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Adventure Education
Theory and Applications
Edited by Dick Prouty, Jane Panicucci and Rufus Collinson
264 Pages
Adventure Education: Theory and Applications allows students to
-get a broad view of adventure education and programming;
-explore the role of games, low- and high-element courses, and outdoor pursuits in adventure education;
-use key concepts, student activities, and Web-based research to enhance the learning process;
-employ real-world examples to explore strategies for adventure education in a variety of settings; and
-learn core skills for effective facilitation and leadership preparation in adventure programming.
With Adventure Education: Theory and Applications, adventure education enters the educational mainstream. This comprehensive text is ideal for introductory adventure courses in a variety of college departments and as a reference for professionals in the field.
Project Adventure, a leader in the field of facilities-based adventure learning, teams up with leading adventure educators and professionals to provide a broad view of adventure education and programming. Together, they present the foundational theories and applications of adventure education. In doing so, they
-explore the role of games, low- and high-element courses, and outdoor pursuits in adventure education;
-cover the core skills for effective facilitation and leadership preparation;
-include student-friendly features, such as key concepts, summaries, student activities, additional readings, and Web-based research to meet students' levels of experience and enhance the easy delivery of the course; and
-recommend strategies for adventure education and programming based on real-world examples that connect to a variety of recreational, educational, therapeutic, and community settings.
Part I presents the history of adventure education as well as the numerous theories and philosophies that have informed its development. It explores the world of adventure in education, health care, and therapeutic, corporate, and school settings. It also provides an overview of adventure organizations and career options, which is helpful to students who are interested in pursuing the study of adventure.
Part II outlines the technical and pedagogical skills needed for facilitating adventure experiences.
Part III describes each adventure component, explaining how they work in the educational process. It covers facilities-based pursuits such as games, cooperative activities and initiatives, and challenge courses as well as outdoor pursuits. Some sample activities and many additional resources are provided. The final chapter covers models for programming adventure in educational, therapeutic, corporate, and community settings.
For students who select careers in other fields, the leadership and team skills learned through Adventure Education: Theory and Applications will serve them well in their future workplaces. For students who do go into adventure education, this text is their guide for finding their own paths in the field.
Part I. Exploring Adventure Education
Chapter 1. Introduction to Adventure Education
Dick Prouty
Chapter 2. Philosophy and Theory of Adventure Education
Alan Ewert and Dan Garvey
Chapter 3. Cornerstones of Adventure Education
Jane Panicucci
Chapter 4. Risk and Safety in Adventure Programming
Charles R. Gregg
Chapter 5. Individual Outcomes of Participating in Adventure
Jim Stiehl and Melissa Parker
Part II. Defining Skills and Competencies for Adventure Practitioners
Chapter 6. Responsibilities of Adventure Education Leaders
Denise Mitten and Kent Clement
Chapter 7. Facilitating the Adventure Process
Michael A. Gass and Cheryl A. Stevens
Part III. Planning and Implementing Adventure Experiences
Chapter 8. Portable Adventure Activities
Lisa Faulkingham Hunt
Chapter 9. Low-Element Challenge Courses
Alison Rheingold
Chapter 10. High-Element Challenge Courses
Christopher J. Damboise
Chapter 11. Teaching and Leading Outdoor Adventure Pursuits
Mark Wagstaff, Aram Attarian, and Jack K. Drury
Chapter 12. Adventure Education Programming and Career Paths
Steven Guthrie and Rita Yerkes
Appendix: Overview of the Accreditation Standards of the Association for Experiential Education
Dick Prouty, AB, is Project Adventure's president, executive director, and CEO. With Project Adventure since 1980, he facilitated the structure of PA as a 501(c)3 nonprofit organization. In 1982, he became director and led the strategic planning and organizational development of PA as it became the premier organization of facilities-based adventure learning. Coauthor of PA's classic text on adventure-based counseling, Islands of Healing, Prouty has become a leading proponent of the unique place and theory of adventure-based experiential education. He has also served as founder of the Association for Experiential Education's (AEE) accreditation committee, founder of the board of directors of Association for Challenge Course Technology (ACCT), and chair of the board of the Waring School. Prouty's current responsibilities at PA include strategic planning, partnering and development planning, directing new publications, and leading the senior executive team.
Jane Panicucci, MAEd, is currently Project Adventure's chief operations officer. Her adventure background includes 11 years as a course director at Outward Bound. In the mid-1980s, as a public school physical educator, Panicucci designed an adventure curriculum that is still going strong. Her current consulting specialties involve working with teachers and administrators to generate positive change in their schools and to create high-performing teams for both nonprofit and for-profit organizations. She is the lead author of PA's series of adventure curricula for physical education and is currently working on a fitness program curriculum.
Rufus (Ruthanne) Collinson has been working in the adventure field for 18 years as manager of communications, editor, and book developer for Project Adventure (PA). She is responsible for editing and developing all PA publications. Rufus is also a published poet. She and her daughter Suzanna have conducted experiential writing workshops, called Words from the Wild, at several field conferences. In 2001, Rufus received the Association for Experiential Education's (AEE) Karl Rohnke Creativity Award.
About Project Adventure
Project Adventure is an innovative teaching organization that provides leadership in the expansion of adventure-based experiential programming. Project Adventure develops responsible individuals, productive organizations, and sustainable communities.
In its 32-year history, Project Adventure has had its programs adopted and adapted throughout the world. It has published numerous titles based on its research, and it has its Rainbow Lake Campus in Covington, Georgia, where it helps more than 100 youths enrolled in court-adjudicated programs to become productive citizens. It also has partnerships with Prescott University in Arizona and the University of New Hampshire. Through these partnerships, Project Adventure researches and develops programs and materials that can be used anywhere.
Clearly stated philosophy, goals key to achieving benefits of adventure education
Adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise, but programs should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits.
Tangible Outcomes of Adventure
For the purposes of this chapter we suggest that there are distinctions between adventure and outdoor programs that reside in their primary purpose, the setting in which they are conducted, and the risk involved. Outdoor programs focus on the development of technical skill in the natural setting and thus involve actual risk. On the other hand, adventure programs focus on personal and group development in developed areas and concentrate on perceived risk. While adventure and outdoor could be two ends of a continuum with much overlap in the middle, the distinctions become important when determining goals and benefits of programs.
Our interest in original and current proponents of adventure led us repeatedly to the American Camp Association (ACA). Founded in 1910, the ACA represents all segments of the camp profession and is dedicated to enriching the lives of children and adults through camp experiences. A recently published ACA document provides a starting point for defining and categorizing adventure outcomes (2005b). The document summarizes a large research study of camper outcomes. Results from the study provide evidence that camp is a positive force in youth development. Moreover, many of the aspects of positive growth mentioned in this study correspond with outcomes cited in previous literature. The following domains used in the ACA study can assist in identifying specific goals for adventure programmers.
Positive Identity
If we address the possible goals or benefits of adventure education in terms of benefits to the participant, the notion of positive identity has remained primary through the decades. While positive identity is a bit of a nebulous term, it generally includes various aspects of character development such as self-esteem, determination, dependability, ambition, and independence. Increases in self-esteem lead to feelings of worth, competence, confidence, and optimism. Independence fosters stepping out of one's comfort zone into unfamiliar territory that produces anxiety and fear as well as exhilaration, initiative, and calculated risk taking.
Social Skills
The acquisition of social skills extends beyond the individual benefits of positive identity by focusing on participants' interactions with each other. The social dimension of adventure can be highly significant. For example, challenges in an adventure setting can facilitate group bonding and cooperation. Working as a team, people can learn to resolve disagreements, appreciate differences, develop new friendships, and generally get along with others. Adventure experiences also can offer opportunities to demonstrate leadership and to accept responsibilities unavailable in other settings. Finally, adventure provides occasions for being together, having a sense of community, enjoying the company of like-minded people, and feeling connected to something larger than oneself.
Physical and Thinking Skills
In their 1929 classic book, Camping and Character, Dimock and Hendry list skills in camping activities such as canoeing, swimming, riding, and sailing accompanied by the associated knowledge as the first and second objectives of the summer camp experience. Few would argue this potential benefit of adventure education. Physical benefits can be classified as the psychomotor and technical skills required for participation in activities that entail moving across land or water by natural means. The physiological gains of exercise constitute another aspect of physical benefits.
Depending on the setting, adventure education can provide the venue for the acquisition of a vast array of physical and thinking skills that are usually associated with living outdoors. Thinking skills include knowledge of safety measures and the need to follow them as well as knowledge of skills and the environment in which they take place (Ford and Blanchard 1985). Higher-order thinking skills such as planning and solving problems are an often sought-after benefit. Additionally, most adventure programs tap into their setting to provide environmental awareness as a cognitive outcome.
Positive Values and Spirituality
As mentioned earlier, acquiring and strengthening virtues was an overriding concern for early proponents of adventure experiences. The need for virtuous conduct is just as important now as it was then (some would argue more so). Successful participation in today's complex society demands making appropriate decisions and accepting the consequences of one's choices. Insights gained from constructive adventure experiences can help instill positive values and principles such as selflessness and compassion, keeping commitments and fulfilling obligations, self-discipline, and honesty, to name a few. These values and principles are important in that they can assist in "achieving some harmony between principles of self-interest and altruism. It suggests that not only can we explore, develop, and appreciate our own unique potential, but that we can use our emerging abilities to benefit others and the environment in which we all live. Consequently, by becoming responsible we can reaffirm our own worth, our sense of belonging, and our awareness of place" (Parker and Stiehl 2005).
Certainly for many, outdoor adventure experiences involve a spiritual component. Spirituality, although often associated with religion, can be painted with a much broader stroke. When adventure programs are conducted in the outdoors, contact with the natural environment can add a spiritually moving dimension; "either because of the beautiful natural setting, the opportunities for bonding with others, or meaningful religious practices, young people have an opportunity to connect to the earth, to each other, and perhaps to a higher power" (ACA 2005a).
We believe in a humble orientation to the environment-that the outdoor world does not exist for the hedonistic pursuits of a privileged few, that loud people who speak before listening, who use more than their share of the air to announce their identity, are like destructive initials on a tree trunk tarred with a brush of unsustainable and repugnant attitudes. The natural world rejuvenates the soul and reminds us of our place in this awe-inspiring world. It is where we come closest to appreciating our connectedness with the rest of creation.
Achieving Benefits
It is abundantly clear that adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise. The uniqueness of the environment and the activities provide a venue not only for learning new skills and acquiring relevant knowledge, but also for promoting calculated risk taking, camaraderie with others, and reverence for the natural world. The larger question, however, may be this: Is adventure education reaching its potential? In 1918, Bobbitt stated,
The controlling purposes of education have not been sufficiently particularized. We have aimed at a vague culture, an ill-defined discipline, indefinite moral character building, an unparticularized social efficiency, or nothing more than an escape from a life of work. Often there are no controlling purposes; the momentum of the educational machine keeps it running. So long as objectives are but vague guesses, or not even that, there can be no demand for anything but vague guesses as to means and procedures. But the era of contentment with large undefined purposes is rapidly passing. (41-42)
While Bobbitt was speaking of traditional education in kindergarten through 12th grade, it would not be unreasonable to substitute adventure education for education in his admonition.
All too often adventure education has relied on its novelty as an attractor while neglecting to design learning environments in which deliberate goal acquisition is the chief aim. If adventure programs are to mean something, they must first
• be built on a solid philosophy that reflects the values and beliefs of the program designers,
• state important goals,
• include a way of measuring those goals, and
• incorporate instructional practices that allow participants to demonstrate achievement of the goals (Tannehill and Lund 2005).
Good content that is poorly delivered or good intentions with weak or inappropriate content are unlikely to produce favorable results.
Stating a Philosophy
The philosophy of any adventure program provides the foundational beliefs that undergird all subsequent decisions of a program. The philosophy emanates from the beliefs and values of the program designers, the participants the program serves, and the setting of the program. In adventure programming, a philosophy might range from providing participants with the physical skills necessary for being more active in the outdoor environment to simply offering a venue for fun and escape. Adventure programs, whether recreational or educational, should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits, even if those benefits are an escape from ordinary life.
Determining Goals, Assessments, and Instructional Strategies
Once a philosophy has been articulated, the following three questions can guide what educational experts have referred to as backward design (Wiggins and McTighe 1998), an outcomes approach (Spady and Marshall 1991), and design-down curricular process (Lambert 2003).
1. What do we want our participants to know and be able to do as a result of being in our program? In educational terms, this is a curricular question of what is to be taught. By answering it, adventure programmers and educators identify what's important and the deliberate, intended outcomes of their programs. Wiggins and McTighe (1998) define this information as "enduring understandings" because it represents what we want participants to gain from our programs.
2. How do we know when participants have been successful? The answer to this question allows programmers and educators to know when they have achieved the desired outcomes. Traditionally, adventure educators have used subjective observation to answer this question, if they answer it at all. To guide future programming and assist in participant achievement of desired benefits, systematic and objective means of documenting the achievement of benefits must be identified.
3. How can we get participants to achieve desired outcomes in the most challenging and engaging ways possible? Adventure activities are alluring for most participants. Over two decades ago, Young and Parker (1987) cautioned that this attraction could lead to a laxness in instruction resulting in haphazard acquisition of the desired outcomes. If adventure education is to reach its potential, learning experiences (instruction) must be designed to intentionally and purposefully lead participants toward the desired goals and benefits.
An example from a college-level basic hiking class may help clarify these points. One of the class goals is for students to acquire a greater appreciation and knowledge of the natural world around them-to really see what is out there. This includes curricular aspects of flora, fauna, and geological features. The use of written journals accompanied by teacher questioning and an out-of-class partner hike reported through a written and pictorial portfolio were determined to be meaningful and reasonable ways to determine if participants have, in fact, gained this information (assessment). Several instructional activities can then be designed to help students achieve the goal.
• In an effort to guide novice students' initial journal entries, questions are given at the beginning of every hike that focus on the environment. Questions include such things as identifying a unique rock formation, signs of past human habitation, and five new flowers.
• Another strategy is to acquire a deck of cards with the suits changed to birds, flowers, trees, and animals and provide each participant with five cards. They then look for those things throughout the day.
• The instructor identifies flowers and birds along the trail while helping students learn key identification points.
• Knowing that beginning students most often walk looking at the back of the person in front of them, students can travel a designated section of trail in groups of three, increasing their ability to see.
• Candid camera is an instructional activity that asks students to walk in pairs, one person behind the other. The lead person is unsighted and guided by the sighted partner from behind through hands on the shoulders. When the sighted partner says "Click," the unsighted partner quickly opens and shuts her eyes and reports to the sighted partner what she sees.
• Finally, after acquiring requisite skills and knowledge, participants walk solo for a while.
Because many of these activities require cooperating with a small group or partner, they might also have social benefits-especially if the groups are designed so that participants work with people they do not know.
Lambert (1999) uses the metaphor of a three-legged stool to emphasize the importance of each aspect of program development. If all three legs of the stool-curriculum, assessment, and instruction-are weighted equally, the stool is solid. If one or two legs are removed or weighted unequally, stability is compromised.
Customizing Outcomes
One of the unique aspects of adventure education and programming is its ability to be used to achieve multiple goals, yet it is precisely this uniqueness that can become its Achilles heel. While in the quest to accomplish everything, nothing may be accomplished. Research on benefits from adventure programs supports this notion. For example, in terms of positive identity the results are equivocal; several studies report positive gains in self-esteem constructs (Carson and Gillis 1994; Hattie et. al 1997), some report mixed results (Hazelworth and Wilson 1990; Kaly and Heesacker 2003), and still others report no effect (Danziger 1982; Jernstedt and Johnson 1983; McBride 1984; O'Connell 2002; Pann 2000). The possible benefits of adventure programs cannot be argued, but the reality of those effects is varied.
As previously indicated, adherence to the guidelines of curriculum planners can better ensure the achievement of benefits. However, Jensen and Young (1981) and Stiehl and Parker (2005) take the achievement of benefits a step further. Even adventure programs with a clear philosophy are affected by time, clientele, location, expertise, and a host of idiosyncratic differences. Thus, it is unlikely that one program can be all things to all people. In the desire to have participants achieve all potential benefits, a program may not achieve any.
A useful delineation according to primary and secondary goals (Jensen and Young 1981) may help adventure programmers and educators focus on certain goals and benefits. Their contention is that programs may have primary goals or benefits and others are secondary or concomitant. For example, an outdoor adventure program that is part of a school physical education program might have as its foremost benefits the acquisition of outdoor skills such as orienteering, hiking, and so on for safe participation in outdoor activities. Therefore, physical and thinking goals would be primary. However, while students are learning those skills, they may well acquire social benefits through working with others, and they may develop a positive identity as they gain competence in a new activity. On the other hand, an adventure program that is part of a summer camp with articulated spiritual and social aspects would likely program experiences that use the outdoors as a medium to primarily gain increased spiritual awareness and social competence and secondarily teach necessary skills. Programs would thus be well served by articulating their philosophy to delineate primary and secondary goals and design activities to meet those goals.
Author Tom Robbins (1976) may have summed it up best: "If you believe in peace, act peacefully; if you believe in love, act lovingly; if you believe in every which way, then act every which way, that's perfectly valid-but don't go out trying to sell your beliefs to the System. You end up contradicting what you profess you believe in, and you set a bum example." Adventure education has many potential benefits. However, attempting to achieve too many benefits, especially if any contradict or compete with others, poses a risk of diluting program effectiveness.
Here are some questions that might help you determine the degree to which you are directing efforts toward the benefits and outcomes of adventure in your program:
1. Do you have clearly developed, publicly stated outcomes that underscore the benefits of adventure?
2. Do your outcomes align with the values and beliefs of your sponsors, advocates, and participants?
3. Are your outcomes appropriate for your participants' needs, interests, and abilities; your resources; and your staff knowledge and skills?
4. Do your activities and policies support your stated outcomes?
5. Do you have functional assessments for your stated outcomes?
6. Is there ongoing evaluation of the extent to which outcomes are being achieved?
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Careful planning needed when designing, conducting adventure activities
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group.
There are numerous adventure activity guides and curriculum guides that can provide you with ready-to-use activities. The New Games books mentioned earlier in this chapter are out of print but can be found at some online bookstores. Many newer books of cooperative games exist, such as Terry Orlick's Cooperative Games and Sports, Second Edition (Human Kinetics, 2006). Both the AEE (www.aee.org) and Project Adventure (www.pa.org) offer excellent activity books.
The majority of popular adventure activities are in the public domain and do not have names of their creators associated with them. Facilitators put their mark on any given activity by changing the rules or modifying the objectives slightly-either intentionally (to fit group goals or assets) or by forgetting a piece of the briefing. Sometimes a new piece of equipment will spark a fresh idea, sometimes creativity is required when a week of bad weather keeps an outdoor program indoors, and sometimes an unusual client request serves as inspiration. When adapting and creating activities, keep these guidelines in mind:
• It is easier to create within the framework of an idea than it is to create from scratch. Adapting an existing game is easier than creating something totally new.
• Making one change at a time allows the practitioner to evaluate the impact of that change, good or bad.
• Try many ideas. Some will be fun, some won't; those that are fun and exciting will stick around.
• The more facilitators experiment with the process of creation and understand the components of games, the better the games become at the end of the creative process.
These guidelines have been adapted from an article by Steve Butler, ZipLines Magazine, 2000.
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group. For example, you wouldn't design the same activities for a group of first graders that you would for adolescents; obviously there are major developmental differences between the two groups. Further, you wouldn't design the same program for adolescents trying to develop leadership skills that you would for adolescents trying to remain sober.
A good facilitator will use activities in sequence. For example, it is important not to jump right into trust activities when the group has just met or when there is unresolved conflict from yesterday's initiative. When preparing the adventure session, it is vital to know where your group is. For example, are they cruising along and ready for an activity that provides challenge, or are they having difficulty and are in need of an activity that ensures triumph? You can use your group's performance on previous activities to assess their readiness for future activities. Other things to consider when creating an adventure experience include the following:
• Are my activities appropriate to the fitness level and physical abilities of my group?
• Are the group's behaviors telling me they need to blow off some steam, take a break from intense activity and laugh, and so on?
• Are my activities appropriate to the setting-inside or outside, urban or rural, challenge course or no challenge course?
The sample adventure lesson plan on page 138, designed for middle school physical education students, exemplifies proper planning. Group goals, age development (readiness, group affect, group physical ability, group behavior), and program setting are all accounted for.
Conducting Adventure Activities
Facilitating adventure activities requires much more than reciting a set of rules. Without careful briefing, good equipment, boundary and time-frame selection, attention to safety, and a spirit of fun, the activity will remain a simple list of instructions and not become a learning opportunity. Effective leadership is vital to bringing an activity to life.
Careful Briefing
The way that an activity is briefed should be viewed as a step in the planning process. There is no right or wrong way to brief an activity, but there are some basic guidelines for planning your briefings.
• Allow time for questions (especially for initiatives).
• Provide written instructions.
• Be aware of your choice of language. "Everyone must tag their partner" has the same meaning as "You will have the opportunity to chase your partner," but the wording can help decrease anxiety. Use language that reinforces the commitment to challenge by choice.
• For initiatives that involve creative thinking, explain in advance what is and is not permitted within the scope of the rules so that a group's creative thinking is not shut down in the midst of the activity.
Good Equipment
Many adventure activities require no equipment whatsoever. For those that do, select equipment (often called props) that is unique and will help set the tone of the adventure experience. In Warp Speed (page 132), the facilitator used a beanbag frog instead of a tennis ball. Why? Most participants do not look at a beanbag frog and make assumptions about their ability to throw it and catch it, as they would a tennis ball, and they are likely to handle the frog more gently than the ball. Introduce only the props that are necessary for any given game and keep the rest in a bag or out of sight. A pile of fun-looking toys can be distracting. Keep equipment clean and in good shape. Introduce new props to keep a group engaged.
Boundary and Time-Frame Selection
The size of the play area and the duration of the activities and activity sessions have a significant influence on adventure activities. Consider the following guidelines:
• The boundaries for active games and for initiatives should fit the goals of the session. For example, Everybody's It (page 130) is played in a small rectangular area so that a group can explore issues of safety and personal space. If played in a wide-open gymnasium, it can be a great fitness activity.
• Many initiatives, such as Mass Pass (described in the previous corporate example), involve multiple rounds. Be clear with participants as to how many rounds will be allowed. For example, you might say, "You will have three rounds or 30 minutes to complete this activity, whichever comes first."
• End adventure games at a time when participants are fully engaged; don't wait for the activity to get boring or for behavior to deteriorate.
Safety
It is important to consider the safety aspects of each activity and to address the concerns that each one presents.
• When briefing activities, point out hazards in the play area that may cause harm, such as dips in terrain. If grass is wet and slippery, be especially wary of running games.
• Be aware of medical and physical concerns in your group that may cause a particular activity to be inappropriate. Shoulder injuries, sprained ankles, and back problems are common and can be exacerbated given the nature of some activities.
• Challenge by choice is more than a cornerstone of program quality; it's also a vital tool in keeping people safe. Make sure that participants understand their choices.
• Do participants have the skills to perform the activity? Follow the guidelines for sequencing to increase the chances of a safe experience for all.
• Maintain an emotionally safe environment.
Fun
The energy and spirit of a group is largely influenced by that of the facilitator. Participate when it is possible and safe to do so, and model what you desire from the group. Use fun metaphors and fantasy when briefing an activity. Point out rule infractions in a way that keeps the spirit positive.
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Clearly stated philosophy, goals key to achieving benefits of adventure education
Adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise, but programs should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits.
Tangible Outcomes of Adventure
For the purposes of this chapter we suggest that there are distinctions between adventure and outdoor programs that reside in their primary purpose, the setting in which they are conducted, and the risk involved. Outdoor programs focus on the development of technical skill in the natural setting and thus involve actual risk. On the other hand, adventure programs focus on personal and group development in developed areas and concentrate on perceived risk. While adventure and outdoor could be two ends of a continuum with much overlap in the middle, the distinctions become important when determining goals and benefits of programs.
Our interest in original and current proponents of adventure led us repeatedly to the American Camp Association (ACA). Founded in 1910, the ACA represents all segments of the camp profession and is dedicated to enriching the lives of children and adults through camp experiences. A recently published ACA document provides a starting point for defining and categorizing adventure outcomes (2005b). The document summarizes a large research study of camper outcomes. Results from the study provide evidence that camp is a positive force in youth development. Moreover, many of the aspects of positive growth mentioned in this study correspond with outcomes cited in previous literature. The following domains used in the ACA study can assist in identifying specific goals for adventure programmers.
Positive Identity
If we address the possible goals or benefits of adventure education in terms of benefits to the participant, the notion of positive identity has remained primary through the decades. While positive identity is a bit of a nebulous term, it generally includes various aspects of character development such as self-esteem, determination, dependability, ambition, and independence. Increases in self-esteem lead to feelings of worth, competence, confidence, and optimism. Independence fosters stepping out of one's comfort zone into unfamiliar territory that produces anxiety and fear as well as exhilaration, initiative, and calculated risk taking.
Social Skills
The acquisition of social skills extends beyond the individual benefits of positive identity by focusing on participants' interactions with each other. The social dimension of adventure can be highly significant. For example, challenges in an adventure setting can facilitate group bonding and cooperation. Working as a team, people can learn to resolve disagreements, appreciate differences, develop new friendships, and generally get along with others. Adventure experiences also can offer opportunities to demonstrate leadership and to accept responsibilities unavailable in other settings. Finally, adventure provides occasions for being together, having a sense of community, enjoying the company of like-minded people, and feeling connected to something larger than oneself.
Physical and Thinking Skills
In their 1929 classic book, Camping and Character, Dimock and Hendry list skills in camping activities such as canoeing, swimming, riding, and sailing accompanied by the associated knowledge as the first and second objectives of the summer camp experience. Few would argue this potential benefit of adventure education. Physical benefits can be classified as the psychomotor and technical skills required for participation in activities that entail moving across land or water by natural means. The physiological gains of exercise constitute another aspect of physical benefits.
Depending on the setting, adventure education can provide the venue for the acquisition of a vast array of physical and thinking skills that are usually associated with living outdoors. Thinking skills include knowledge of safety measures and the need to follow them as well as knowledge of skills and the environment in which they take place (Ford and Blanchard 1985). Higher-order thinking skills such as planning and solving problems are an often sought-after benefit. Additionally, most adventure programs tap into their setting to provide environmental awareness as a cognitive outcome.
Positive Values and Spirituality
As mentioned earlier, acquiring and strengthening virtues was an overriding concern for early proponents of adventure experiences. The need for virtuous conduct is just as important now as it was then (some would argue more so). Successful participation in today's complex society demands making appropriate decisions and accepting the consequences of one's choices. Insights gained from constructive adventure experiences can help instill positive values and principles such as selflessness and compassion, keeping commitments and fulfilling obligations, self-discipline, and honesty, to name a few. These values and principles are important in that they can assist in "achieving some harmony between principles of self-interest and altruism. It suggests that not only can we explore, develop, and appreciate our own unique potential, but that we can use our emerging abilities to benefit others and the environment in which we all live. Consequently, by becoming responsible we can reaffirm our own worth, our sense of belonging, and our awareness of place" (Parker and Stiehl 2005).
Certainly for many, outdoor adventure experiences involve a spiritual component. Spirituality, although often associated with religion, can be painted with a much broader stroke. When adventure programs are conducted in the outdoors, contact with the natural environment can add a spiritually moving dimension; "either because of the beautiful natural setting, the opportunities for bonding with others, or meaningful religious practices, young people have an opportunity to connect to the earth, to each other, and perhaps to a higher power" (ACA 2005a).
We believe in a humble orientation to the environment-that the outdoor world does not exist for the hedonistic pursuits of a privileged few, that loud people who speak before listening, who use more than their share of the air to announce their identity, are like destructive initials on a tree trunk tarred with a brush of unsustainable and repugnant attitudes. The natural world rejuvenates the soul and reminds us of our place in this awe-inspiring world. It is where we come closest to appreciating our connectedness with the rest of creation.
Achieving Benefits
It is abundantly clear that adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise. The uniqueness of the environment and the activities provide a venue not only for learning new skills and acquiring relevant knowledge, but also for promoting calculated risk taking, camaraderie with others, and reverence for the natural world. The larger question, however, may be this: Is adventure education reaching its potential? In 1918, Bobbitt stated,
The controlling purposes of education have not been sufficiently particularized. We have aimed at a vague culture, an ill-defined discipline, indefinite moral character building, an unparticularized social efficiency, or nothing more than an escape from a life of work. Often there are no controlling purposes; the momentum of the educational machine keeps it running. So long as objectives are but vague guesses, or not even that, there can be no demand for anything but vague guesses as to means and procedures. But the era of contentment with large undefined purposes is rapidly passing. (41-42)
While Bobbitt was speaking of traditional education in kindergarten through 12th grade, it would not be unreasonable to substitute adventure education for education in his admonition.
All too often adventure education has relied on its novelty as an attractor while neglecting to design learning environments in which deliberate goal acquisition is the chief aim. If adventure programs are to mean something, they must first
• be built on a solid philosophy that reflects the values and beliefs of the program designers,
• state important goals,
• include a way of measuring those goals, and
• incorporate instructional practices that allow participants to demonstrate achievement of the goals (Tannehill and Lund 2005).
Good content that is poorly delivered or good intentions with weak or inappropriate content are unlikely to produce favorable results.
Stating a Philosophy
The philosophy of any adventure program provides the foundational beliefs that undergird all subsequent decisions of a program. The philosophy emanates from the beliefs and values of the program designers, the participants the program serves, and the setting of the program. In adventure programming, a philosophy might range from providing participants with the physical skills necessary for being more active in the outdoor environment to simply offering a venue for fun and escape. Adventure programs, whether recreational or educational, should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits, even if those benefits are an escape from ordinary life.
Determining Goals, Assessments, and Instructional Strategies
Once a philosophy has been articulated, the following three questions can guide what educational experts have referred to as backward design (Wiggins and McTighe 1998), an outcomes approach (Spady and Marshall 1991), and design-down curricular process (Lambert 2003).
1. What do we want our participants to know and be able to do as a result of being in our program? In educational terms, this is a curricular question of what is to be taught. By answering it, adventure programmers and educators identify what's important and the deliberate, intended outcomes of their programs. Wiggins and McTighe (1998) define this information as "enduring understandings" because it represents what we want participants to gain from our programs.
2. How do we know when participants have been successful? The answer to this question allows programmers and educators to know when they have achieved the desired outcomes. Traditionally, adventure educators have used subjective observation to answer this question, if they answer it at all. To guide future programming and assist in participant achievement of desired benefits, systematic and objective means of documenting the achievement of benefits must be identified.
3. How can we get participants to achieve desired outcomes in the most challenging and engaging ways possible? Adventure activities are alluring for most participants. Over two decades ago, Young and Parker (1987) cautioned that this attraction could lead to a laxness in instruction resulting in haphazard acquisition of the desired outcomes. If adventure education is to reach its potential, learning experiences (instruction) must be designed to intentionally and purposefully lead participants toward the desired goals and benefits.
An example from a college-level basic hiking class may help clarify these points. One of the class goals is for students to acquire a greater appreciation and knowledge of the natural world around them-to really see what is out there. This includes curricular aspects of flora, fauna, and geological features. The use of written journals accompanied by teacher questioning and an out-of-class partner hike reported through a written and pictorial portfolio were determined to be meaningful and reasonable ways to determine if participants have, in fact, gained this information (assessment). Several instructional activities can then be designed to help students achieve the goal.
• In an effort to guide novice students' initial journal entries, questions are given at the beginning of every hike that focus on the environment. Questions include such things as identifying a unique rock formation, signs of past human habitation, and five new flowers.
• Another strategy is to acquire a deck of cards with the suits changed to birds, flowers, trees, and animals and provide each participant with five cards. They then look for those things throughout the day.
• The instructor identifies flowers and birds along the trail while helping students learn key identification points.
• Knowing that beginning students most often walk looking at the back of the person in front of them, students can travel a designated section of trail in groups of three, increasing their ability to see.
• Candid camera is an instructional activity that asks students to walk in pairs, one person behind the other. The lead person is unsighted and guided by the sighted partner from behind through hands on the shoulders. When the sighted partner says "Click," the unsighted partner quickly opens and shuts her eyes and reports to the sighted partner what she sees.
• Finally, after acquiring requisite skills and knowledge, participants walk solo for a while.
Because many of these activities require cooperating with a small group or partner, they might also have social benefits-especially if the groups are designed so that participants work with people they do not know.
Lambert (1999) uses the metaphor of a three-legged stool to emphasize the importance of each aspect of program development. If all three legs of the stool-curriculum, assessment, and instruction-are weighted equally, the stool is solid. If one or two legs are removed or weighted unequally, stability is compromised.
Customizing Outcomes
One of the unique aspects of adventure education and programming is its ability to be used to achieve multiple goals, yet it is precisely this uniqueness that can become its Achilles heel. While in the quest to accomplish everything, nothing may be accomplished. Research on benefits from adventure programs supports this notion. For example, in terms of positive identity the results are equivocal; several studies report positive gains in self-esteem constructs (Carson and Gillis 1994; Hattie et. al 1997), some report mixed results (Hazelworth and Wilson 1990; Kaly and Heesacker 2003), and still others report no effect (Danziger 1982; Jernstedt and Johnson 1983; McBride 1984; O'Connell 2002; Pann 2000). The possible benefits of adventure programs cannot be argued, but the reality of those effects is varied.
As previously indicated, adherence to the guidelines of curriculum planners can better ensure the achievement of benefits. However, Jensen and Young (1981) and Stiehl and Parker (2005) take the achievement of benefits a step further. Even adventure programs with a clear philosophy are affected by time, clientele, location, expertise, and a host of idiosyncratic differences. Thus, it is unlikely that one program can be all things to all people. In the desire to have participants achieve all potential benefits, a program may not achieve any.
A useful delineation according to primary and secondary goals (Jensen and Young 1981) may help adventure programmers and educators focus on certain goals and benefits. Their contention is that programs may have primary goals or benefits and others are secondary or concomitant. For example, an outdoor adventure program that is part of a school physical education program might have as its foremost benefits the acquisition of outdoor skills such as orienteering, hiking, and so on for safe participation in outdoor activities. Therefore, physical and thinking goals would be primary. However, while students are learning those skills, they may well acquire social benefits through working with others, and they may develop a positive identity as they gain competence in a new activity. On the other hand, an adventure program that is part of a summer camp with articulated spiritual and social aspects would likely program experiences that use the outdoors as a medium to primarily gain increased spiritual awareness and social competence and secondarily teach necessary skills. Programs would thus be well served by articulating their philosophy to delineate primary and secondary goals and design activities to meet those goals.
Author Tom Robbins (1976) may have summed it up best: "If you believe in peace, act peacefully; if you believe in love, act lovingly; if you believe in every which way, then act every which way, that's perfectly valid-but don't go out trying to sell your beliefs to the System. You end up contradicting what you profess you believe in, and you set a bum example." Adventure education has many potential benefits. However, attempting to achieve too many benefits, especially if any contradict or compete with others, poses a risk of diluting program effectiveness.
Here are some questions that might help you determine the degree to which you are directing efforts toward the benefits and outcomes of adventure in your program:
1. Do you have clearly developed, publicly stated outcomes that underscore the benefits of adventure?
2. Do your outcomes align with the values and beliefs of your sponsors, advocates, and participants?
3. Are your outcomes appropriate for your participants' needs, interests, and abilities; your resources; and your staff knowledge and skills?
4. Do your activities and policies support your stated outcomes?
5. Do you have functional assessments for your stated outcomes?
6. Is there ongoing evaluation of the extent to which outcomes are being achieved?
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Careful planning needed when designing, conducting adventure activities
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group.
There are numerous adventure activity guides and curriculum guides that can provide you with ready-to-use activities. The New Games books mentioned earlier in this chapter are out of print but can be found at some online bookstores. Many newer books of cooperative games exist, such as Terry Orlick's Cooperative Games and Sports, Second Edition (Human Kinetics, 2006). Both the AEE (www.aee.org) and Project Adventure (www.pa.org) offer excellent activity books.
The majority of popular adventure activities are in the public domain and do not have names of their creators associated with them. Facilitators put their mark on any given activity by changing the rules or modifying the objectives slightly-either intentionally (to fit group goals or assets) or by forgetting a piece of the briefing. Sometimes a new piece of equipment will spark a fresh idea, sometimes creativity is required when a week of bad weather keeps an outdoor program indoors, and sometimes an unusual client request serves as inspiration. When adapting and creating activities, keep these guidelines in mind:
• It is easier to create within the framework of an idea than it is to create from scratch. Adapting an existing game is easier than creating something totally new.
• Making one change at a time allows the practitioner to evaluate the impact of that change, good or bad.
• Try many ideas. Some will be fun, some won't; those that are fun and exciting will stick around.
• The more facilitators experiment with the process of creation and understand the components of games, the better the games become at the end of the creative process.
These guidelines have been adapted from an article by Steve Butler, ZipLines Magazine, 2000.
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group. For example, you wouldn't design the same activities for a group of first graders that you would for adolescents; obviously there are major developmental differences between the two groups. Further, you wouldn't design the same program for adolescents trying to develop leadership skills that you would for adolescents trying to remain sober.
A good facilitator will use activities in sequence. For example, it is important not to jump right into trust activities when the group has just met or when there is unresolved conflict from yesterday's initiative. When preparing the adventure session, it is vital to know where your group is. For example, are they cruising along and ready for an activity that provides challenge, or are they having difficulty and are in need of an activity that ensures triumph? You can use your group's performance on previous activities to assess their readiness for future activities. Other things to consider when creating an adventure experience include the following:
• Are my activities appropriate to the fitness level and physical abilities of my group?
• Are the group's behaviors telling me they need to blow off some steam, take a break from intense activity and laugh, and so on?
• Are my activities appropriate to the setting-inside or outside, urban or rural, challenge course or no challenge course?
The sample adventure lesson plan on page 138, designed for middle school physical education students, exemplifies proper planning. Group goals, age development (readiness, group affect, group physical ability, group behavior), and program setting are all accounted for.
Conducting Adventure Activities
Facilitating adventure activities requires much more than reciting a set of rules. Without careful briefing, good equipment, boundary and time-frame selection, attention to safety, and a spirit of fun, the activity will remain a simple list of instructions and not become a learning opportunity. Effective leadership is vital to bringing an activity to life.
Careful Briefing
The way that an activity is briefed should be viewed as a step in the planning process. There is no right or wrong way to brief an activity, but there are some basic guidelines for planning your briefings.
• Allow time for questions (especially for initiatives).
• Provide written instructions.
• Be aware of your choice of language. "Everyone must tag their partner" has the same meaning as "You will have the opportunity to chase your partner," but the wording can help decrease anxiety. Use language that reinforces the commitment to challenge by choice.
• For initiatives that involve creative thinking, explain in advance what is and is not permitted within the scope of the rules so that a group's creative thinking is not shut down in the midst of the activity.
Good Equipment
Many adventure activities require no equipment whatsoever. For those that do, select equipment (often called props) that is unique and will help set the tone of the adventure experience. In Warp Speed (page 132), the facilitator used a beanbag frog instead of a tennis ball. Why? Most participants do not look at a beanbag frog and make assumptions about their ability to throw it and catch it, as they would a tennis ball, and they are likely to handle the frog more gently than the ball. Introduce only the props that are necessary for any given game and keep the rest in a bag or out of sight. A pile of fun-looking toys can be distracting. Keep equipment clean and in good shape. Introduce new props to keep a group engaged.
Boundary and Time-Frame Selection
The size of the play area and the duration of the activities and activity sessions have a significant influence on adventure activities. Consider the following guidelines:
• The boundaries for active games and for initiatives should fit the goals of the session. For example, Everybody's It (page 130) is played in a small rectangular area so that a group can explore issues of safety and personal space. If played in a wide-open gymnasium, it can be a great fitness activity.
• Many initiatives, such as Mass Pass (described in the previous corporate example), involve multiple rounds. Be clear with participants as to how many rounds will be allowed. For example, you might say, "You will have three rounds or 30 minutes to complete this activity, whichever comes first."
• End adventure games at a time when participants are fully engaged; don't wait for the activity to get boring or for behavior to deteriorate.
Safety
It is important to consider the safety aspects of each activity and to address the concerns that each one presents.
• When briefing activities, point out hazards in the play area that may cause harm, such as dips in terrain. If grass is wet and slippery, be especially wary of running games.
• Be aware of medical and physical concerns in your group that may cause a particular activity to be inappropriate. Shoulder injuries, sprained ankles, and back problems are common and can be exacerbated given the nature of some activities.
• Challenge by choice is more than a cornerstone of program quality; it's also a vital tool in keeping people safe. Make sure that participants understand their choices.
• Do participants have the skills to perform the activity? Follow the guidelines for sequencing to increase the chances of a safe experience for all.
• Maintain an emotionally safe environment.
Fun
The energy and spirit of a group is largely influenced by that of the facilitator. Participate when it is possible and safe to do so, and model what you desire from the group. Use fun metaphors and fantasy when briefing an activity. Point out rule infractions in a way that keeps the spirit positive.
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Clearly stated philosophy, goals key to achieving benefits of adventure education
Adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise, but programs should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits.
Tangible Outcomes of Adventure
For the purposes of this chapter we suggest that there are distinctions between adventure and outdoor programs that reside in their primary purpose, the setting in which they are conducted, and the risk involved. Outdoor programs focus on the development of technical skill in the natural setting and thus involve actual risk. On the other hand, adventure programs focus on personal and group development in developed areas and concentrate on perceived risk. While adventure and outdoor could be two ends of a continuum with much overlap in the middle, the distinctions become important when determining goals and benefits of programs.
Our interest in original and current proponents of adventure led us repeatedly to the American Camp Association (ACA). Founded in 1910, the ACA represents all segments of the camp profession and is dedicated to enriching the lives of children and adults through camp experiences. A recently published ACA document provides a starting point for defining and categorizing adventure outcomes (2005b). The document summarizes a large research study of camper outcomes. Results from the study provide evidence that camp is a positive force in youth development. Moreover, many of the aspects of positive growth mentioned in this study correspond with outcomes cited in previous literature. The following domains used in the ACA study can assist in identifying specific goals for adventure programmers.
Positive Identity
If we address the possible goals or benefits of adventure education in terms of benefits to the participant, the notion of positive identity has remained primary through the decades. While positive identity is a bit of a nebulous term, it generally includes various aspects of character development such as self-esteem, determination, dependability, ambition, and independence. Increases in self-esteem lead to feelings of worth, competence, confidence, and optimism. Independence fosters stepping out of one's comfort zone into unfamiliar territory that produces anxiety and fear as well as exhilaration, initiative, and calculated risk taking.
Social Skills
The acquisition of social skills extends beyond the individual benefits of positive identity by focusing on participants' interactions with each other. The social dimension of adventure can be highly significant. For example, challenges in an adventure setting can facilitate group bonding and cooperation. Working as a team, people can learn to resolve disagreements, appreciate differences, develop new friendships, and generally get along with others. Adventure experiences also can offer opportunities to demonstrate leadership and to accept responsibilities unavailable in other settings. Finally, adventure provides occasions for being together, having a sense of community, enjoying the company of like-minded people, and feeling connected to something larger than oneself.
Physical and Thinking Skills
In their 1929 classic book, Camping and Character, Dimock and Hendry list skills in camping activities such as canoeing, swimming, riding, and sailing accompanied by the associated knowledge as the first and second objectives of the summer camp experience. Few would argue this potential benefit of adventure education. Physical benefits can be classified as the psychomotor and technical skills required for participation in activities that entail moving across land or water by natural means. The physiological gains of exercise constitute another aspect of physical benefits.
Depending on the setting, adventure education can provide the venue for the acquisition of a vast array of physical and thinking skills that are usually associated with living outdoors. Thinking skills include knowledge of safety measures and the need to follow them as well as knowledge of skills and the environment in which they take place (Ford and Blanchard 1985). Higher-order thinking skills such as planning and solving problems are an often sought-after benefit. Additionally, most adventure programs tap into their setting to provide environmental awareness as a cognitive outcome.
Positive Values and Spirituality
As mentioned earlier, acquiring and strengthening virtues was an overriding concern for early proponents of adventure experiences. The need for virtuous conduct is just as important now as it was then (some would argue more so). Successful participation in today's complex society demands making appropriate decisions and accepting the consequences of one's choices. Insights gained from constructive adventure experiences can help instill positive values and principles such as selflessness and compassion, keeping commitments and fulfilling obligations, self-discipline, and honesty, to name a few. These values and principles are important in that they can assist in "achieving some harmony between principles of self-interest and altruism. It suggests that not only can we explore, develop, and appreciate our own unique potential, but that we can use our emerging abilities to benefit others and the environment in which we all live. Consequently, by becoming responsible we can reaffirm our own worth, our sense of belonging, and our awareness of place" (Parker and Stiehl 2005).
Certainly for many, outdoor adventure experiences involve a spiritual component. Spirituality, although often associated with religion, can be painted with a much broader stroke. When adventure programs are conducted in the outdoors, contact with the natural environment can add a spiritually moving dimension; "either because of the beautiful natural setting, the opportunities for bonding with others, or meaningful religious practices, young people have an opportunity to connect to the earth, to each other, and perhaps to a higher power" (ACA 2005a).
We believe in a humble orientation to the environment-that the outdoor world does not exist for the hedonistic pursuits of a privileged few, that loud people who speak before listening, who use more than their share of the air to announce their identity, are like destructive initials on a tree trunk tarred with a brush of unsustainable and repugnant attitudes. The natural world rejuvenates the soul and reminds us of our place in this awe-inspiring world. It is where we come closest to appreciating our connectedness with the rest of creation.
Achieving Benefits
It is abundantly clear that adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise. The uniqueness of the environment and the activities provide a venue not only for learning new skills and acquiring relevant knowledge, but also for promoting calculated risk taking, camaraderie with others, and reverence for the natural world. The larger question, however, may be this: Is adventure education reaching its potential? In 1918, Bobbitt stated,
The controlling purposes of education have not been sufficiently particularized. We have aimed at a vague culture, an ill-defined discipline, indefinite moral character building, an unparticularized social efficiency, or nothing more than an escape from a life of work. Often there are no controlling purposes; the momentum of the educational machine keeps it running. So long as objectives are but vague guesses, or not even that, there can be no demand for anything but vague guesses as to means and procedures. But the era of contentment with large undefined purposes is rapidly passing. (41-42)
While Bobbitt was speaking of traditional education in kindergarten through 12th grade, it would not be unreasonable to substitute adventure education for education in his admonition.
All too often adventure education has relied on its novelty as an attractor while neglecting to design learning environments in which deliberate goal acquisition is the chief aim. If adventure programs are to mean something, they must first
• be built on a solid philosophy that reflects the values and beliefs of the program designers,
• state important goals,
• include a way of measuring those goals, and
• incorporate instructional practices that allow participants to demonstrate achievement of the goals (Tannehill and Lund 2005).
Good content that is poorly delivered or good intentions with weak or inappropriate content are unlikely to produce favorable results.
Stating a Philosophy
The philosophy of any adventure program provides the foundational beliefs that undergird all subsequent decisions of a program. The philosophy emanates from the beliefs and values of the program designers, the participants the program serves, and the setting of the program. In adventure programming, a philosophy might range from providing participants with the physical skills necessary for being more active in the outdoor environment to simply offering a venue for fun and escape. Adventure programs, whether recreational or educational, should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits, even if those benefits are an escape from ordinary life.
Determining Goals, Assessments, and Instructional Strategies
Once a philosophy has been articulated, the following three questions can guide what educational experts have referred to as backward design (Wiggins and McTighe 1998), an outcomes approach (Spady and Marshall 1991), and design-down curricular process (Lambert 2003).
1. What do we want our participants to know and be able to do as a result of being in our program? In educational terms, this is a curricular question of what is to be taught. By answering it, adventure programmers and educators identify what's important and the deliberate, intended outcomes of their programs. Wiggins and McTighe (1998) define this information as "enduring understandings" because it represents what we want participants to gain from our programs.
2. How do we know when participants have been successful? The answer to this question allows programmers and educators to know when they have achieved the desired outcomes. Traditionally, adventure educators have used subjective observation to answer this question, if they answer it at all. To guide future programming and assist in participant achievement of desired benefits, systematic and objective means of documenting the achievement of benefits must be identified.
3. How can we get participants to achieve desired outcomes in the most challenging and engaging ways possible? Adventure activities are alluring for most participants. Over two decades ago, Young and Parker (1987) cautioned that this attraction could lead to a laxness in instruction resulting in haphazard acquisition of the desired outcomes. If adventure education is to reach its potential, learning experiences (instruction) must be designed to intentionally and purposefully lead participants toward the desired goals and benefits.
An example from a college-level basic hiking class may help clarify these points. One of the class goals is for students to acquire a greater appreciation and knowledge of the natural world around them-to really see what is out there. This includes curricular aspects of flora, fauna, and geological features. The use of written journals accompanied by teacher questioning and an out-of-class partner hike reported through a written and pictorial portfolio were determined to be meaningful and reasonable ways to determine if participants have, in fact, gained this information (assessment). Several instructional activities can then be designed to help students achieve the goal.
• In an effort to guide novice students' initial journal entries, questions are given at the beginning of every hike that focus on the environment. Questions include such things as identifying a unique rock formation, signs of past human habitation, and five new flowers.
• Another strategy is to acquire a deck of cards with the suits changed to birds, flowers, trees, and animals and provide each participant with five cards. They then look for those things throughout the day.
• The instructor identifies flowers and birds along the trail while helping students learn key identification points.
• Knowing that beginning students most often walk looking at the back of the person in front of them, students can travel a designated section of trail in groups of three, increasing their ability to see.
• Candid camera is an instructional activity that asks students to walk in pairs, one person behind the other. The lead person is unsighted and guided by the sighted partner from behind through hands on the shoulders. When the sighted partner says "Click," the unsighted partner quickly opens and shuts her eyes and reports to the sighted partner what she sees.
• Finally, after acquiring requisite skills and knowledge, participants walk solo for a while.
Because many of these activities require cooperating with a small group or partner, they might also have social benefits-especially if the groups are designed so that participants work with people they do not know.
Lambert (1999) uses the metaphor of a three-legged stool to emphasize the importance of each aspect of program development. If all three legs of the stool-curriculum, assessment, and instruction-are weighted equally, the stool is solid. If one or two legs are removed or weighted unequally, stability is compromised.
Customizing Outcomes
One of the unique aspects of adventure education and programming is its ability to be used to achieve multiple goals, yet it is precisely this uniqueness that can become its Achilles heel. While in the quest to accomplish everything, nothing may be accomplished. Research on benefits from adventure programs supports this notion. For example, in terms of positive identity the results are equivocal; several studies report positive gains in self-esteem constructs (Carson and Gillis 1994; Hattie et. al 1997), some report mixed results (Hazelworth and Wilson 1990; Kaly and Heesacker 2003), and still others report no effect (Danziger 1982; Jernstedt and Johnson 1983; McBride 1984; O'Connell 2002; Pann 2000). The possible benefits of adventure programs cannot be argued, but the reality of those effects is varied.
As previously indicated, adherence to the guidelines of curriculum planners can better ensure the achievement of benefits. However, Jensen and Young (1981) and Stiehl and Parker (2005) take the achievement of benefits a step further. Even adventure programs with a clear philosophy are affected by time, clientele, location, expertise, and a host of idiosyncratic differences. Thus, it is unlikely that one program can be all things to all people. In the desire to have participants achieve all potential benefits, a program may not achieve any.
A useful delineation according to primary and secondary goals (Jensen and Young 1981) may help adventure programmers and educators focus on certain goals and benefits. Their contention is that programs may have primary goals or benefits and others are secondary or concomitant. For example, an outdoor adventure program that is part of a school physical education program might have as its foremost benefits the acquisition of outdoor skills such as orienteering, hiking, and so on for safe participation in outdoor activities. Therefore, physical and thinking goals would be primary. However, while students are learning those skills, they may well acquire social benefits through working with others, and they may develop a positive identity as they gain competence in a new activity. On the other hand, an adventure program that is part of a summer camp with articulated spiritual and social aspects would likely program experiences that use the outdoors as a medium to primarily gain increased spiritual awareness and social competence and secondarily teach necessary skills. Programs would thus be well served by articulating their philosophy to delineate primary and secondary goals and design activities to meet those goals.
Author Tom Robbins (1976) may have summed it up best: "If you believe in peace, act peacefully; if you believe in love, act lovingly; if you believe in every which way, then act every which way, that's perfectly valid-but don't go out trying to sell your beliefs to the System. You end up contradicting what you profess you believe in, and you set a bum example." Adventure education has many potential benefits. However, attempting to achieve too many benefits, especially if any contradict or compete with others, poses a risk of diluting program effectiveness.
Here are some questions that might help you determine the degree to which you are directing efforts toward the benefits and outcomes of adventure in your program:
1. Do you have clearly developed, publicly stated outcomes that underscore the benefits of adventure?
2. Do your outcomes align with the values and beliefs of your sponsors, advocates, and participants?
3. Are your outcomes appropriate for your participants' needs, interests, and abilities; your resources; and your staff knowledge and skills?
4. Do your activities and policies support your stated outcomes?
5. Do you have functional assessments for your stated outcomes?
6. Is there ongoing evaluation of the extent to which outcomes are being achieved?
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Careful planning needed when designing, conducting adventure activities
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group.
There are numerous adventure activity guides and curriculum guides that can provide you with ready-to-use activities. The New Games books mentioned earlier in this chapter are out of print but can be found at some online bookstores. Many newer books of cooperative games exist, such as Terry Orlick's Cooperative Games and Sports, Second Edition (Human Kinetics, 2006). Both the AEE (www.aee.org) and Project Adventure (www.pa.org) offer excellent activity books.
The majority of popular adventure activities are in the public domain and do not have names of their creators associated with them. Facilitators put their mark on any given activity by changing the rules or modifying the objectives slightly-either intentionally (to fit group goals or assets) or by forgetting a piece of the briefing. Sometimes a new piece of equipment will spark a fresh idea, sometimes creativity is required when a week of bad weather keeps an outdoor program indoors, and sometimes an unusual client request serves as inspiration. When adapting and creating activities, keep these guidelines in mind:
• It is easier to create within the framework of an idea than it is to create from scratch. Adapting an existing game is easier than creating something totally new.
• Making one change at a time allows the practitioner to evaluate the impact of that change, good or bad.
• Try many ideas. Some will be fun, some won't; those that are fun and exciting will stick around.
• The more facilitators experiment with the process of creation and understand the components of games, the better the games become at the end of the creative process.
These guidelines have been adapted from an article by Steve Butler, ZipLines Magazine, 2000.
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group. For example, you wouldn't design the same activities for a group of first graders that you would for adolescents; obviously there are major developmental differences between the two groups. Further, you wouldn't design the same program for adolescents trying to develop leadership skills that you would for adolescents trying to remain sober.
A good facilitator will use activities in sequence. For example, it is important not to jump right into trust activities when the group has just met or when there is unresolved conflict from yesterday's initiative. When preparing the adventure session, it is vital to know where your group is. For example, are they cruising along and ready for an activity that provides challenge, or are they having difficulty and are in need of an activity that ensures triumph? You can use your group's performance on previous activities to assess their readiness for future activities. Other things to consider when creating an adventure experience include the following:
• Are my activities appropriate to the fitness level and physical abilities of my group?
• Are the group's behaviors telling me they need to blow off some steam, take a break from intense activity and laugh, and so on?
• Are my activities appropriate to the setting-inside or outside, urban or rural, challenge course or no challenge course?
The sample adventure lesson plan on page 138, designed for middle school physical education students, exemplifies proper planning. Group goals, age development (readiness, group affect, group physical ability, group behavior), and program setting are all accounted for.
Conducting Adventure Activities
Facilitating adventure activities requires much more than reciting a set of rules. Without careful briefing, good equipment, boundary and time-frame selection, attention to safety, and a spirit of fun, the activity will remain a simple list of instructions and not become a learning opportunity. Effective leadership is vital to bringing an activity to life.
Careful Briefing
The way that an activity is briefed should be viewed as a step in the planning process. There is no right or wrong way to brief an activity, but there are some basic guidelines for planning your briefings.
• Allow time for questions (especially for initiatives).
• Provide written instructions.
• Be aware of your choice of language. "Everyone must tag their partner" has the same meaning as "You will have the opportunity to chase your partner," but the wording can help decrease anxiety. Use language that reinforces the commitment to challenge by choice.
• For initiatives that involve creative thinking, explain in advance what is and is not permitted within the scope of the rules so that a group's creative thinking is not shut down in the midst of the activity.
Good Equipment
Many adventure activities require no equipment whatsoever. For those that do, select equipment (often called props) that is unique and will help set the tone of the adventure experience. In Warp Speed (page 132), the facilitator used a beanbag frog instead of a tennis ball. Why? Most participants do not look at a beanbag frog and make assumptions about their ability to throw it and catch it, as they would a tennis ball, and they are likely to handle the frog more gently than the ball. Introduce only the props that are necessary for any given game and keep the rest in a bag or out of sight. A pile of fun-looking toys can be distracting. Keep equipment clean and in good shape. Introduce new props to keep a group engaged.
Boundary and Time-Frame Selection
The size of the play area and the duration of the activities and activity sessions have a significant influence on adventure activities. Consider the following guidelines:
• The boundaries for active games and for initiatives should fit the goals of the session. For example, Everybody's It (page 130) is played in a small rectangular area so that a group can explore issues of safety and personal space. If played in a wide-open gymnasium, it can be a great fitness activity.
• Many initiatives, such as Mass Pass (described in the previous corporate example), involve multiple rounds. Be clear with participants as to how many rounds will be allowed. For example, you might say, "You will have three rounds or 30 minutes to complete this activity, whichever comes first."
• End adventure games at a time when participants are fully engaged; don't wait for the activity to get boring or for behavior to deteriorate.
Safety
It is important to consider the safety aspects of each activity and to address the concerns that each one presents.
• When briefing activities, point out hazards in the play area that may cause harm, such as dips in terrain. If grass is wet and slippery, be especially wary of running games.
• Be aware of medical and physical concerns in your group that may cause a particular activity to be inappropriate. Shoulder injuries, sprained ankles, and back problems are common and can be exacerbated given the nature of some activities.
• Challenge by choice is more than a cornerstone of program quality; it's also a vital tool in keeping people safe. Make sure that participants understand their choices.
• Do participants have the skills to perform the activity? Follow the guidelines for sequencing to increase the chances of a safe experience for all.
• Maintain an emotionally safe environment.
Fun
The energy and spirit of a group is largely influenced by that of the facilitator. Participate when it is possible and safe to do so, and model what you desire from the group. Use fun metaphors and fantasy when briefing an activity. Point out rule infractions in a way that keeps the spirit positive.
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Clearly stated philosophy, goals key to achieving benefits of adventure education
Adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise, but programs should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits.
Tangible Outcomes of Adventure
For the purposes of this chapter we suggest that there are distinctions between adventure and outdoor programs that reside in their primary purpose, the setting in which they are conducted, and the risk involved. Outdoor programs focus on the development of technical skill in the natural setting and thus involve actual risk. On the other hand, adventure programs focus on personal and group development in developed areas and concentrate on perceived risk. While adventure and outdoor could be two ends of a continuum with much overlap in the middle, the distinctions become important when determining goals and benefits of programs.
Our interest in original and current proponents of adventure led us repeatedly to the American Camp Association (ACA). Founded in 1910, the ACA represents all segments of the camp profession and is dedicated to enriching the lives of children and adults through camp experiences. A recently published ACA document provides a starting point for defining and categorizing adventure outcomes (2005b). The document summarizes a large research study of camper outcomes. Results from the study provide evidence that camp is a positive force in youth development. Moreover, many of the aspects of positive growth mentioned in this study correspond with outcomes cited in previous literature. The following domains used in the ACA study can assist in identifying specific goals for adventure programmers.
Positive Identity
If we address the possible goals or benefits of adventure education in terms of benefits to the participant, the notion of positive identity has remained primary through the decades. While positive identity is a bit of a nebulous term, it generally includes various aspects of character development such as self-esteem, determination, dependability, ambition, and independence. Increases in self-esteem lead to feelings of worth, competence, confidence, and optimism. Independence fosters stepping out of one's comfort zone into unfamiliar territory that produces anxiety and fear as well as exhilaration, initiative, and calculated risk taking.
Social Skills
The acquisition of social skills extends beyond the individual benefits of positive identity by focusing on participants' interactions with each other. The social dimension of adventure can be highly significant. For example, challenges in an adventure setting can facilitate group bonding and cooperation. Working as a team, people can learn to resolve disagreements, appreciate differences, develop new friendships, and generally get along with others. Adventure experiences also can offer opportunities to demonstrate leadership and to accept responsibilities unavailable in other settings. Finally, adventure provides occasions for being together, having a sense of community, enjoying the company of like-minded people, and feeling connected to something larger than oneself.
Physical and Thinking Skills
In their 1929 classic book, Camping and Character, Dimock and Hendry list skills in camping activities such as canoeing, swimming, riding, and sailing accompanied by the associated knowledge as the first and second objectives of the summer camp experience. Few would argue this potential benefit of adventure education. Physical benefits can be classified as the psychomotor and technical skills required for participation in activities that entail moving across land or water by natural means. The physiological gains of exercise constitute another aspect of physical benefits.
Depending on the setting, adventure education can provide the venue for the acquisition of a vast array of physical and thinking skills that are usually associated with living outdoors. Thinking skills include knowledge of safety measures and the need to follow them as well as knowledge of skills and the environment in which they take place (Ford and Blanchard 1985). Higher-order thinking skills such as planning and solving problems are an often sought-after benefit. Additionally, most adventure programs tap into their setting to provide environmental awareness as a cognitive outcome.
Positive Values and Spirituality
As mentioned earlier, acquiring and strengthening virtues was an overriding concern for early proponents of adventure experiences. The need for virtuous conduct is just as important now as it was then (some would argue more so). Successful participation in today's complex society demands making appropriate decisions and accepting the consequences of one's choices. Insights gained from constructive adventure experiences can help instill positive values and principles such as selflessness and compassion, keeping commitments and fulfilling obligations, self-discipline, and honesty, to name a few. These values and principles are important in that they can assist in "achieving some harmony between principles of self-interest and altruism. It suggests that not only can we explore, develop, and appreciate our own unique potential, but that we can use our emerging abilities to benefit others and the environment in which we all live. Consequently, by becoming responsible we can reaffirm our own worth, our sense of belonging, and our awareness of place" (Parker and Stiehl 2005).
Certainly for many, outdoor adventure experiences involve a spiritual component. Spirituality, although often associated with religion, can be painted with a much broader stroke. When adventure programs are conducted in the outdoors, contact with the natural environment can add a spiritually moving dimension; "either because of the beautiful natural setting, the opportunities for bonding with others, or meaningful religious practices, young people have an opportunity to connect to the earth, to each other, and perhaps to a higher power" (ACA 2005a).
We believe in a humble orientation to the environment-that the outdoor world does not exist for the hedonistic pursuits of a privileged few, that loud people who speak before listening, who use more than their share of the air to announce their identity, are like destructive initials on a tree trunk tarred with a brush of unsustainable and repugnant attitudes. The natural world rejuvenates the soul and reminds us of our place in this awe-inspiring world. It is where we come closest to appreciating our connectedness with the rest of creation.
Achieving Benefits
It is abundantly clear that adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise. The uniqueness of the environment and the activities provide a venue not only for learning new skills and acquiring relevant knowledge, but also for promoting calculated risk taking, camaraderie with others, and reverence for the natural world. The larger question, however, may be this: Is adventure education reaching its potential? In 1918, Bobbitt stated,
The controlling purposes of education have not been sufficiently particularized. We have aimed at a vague culture, an ill-defined discipline, indefinite moral character building, an unparticularized social efficiency, or nothing more than an escape from a life of work. Often there are no controlling purposes; the momentum of the educational machine keeps it running. So long as objectives are but vague guesses, or not even that, there can be no demand for anything but vague guesses as to means and procedures. But the era of contentment with large undefined purposes is rapidly passing. (41-42)
While Bobbitt was speaking of traditional education in kindergarten through 12th grade, it would not be unreasonable to substitute adventure education for education in his admonition.
All too often adventure education has relied on its novelty as an attractor while neglecting to design learning environments in which deliberate goal acquisition is the chief aim. If adventure programs are to mean something, they must first
• be built on a solid philosophy that reflects the values and beliefs of the program designers,
• state important goals,
• include a way of measuring those goals, and
• incorporate instructional practices that allow participants to demonstrate achievement of the goals (Tannehill and Lund 2005).
Good content that is poorly delivered or good intentions with weak or inappropriate content are unlikely to produce favorable results.
Stating a Philosophy
The philosophy of any adventure program provides the foundational beliefs that undergird all subsequent decisions of a program. The philosophy emanates from the beliefs and values of the program designers, the participants the program serves, and the setting of the program. In adventure programming, a philosophy might range from providing participants with the physical skills necessary for being more active in the outdoor environment to simply offering a venue for fun and escape. Adventure programs, whether recreational or educational, should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits, even if those benefits are an escape from ordinary life.
Determining Goals, Assessments, and Instructional Strategies
Once a philosophy has been articulated, the following three questions can guide what educational experts have referred to as backward design (Wiggins and McTighe 1998), an outcomes approach (Spady and Marshall 1991), and design-down curricular process (Lambert 2003).
1. What do we want our participants to know and be able to do as a result of being in our program? In educational terms, this is a curricular question of what is to be taught. By answering it, adventure programmers and educators identify what's important and the deliberate, intended outcomes of their programs. Wiggins and McTighe (1998) define this information as "enduring understandings" because it represents what we want participants to gain from our programs.
2. How do we know when participants have been successful? The answer to this question allows programmers and educators to know when they have achieved the desired outcomes. Traditionally, adventure educators have used subjective observation to answer this question, if they answer it at all. To guide future programming and assist in participant achievement of desired benefits, systematic and objective means of documenting the achievement of benefits must be identified.
3. How can we get participants to achieve desired outcomes in the most challenging and engaging ways possible? Adventure activities are alluring for most participants. Over two decades ago, Young and Parker (1987) cautioned that this attraction could lead to a laxness in instruction resulting in haphazard acquisition of the desired outcomes. If adventure education is to reach its potential, learning experiences (instruction) must be designed to intentionally and purposefully lead participants toward the desired goals and benefits.
An example from a college-level basic hiking class may help clarify these points. One of the class goals is for students to acquire a greater appreciation and knowledge of the natural world around them-to really see what is out there. This includes curricular aspects of flora, fauna, and geological features. The use of written journals accompanied by teacher questioning and an out-of-class partner hike reported through a written and pictorial portfolio were determined to be meaningful and reasonable ways to determine if participants have, in fact, gained this information (assessment). Several instructional activities can then be designed to help students achieve the goal.
• In an effort to guide novice students' initial journal entries, questions are given at the beginning of every hike that focus on the environment. Questions include such things as identifying a unique rock formation, signs of past human habitation, and five new flowers.
• Another strategy is to acquire a deck of cards with the suits changed to birds, flowers, trees, and animals and provide each participant with five cards. They then look for those things throughout the day.
• The instructor identifies flowers and birds along the trail while helping students learn key identification points.
• Knowing that beginning students most often walk looking at the back of the person in front of them, students can travel a designated section of trail in groups of three, increasing their ability to see.
• Candid camera is an instructional activity that asks students to walk in pairs, one person behind the other. The lead person is unsighted and guided by the sighted partner from behind through hands on the shoulders. When the sighted partner says "Click," the unsighted partner quickly opens and shuts her eyes and reports to the sighted partner what she sees.
• Finally, after acquiring requisite skills and knowledge, participants walk solo for a while.
Because many of these activities require cooperating with a small group or partner, they might also have social benefits-especially if the groups are designed so that participants work with people they do not know.
Lambert (1999) uses the metaphor of a three-legged stool to emphasize the importance of each aspect of program development. If all three legs of the stool-curriculum, assessment, and instruction-are weighted equally, the stool is solid. If one or two legs are removed or weighted unequally, stability is compromised.
Customizing Outcomes
One of the unique aspects of adventure education and programming is its ability to be used to achieve multiple goals, yet it is precisely this uniqueness that can become its Achilles heel. While in the quest to accomplish everything, nothing may be accomplished. Research on benefits from adventure programs supports this notion. For example, in terms of positive identity the results are equivocal; several studies report positive gains in self-esteem constructs (Carson and Gillis 1994; Hattie et. al 1997), some report mixed results (Hazelworth and Wilson 1990; Kaly and Heesacker 2003), and still others report no effect (Danziger 1982; Jernstedt and Johnson 1983; McBride 1984; O'Connell 2002; Pann 2000). The possible benefits of adventure programs cannot be argued, but the reality of those effects is varied.
As previously indicated, adherence to the guidelines of curriculum planners can better ensure the achievement of benefits. However, Jensen and Young (1981) and Stiehl and Parker (2005) take the achievement of benefits a step further. Even adventure programs with a clear philosophy are affected by time, clientele, location, expertise, and a host of idiosyncratic differences. Thus, it is unlikely that one program can be all things to all people. In the desire to have participants achieve all potential benefits, a program may not achieve any.
A useful delineation according to primary and secondary goals (Jensen and Young 1981) may help adventure programmers and educators focus on certain goals and benefits. Their contention is that programs may have primary goals or benefits and others are secondary or concomitant. For example, an outdoor adventure program that is part of a school physical education program might have as its foremost benefits the acquisition of outdoor skills such as orienteering, hiking, and so on for safe participation in outdoor activities. Therefore, physical and thinking goals would be primary. However, while students are learning those skills, they may well acquire social benefits through working with others, and they may develop a positive identity as they gain competence in a new activity. On the other hand, an adventure program that is part of a summer camp with articulated spiritual and social aspects would likely program experiences that use the outdoors as a medium to primarily gain increased spiritual awareness and social competence and secondarily teach necessary skills. Programs would thus be well served by articulating their philosophy to delineate primary and secondary goals and design activities to meet those goals.
Author Tom Robbins (1976) may have summed it up best: "If you believe in peace, act peacefully; if you believe in love, act lovingly; if you believe in every which way, then act every which way, that's perfectly valid-but don't go out trying to sell your beliefs to the System. You end up contradicting what you profess you believe in, and you set a bum example." Adventure education has many potential benefits. However, attempting to achieve too many benefits, especially if any contradict or compete with others, poses a risk of diluting program effectiveness.
Here are some questions that might help you determine the degree to which you are directing efforts toward the benefits and outcomes of adventure in your program:
1. Do you have clearly developed, publicly stated outcomes that underscore the benefits of adventure?
2. Do your outcomes align with the values and beliefs of your sponsors, advocates, and participants?
3. Are your outcomes appropriate for your participants' needs, interests, and abilities; your resources; and your staff knowledge and skills?
4. Do your activities and policies support your stated outcomes?
5. Do you have functional assessments for your stated outcomes?
6. Is there ongoing evaluation of the extent to which outcomes are being achieved?
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Careful planning needed when designing, conducting adventure activities
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group.
There are numerous adventure activity guides and curriculum guides that can provide you with ready-to-use activities. The New Games books mentioned earlier in this chapter are out of print but can be found at some online bookstores. Many newer books of cooperative games exist, such as Terry Orlick's Cooperative Games and Sports, Second Edition (Human Kinetics, 2006). Both the AEE (www.aee.org) and Project Adventure (www.pa.org) offer excellent activity books.
The majority of popular adventure activities are in the public domain and do not have names of their creators associated with them. Facilitators put their mark on any given activity by changing the rules or modifying the objectives slightly-either intentionally (to fit group goals or assets) or by forgetting a piece of the briefing. Sometimes a new piece of equipment will spark a fresh idea, sometimes creativity is required when a week of bad weather keeps an outdoor program indoors, and sometimes an unusual client request serves as inspiration. When adapting and creating activities, keep these guidelines in mind:
• It is easier to create within the framework of an idea than it is to create from scratch. Adapting an existing game is easier than creating something totally new.
• Making one change at a time allows the practitioner to evaluate the impact of that change, good or bad.
• Try many ideas. Some will be fun, some won't; those that are fun and exciting will stick around.
• The more facilitators experiment with the process of creation and understand the components of games, the better the games become at the end of the creative process.
These guidelines have been adapted from an article by Steve Butler, ZipLines Magazine, 2000.
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group. For example, you wouldn't design the same activities for a group of first graders that you would for adolescents; obviously there are major developmental differences between the two groups. Further, you wouldn't design the same program for adolescents trying to develop leadership skills that you would for adolescents trying to remain sober.
A good facilitator will use activities in sequence. For example, it is important not to jump right into trust activities when the group has just met or when there is unresolved conflict from yesterday's initiative. When preparing the adventure session, it is vital to know where your group is. For example, are they cruising along and ready for an activity that provides challenge, or are they having difficulty and are in need of an activity that ensures triumph? You can use your group's performance on previous activities to assess their readiness for future activities. Other things to consider when creating an adventure experience include the following:
• Are my activities appropriate to the fitness level and physical abilities of my group?
• Are the group's behaviors telling me they need to blow off some steam, take a break from intense activity and laugh, and so on?
• Are my activities appropriate to the setting-inside or outside, urban or rural, challenge course or no challenge course?
The sample adventure lesson plan on page 138, designed for middle school physical education students, exemplifies proper planning. Group goals, age development (readiness, group affect, group physical ability, group behavior), and program setting are all accounted for.
Conducting Adventure Activities
Facilitating adventure activities requires much more than reciting a set of rules. Without careful briefing, good equipment, boundary and time-frame selection, attention to safety, and a spirit of fun, the activity will remain a simple list of instructions and not become a learning opportunity. Effective leadership is vital to bringing an activity to life.
Careful Briefing
The way that an activity is briefed should be viewed as a step in the planning process. There is no right or wrong way to brief an activity, but there are some basic guidelines for planning your briefings.
• Allow time for questions (especially for initiatives).
• Provide written instructions.
• Be aware of your choice of language. "Everyone must tag their partner" has the same meaning as "You will have the opportunity to chase your partner," but the wording can help decrease anxiety. Use language that reinforces the commitment to challenge by choice.
• For initiatives that involve creative thinking, explain in advance what is and is not permitted within the scope of the rules so that a group's creative thinking is not shut down in the midst of the activity.
Good Equipment
Many adventure activities require no equipment whatsoever. For those that do, select equipment (often called props) that is unique and will help set the tone of the adventure experience. In Warp Speed (page 132), the facilitator used a beanbag frog instead of a tennis ball. Why? Most participants do not look at a beanbag frog and make assumptions about their ability to throw it and catch it, as they would a tennis ball, and they are likely to handle the frog more gently than the ball. Introduce only the props that are necessary for any given game and keep the rest in a bag or out of sight. A pile of fun-looking toys can be distracting. Keep equipment clean and in good shape. Introduce new props to keep a group engaged.
Boundary and Time-Frame Selection
The size of the play area and the duration of the activities and activity sessions have a significant influence on adventure activities. Consider the following guidelines:
• The boundaries for active games and for initiatives should fit the goals of the session. For example, Everybody's It (page 130) is played in a small rectangular area so that a group can explore issues of safety and personal space. If played in a wide-open gymnasium, it can be a great fitness activity.
• Many initiatives, such as Mass Pass (described in the previous corporate example), involve multiple rounds. Be clear with participants as to how many rounds will be allowed. For example, you might say, "You will have three rounds or 30 minutes to complete this activity, whichever comes first."
• End adventure games at a time when participants are fully engaged; don't wait for the activity to get boring or for behavior to deteriorate.
Safety
It is important to consider the safety aspects of each activity and to address the concerns that each one presents.
• When briefing activities, point out hazards in the play area that may cause harm, such as dips in terrain. If grass is wet and slippery, be especially wary of running games.
• Be aware of medical and physical concerns in your group that may cause a particular activity to be inappropriate. Shoulder injuries, sprained ankles, and back problems are common and can be exacerbated given the nature of some activities.
• Challenge by choice is more than a cornerstone of program quality; it's also a vital tool in keeping people safe. Make sure that participants understand their choices.
• Do participants have the skills to perform the activity? Follow the guidelines for sequencing to increase the chances of a safe experience for all.
• Maintain an emotionally safe environment.
Fun
The energy and spirit of a group is largely influenced by that of the facilitator. Participate when it is possible and safe to do so, and model what you desire from the group. Use fun metaphors and fantasy when briefing an activity. Point out rule infractions in a way that keeps the spirit positive.
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Clearly stated philosophy, goals key to achieving benefits of adventure education
Adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise, but programs should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits.
Tangible Outcomes of Adventure
For the purposes of this chapter we suggest that there are distinctions between adventure and outdoor programs that reside in their primary purpose, the setting in which they are conducted, and the risk involved. Outdoor programs focus on the development of technical skill in the natural setting and thus involve actual risk. On the other hand, adventure programs focus on personal and group development in developed areas and concentrate on perceived risk. While adventure and outdoor could be two ends of a continuum with much overlap in the middle, the distinctions become important when determining goals and benefits of programs.
Our interest in original and current proponents of adventure led us repeatedly to the American Camp Association (ACA). Founded in 1910, the ACA represents all segments of the camp profession and is dedicated to enriching the lives of children and adults through camp experiences. A recently published ACA document provides a starting point for defining and categorizing adventure outcomes (2005b). The document summarizes a large research study of camper outcomes. Results from the study provide evidence that camp is a positive force in youth development. Moreover, many of the aspects of positive growth mentioned in this study correspond with outcomes cited in previous literature. The following domains used in the ACA study can assist in identifying specific goals for adventure programmers.
Positive Identity
If we address the possible goals or benefits of adventure education in terms of benefits to the participant, the notion of positive identity has remained primary through the decades. While positive identity is a bit of a nebulous term, it generally includes various aspects of character development such as self-esteem, determination, dependability, ambition, and independence. Increases in self-esteem lead to feelings of worth, competence, confidence, and optimism. Independence fosters stepping out of one's comfort zone into unfamiliar territory that produces anxiety and fear as well as exhilaration, initiative, and calculated risk taking.
Social Skills
The acquisition of social skills extends beyond the individual benefits of positive identity by focusing on participants' interactions with each other. The social dimension of adventure can be highly significant. For example, challenges in an adventure setting can facilitate group bonding and cooperation. Working as a team, people can learn to resolve disagreements, appreciate differences, develop new friendships, and generally get along with others. Adventure experiences also can offer opportunities to demonstrate leadership and to accept responsibilities unavailable in other settings. Finally, adventure provides occasions for being together, having a sense of community, enjoying the company of like-minded people, and feeling connected to something larger than oneself.
Physical and Thinking Skills
In their 1929 classic book, Camping and Character, Dimock and Hendry list skills in camping activities such as canoeing, swimming, riding, and sailing accompanied by the associated knowledge as the first and second objectives of the summer camp experience. Few would argue this potential benefit of adventure education. Physical benefits can be classified as the psychomotor and technical skills required for participation in activities that entail moving across land or water by natural means. The physiological gains of exercise constitute another aspect of physical benefits.
Depending on the setting, adventure education can provide the venue for the acquisition of a vast array of physical and thinking skills that are usually associated with living outdoors. Thinking skills include knowledge of safety measures and the need to follow them as well as knowledge of skills and the environment in which they take place (Ford and Blanchard 1985). Higher-order thinking skills such as planning and solving problems are an often sought-after benefit. Additionally, most adventure programs tap into their setting to provide environmental awareness as a cognitive outcome.
Positive Values and Spirituality
As mentioned earlier, acquiring and strengthening virtues was an overriding concern for early proponents of adventure experiences. The need for virtuous conduct is just as important now as it was then (some would argue more so). Successful participation in today's complex society demands making appropriate decisions and accepting the consequences of one's choices. Insights gained from constructive adventure experiences can help instill positive values and principles such as selflessness and compassion, keeping commitments and fulfilling obligations, self-discipline, and honesty, to name a few. These values and principles are important in that they can assist in "achieving some harmony between principles of self-interest and altruism. It suggests that not only can we explore, develop, and appreciate our own unique potential, but that we can use our emerging abilities to benefit others and the environment in which we all live. Consequently, by becoming responsible we can reaffirm our own worth, our sense of belonging, and our awareness of place" (Parker and Stiehl 2005).
Certainly for many, outdoor adventure experiences involve a spiritual component. Spirituality, although often associated with religion, can be painted with a much broader stroke. When adventure programs are conducted in the outdoors, contact with the natural environment can add a spiritually moving dimension; "either because of the beautiful natural setting, the opportunities for bonding with others, or meaningful religious practices, young people have an opportunity to connect to the earth, to each other, and perhaps to a higher power" (ACA 2005a).
We believe in a humble orientation to the environment-that the outdoor world does not exist for the hedonistic pursuits of a privileged few, that loud people who speak before listening, who use more than their share of the air to announce their identity, are like destructive initials on a tree trunk tarred with a brush of unsustainable and repugnant attitudes. The natural world rejuvenates the soul and reminds us of our place in this awe-inspiring world. It is where we come closest to appreciating our connectedness with the rest of creation.
Achieving Benefits
It is abundantly clear that adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise. The uniqueness of the environment and the activities provide a venue not only for learning new skills and acquiring relevant knowledge, but also for promoting calculated risk taking, camaraderie with others, and reverence for the natural world. The larger question, however, may be this: Is adventure education reaching its potential? In 1918, Bobbitt stated,
The controlling purposes of education have not been sufficiently particularized. We have aimed at a vague culture, an ill-defined discipline, indefinite moral character building, an unparticularized social efficiency, or nothing more than an escape from a life of work. Often there are no controlling purposes; the momentum of the educational machine keeps it running. So long as objectives are but vague guesses, or not even that, there can be no demand for anything but vague guesses as to means and procedures. But the era of contentment with large undefined purposes is rapidly passing. (41-42)
While Bobbitt was speaking of traditional education in kindergarten through 12th grade, it would not be unreasonable to substitute adventure education for education in his admonition.
All too often adventure education has relied on its novelty as an attractor while neglecting to design learning environments in which deliberate goal acquisition is the chief aim. If adventure programs are to mean something, they must first
• be built on a solid philosophy that reflects the values and beliefs of the program designers,
• state important goals,
• include a way of measuring those goals, and
• incorporate instructional practices that allow participants to demonstrate achievement of the goals (Tannehill and Lund 2005).
Good content that is poorly delivered or good intentions with weak or inappropriate content are unlikely to produce favorable results.
Stating a Philosophy
The philosophy of any adventure program provides the foundational beliefs that undergird all subsequent decisions of a program. The philosophy emanates from the beliefs and values of the program designers, the participants the program serves, and the setting of the program. In adventure programming, a philosophy might range from providing participants with the physical skills necessary for being more active in the outdoor environment to simply offering a venue for fun and escape. Adventure programs, whether recreational or educational, should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits, even if those benefits are an escape from ordinary life.
Determining Goals, Assessments, and Instructional Strategies
Once a philosophy has been articulated, the following three questions can guide what educational experts have referred to as backward design (Wiggins and McTighe 1998), an outcomes approach (Spady and Marshall 1991), and design-down curricular process (Lambert 2003).
1. What do we want our participants to know and be able to do as a result of being in our program? In educational terms, this is a curricular question of what is to be taught. By answering it, adventure programmers and educators identify what's important and the deliberate, intended outcomes of their programs. Wiggins and McTighe (1998) define this information as "enduring understandings" because it represents what we want participants to gain from our programs.
2. How do we know when participants have been successful? The answer to this question allows programmers and educators to know when they have achieved the desired outcomes. Traditionally, adventure educators have used subjective observation to answer this question, if they answer it at all. To guide future programming and assist in participant achievement of desired benefits, systematic and objective means of documenting the achievement of benefits must be identified.
3. How can we get participants to achieve desired outcomes in the most challenging and engaging ways possible? Adventure activities are alluring for most participants. Over two decades ago, Young and Parker (1987) cautioned that this attraction could lead to a laxness in instruction resulting in haphazard acquisition of the desired outcomes. If adventure education is to reach its potential, learning experiences (instruction) must be designed to intentionally and purposefully lead participants toward the desired goals and benefits.
An example from a college-level basic hiking class may help clarify these points. One of the class goals is for students to acquire a greater appreciation and knowledge of the natural world around them-to really see what is out there. This includes curricular aspects of flora, fauna, and geological features. The use of written journals accompanied by teacher questioning and an out-of-class partner hike reported through a written and pictorial portfolio were determined to be meaningful and reasonable ways to determine if participants have, in fact, gained this information (assessment). Several instructional activities can then be designed to help students achieve the goal.
• In an effort to guide novice students' initial journal entries, questions are given at the beginning of every hike that focus on the environment. Questions include such things as identifying a unique rock formation, signs of past human habitation, and five new flowers.
• Another strategy is to acquire a deck of cards with the suits changed to birds, flowers, trees, and animals and provide each participant with five cards. They then look for those things throughout the day.
• The instructor identifies flowers and birds along the trail while helping students learn key identification points.
• Knowing that beginning students most often walk looking at the back of the person in front of them, students can travel a designated section of trail in groups of three, increasing their ability to see.
• Candid camera is an instructional activity that asks students to walk in pairs, one person behind the other. The lead person is unsighted and guided by the sighted partner from behind through hands on the shoulders. When the sighted partner says "Click," the unsighted partner quickly opens and shuts her eyes and reports to the sighted partner what she sees.
• Finally, after acquiring requisite skills and knowledge, participants walk solo for a while.
Because many of these activities require cooperating with a small group or partner, they might also have social benefits-especially if the groups are designed so that participants work with people they do not know.
Lambert (1999) uses the metaphor of a three-legged stool to emphasize the importance of each aspect of program development. If all three legs of the stool-curriculum, assessment, and instruction-are weighted equally, the stool is solid. If one or two legs are removed or weighted unequally, stability is compromised.
Customizing Outcomes
One of the unique aspects of adventure education and programming is its ability to be used to achieve multiple goals, yet it is precisely this uniqueness that can become its Achilles heel. While in the quest to accomplish everything, nothing may be accomplished. Research on benefits from adventure programs supports this notion. For example, in terms of positive identity the results are equivocal; several studies report positive gains in self-esteem constructs (Carson and Gillis 1994; Hattie et. al 1997), some report mixed results (Hazelworth and Wilson 1990; Kaly and Heesacker 2003), and still others report no effect (Danziger 1982; Jernstedt and Johnson 1983; McBride 1984; O'Connell 2002; Pann 2000). The possible benefits of adventure programs cannot be argued, but the reality of those effects is varied.
As previously indicated, adherence to the guidelines of curriculum planners can better ensure the achievement of benefits. However, Jensen and Young (1981) and Stiehl and Parker (2005) take the achievement of benefits a step further. Even adventure programs with a clear philosophy are affected by time, clientele, location, expertise, and a host of idiosyncratic differences. Thus, it is unlikely that one program can be all things to all people. In the desire to have participants achieve all potential benefits, a program may not achieve any.
A useful delineation according to primary and secondary goals (Jensen and Young 1981) may help adventure programmers and educators focus on certain goals and benefits. Their contention is that programs may have primary goals or benefits and others are secondary or concomitant. For example, an outdoor adventure program that is part of a school physical education program might have as its foremost benefits the acquisition of outdoor skills such as orienteering, hiking, and so on for safe participation in outdoor activities. Therefore, physical and thinking goals would be primary. However, while students are learning those skills, they may well acquire social benefits through working with others, and they may develop a positive identity as they gain competence in a new activity. On the other hand, an adventure program that is part of a summer camp with articulated spiritual and social aspects would likely program experiences that use the outdoors as a medium to primarily gain increased spiritual awareness and social competence and secondarily teach necessary skills. Programs would thus be well served by articulating their philosophy to delineate primary and secondary goals and design activities to meet those goals.
Author Tom Robbins (1976) may have summed it up best: "If you believe in peace, act peacefully; if you believe in love, act lovingly; if you believe in every which way, then act every which way, that's perfectly valid-but don't go out trying to sell your beliefs to the System. You end up contradicting what you profess you believe in, and you set a bum example." Adventure education has many potential benefits. However, attempting to achieve too many benefits, especially if any contradict or compete with others, poses a risk of diluting program effectiveness.
Here are some questions that might help you determine the degree to which you are directing efforts toward the benefits and outcomes of adventure in your program:
1. Do you have clearly developed, publicly stated outcomes that underscore the benefits of adventure?
2. Do your outcomes align with the values and beliefs of your sponsors, advocates, and participants?
3. Are your outcomes appropriate for your participants' needs, interests, and abilities; your resources; and your staff knowledge and skills?
4. Do your activities and policies support your stated outcomes?
5. Do you have functional assessments for your stated outcomes?
6. Is there ongoing evaluation of the extent to which outcomes are being achieved?
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Careful planning needed when designing, conducting adventure activities
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group.
There are numerous adventure activity guides and curriculum guides that can provide you with ready-to-use activities. The New Games books mentioned earlier in this chapter are out of print but can be found at some online bookstores. Many newer books of cooperative games exist, such as Terry Orlick's Cooperative Games and Sports, Second Edition (Human Kinetics, 2006). Both the AEE (www.aee.org) and Project Adventure (www.pa.org) offer excellent activity books.
The majority of popular adventure activities are in the public domain and do not have names of their creators associated with them. Facilitators put their mark on any given activity by changing the rules or modifying the objectives slightly-either intentionally (to fit group goals or assets) or by forgetting a piece of the briefing. Sometimes a new piece of equipment will spark a fresh idea, sometimes creativity is required when a week of bad weather keeps an outdoor program indoors, and sometimes an unusual client request serves as inspiration. When adapting and creating activities, keep these guidelines in mind:
• It is easier to create within the framework of an idea than it is to create from scratch. Adapting an existing game is easier than creating something totally new.
• Making one change at a time allows the practitioner to evaluate the impact of that change, good or bad.
• Try many ideas. Some will be fun, some won't; those that are fun and exciting will stick around.
• The more facilitators experiment with the process of creation and understand the components of games, the better the games become at the end of the creative process.
These guidelines have been adapted from an article by Steve Butler, ZipLines Magazine, 2000.
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group. For example, you wouldn't design the same activities for a group of first graders that you would for adolescents; obviously there are major developmental differences between the two groups. Further, you wouldn't design the same program for adolescents trying to develop leadership skills that you would for adolescents trying to remain sober.
A good facilitator will use activities in sequence. For example, it is important not to jump right into trust activities when the group has just met or when there is unresolved conflict from yesterday's initiative. When preparing the adventure session, it is vital to know where your group is. For example, are they cruising along and ready for an activity that provides challenge, or are they having difficulty and are in need of an activity that ensures triumph? You can use your group's performance on previous activities to assess their readiness for future activities. Other things to consider when creating an adventure experience include the following:
• Are my activities appropriate to the fitness level and physical abilities of my group?
• Are the group's behaviors telling me they need to blow off some steam, take a break from intense activity and laugh, and so on?
• Are my activities appropriate to the setting-inside or outside, urban or rural, challenge course or no challenge course?
The sample adventure lesson plan on page 138, designed for middle school physical education students, exemplifies proper planning. Group goals, age development (readiness, group affect, group physical ability, group behavior), and program setting are all accounted for.
Conducting Adventure Activities
Facilitating adventure activities requires much more than reciting a set of rules. Without careful briefing, good equipment, boundary and time-frame selection, attention to safety, and a spirit of fun, the activity will remain a simple list of instructions and not become a learning opportunity. Effective leadership is vital to bringing an activity to life.
Careful Briefing
The way that an activity is briefed should be viewed as a step in the planning process. There is no right or wrong way to brief an activity, but there are some basic guidelines for planning your briefings.
• Allow time for questions (especially for initiatives).
• Provide written instructions.
• Be aware of your choice of language. "Everyone must tag their partner" has the same meaning as "You will have the opportunity to chase your partner," but the wording can help decrease anxiety. Use language that reinforces the commitment to challenge by choice.
• For initiatives that involve creative thinking, explain in advance what is and is not permitted within the scope of the rules so that a group's creative thinking is not shut down in the midst of the activity.
Good Equipment
Many adventure activities require no equipment whatsoever. For those that do, select equipment (often called props) that is unique and will help set the tone of the adventure experience. In Warp Speed (page 132), the facilitator used a beanbag frog instead of a tennis ball. Why? Most participants do not look at a beanbag frog and make assumptions about their ability to throw it and catch it, as they would a tennis ball, and they are likely to handle the frog more gently than the ball. Introduce only the props that are necessary for any given game and keep the rest in a bag or out of sight. A pile of fun-looking toys can be distracting. Keep equipment clean and in good shape. Introduce new props to keep a group engaged.
Boundary and Time-Frame Selection
The size of the play area and the duration of the activities and activity sessions have a significant influence on adventure activities. Consider the following guidelines:
• The boundaries for active games and for initiatives should fit the goals of the session. For example, Everybody's It (page 130) is played in a small rectangular area so that a group can explore issues of safety and personal space. If played in a wide-open gymnasium, it can be a great fitness activity.
• Many initiatives, such as Mass Pass (described in the previous corporate example), involve multiple rounds. Be clear with participants as to how many rounds will be allowed. For example, you might say, "You will have three rounds or 30 minutes to complete this activity, whichever comes first."
• End adventure games at a time when participants are fully engaged; don't wait for the activity to get boring or for behavior to deteriorate.
Safety
It is important to consider the safety aspects of each activity and to address the concerns that each one presents.
• When briefing activities, point out hazards in the play area that may cause harm, such as dips in terrain. If grass is wet and slippery, be especially wary of running games.
• Be aware of medical and physical concerns in your group that may cause a particular activity to be inappropriate. Shoulder injuries, sprained ankles, and back problems are common and can be exacerbated given the nature of some activities.
• Challenge by choice is more than a cornerstone of program quality; it's also a vital tool in keeping people safe. Make sure that participants understand their choices.
• Do participants have the skills to perform the activity? Follow the guidelines for sequencing to increase the chances of a safe experience for all.
• Maintain an emotionally safe environment.
Fun
The energy and spirit of a group is largely influenced by that of the facilitator. Participate when it is possible and safe to do so, and model what you desire from the group. Use fun metaphors and fantasy when briefing an activity. Point out rule infractions in a way that keeps the spirit positive.
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Clearly stated philosophy, goals key to achieving benefits of adventure education
Adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise, but programs should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits.
Tangible Outcomes of Adventure
For the purposes of this chapter we suggest that there are distinctions between adventure and outdoor programs that reside in their primary purpose, the setting in which they are conducted, and the risk involved. Outdoor programs focus on the development of technical skill in the natural setting and thus involve actual risk. On the other hand, adventure programs focus on personal and group development in developed areas and concentrate on perceived risk. While adventure and outdoor could be two ends of a continuum with much overlap in the middle, the distinctions become important when determining goals and benefits of programs.
Our interest in original and current proponents of adventure led us repeatedly to the American Camp Association (ACA). Founded in 1910, the ACA represents all segments of the camp profession and is dedicated to enriching the lives of children and adults through camp experiences. A recently published ACA document provides a starting point for defining and categorizing adventure outcomes (2005b). The document summarizes a large research study of camper outcomes. Results from the study provide evidence that camp is a positive force in youth development. Moreover, many of the aspects of positive growth mentioned in this study correspond with outcomes cited in previous literature. The following domains used in the ACA study can assist in identifying specific goals for adventure programmers.
Positive Identity
If we address the possible goals or benefits of adventure education in terms of benefits to the participant, the notion of positive identity has remained primary through the decades. While positive identity is a bit of a nebulous term, it generally includes various aspects of character development such as self-esteem, determination, dependability, ambition, and independence. Increases in self-esteem lead to feelings of worth, competence, confidence, and optimism. Independence fosters stepping out of one's comfort zone into unfamiliar territory that produces anxiety and fear as well as exhilaration, initiative, and calculated risk taking.
Social Skills
The acquisition of social skills extends beyond the individual benefits of positive identity by focusing on participants' interactions with each other. The social dimension of adventure can be highly significant. For example, challenges in an adventure setting can facilitate group bonding and cooperation. Working as a team, people can learn to resolve disagreements, appreciate differences, develop new friendships, and generally get along with others. Adventure experiences also can offer opportunities to demonstrate leadership and to accept responsibilities unavailable in other settings. Finally, adventure provides occasions for being together, having a sense of community, enjoying the company of like-minded people, and feeling connected to something larger than oneself.
Physical and Thinking Skills
In their 1929 classic book, Camping and Character, Dimock and Hendry list skills in camping activities such as canoeing, swimming, riding, and sailing accompanied by the associated knowledge as the first and second objectives of the summer camp experience. Few would argue this potential benefit of adventure education. Physical benefits can be classified as the psychomotor and technical skills required for participation in activities that entail moving across land or water by natural means. The physiological gains of exercise constitute another aspect of physical benefits.
Depending on the setting, adventure education can provide the venue for the acquisition of a vast array of physical and thinking skills that are usually associated with living outdoors. Thinking skills include knowledge of safety measures and the need to follow them as well as knowledge of skills and the environment in which they take place (Ford and Blanchard 1985). Higher-order thinking skills such as planning and solving problems are an often sought-after benefit. Additionally, most adventure programs tap into their setting to provide environmental awareness as a cognitive outcome.
Positive Values and Spirituality
As mentioned earlier, acquiring and strengthening virtues was an overriding concern for early proponents of adventure experiences. The need for virtuous conduct is just as important now as it was then (some would argue more so). Successful participation in today's complex society demands making appropriate decisions and accepting the consequences of one's choices. Insights gained from constructive adventure experiences can help instill positive values and principles such as selflessness and compassion, keeping commitments and fulfilling obligations, self-discipline, and honesty, to name a few. These values and principles are important in that they can assist in "achieving some harmony between principles of self-interest and altruism. It suggests that not only can we explore, develop, and appreciate our own unique potential, but that we can use our emerging abilities to benefit others and the environment in which we all live. Consequently, by becoming responsible we can reaffirm our own worth, our sense of belonging, and our awareness of place" (Parker and Stiehl 2005).
Certainly for many, outdoor adventure experiences involve a spiritual component. Spirituality, although often associated with religion, can be painted with a much broader stroke. When adventure programs are conducted in the outdoors, contact with the natural environment can add a spiritually moving dimension; "either because of the beautiful natural setting, the opportunities for bonding with others, or meaningful religious practices, young people have an opportunity to connect to the earth, to each other, and perhaps to a higher power" (ACA 2005a).
We believe in a humble orientation to the environment-that the outdoor world does not exist for the hedonistic pursuits of a privileged few, that loud people who speak before listening, who use more than their share of the air to announce their identity, are like destructive initials on a tree trunk tarred with a brush of unsustainable and repugnant attitudes. The natural world rejuvenates the soul and reminds us of our place in this awe-inspiring world. It is where we come closest to appreciating our connectedness with the rest of creation.
Achieving Benefits
It is abundantly clear that adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise. The uniqueness of the environment and the activities provide a venue not only for learning new skills and acquiring relevant knowledge, but also for promoting calculated risk taking, camaraderie with others, and reverence for the natural world. The larger question, however, may be this: Is adventure education reaching its potential? In 1918, Bobbitt stated,
The controlling purposes of education have not been sufficiently particularized. We have aimed at a vague culture, an ill-defined discipline, indefinite moral character building, an unparticularized social efficiency, or nothing more than an escape from a life of work. Often there are no controlling purposes; the momentum of the educational machine keeps it running. So long as objectives are but vague guesses, or not even that, there can be no demand for anything but vague guesses as to means and procedures. But the era of contentment with large undefined purposes is rapidly passing. (41-42)
While Bobbitt was speaking of traditional education in kindergarten through 12th grade, it would not be unreasonable to substitute adventure education for education in his admonition.
All too often adventure education has relied on its novelty as an attractor while neglecting to design learning environments in which deliberate goal acquisition is the chief aim. If adventure programs are to mean something, they must first
• be built on a solid philosophy that reflects the values and beliefs of the program designers,
• state important goals,
• include a way of measuring those goals, and
• incorporate instructional practices that allow participants to demonstrate achievement of the goals (Tannehill and Lund 2005).
Good content that is poorly delivered or good intentions with weak or inappropriate content are unlikely to produce favorable results.
Stating a Philosophy
The philosophy of any adventure program provides the foundational beliefs that undergird all subsequent decisions of a program. The philosophy emanates from the beliefs and values of the program designers, the participants the program serves, and the setting of the program. In adventure programming, a philosophy might range from providing participants with the physical skills necessary for being more active in the outdoor environment to simply offering a venue for fun and escape. Adventure programs, whether recreational or educational, should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits, even if those benefits are an escape from ordinary life.
Determining Goals, Assessments, and Instructional Strategies
Once a philosophy has been articulated, the following three questions can guide what educational experts have referred to as backward design (Wiggins and McTighe 1998), an outcomes approach (Spady and Marshall 1991), and design-down curricular process (Lambert 2003).
1. What do we want our participants to know and be able to do as a result of being in our program? In educational terms, this is a curricular question of what is to be taught. By answering it, adventure programmers and educators identify what's important and the deliberate, intended outcomes of their programs. Wiggins and McTighe (1998) define this information as "enduring understandings" because it represents what we want participants to gain from our programs.
2. How do we know when participants have been successful? The answer to this question allows programmers and educators to know when they have achieved the desired outcomes. Traditionally, adventure educators have used subjective observation to answer this question, if they answer it at all. To guide future programming and assist in participant achievement of desired benefits, systematic and objective means of documenting the achievement of benefits must be identified.
3. How can we get participants to achieve desired outcomes in the most challenging and engaging ways possible? Adventure activities are alluring for most participants. Over two decades ago, Young and Parker (1987) cautioned that this attraction could lead to a laxness in instruction resulting in haphazard acquisition of the desired outcomes. If adventure education is to reach its potential, learning experiences (instruction) must be designed to intentionally and purposefully lead participants toward the desired goals and benefits.
An example from a college-level basic hiking class may help clarify these points. One of the class goals is for students to acquire a greater appreciation and knowledge of the natural world around them-to really see what is out there. This includes curricular aspects of flora, fauna, and geological features. The use of written journals accompanied by teacher questioning and an out-of-class partner hike reported through a written and pictorial portfolio were determined to be meaningful and reasonable ways to determine if participants have, in fact, gained this information (assessment). Several instructional activities can then be designed to help students achieve the goal.
• In an effort to guide novice students' initial journal entries, questions are given at the beginning of every hike that focus on the environment. Questions include such things as identifying a unique rock formation, signs of past human habitation, and five new flowers.
• Another strategy is to acquire a deck of cards with the suits changed to birds, flowers, trees, and animals and provide each participant with five cards. They then look for those things throughout the day.
• The instructor identifies flowers and birds along the trail while helping students learn key identification points.
• Knowing that beginning students most often walk looking at the back of the person in front of them, students can travel a designated section of trail in groups of three, increasing their ability to see.
• Candid camera is an instructional activity that asks students to walk in pairs, one person behind the other. The lead person is unsighted and guided by the sighted partner from behind through hands on the shoulders. When the sighted partner says "Click," the unsighted partner quickly opens and shuts her eyes and reports to the sighted partner what she sees.
• Finally, after acquiring requisite skills and knowledge, participants walk solo for a while.
Because many of these activities require cooperating with a small group or partner, they might also have social benefits-especially if the groups are designed so that participants work with people they do not know.
Lambert (1999) uses the metaphor of a three-legged stool to emphasize the importance of each aspect of program development. If all three legs of the stool-curriculum, assessment, and instruction-are weighted equally, the stool is solid. If one or two legs are removed or weighted unequally, stability is compromised.
Customizing Outcomes
One of the unique aspects of adventure education and programming is its ability to be used to achieve multiple goals, yet it is precisely this uniqueness that can become its Achilles heel. While in the quest to accomplish everything, nothing may be accomplished. Research on benefits from adventure programs supports this notion. For example, in terms of positive identity the results are equivocal; several studies report positive gains in self-esteem constructs (Carson and Gillis 1994; Hattie et. al 1997), some report mixed results (Hazelworth and Wilson 1990; Kaly and Heesacker 2003), and still others report no effect (Danziger 1982; Jernstedt and Johnson 1983; McBride 1984; O'Connell 2002; Pann 2000). The possible benefits of adventure programs cannot be argued, but the reality of those effects is varied.
As previously indicated, adherence to the guidelines of curriculum planners can better ensure the achievement of benefits. However, Jensen and Young (1981) and Stiehl and Parker (2005) take the achievement of benefits a step further. Even adventure programs with a clear philosophy are affected by time, clientele, location, expertise, and a host of idiosyncratic differences. Thus, it is unlikely that one program can be all things to all people. In the desire to have participants achieve all potential benefits, a program may not achieve any.
A useful delineation according to primary and secondary goals (Jensen and Young 1981) may help adventure programmers and educators focus on certain goals and benefits. Their contention is that programs may have primary goals or benefits and others are secondary or concomitant. For example, an outdoor adventure program that is part of a school physical education program might have as its foremost benefits the acquisition of outdoor skills such as orienteering, hiking, and so on for safe participation in outdoor activities. Therefore, physical and thinking goals would be primary. However, while students are learning those skills, they may well acquire social benefits through working with others, and they may develop a positive identity as they gain competence in a new activity. On the other hand, an adventure program that is part of a summer camp with articulated spiritual and social aspects would likely program experiences that use the outdoors as a medium to primarily gain increased spiritual awareness and social competence and secondarily teach necessary skills. Programs would thus be well served by articulating their philosophy to delineate primary and secondary goals and design activities to meet those goals.
Author Tom Robbins (1976) may have summed it up best: "If you believe in peace, act peacefully; if you believe in love, act lovingly; if you believe in every which way, then act every which way, that's perfectly valid-but don't go out trying to sell your beliefs to the System. You end up contradicting what you profess you believe in, and you set a bum example." Adventure education has many potential benefits. However, attempting to achieve too many benefits, especially if any contradict or compete with others, poses a risk of diluting program effectiveness.
Here are some questions that might help you determine the degree to which you are directing efforts toward the benefits and outcomes of adventure in your program:
1. Do you have clearly developed, publicly stated outcomes that underscore the benefits of adventure?
2. Do your outcomes align with the values and beliefs of your sponsors, advocates, and participants?
3. Are your outcomes appropriate for your participants' needs, interests, and abilities; your resources; and your staff knowledge and skills?
4. Do your activities and policies support your stated outcomes?
5. Do you have functional assessments for your stated outcomes?
6. Is there ongoing evaluation of the extent to which outcomes are being achieved?
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Careful planning needed when designing, conducting adventure activities
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group.
There are numerous adventure activity guides and curriculum guides that can provide you with ready-to-use activities. The New Games books mentioned earlier in this chapter are out of print but can be found at some online bookstores. Many newer books of cooperative games exist, such as Terry Orlick's Cooperative Games and Sports, Second Edition (Human Kinetics, 2006). Both the AEE (www.aee.org) and Project Adventure (www.pa.org) offer excellent activity books.
The majority of popular adventure activities are in the public domain and do not have names of their creators associated with them. Facilitators put their mark on any given activity by changing the rules or modifying the objectives slightly-either intentionally (to fit group goals or assets) or by forgetting a piece of the briefing. Sometimes a new piece of equipment will spark a fresh idea, sometimes creativity is required when a week of bad weather keeps an outdoor program indoors, and sometimes an unusual client request serves as inspiration. When adapting and creating activities, keep these guidelines in mind:
• It is easier to create within the framework of an idea than it is to create from scratch. Adapting an existing game is easier than creating something totally new.
• Making one change at a time allows the practitioner to evaluate the impact of that change, good or bad.
• Try many ideas. Some will be fun, some won't; those that are fun and exciting will stick around.
• The more facilitators experiment with the process of creation and understand the components of games, the better the games become at the end of the creative process.
These guidelines have been adapted from an article by Steve Butler, ZipLines Magazine, 2000.
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group. For example, you wouldn't design the same activities for a group of first graders that you would for adolescents; obviously there are major developmental differences between the two groups. Further, you wouldn't design the same program for adolescents trying to develop leadership skills that you would for adolescents trying to remain sober.
A good facilitator will use activities in sequence. For example, it is important not to jump right into trust activities when the group has just met or when there is unresolved conflict from yesterday's initiative. When preparing the adventure session, it is vital to know where your group is. For example, are they cruising along and ready for an activity that provides challenge, or are they having difficulty and are in need of an activity that ensures triumph? You can use your group's performance on previous activities to assess their readiness for future activities. Other things to consider when creating an adventure experience include the following:
• Are my activities appropriate to the fitness level and physical abilities of my group?
• Are the group's behaviors telling me they need to blow off some steam, take a break from intense activity and laugh, and so on?
• Are my activities appropriate to the setting-inside or outside, urban or rural, challenge course or no challenge course?
The sample adventure lesson plan on page 138, designed for middle school physical education students, exemplifies proper planning. Group goals, age development (readiness, group affect, group physical ability, group behavior), and program setting are all accounted for.
Conducting Adventure Activities
Facilitating adventure activities requires much more than reciting a set of rules. Without careful briefing, good equipment, boundary and time-frame selection, attention to safety, and a spirit of fun, the activity will remain a simple list of instructions and not become a learning opportunity. Effective leadership is vital to bringing an activity to life.
Careful Briefing
The way that an activity is briefed should be viewed as a step in the planning process. There is no right or wrong way to brief an activity, but there are some basic guidelines for planning your briefings.
• Allow time for questions (especially for initiatives).
• Provide written instructions.
• Be aware of your choice of language. "Everyone must tag their partner" has the same meaning as "You will have the opportunity to chase your partner," but the wording can help decrease anxiety. Use language that reinforces the commitment to challenge by choice.
• For initiatives that involve creative thinking, explain in advance what is and is not permitted within the scope of the rules so that a group's creative thinking is not shut down in the midst of the activity.
Good Equipment
Many adventure activities require no equipment whatsoever. For those that do, select equipment (often called props) that is unique and will help set the tone of the adventure experience. In Warp Speed (page 132), the facilitator used a beanbag frog instead of a tennis ball. Why? Most participants do not look at a beanbag frog and make assumptions about their ability to throw it and catch it, as they would a tennis ball, and they are likely to handle the frog more gently than the ball. Introduce only the props that are necessary for any given game and keep the rest in a bag or out of sight. A pile of fun-looking toys can be distracting. Keep equipment clean and in good shape. Introduce new props to keep a group engaged.
Boundary and Time-Frame Selection
The size of the play area and the duration of the activities and activity sessions have a significant influence on adventure activities. Consider the following guidelines:
• The boundaries for active games and for initiatives should fit the goals of the session. For example, Everybody's It (page 130) is played in a small rectangular area so that a group can explore issues of safety and personal space. If played in a wide-open gymnasium, it can be a great fitness activity.
• Many initiatives, such as Mass Pass (described in the previous corporate example), involve multiple rounds. Be clear with participants as to how many rounds will be allowed. For example, you might say, "You will have three rounds or 30 minutes to complete this activity, whichever comes first."
• End adventure games at a time when participants are fully engaged; don't wait for the activity to get boring or for behavior to deteriorate.
Safety
It is important to consider the safety aspects of each activity and to address the concerns that each one presents.
• When briefing activities, point out hazards in the play area that may cause harm, such as dips in terrain. If grass is wet and slippery, be especially wary of running games.
• Be aware of medical and physical concerns in your group that may cause a particular activity to be inappropriate. Shoulder injuries, sprained ankles, and back problems are common and can be exacerbated given the nature of some activities.
• Challenge by choice is more than a cornerstone of program quality; it's also a vital tool in keeping people safe. Make sure that participants understand their choices.
• Do participants have the skills to perform the activity? Follow the guidelines for sequencing to increase the chances of a safe experience for all.
• Maintain an emotionally safe environment.
Fun
The energy and spirit of a group is largely influenced by that of the facilitator. Participate when it is possible and safe to do so, and model what you desire from the group. Use fun metaphors and fantasy when briefing an activity. Point out rule infractions in a way that keeps the spirit positive.
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Clearly stated philosophy, goals key to achieving benefits of adventure education
Adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise, but programs should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits.
Tangible Outcomes of Adventure
For the purposes of this chapter we suggest that there are distinctions between adventure and outdoor programs that reside in their primary purpose, the setting in which they are conducted, and the risk involved. Outdoor programs focus on the development of technical skill in the natural setting and thus involve actual risk. On the other hand, adventure programs focus on personal and group development in developed areas and concentrate on perceived risk. While adventure and outdoor could be two ends of a continuum with much overlap in the middle, the distinctions become important when determining goals and benefits of programs.
Our interest in original and current proponents of adventure led us repeatedly to the American Camp Association (ACA). Founded in 1910, the ACA represents all segments of the camp profession and is dedicated to enriching the lives of children and adults through camp experiences. A recently published ACA document provides a starting point for defining and categorizing adventure outcomes (2005b). The document summarizes a large research study of camper outcomes. Results from the study provide evidence that camp is a positive force in youth development. Moreover, many of the aspects of positive growth mentioned in this study correspond with outcomes cited in previous literature. The following domains used in the ACA study can assist in identifying specific goals for adventure programmers.
Positive Identity
If we address the possible goals or benefits of adventure education in terms of benefits to the participant, the notion of positive identity has remained primary through the decades. While positive identity is a bit of a nebulous term, it generally includes various aspects of character development such as self-esteem, determination, dependability, ambition, and independence. Increases in self-esteem lead to feelings of worth, competence, confidence, and optimism. Independence fosters stepping out of one's comfort zone into unfamiliar territory that produces anxiety and fear as well as exhilaration, initiative, and calculated risk taking.
Social Skills
The acquisition of social skills extends beyond the individual benefits of positive identity by focusing on participants' interactions with each other. The social dimension of adventure can be highly significant. For example, challenges in an adventure setting can facilitate group bonding and cooperation. Working as a team, people can learn to resolve disagreements, appreciate differences, develop new friendships, and generally get along with others. Adventure experiences also can offer opportunities to demonstrate leadership and to accept responsibilities unavailable in other settings. Finally, adventure provides occasions for being together, having a sense of community, enjoying the company of like-minded people, and feeling connected to something larger than oneself.
Physical and Thinking Skills
In their 1929 classic book, Camping and Character, Dimock and Hendry list skills in camping activities such as canoeing, swimming, riding, and sailing accompanied by the associated knowledge as the first and second objectives of the summer camp experience. Few would argue this potential benefit of adventure education. Physical benefits can be classified as the psychomotor and technical skills required for participation in activities that entail moving across land or water by natural means. The physiological gains of exercise constitute another aspect of physical benefits.
Depending on the setting, adventure education can provide the venue for the acquisition of a vast array of physical and thinking skills that are usually associated with living outdoors. Thinking skills include knowledge of safety measures and the need to follow them as well as knowledge of skills and the environment in which they take place (Ford and Blanchard 1985). Higher-order thinking skills such as planning and solving problems are an often sought-after benefit. Additionally, most adventure programs tap into their setting to provide environmental awareness as a cognitive outcome.
Positive Values and Spirituality
As mentioned earlier, acquiring and strengthening virtues was an overriding concern for early proponents of adventure experiences. The need for virtuous conduct is just as important now as it was then (some would argue more so). Successful participation in today's complex society demands making appropriate decisions and accepting the consequences of one's choices. Insights gained from constructive adventure experiences can help instill positive values and principles such as selflessness and compassion, keeping commitments and fulfilling obligations, self-discipline, and honesty, to name a few. These values and principles are important in that they can assist in "achieving some harmony between principles of self-interest and altruism. It suggests that not only can we explore, develop, and appreciate our own unique potential, but that we can use our emerging abilities to benefit others and the environment in which we all live. Consequently, by becoming responsible we can reaffirm our own worth, our sense of belonging, and our awareness of place" (Parker and Stiehl 2005).
Certainly for many, outdoor adventure experiences involve a spiritual component. Spirituality, although often associated with religion, can be painted with a much broader stroke. When adventure programs are conducted in the outdoors, contact with the natural environment can add a spiritually moving dimension; "either because of the beautiful natural setting, the opportunities for bonding with others, or meaningful religious practices, young people have an opportunity to connect to the earth, to each other, and perhaps to a higher power" (ACA 2005a).
We believe in a humble orientation to the environment-that the outdoor world does not exist for the hedonistic pursuits of a privileged few, that loud people who speak before listening, who use more than their share of the air to announce their identity, are like destructive initials on a tree trunk tarred with a brush of unsustainable and repugnant attitudes. The natural world rejuvenates the soul and reminds us of our place in this awe-inspiring world. It is where we come closest to appreciating our connectedness with the rest of creation.
Achieving Benefits
It is abundantly clear that adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise. The uniqueness of the environment and the activities provide a venue not only for learning new skills and acquiring relevant knowledge, but also for promoting calculated risk taking, camaraderie with others, and reverence for the natural world. The larger question, however, may be this: Is adventure education reaching its potential? In 1918, Bobbitt stated,
The controlling purposes of education have not been sufficiently particularized. We have aimed at a vague culture, an ill-defined discipline, indefinite moral character building, an unparticularized social efficiency, or nothing more than an escape from a life of work. Often there are no controlling purposes; the momentum of the educational machine keeps it running. So long as objectives are but vague guesses, or not even that, there can be no demand for anything but vague guesses as to means and procedures. But the era of contentment with large undefined purposes is rapidly passing. (41-42)
While Bobbitt was speaking of traditional education in kindergarten through 12th grade, it would not be unreasonable to substitute adventure education for education in his admonition.
All too often adventure education has relied on its novelty as an attractor while neglecting to design learning environments in which deliberate goal acquisition is the chief aim. If adventure programs are to mean something, they must first
• be built on a solid philosophy that reflects the values and beliefs of the program designers,
• state important goals,
• include a way of measuring those goals, and
• incorporate instructional practices that allow participants to demonstrate achievement of the goals (Tannehill and Lund 2005).
Good content that is poorly delivered or good intentions with weak or inappropriate content are unlikely to produce favorable results.
Stating a Philosophy
The philosophy of any adventure program provides the foundational beliefs that undergird all subsequent decisions of a program. The philosophy emanates from the beliefs and values of the program designers, the participants the program serves, and the setting of the program. In adventure programming, a philosophy might range from providing participants with the physical skills necessary for being more active in the outdoor environment to simply offering a venue for fun and escape. Adventure programs, whether recreational or educational, should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits, even if those benefits are an escape from ordinary life.
Determining Goals, Assessments, and Instructional Strategies
Once a philosophy has been articulated, the following three questions can guide what educational experts have referred to as backward design (Wiggins and McTighe 1998), an outcomes approach (Spady and Marshall 1991), and design-down curricular process (Lambert 2003).
1. What do we want our participants to know and be able to do as a result of being in our program? In educational terms, this is a curricular question of what is to be taught. By answering it, adventure programmers and educators identify what's important and the deliberate, intended outcomes of their programs. Wiggins and McTighe (1998) define this information as "enduring understandings" because it represents what we want participants to gain from our programs.
2. How do we know when participants have been successful? The answer to this question allows programmers and educators to know when they have achieved the desired outcomes. Traditionally, adventure educators have used subjective observation to answer this question, if they answer it at all. To guide future programming and assist in participant achievement of desired benefits, systematic and objective means of documenting the achievement of benefits must be identified.
3. How can we get participants to achieve desired outcomes in the most challenging and engaging ways possible? Adventure activities are alluring for most participants. Over two decades ago, Young and Parker (1987) cautioned that this attraction could lead to a laxness in instruction resulting in haphazard acquisition of the desired outcomes. If adventure education is to reach its potential, learning experiences (instruction) must be designed to intentionally and purposefully lead participants toward the desired goals and benefits.
An example from a college-level basic hiking class may help clarify these points. One of the class goals is for students to acquire a greater appreciation and knowledge of the natural world around them-to really see what is out there. This includes curricular aspects of flora, fauna, and geological features. The use of written journals accompanied by teacher questioning and an out-of-class partner hike reported through a written and pictorial portfolio were determined to be meaningful and reasonable ways to determine if participants have, in fact, gained this information (assessment). Several instructional activities can then be designed to help students achieve the goal.
• In an effort to guide novice students' initial journal entries, questions are given at the beginning of every hike that focus on the environment. Questions include such things as identifying a unique rock formation, signs of past human habitation, and five new flowers.
• Another strategy is to acquire a deck of cards with the suits changed to birds, flowers, trees, and animals and provide each participant with five cards. They then look for those things throughout the day.
• The instructor identifies flowers and birds along the trail while helping students learn key identification points.
• Knowing that beginning students most often walk looking at the back of the person in front of them, students can travel a designated section of trail in groups of three, increasing their ability to see.
• Candid camera is an instructional activity that asks students to walk in pairs, one person behind the other. The lead person is unsighted and guided by the sighted partner from behind through hands on the shoulders. When the sighted partner says "Click," the unsighted partner quickly opens and shuts her eyes and reports to the sighted partner what she sees.
• Finally, after acquiring requisite skills and knowledge, participants walk solo for a while.
Because many of these activities require cooperating with a small group or partner, they might also have social benefits-especially if the groups are designed so that participants work with people they do not know.
Lambert (1999) uses the metaphor of a three-legged stool to emphasize the importance of each aspect of program development. If all three legs of the stool-curriculum, assessment, and instruction-are weighted equally, the stool is solid. If one or two legs are removed or weighted unequally, stability is compromised.
Customizing Outcomes
One of the unique aspects of adventure education and programming is its ability to be used to achieve multiple goals, yet it is precisely this uniqueness that can become its Achilles heel. While in the quest to accomplish everything, nothing may be accomplished. Research on benefits from adventure programs supports this notion. For example, in terms of positive identity the results are equivocal; several studies report positive gains in self-esteem constructs (Carson and Gillis 1994; Hattie et. al 1997), some report mixed results (Hazelworth and Wilson 1990; Kaly and Heesacker 2003), and still others report no effect (Danziger 1982; Jernstedt and Johnson 1983; McBride 1984; O'Connell 2002; Pann 2000). The possible benefits of adventure programs cannot be argued, but the reality of those effects is varied.
As previously indicated, adherence to the guidelines of curriculum planners can better ensure the achievement of benefits. However, Jensen and Young (1981) and Stiehl and Parker (2005) take the achievement of benefits a step further. Even adventure programs with a clear philosophy are affected by time, clientele, location, expertise, and a host of idiosyncratic differences. Thus, it is unlikely that one program can be all things to all people. In the desire to have participants achieve all potential benefits, a program may not achieve any.
A useful delineation according to primary and secondary goals (Jensen and Young 1981) may help adventure programmers and educators focus on certain goals and benefits. Their contention is that programs may have primary goals or benefits and others are secondary or concomitant. For example, an outdoor adventure program that is part of a school physical education program might have as its foremost benefits the acquisition of outdoor skills such as orienteering, hiking, and so on for safe participation in outdoor activities. Therefore, physical and thinking goals would be primary. However, while students are learning those skills, they may well acquire social benefits through working with others, and they may develop a positive identity as they gain competence in a new activity. On the other hand, an adventure program that is part of a summer camp with articulated spiritual and social aspects would likely program experiences that use the outdoors as a medium to primarily gain increased spiritual awareness and social competence and secondarily teach necessary skills. Programs would thus be well served by articulating their philosophy to delineate primary and secondary goals and design activities to meet those goals.
Author Tom Robbins (1976) may have summed it up best: "If you believe in peace, act peacefully; if you believe in love, act lovingly; if you believe in every which way, then act every which way, that's perfectly valid-but don't go out trying to sell your beliefs to the System. You end up contradicting what you profess you believe in, and you set a bum example." Adventure education has many potential benefits. However, attempting to achieve too many benefits, especially if any contradict or compete with others, poses a risk of diluting program effectiveness.
Here are some questions that might help you determine the degree to which you are directing efforts toward the benefits and outcomes of adventure in your program:
1. Do you have clearly developed, publicly stated outcomes that underscore the benefits of adventure?
2. Do your outcomes align with the values and beliefs of your sponsors, advocates, and participants?
3. Are your outcomes appropriate for your participants' needs, interests, and abilities; your resources; and your staff knowledge and skills?
4. Do your activities and policies support your stated outcomes?
5. Do you have functional assessments for your stated outcomes?
6. Is there ongoing evaluation of the extent to which outcomes are being achieved?
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Careful planning needed when designing, conducting adventure activities
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group.
There are numerous adventure activity guides and curriculum guides that can provide you with ready-to-use activities. The New Games books mentioned earlier in this chapter are out of print but can be found at some online bookstores. Many newer books of cooperative games exist, such as Terry Orlick's Cooperative Games and Sports, Second Edition (Human Kinetics, 2006). Both the AEE (www.aee.org) and Project Adventure (www.pa.org) offer excellent activity books.
The majority of popular adventure activities are in the public domain and do not have names of their creators associated with them. Facilitators put their mark on any given activity by changing the rules or modifying the objectives slightly-either intentionally (to fit group goals or assets) or by forgetting a piece of the briefing. Sometimes a new piece of equipment will spark a fresh idea, sometimes creativity is required when a week of bad weather keeps an outdoor program indoors, and sometimes an unusual client request serves as inspiration. When adapting and creating activities, keep these guidelines in mind:
• It is easier to create within the framework of an idea than it is to create from scratch. Adapting an existing game is easier than creating something totally new.
• Making one change at a time allows the practitioner to evaluate the impact of that change, good or bad.
• Try many ideas. Some will be fun, some won't; those that are fun and exciting will stick around.
• The more facilitators experiment with the process of creation and understand the components of games, the better the games become at the end of the creative process.
These guidelines have been adapted from an article by Steve Butler, ZipLines Magazine, 2000.
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group. For example, you wouldn't design the same activities for a group of first graders that you would for adolescents; obviously there are major developmental differences between the two groups. Further, you wouldn't design the same program for adolescents trying to develop leadership skills that you would for adolescents trying to remain sober.
A good facilitator will use activities in sequence. For example, it is important not to jump right into trust activities when the group has just met or when there is unresolved conflict from yesterday's initiative. When preparing the adventure session, it is vital to know where your group is. For example, are they cruising along and ready for an activity that provides challenge, or are they having difficulty and are in need of an activity that ensures triumph? You can use your group's performance on previous activities to assess their readiness for future activities. Other things to consider when creating an adventure experience include the following:
• Are my activities appropriate to the fitness level and physical abilities of my group?
• Are the group's behaviors telling me they need to blow off some steam, take a break from intense activity and laugh, and so on?
• Are my activities appropriate to the setting-inside or outside, urban or rural, challenge course or no challenge course?
The sample adventure lesson plan on page 138, designed for middle school physical education students, exemplifies proper planning. Group goals, age development (readiness, group affect, group physical ability, group behavior), and program setting are all accounted for.
Conducting Adventure Activities
Facilitating adventure activities requires much more than reciting a set of rules. Without careful briefing, good equipment, boundary and time-frame selection, attention to safety, and a spirit of fun, the activity will remain a simple list of instructions and not become a learning opportunity. Effective leadership is vital to bringing an activity to life.
Careful Briefing
The way that an activity is briefed should be viewed as a step in the planning process. There is no right or wrong way to brief an activity, but there are some basic guidelines for planning your briefings.
• Allow time for questions (especially for initiatives).
• Provide written instructions.
• Be aware of your choice of language. "Everyone must tag their partner" has the same meaning as "You will have the opportunity to chase your partner," but the wording can help decrease anxiety. Use language that reinforces the commitment to challenge by choice.
• For initiatives that involve creative thinking, explain in advance what is and is not permitted within the scope of the rules so that a group's creative thinking is not shut down in the midst of the activity.
Good Equipment
Many adventure activities require no equipment whatsoever. For those that do, select equipment (often called props) that is unique and will help set the tone of the adventure experience. In Warp Speed (page 132), the facilitator used a beanbag frog instead of a tennis ball. Why? Most participants do not look at a beanbag frog and make assumptions about their ability to throw it and catch it, as they would a tennis ball, and they are likely to handle the frog more gently than the ball. Introduce only the props that are necessary for any given game and keep the rest in a bag or out of sight. A pile of fun-looking toys can be distracting. Keep equipment clean and in good shape. Introduce new props to keep a group engaged.
Boundary and Time-Frame Selection
The size of the play area and the duration of the activities and activity sessions have a significant influence on adventure activities. Consider the following guidelines:
• The boundaries for active games and for initiatives should fit the goals of the session. For example, Everybody's It (page 130) is played in a small rectangular area so that a group can explore issues of safety and personal space. If played in a wide-open gymnasium, it can be a great fitness activity.
• Many initiatives, such as Mass Pass (described in the previous corporate example), involve multiple rounds. Be clear with participants as to how many rounds will be allowed. For example, you might say, "You will have three rounds or 30 minutes to complete this activity, whichever comes first."
• End adventure games at a time when participants are fully engaged; don't wait for the activity to get boring or for behavior to deteriorate.
Safety
It is important to consider the safety aspects of each activity and to address the concerns that each one presents.
• When briefing activities, point out hazards in the play area that may cause harm, such as dips in terrain. If grass is wet and slippery, be especially wary of running games.
• Be aware of medical and physical concerns in your group that may cause a particular activity to be inappropriate. Shoulder injuries, sprained ankles, and back problems are common and can be exacerbated given the nature of some activities.
• Challenge by choice is more than a cornerstone of program quality; it's also a vital tool in keeping people safe. Make sure that participants understand their choices.
• Do participants have the skills to perform the activity? Follow the guidelines for sequencing to increase the chances of a safe experience for all.
• Maintain an emotionally safe environment.
Fun
The energy and spirit of a group is largely influenced by that of the facilitator. Participate when it is possible and safe to do so, and model what you desire from the group. Use fun metaphors and fantasy when briefing an activity. Point out rule infractions in a way that keeps the spirit positive.
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Clearly stated philosophy, goals key to achieving benefits of adventure education
Adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise, but programs should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits.
Tangible Outcomes of Adventure
For the purposes of this chapter we suggest that there are distinctions between adventure and outdoor programs that reside in their primary purpose, the setting in which they are conducted, and the risk involved. Outdoor programs focus on the development of technical skill in the natural setting and thus involve actual risk. On the other hand, adventure programs focus on personal and group development in developed areas and concentrate on perceived risk. While adventure and outdoor could be two ends of a continuum with much overlap in the middle, the distinctions become important when determining goals and benefits of programs.
Our interest in original and current proponents of adventure led us repeatedly to the American Camp Association (ACA). Founded in 1910, the ACA represents all segments of the camp profession and is dedicated to enriching the lives of children and adults through camp experiences. A recently published ACA document provides a starting point for defining and categorizing adventure outcomes (2005b). The document summarizes a large research study of camper outcomes. Results from the study provide evidence that camp is a positive force in youth development. Moreover, many of the aspects of positive growth mentioned in this study correspond with outcomes cited in previous literature. The following domains used in the ACA study can assist in identifying specific goals for adventure programmers.
Positive Identity
If we address the possible goals or benefits of adventure education in terms of benefits to the participant, the notion of positive identity has remained primary through the decades. While positive identity is a bit of a nebulous term, it generally includes various aspects of character development such as self-esteem, determination, dependability, ambition, and independence. Increases in self-esteem lead to feelings of worth, competence, confidence, and optimism. Independence fosters stepping out of one's comfort zone into unfamiliar territory that produces anxiety and fear as well as exhilaration, initiative, and calculated risk taking.
Social Skills
The acquisition of social skills extends beyond the individual benefits of positive identity by focusing on participants' interactions with each other. The social dimension of adventure can be highly significant. For example, challenges in an adventure setting can facilitate group bonding and cooperation. Working as a team, people can learn to resolve disagreements, appreciate differences, develop new friendships, and generally get along with others. Adventure experiences also can offer opportunities to demonstrate leadership and to accept responsibilities unavailable in other settings. Finally, adventure provides occasions for being together, having a sense of community, enjoying the company of like-minded people, and feeling connected to something larger than oneself.
Physical and Thinking Skills
In their 1929 classic book, Camping and Character, Dimock and Hendry list skills in camping activities such as canoeing, swimming, riding, and sailing accompanied by the associated knowledge as the first and second objectives of the summer camp experience. Few would argue this potential benefit of adventure education. Physical benefits can be classified as the psychomotor and technical skills required for participation in activities that entail moving across land or water by natural means. The physiological gains of exercise constitute another aspect of physical benefits.
Depending on the setting, adventure education can provide the venue for the acquisition of a vast array of physical and thinking skills that are usually associated with living outdoors. Thinking skills include knowledge of safety measures and the need to follow them as well as knowledge of skills and the environment in which they take place (Ford and Blanchard 1985). Higher-order thinking skills such as planning and solving problems are an often sought-after benefit. Additionally, most adventure programs tap into their setting to provide environmental awareness as a cognitive outcome.
Positive Values and Spirituality
As mentioned earlier, acquiring and strengthening virtues was an overriding concern for early proponents of adventure experiences. The need for virtuous conduct is just as important now as it was then (some would argue more so). Successful participation in today's complex society demands making appropriate decisions and accepting the consequences of one's choices. Insights gained from constructive adventure experiences can help instill positive values and principles such as selflessness and compassion, keeping commitments and fulfilling obligations, self-discipline, and honesty, to name a few. These values and principles are important in that they can assist in "achieving some harmony between principles of self-interest and altruism. It suggests that not only can we explore, develop, and appreciate our own unique potential, but that we can use our emerging abilities to benefit others and the environment in which we all live. Consequently, by becoming responsible we can reaffirm our own worth, our sense of belonging, and our awareness of place" (Parker and Stiehl 2005).
Certainly for many, outdoor adventure experiences involve a spiritual component. Spirituality, although often associated with religion, can be painted with a much broader stroke. When adventure programs are conducted in the outdoors, contact with the natural environment can add a spiritually moving dimension; "either because of the beautiful natural setting, the opportunities for bonding with others, or meaningful religious practices, young people have an opportunity to connect to the earth, to each other, and perhaps to a higher power" (ACA 2005a).
We believe in a humble orientation to the environment-that the outdoor world does not exist for the hedonistic pursuits of a privileged few, that loud people who speak before listening, who use more than their share of the air to announce their identity, are like destructive initials on a tree trunk tarred with a brush of unsustainable and repugnant attitudes. The natural world rejuvenates the soul and reminds us of our place in this awe-inspiring world. It is where we come closest to appreciating our connectedness with the rest of creation.
Achieving Benefits
It is abundantly clear that adventure education has a vast potential for achieving a multitude of goals, educational and otherwise. The uniqueness of the environment and the activities provide a venue not only for learning new skills and acquiring relevant knowledge, but also for promoting calculated risk taking, camaraderie with others, and reverence for the natural world. The larger question, however, may be this: Is adventure education reaching its potential? In 1918, Bobbitt stated,
The controlling purposes of education have not been sufficiently particularized. We have aimed at a vague culture, an ill-defined discipline, indefinite moral character building, an unparticularized social efficiency, or nothing more than an escape from a life of work. Often there are no controlling purposes; the momentum of the educational machine keeps it running. So long as objectives are but vague guesses, or not even that, there can be no demand for anything but vague guesses as to means and procedures. But the era of contentment with large undefined purposes is rapidly passing. (41-42)
While Bobbitt was speaking of traditional education in kindergarten through 12th grade, it would not be unreasonable to substitute adventure education for education in his admonition.
All too often adventure education has relied on its novelty as an attractor while neglecting to design learning environments in which deliberate goal acquisition is the chief aim. If adventure programs are to mean something, they must first
• be built on a solid philosophy that reflects the values and beliefs of the program designers,
• state important goals,
• include a way of measuring those goals, and
• incorporate instructional practices that allow participants to demonstrate achievement of the goals (Tannehill and Lund 2005).
Good content that is poorly delivered or good intentions with weak or inappropriate content are unlikely to produce favorable results.
Stating a Philosophy
The philosophy of any adventure program provides the foundational beliefs that undergird all subsequent decisions of a program. The philosophy emanates from the beliefs and values of the program designers, the participants the program serves, and the setting of the program. In adventure programming, a philosophy might range from providing participants with the physical skills necessary for being more active in the outdoor environment to simply offering a venue for fun and escape. Adventure programs, whether recreational or educational, should contain a clear philosophy that leads to discernible learning or benefits, even if those benefits are an escape from ordinary life.
Determining Goals, Assessments, and Instructional Strategies
Once a philosophy has been articulated, the following three questions can guide what educational experts have referred to as backward design (Wiggins and McTighe 1998), an outcomes approach (Spady and Marshall 1991), and design-down curricular process (Lambert 2003).
1. What do we want our participants to know and be able to do as a result of being in our program? In educational terms, this is a curricular question of what is to be taught. By answering it, adventure programmers and educators identify what's important and the deliberate, intended outcomes of their programs. Wiggins and McTighe (1998) define this information as "enduring understandings" because it represents what we want participants to gain from our programs.
2. How do we know when participants have been successful? The answer to this question allows programmers and educators to know when they have achieved the desired outcomes. Traditionally, adventure educators have used subjective observation to answer this question, if they answer it at all. To guide future programming and assist in participant achievement of desired benefits, systematic and objective means of documenting the achievement of benefits must be identified.
3. How can we get participants to achieve desired outcomes in the most challenging and engaging ways possible? Adventure activities are alluring for most participants. Over two decades ago, Young and Parker (1987) cautioned that this attraction could lead to a laxness in instruction resulting in haphazard acquisition of the desired outcomes. If adventure education is to reach its potential, learning experiences (instruction) must be designed to intentionally and purposefully lead participants toward the desired goals and benefits.
An example from a college-level basic hiking class may help clarify these points. One of the class goals is for students to acquire a greater appreciation and knowledge of the natural world around them-to really see what is out there. This includes curricular aspects of flora, fauna, and geological features. The use of written journals accompanied by teacher questioning and an out-of-class partner hike reported through a written and pictorial portfolio were determined to be meaningful and reasonable ways to determine if participants have, in fact, gained this information (assessment). Several instructional activities can then be designed to help students achieve the goal.
• In an effort to guide novice students' initial journal entries, questions are given at the beginning of every hike that focus on the environment. Questions include such things as identifying a unique rock formation, signs of past human habitation, and five new flowers.
• Another strategy is to acquire a deck of cards with the suits changed to birds, flowers, trees, and animals and provide each participant with five cards. They then look for those things throughout the day.
• The instructor identifies flowers and birds along the trail while helping students learn key identification points.
• Knowing that beginning students most often walk looking at the back of the person in front of them, students can travel a designated section of trail in groups of three, increasing their ability to see.
• Candid camera is an instructional activity that asks students to walk in pairs, one person behind the other. The lead person is unsighted and guided by the sighted partner from behind through hands on the shoulders. When the sighted partner says "Click," the unsighted partner quickly opens and shuts her eyes and reports to the sighted partner what she sees.
• Finally, after acquiring requisite skills and knowledge, participants walk solo for a while.
Because many of these activities require cooperating with a small group or partner, they might also have social benefits-especially if the groups are designed so that participants work with people they do not know.
Lambert (1999) uses the metaphor of a three-legged stool to emphasize the importance of each aspect of program development. If all three legs of the stool-curriculum, assessment, and instruction-are weighted equally, the stool is solid. If one or two legs are removed or weighted unequally, stability is compromised.
Customizing Outcomes
One of the unique aspects of adventure education and programming is its ability to be used to achieve multiple goals, yet it is precisely this uniqueness that can become its Achilles heel. While in the quest to accomplish everything, nothing may be accomplished. Research on benefits from adventure programs supports this notion. For example, in terms of positive identity the results are equivocal; several studies report positive gains in self-esteem constructs (Carson and Gillis 1994; Hattie et. al 1997), some report mixed results (Hazelworth and Wilson 1990; Kaly and Heesacker 2003), and still others report no effect (Danziger 1982; Jernstedt and Johnson 1983; McBride 1984; O'Connell 2002; Pann 2000). The possible benefits of adventure programs cannot be argued, but the reality of those effects is varied.
As previously indicated, adherence to the guidelines of curriculum planners can better ensure the achievement of benefits. However, Jensen and Young (1981) and Stiehl and Parker (2005) take the achievement of benefits a step further. Even adventure programs with a clear philosophy are affected by time, clientele, location, expertise, and a host of idiosyncratic differences. Thus, it is unlikely that one program can be all things to all people. In the desire to have participants achieve all potential benefits, a program may not achieve any.
A useful delineation according to primary and secondary goals (Jensen and Young 1981) may help adventure programmers and educators focus on certain goals and benefits. Their contention is that programs may have primary goals or benefits and others are secondary or concomitant. For example, an outdoor adventure program that is part of a school physical education program might have as its foremost benefits the acquisition of outdoor skills such as orienteering, hiking, and so on for safe participation in outdoor activities. Therefore, physical and thinking goals would be primary. However, while students are learning those skills, they may well acquire social benefits through working with others, and they may develop a positive identity as they gain competence in a new activity. On the other hand, an adventure program that is part of a summer camp with articulated spiritual and social aspects would likely program experiences that use the outdoors as a medium to primarily gain increased spiritual awareness and social competence and secondarily teach necessary skills. Programs would thus be well served by articulating their philosophy to delineate primary and secondary goals and design activities to meet those goals.
Author Tom Robbins (1976) may have summed it up best: "If you believe in peace, act peacefully; if you believe in love, act lovingly; if you believe in every which way, then act every which way, that's perfectly valid-but don't go out trying to sell your beliefs to the System. You end up contradicting what you profess you believe in, and you set a bum example." Adventure education has many potential benefits. However, attempting to achieve too many benefits, especially if any contradict or compete with others, poses a risk of diluting program effectiveness.
Here are some questions that might help you determine the degree to which you are directing efforts toward the benefits and outcomes of adventure in your program:
1. Do you have clearly developed, publicly stated outcomes that underscore the benefits of adventure?
2. Do your outcomes align with the values and beliefs of your sponsors, advocates, and participants?
3. Are your outcomes appropriate for your participants' needs, interests, and abilities; your resources; and your staff knowledge and skills?
4. Do your activities and policies support your stated outcomes?
5. Do you have functional assessments for your stated outcomes?
6. Is there ongoing evaluation of the extent to which outcomes are being achieved?
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
Careful planning needed when designing, conducting adventure activities
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group.
There are numerous adventure activity guides and curriculum guides that can provide you with ready-to-use activities. The New Games books mentioned earlier in this chapter are out of print but can be found at some online bookstores. Many newer books of cooperative games exist, such as Terry Orlick's Cooperative Games and Sports, Second Edition (Human Kinetics, 2006). Both the AEE (www.aee.org) and Project Adventure (www.pa.org) offer excellent activity books.
The majority of popular adventure activities are in the public domain and do not have names of their creators associated with them. Facilitators put their mark on any given activity by changing the rules or modifying the objectives slightly-either intentionally (to fit group goals or assets) or by forgetting a piece of the briefing. Sometimes a new piece of equipment will spark a fresh idea, sometimes creativity is required when a week of bad weather keeps an outdoor program indoors, and sometimes an unusual client request serves as inspiration. When adapting and creating activities, keep these guidelines in mind:
• It is easier to create within the framework of an idea than it is to create from scratch. Adapting an existing game is easier than creating something totally new.
• Making one change at a time allows the practitioner to evaluate the impact of that change, good or bad.
• Try many ideas. Some will be fun, some won't; those that are fun and exciting will stick around.
• The more facilitators experiment with the process of creation and understand the components of games, the better the games become at the end of the creative process.
These guidelines have been adapted from an article by Steve Butler, ZipLines Magazine, 2000.
For learning to happen through adventure, activities must be intentional. It is critical that activities be appropriate to both the constituency and the goals of your group. For example, you wouldn't design the same activities for a group of first graders that you would for adolescents; obviously there are major developmental differences between the two groups. Further, you wouldn't design the same program for adolescents trying to develop leadership skills that you would for adolescents trying to remain sober.
A good facilitator will use activities in sequence. For example, it is important not to jump right into trust activities when the group has just met or when there is unresolved conflict from yesterday's initiative. When preparing the adventure session, it is vital to know where your group is. For example, are they cruising along and ready for an activity that provides challenge, or are they having difficulty and are in need of an activity that ensures triumph? You can use your group's performance on previous activities to assess their readiness for future activities. Other things to consider when creating an adventure experience include the following:
• Are my activities appropriate to the fitness level and physical abilities of my group?
• Are the group's behaviors telling me they need to blow off some steam, take a break from intense activity and laugh, and so on?
• Are my activities appropriate to the setting-inside or outside, urban or rural, challenge course or no challenge course?
The sample adventure lesson plan on page 138, designed for middle school physical education students, exemplifies proper planning. Group goals, age development (readiness, group affect, group physical ability, group behavior), and program setting are all accounted for.
Conducting Adventure Activities
Facilitating adventure activities requires much more than reciting a set of rules. Without careful briefing, good equipment, boundary and time-frame selection, attention to safety, and a spirit of fun, the activity will remain a simple list of instructions and not become a learning opportunity. Effective leadership is vital to bringing an activity to life.
Careful Briefing
The way that an activity is briefed should be viewed as a step in the planning process. There is no right or wrong way to brief an activity, but there are some basic guidelines for planning your briefings.
• Allow time for questions (especially for initiatives).
• Provide written instructions.
• Be aware of your choice of language. "Everyone must tag their partner" has the same meaning as "You will have the opportunity to chase your partner," but the wording can help decrease anxiety. Use language that reinforces the commitment to challenge by choice.
• For initiatives that involve creative thinking, explain in advance what is and is not permitted within the scope of the rules so that a group's creative thinking is not shut down in the midst of the activity.
Good Equipment
Many adventure activities require no equipment whatsoever. For those that do, select equipment (often called props) that is unique and will help set the tone of the adventure experience. In Warp Speed (page 132), the facilitator used a beanbag frog instead of a tennis ball. Why? Most participants do not look at a beanbag frog and make assumptions about their ability to throw it and catch it, as they would a tennis ball, and they are likely to handle the frog more gently than the ball. Introduce only the props that are necessary for any given game and keep the rest in a bag or out of sight. A pile of fun-looking toys can be distracting. Keep equipment clean and in good shape. Introduce new props to keep a group engaged.
Boundary and Time-Frame Selection
The size of the play area and the duration of the activities and activity sessions have a significant influence on adventure activities. Consider the following guidelines:
• The boundaries for active games and for initiatives should fit the goals of the session. For example, Everybody's It (page 130) is played in a small rectangular area so that a group can explore issues of safety and personal space. If played in a wide-open gymnasium, it can be a great fitness activity.
• Many initiatives, such as Mass Pass (described in the previous corporate example), involve multiple rounds. Be clear with participants as to how many rounds will be allowed. For example, you might say, "You will have three rounds or 30 minutes to complete this activity, whichever comes first."
• End adventure games at a time when participants are fully engaged; don't wait for the activity to get boring or for behavior to deteriorate.
Safety
It is important to consider the safety aspects of each activity and to address the concerns that each one presents.
• When briefing activities, point out hazards in the play area that may cause harm, such as dips in terrain. If grass is wet and slippery, be especially wary of running games.
• Be aware of medical and physical concerns in your group that may cause a particular activity to be inappropriate. Shoulder injuries, sprained ankles, and back problems are common and can be exacerbated given the nature of some activities.
• Challenge by choice is more than a cornerstone of program quality; it's also a vital tool in keeping people safe. Make sure that participants understand their choices.
• Do participants have the skills to perform the activity? Follow the guidelines for sequencing to increase the chances of a safe experience for all.
• Maintain an emotionally safe environment.
Fun
The energy and spirit of a group is largely influenced by that of the facilitator. Participate when it is possible and safe to do so, and model what you desire from the group. Use fun metaphors and fantasy when briefing an activity. Point out rule infractions in a way that keeps the spirit positive.
This is an excerpt from Adventure Education: Theory and Applications.
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