An introduction to the constraints-led approach to learning in outdoor education

Participation in outdoor education is underpinned by a learner's ability to acquire skills in activities such as canoeing, bushwalking and skiing and consequently the outdoor leader is often required to facilitate skill acquisition and motor learning. As such, outdoor leaders might benefit from an appropriate and tested model on how the learner acquires skills in order to design appropriate learning contexts. This paper introduces an approach to skill acquisition based on ecological psychology and dynamical systems theory called the constraints-led approach to skills acquisition. We propose that this student-centred approach is an ideal perspective for the outdoor leader to design effective learning settings. Furthermore, this open style of facilitation is also congruent with learning models that focus on other concepts such as teamwork and leadership.

The aims of early years outdoor education in England: a conceptual and empirical investigation

This paper explores the place of aims in the early years foundation stage outdoor environment in England. Through examining the writing of academics, various themes are identified, and constructed into possible aims. These themes/aims are compared to an empirical study of early years teachers’ attitudes. Data was collected by questionnaire from schools within the University of Reading partnership. There was general agreement between experts and teachers as to the aims. While some respondents were able to explain what the aims of outdoor activity were, a significant number were unable to identify aims; further, a significant number did not distinguish between approach/practice and aims. A lack of understanding and agreement as to what the aims are may indicate teachers are unsure about the purpose of outdoor education for young children. A result of this study is to agree and make explicit the aims for outdoor education in the early years.

Outdoor education and bush adventure therapy: A social-ecological approach to health and wellbeing.

Together, outdoor education and bush adventure therapy can be seen to constitute a population-wide health intervention strategy. Whether in educational or therapeutic settings, the intentional use of contact with nature, small groups, and adventure provides a unique approach in the promotion of health and wellbeing for the general population, and for individuals with identified health vulnerabilities. This paper explicitly emphasises human and social health, however, an integral assumption is that a healthy and sustainable environment is dependent on healthy human relationships with nature. We invite outdoor educators and bush adventure therapy practitioners to examine the proposition that healthy interactions with nature can create a unique stream of socio-ecological interventions. A spectrum of outdoor adventure programs is provided, allowing outdoor educators and bush adventure therapy practitioners to locate their work according to program context and aims, and participant aims and needs.

Situationist outdoor education in the country of lost children

This thesis is a study of outdoor education, in the deliberative tradition of curriculum inquiry. It examines the intentional generation and distribution of knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes through organised outdoor activities, both as a research interest, and as a critical perspective on outdoor education discourse. Eight separate but interrelated research projects, originally published in 11 refereed journal articles, develop and defend the thesis statement: The problem of determining what, if any, forms of outdoor experience should be educational priorities, and how those experiences should be distributed in communities and geographically – that is who goes where and does what – is inherently situational. The persistence of a universalist outdoor education discourse that fails to acknowledge or adequately account for social and geographic circumstances points to serious flaws in outdoor education research and theory, and impedes the development of more defensible outdoor education practices. The introduction explains how the eight projects cohere, and illustrates how they may be linked using the example of militaristic thinking in outdoor safety standards. Chapters 1 and 2 defend and elaborate a situationist approach to outdoor education, using the examples of outdoor education in Victoria (Australia), and universalist approaches to outdoor education in textbooks respectively. Chapters 3 and 4 expand on some epistemological implications of the thesis and examine, respectively, the cultural dimensions of outdoor experience, and the epistemology and ontology of local natural history. Chapters 5 and 6 apply a situationist epistemology to personal development based outdoor education. Traditions of outdoor education that draw on person-centred rather than situation-sensitive theories of behaviour are examined and critiqued. Alternatives to person-centred theories of outdoor education are discussed. Chapters 7 and 8 use situationist outdoor education to provide a critical reading of nature-based tourism. Chapters 9, 10, and 11 return to the theme of safety in the introduction and Chapter 1, and examine the safety implications of a situationist epistemology. Closing comments briefly draw together the conclusions of all of the chapters, and offer some directions for future outdoor education research.

Journeying on the frinj of outdoor education

In this chapter we offer a conceptualisation of the construction of the pedagogical relationship between people and place. This conceptualisation considers pedagogical experiences that might prompt students to think differently about relations between people and places of learnng often utilised within outdoor education. We see ourselves as journeying on the fiinj of outdoor education in so far as we are arguing for a reconceptualisation of what constitutes good 'pedagogical' practice within this field of inquiry. This observation is based on what we believe is a troubling perception that distinguishes between outdoor activities as a site for the refinement of practical knowledge, and the classroom as a space for the 'theoretical study of environmental history, ecology and the social studies of human-nature relationships' (Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority, 2005, p.1). Our objective is to argue for the value of a pedagogical approach that situates study of these rheoretical issues while journeying in the outdoors.

A cloud of smug over outdoor education : South Park, hybrid cars and environmental morality

In an episode of South Park titled ‘Hey, People, You’ve Gotta Drive Hybrids Already’, Stan convinces townsfolk to buy hybrid cars. This reduces the rate of smog but creates a toxic cloud of ‘smug’. In this paper, I use this parody of eco-correctness to interrogate some of Outdoor Education’s environmental aims. Michel Foucault’s later work on the self, morality and governmentality is used to analyse the production of the [neo- iberal] ‘environmentally responsible citizen’. The possibilities and problems of contemporary citizenship discourse are explored in relation to findings from a longitudinal study of students undertaking a tertiary outdoor and environmental education course.

People and environment : the outdoor education community : curriculum ideas

This session is based on the concept of people as part of a broad ecological community. It focuses on relationships between people and between people and their environment. We look at outdoor education curriculum and teaching ideas aimed at developing the concepts of community, interdependence and responsibility for people and other living and non-living things. The concepts will be discussed in relation to developing outdoor education programs for students in years Prep-10.
Examples of teaching and assessment ideas will be provided from the Outdoor Education Course Advice Materials which have been developed for the Victorian Curriculum and Standards Framework (CSF). Resources will also be discussed and displayed. The session will be part presentation and part interactive group work. It is relevant to teachers, curriculum developers and other outdoor educators working with children in the years Prep-10 age range.

Teaching conservation through outdoor education areas.

On cover: PA-837.

Outdoor Education

Mode of access: Internet.

The Effectiveness of Outdoor Education on Environmental Learning, Appreciation, and Activism

The main objective of this research was to determine the effectiveness of outdoor education on student knowledge retention, appreciation for nature, and environmental activism in a college level course on south Florida ecology. Six class sections were given quizzes on four course topics either post-lecture or post-field trip. Students were also given pre-course and post-course opinion surveys. Although mean quiz scores for the post-field trip were higher than for the post-lecture, statistical analysis determined that there was no significant difference in quiz scores for location taken (post-lecture or post-field trip). Survey results show a correlation between knowledge of environmental issues and environmental activism. Even though student survey responses point to outdoor education and field trips being the most effective method of learning and influential on appreciation for nature, the quiz scores do not reflect such.

Pedagogy of connections : findings of a collaborative action research project in outdoor and environmental education

Improving human-nature relationships is often a stated aim of outdoor education, yet this aim is not always made explicit in practice. This paper reflects on a pedagogical intervention which aims to find ways to explicitly develop students' connections with natural places through a tertiary outdoor and environmental education program. It describes the intervention process, which is guided by principles of collaborative action research. Furthermore, the intervention uses a multi-pronged teaching approach incorporating repeated visits to natural places utilizing different 'ways of knowing', weekly readings, journal writing, collaborative discussions, and others. We summarize the key findings of the research project and report that repeated visits to a natural place using different ways of knowing (e.g., historical, scientific, ecological, artistic, experiential, etc.) are influential in improving connections. We conclude with a discussion of the opportunities and dilemmas of using action research as a form of pedagogy.

Making connections with nature : bridging the theory-practice gap in outdoor and environmental education

In this paper I describe my experience in attempting to assist tertiary students connect with the natural environment through outdoor and environmental education experiences. The paper addresses research conducted with students undertaking an outdoor and environmental education degree and focuses on the pedagogical methods employed in this context. I argue that outdoor and environmental education practitioners may benefit from moving away from a mode of teaching based upon 'generic' methods and look instead to a more local, specific and contextual form of education. By describing an outdoor and environmental education journey in a local, 'ordinary' place and students' experiences in unearthing the stories embedded in this place, I aim to provide some practical strategies to engage young people in a direct and meaningful way. The intention is to broaden the pedagogical possibilities related to facilitating experiences in natural environments and thus contribute to bridging the rhetoric/reality gap in outdoor education.