the outdoors has the potential to enhance and/or shift the focus of these interactions and to therefore be a key episode in personal development. We agree with authors such as Barker, Slingsby and Tilling (2002) and Rickinson et al. (2004) that evidence based evaluations of the value of outdoor education such as those that we have cited are important given the pressures faced by providers of outdoor education. In the United Kingdom, as in other areas of the world, there has been a decline in the provision of fieldwork and outdoor learning in recent decades (Fisher, 2001; O'Donnell, Morris & Wilson, 2006), and even in the face of increasing awareness of the value of outdoor education as a result of current national debates (in the UK and in Australia for example) teachers are still reluctant (or unable) to take their classes outside (Fagerstam, 2012; Maynard, Waters & Clement, 2011) and children may be at risk therefore of losing, or failing to develop further, any connection to their natural environment that they might have been expected to have (Fagerstam, 2012). Whilst the barriers to going outside have been discussed by authors such as Barker, Slingsby and Tilling (2002), Rickinson et al. (2004) and Waite (2007) in the UK, by Lugg and Martin (2001) and Polley and Pickett (2003) in Victoria and South Australia respectively, and by Zink and Boyes (2006) in New Zealand, the emphasis has been upon practical factors such as cost, risk, the structure of the school day and initial teacher training (or lack thereof). …

2, 6, heave! : sail training’s influence on the development of self-concept and social networks and their impact on engagement with learning and education : a pilot study

Abstract: Introduction Youth disengaged with learning are at risk of not fulfilling their potential and often become very difficult to be provided with the social support necessary to remain active contributors to society. Similarly, disengaged youth who do return to study are more likely to fail and drop out greatly reducing the prospect of creating constructive productive community members (Henry, Knight & Thornberry, 2012; Kirjansson, 2007). Consequently there is a need to identify strategies to promote engagement with learning and education. One such strategy is the use of experiential education. Successful experiential learning is described by Priest (1993) as an approach to training and development utilising activities involving some form of perceived physical or emotional risk to bring about positive changes in individuals. Here learning is based in real world situations with both a social element and immediate consequences that in turn allows for future learning to occur (Wojcikiewicz & Zachary, 2010) Among many experiential learning proposals that might be useful to reengage students with education--such as sports, project-driven programs, outdoor education - this paper analyses sail training as one potential avenue to provide disengaged youth students with tools to pursue further learning. An experiential learning voyage aboard Australia's national sail training ship STS Young Endeavour requires youth aged 16 to 23 to live at sea in close confines with up to 36 other people they have previously never met, aboard a 33 meter tall ship for 11 days. During this time they engage in a number of experiential activities including; climbing a 30 meter mast, participating in teamwork activities such as sail-handling, conducting regular ship duties, steering the vessel and taking control of daily operations. 2,6, Heave! is a common call requiring all members of a sailing team to heave together to complete a task one person cannot accomplish alone. This becomes synonymous with the ethos of a sail training voyage which is - working together achieves more than working alone. Participants are also involved in a number of targeted debriefing scenarios which provide opportunities for both reflections on behaviours, feelings and attitudes, as well as how these informed thoughts can be related to life beyond the voyage. This paper shows how, by increasing opportunities to 2'6' heave together, sail training is likely to transform young people's lives in ways they could not imagine at first. We use the term experiential education rather than outdoor education in this paper as the ship and the marine environment appear to provide a context for the experiential elements of the program participants identified as being influential in their learning. Burns, Collin, Blanchard, De-Freitas and Lloyd (2008) argue engaging and connecting young people in the broader social life is one of the key issues for Australian contemporary society. The authors believe that engaged young people are better prepared to become healthy adults with a greater potential to contribute to the society. They affirm that "young people, who are provided with opportunities to participate, experience a better quality of life and contribute to creating and building better communities" (p. 4). In this paper we offer insights about a sail training experience from five young Australians who participated in a voyage with Young Endeavour and how this impacted their engagement with learning and education upon their return. We engaged in qualitative conversations both pre and post voyage, in order to have the participants reflecting on how their sail training voyage might impact their further involvement with education. By looking at behavioural, affective and cognitive aspects of the participants' engagement, we aim to provide a better understanding of aspects where sail training seems to be a potentially good strategy to reengage youth in education. …

Supervising snowsport activities: a reflection upon legislation, policies, guidelines and practice

Abstract: This paper explores on-snow supervision in school-based snowsport excursions by investigating snowsport participation and safety data and relevant legislation and policies that form the framework for practice. Snowsports may present a more complex environment for managing of participants than many other outdoor environments and provide a valuable point of reflection for the management of other outdoor activities where students may be participating without direct supervision. Language: en