Visual Class SummaryAdventure and Outdoor Programming: From its Roots to My

Application

Spring 2014 Brandon Bertelsen

What are all these TLAs in AOP?

TLA is a three letter acronym, ironic I know. I learned about TLAs in my WFR, Wilderness First Responder. Take a WFR course if you are looking for the mother load of TLAs. Here are a few relevant TLAs.

AOP Adventure and Outdoor Programs This is my emphasis in PRT This presentation is a visual summary of my first

AOP class

PRT Parks, Recreation, and Tourism This is my major The department of PRT is in the College of Health So PRT-AOP is my major and emphasis at the

University of Utah

OAE Outdoor Adventure Education This is a relatively new field which is what AOP,

experiential education and Adventure and Outdoor Programs is all about

This leads me to the Origins of OAE

Additional Useful Definitions

But first I should define two other things:

1. Experiential Education: the process of learning and teaching through non-lecture experiences. This includes hands on practice and application of knowledge.

2. Adventure: when the outcome is uncertain or unknown, when growing takes place, when one is outside of their comfort zone, and when risk and fear come into play.

Origins of OAE In the last hundred years or so outdoor adventure

has become a field of education Examples of original OAE organizations include:

o Boy Scouts of Americao National Outdoor Leadership Schoolo Outward Bound

The rise of the outdoor industry, parks, recreation, and tourism led to the field of outdoor education as well

Founders and historical icons of OAE

There are a handful of individuals who are responsible for the formation of the field of OAE. I will not cover everyone who contributed because that list is much too large. But in order for one to grow and progress in a field they must now their roots and where it all began. I know I will continually look back upon the following people for inspiration and reference in the future.

Kurt Hahn (1886-1974) Hahn was a key figure in the development of experiential

education, which I defined earlier on slide 6 “There is more to us than we know. If we can be made to see

it, perhaps for the rest of our lives we will be unwilling to settle for less.” –Kurt Hahn

In 1941 Hahn used his experiential education ideas from his German Salem School and helped found Outward Bound to give young sailors the skills necessary to survive at sea

Today Outward Bound is “a system of diverse schools dedicated to helping people learn through challenging experiences so they can grow individually and, in the process, become more active in the communities where they live and work.” (http://www.outwardbound.org/about-outward-bound/outward-bound-today/)

Courses range from weeklong rafting to month-long backpacking

Paul Petzoldt (1908-1999)

From early on in life Petzoldt was adventuring outdoors He began working for the Colorado Outward Bound

School and contributed a lot to its early development He had always dreamed of his own outdoor education

school When his proposal for a Wyoming Outward Bound

School was shot down he created the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) based in Lander, Wyoming

NOLS provides one the ultimate OAE experience through usually month long expeditions in the backcountry

Petzoldt’s famous 6 P’s were: Proper Preparation Prevents Piss Poor Performance (I probably quoted this a little too often in class)

Petzoldt eventually left NOLS and started the Wilderness Education Association (WEA) a travelling annual conference on the vast topic of the outdoor recreation industry

Tangent: my WEA experience

In February of 2014 for a class assignment I attended the WEA held here in Salt Lake City, UT

With three classmates I gave a presentation called the Backcountry Kitchen: How to Eat Well In the Outdoors

Through presentation, demonstration, and engaging discussions we taught how to balance the five key parameters to eating well in the outdoors

The key parameters are nutritional value, simplicity, variety, weight, and taste

Theories and Models related to OAE

From Hahn’s Outward Bound came the Outward Bound Process Model:

Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle

ConcreteExperienc

e

Reflection Observation

AbstractConceptualization

ActiveExperimentation

Example of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle

Concrete Experience: a student sets up a tarp shelter for a kitchen that gets torn down in the wind

Reflective Observation: the student thinks about what they did wrong and watches another do it right

Abstract Conceptualization: the student forms a plan to make a new shelter that will withstand the wind and provide protection to cook under

Active Experimentation: the student puts his plan into action and builds a new shelter based off of his thinking and watching another

The process may repeat over and over not only for failures but after successes as well

Constructivism This one is the most interesting theory to me

because it can relate to EVERYONE at ANYTIME Knowledge is built off of past knowledge and

experiences No one is ever a blank slate, everyone brings

something to the table The zone of proximal development also plays a

role in this theory. For example, when someone in the area who is knowledgeable will teach one who is less knowledgeable

Trial and error results in the construction of new knowledge

As an instructor I plan to be conscious of constructivism to interact with participants at their individual level

Theory of Planned Behavior

My group taught the class this model It is the influence of a person’s intention to

perform a behavior This can be used as a predictor of behavior in my

future OAE settings

Attention Restoration Theory

We also taught the class this by having them stare at photos of the natural world in the hallway for a minute and processed it by discuss any change in our emotions

This theory says that one’s attentional capacity can be restored through nature experiences

One’s willpower can become fatigued over time especially in a modern society

Hard fascination: not restorative, no reflective though, e.g. watching a football game or a television show

Soft fascination: restorative, requires no effort to hold one’s attention, e.g. watching clouds, wildlife, or a sunset

A multiday backpacking trip is a powerful attention restoration experience, I believe it from experience

Self Determination Theory

This a theory of motivation Motivation comes socially and rationally as well

as through purpose and development

Cognitive Evaluation Theory

This is a sub theory of the Self Determination Theory

It has three propositions that explain how consequences affect internal motivation

1. External events will impact intrinsic motivation for optimally challenging activities to the extent that they influence perceived competence

2. Events relevant to the behavior have three potential aspects, each with a significant function.

3. Personal events differ in their qualitative aspects and, like external events, can have different significances

Social Cognitive Theory

This theory says that people do not learn new behaviors solely by trying them and succeeding or failing, but rather, the survival of humanity is dependent upon the replication of the actions of others

Humans judge and that is what allows us to survive

I judge that food, water, and shelter will keep me alive so I make sure I have them

I judge that when I press a key my desired letter will appear on the screen

Life is made up of judgments

Maslow Hierarchy of Needs

Example of the Hierarchy of Needs

As lower needs are met than higher items of the hierarchy become needs

Different items are met at different times requiring a reassessment of which needs are needed (haha)

For example if my physiological and safety needs are met than I feel the need are love and belonging from friends and family. Until those needs are met I cannot build esteem and self-actualization

Awareness of participant’s needs becomes very important when you are determining appropriate goals and objectives

If their safety, or even perceived safety is not met than they have no concern for esteem growth

Self Efficacy This means a belief in one’s ability to complete a

task, alos known as confidence My self efficacy, just like participants’, is effected in

four ways1. Mastery- when a student climbs their first 5.10 they

become more confident2. Vicarious Experience-when a student sees me tie a

knot very slowly they may believe that they too can tie it

3. Social Persuasion-a student is encouraged by their trusted and respected peers to do a blind trust fall

4. Physiological and emotional status-pain and stress may make a student feel inadequate to backpack with the group

The Theory of Flow This one makes me

excited to be in the field of OAE!

The state of flow can be reached when one finds the balance between challenge and ability

As OAE instructors we want to match participant challenge and ability the best we can so they have an optimal experience

Systems Theory The Systems Theory is an

ecological model of human development

The model shows different levels of our influence

The further from the center (the individual) the less influence they have and the more the influence comes from many sources

This is the “it depends” model

“It depends,” with proper support is almost all the time an acceptable answer in PRT-AOP

Communities of Practice: A Pedagogy for Outdoor

Education Nate Millard presented this at WEA (see everything is interrelated!) He defined communities of practice as efficient forms of education He is a teacher and he turns his classroom into a community of

practice He give them a large vague project such as create an accessible

resource for beginner skiers to enter the sport This leads them into the community and actual doing real world

research, events, and contacting In the Fall semester of 2013 our Special Event Program Plan

Portfolio was a communities of practice project We had to plan and facilitate an event that had to do with

Adventure and Outdoor Programs as well as diversity and race Our result was a benefit for the local Boys and Girls Club in the

form of ski lessons, a winter party, and a mass winter clothing donation

Group Stages of Development

Group Stages of Development

As you might have imagined as a group spends more time together they develop

I have experienced this on my high school football team

I expected to experience this in our AOP core class but I don’t think we were close enough to make it to storming

Possibly while working in small groups such as our WEA groups or teaching and facilitation groups we went through more stages

I can apply this now to when I lead Outdoor Adventures trip and I will apply it down the road if I am a NOLS Instructor

Leaderships Styles This combined with group stages of development

will relate to the Conditional Outdoor Leadership Theory

There are three appropriate leadership style1. Autocratic: the leader makes the decisions and

convinces the group to follow2. Democratic: the leader and the group share

various decision making responsibilities3. Abdicratic: the leader hands over decision

making responsibility to the group, buts remains closely involved incase they need to interfere

Conditional Outdoor Leadership Theory

The group stages of development can be applied to an appropriate style of leading and concern for task v. relationship when leading an OAE course

Group developmental stage

Task dimension

Relationship dimension

Leader’s concern for task v. relationship

Conditional leadership style

Forming Acceptance/Independence

Acquaintance/Initiation

High v. low Autocratic

Storming Resistance/Confrontation

Rebellion/Conflict

High v. high Democratic

Norming Compliance/Involvement

Cohesion/Intimacy

Low v. high Abdicratic

Performing Productivity/Competence

Pride/Commitment

Low v. low Democratic

Adjourning Termination/Separation

Transformation/Satisfaction

High v. low Autocratic

Awareness Wheel I find this extremely

practical when communicating during an issue or conflict

We didn’t discuss this too much in class but it came from the NOLS Leadership Educator Notebook and like everything else in there, it is gold in the OAE field

ISSUE

DOING

SENSING/DATA

THINKING

FEELING

WANTING

No More Theories or Models…..Finally!

But everything else I will cover does relate back to at least one, usually many, of the models and theories I just covered

Who’s that stud?!

Effective Outdoor Leaders

This what I will always be striving to be

So what makes one? They are aware of and use

OAE models and theories (can be found in the previous 33 slides)

They should know and apply much of which is in this visual class summary

They are passionate They adapt to change

Bag ‘o Tricks (Outdoor Leaders Have a Big One!)

These are the ones I have accumulated over the class Nose Jousting To All My Good Neighbors Broken Blue Box Great Green Giant Partner Hands Knock Off Balance Pirates Crossing Spider’s web Blindfold Walk Group Rope Shapes Blind Hula-hoop Circle/Stargate Partner Knot Untie Animal Noises Fruit Necking Group Legged Race Shrinking Island Group Bragging/Sharing Blind, Deaf, and Motioning Towards Team Goal

Types of Adventure Programs

1. Recreational2. Educational3. Developmental4. Therapeutic It is crucial to be aware of what type of program

you are running with forming goals and objectives and facilitating activities

Facilitation v. Teaching Teaching is passing on knowledge from one person

to another. It is directive, intentional, and has goals and objectives.

Facilitation is easing an understanding of the subject onto the learner. The experience, not the teacher, is the vessel of knowledge and the students make the connections and realizations themselves.

Facilitation is an effective form of teaching. Unfortunately not all teaching can be done through facilitation so as an instructor I will need to intentional sequence events so that when I cannot facilitate my way to a goal I can keep the students’ attention during other forms of learning.

Elements to a High Quality Experience

The participant does the activity for its own sake, intrinsic, autotelic

The participant is competent at the activity The participant is in a state of optimal arousal The participant has a freedom of choices within the

activity These factors make me think of my most fun daysskiing where I ski because Ilove to ski, I am very good at skiing, I am in a state of flow, and I have the opportunityto make choices skiing.

Risk and Fear Sources of fear are lack of control, personal inadequacies,

personal skills, homeostasis, level of comfort, and program inadequacies.

Growth comes from overcoming challenges and challenges present risk and fear to the participant.

Too much fear can paralyze a participant as I have seen working at a high ropes course last summer

Too much perceived, not necessarily real, risk can cause a participant to choose not to do the activity.

My Risk Philosophy “If you do not have a philosophy behind what you are doing

then why are you doing it?” -Jeremy Jostad (he probably stole the quote)

My personal risk philosophy: Vitality in life is what we all seek. Adventure and education are major sources of this and risk plays a key factor in both. Levels of risk in these experiences are very individual and circumstantial and both perceived and real risk need to be present but manageable in order to bring the most vitality into one’s life.

The 6 Generations of Facilitation

I bet you were wondering if this was in here after the Facilitation v. Teaching slide

There are six main ways to facilitate a learning experience

1. Learning by doing, letting the experience speak for itself, the participants make the discovery

2. Learning by telling, the instructor tells the participants what they should get out of it

3. Learning through reflection, the instructor leads a debriefing of the experience

The 6 Generations of Facilitation con.

1. Direction with reflection, the instructor directly frontloads the experiences

2. Reinforcement with reflection, isomorphically framing the experience using metaphors

3. Indirectly frontloading the experience, so the participant is unaware that they are being prepared

A revolutionary shift in facilitation occurred when frontloading was introduced, consciously giving much more power to facilitation in certain situations

Personal Experience! My classmate Nazly and I taught six students in our class

about backcountry stoves, the MSR Whisperlite model Because of this class we knew lecturing would be very

ineffective in this scenario, so we decided to facilitate an activity

We chose to use the 4th generation of facilitation We started the class by telling them our goal was for them

to safely be able to use a Whisperlite stove in the backcountry

We told them our objectives were to understand the stove systems and safety hazards as well as boil water

We debriefed the activity by checking for understanding

Forms of Processing Because four of the six generations of facilitation use

processing/debriefing Large group: there a lot of insights but some people may get lost Drawing: there is a chance to attach meaning but some people

may shy away from art Dyads/pairs: this allows less vocal people to give more input but

may not be very challenging if friends are paired Fishbowls/circles: embraces listening and further reflection skills

but speakers may become self conscious or competitive Observers: this may be eye opening for the one student but there

is less teamwork Solos: this is personal and has no conflict but can be limiting to

one’s ideas Journal writing: can articulate ones thoughts but may be time

consuming Readings/quotes: motivational and tone setting but cannot always

relates to each individual experience

Learning and Teaching Styles

Because we are each different and special in our own way, says all mothers

Learning styles Think Teaching styles

Linguistic In words Lectures, discussions, reading, and writing

Logical, mathematical

By reasoning Problem solving, critical thinking

Spatial In images and pictures Visuals, graphs, drawing it

Bodily, kinesthetic Through sensations Hands-on-learning, building, acting, touching

Musical Through rhythms Songs, superlearning, listening

Interpersonal By bouncing ideas off other people

Peer learning, colaborations

Intrapersonal In relation to their needs, feelings, and goals

Individualized instruction, independent study

Natural Through nature and natural forms

Field studies and keys, identifying land and life

The 5 Depths of Learning

You know it or you don’t. That is not quite how learning goes, there are actually levels of how well you know something

1. You have memorized it2. You comprehend it3. You can apply it4. You can generalize it, transfer it5. You can systemize it, use its system As an instructor I can use my checks for

understandings to see which level of learning my participants have reached

Another Personal Experience

This time as a trip leader! I led an overnight winter camping snowshoe trip I taught the participants during the pre-trip meeting that to

enjoy the trip they must be warm, dry, and well fed and that applies to all parts of the trip

Some participants could never even remember this as I checked in throughout the trip

And some participants applied this to their preparation, traveling, and even sleeping! That was exciting

Communication Yet another thing leaders should be good at Communication: when information is exchanged conveying

meaning and understanding between two or more people Effective communication: occurs when the people receiving

the information alter their performances or beliefs on the basis of what the senders meant to convey

Channels of communication: audio, visual, and tactile Maybe I should double major in communications to ensure I

am a good communicator!

Feedback Feedback is a key skill as an outdoor leader, both

giving AND taking it Feedback is two way communication When I see an opportunity for feedback I try to be

aware of if the topic is sensitive to the participant and if they are open to it

A compliment sandwich, Kirk calls it a shit sandwich, it helpful

1. Give a compliment2. Give the CONSTRUCTIVE feedback (the shit)3. Give another compliment

My personal experience with Kelly

Robins Kelly is a great outdoor leader A key part of this is his communication and feedback skills Kelly taught us self care, backcountry travel, and avalanche

safety Right from the start he shook everyone’s hand and learned

our names establishing a good channel for communication At the beginning of the day he had everyone say one piece

of equipment they brought and used that to give feedback on self care

Developmental Stages “Everything will change except change itself. That and everyone

dies.”-Wiseman Brandon Bertelsen Youth <17, concrete learners, duality, black and white thinking,

different family considerations, structure activities with boredom in mind, patience is key, understanding, peer interaction and opportunities for beginning abstract thinking are good

Emerging adults 18-30, physical prime, striving for independence, increased risk, conscious experimentation, logical, increase activity action and challenge, let experiences form identity

Older adults 31+, self directed, logical and situational thinkers, vastly different, less concerned with peer influence, the know their limits in activities, they usually want to be there, give them the opportunity to share their knowledge (constructivism), and their vitality may be in a rut.

Being conscious of developmental stages is very effective when it comes to planning an effective experience

Goals and Objectives Yes I know, before this class I thought they were the

same thing too Both serve to direct teaching and learning with an

intended purpose with expected results through a set foundation

Goals: are statements about general aims or purposes of education that are broad, long-range intended outcomes, and are used primarily in general program planning

Objectives: are brief, clear statements that describe the desired outcomes of instruction giving special attention to specific types of performances that students are expected to demonstrate

See slide 44 for my personal example of goals and objectives

ULTIMATE GOAL/THE MEANING OF (OUR) LIFE (CAREER):

As outdoor leaders our ultimate goal is for our participants to transfer what they learned to their home lives

We want the experiences we led them through to have a positive impact beyond their time with us

I am passionate about the positive effects of nature because I have experienced them and I believe I can help others experience them as well! AOP is the place to be!