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Learning in Outdoor Settings
Humans have been learning in the outdoors for all of recorded history. In the past, activities such as horsemanship, hunting, and farming were more likely learned for sustaining life and productivity. Throughout the Industrial Revolution and into the information age, learning in the outdoors has taken on a more specific connotation. In general, the types of learning that occur in outdoor settings fall into these major areas: outdoor education, outdoor recreation, experiential learning, environmental education, and adventure education/therapy. Often theories that support one area of focus such as outdoor education are also espoused in another area of focus such as adventure therapy.
The idea that children are experiencing a “nature deficit disorder,” which was popularized by the book Last Child in the Woods: Saving Our Children From Nature-Deficit Disorder, by Richard Louv, has spurred interest in the role that nature plays in childhood development. Intentionally ensuring that the young learner is exposed to unique experiences with nature is postulated to help learners with attention deficit disorder, obesity, and academic achievement. Examples of programs that help address nature deficit disorder are interpretive programs that are offered by state and national parks. This entry describes the types of education programs that take place in outdoor settings and what individuals can learn from them. Most of the examples described herein are based in the United States, but analogous examples can be found in many other countries.
Outdoor Education
Outdoor education in the United States is usually broken into two categories—residential and expedition (journey) learning. Residential outdoor schools deliver environmental and natural science education where students spend multiple nights at one site such as a school or base camp; these programs typically last four or five days and comprise short day trips. Often these programs serve fifth- and sixth-grade students, but many programs serve other grades and adults. The Teton Science School (TSS) has been operating in the Yellowstone area in Wyoming since 1967. TSS offers wildlife expeditions, field education, graduate programs, science teacher education, the Journeys School, and a conservation center. TSS is also involved in the local schools in the Teton Valley. For example, the TSS Wolf & Bear Expedition exposes learners to the natural habitat of the gray wolf and grizzly bear to teach learners about hunting patterns, family structure, and safety. The YMCA of the Rockies operates a residential outdoor school where students can participate in day camps or longer events that include a challenge course, archery, fishing, and a zip line. Hundreds of residential outdoor schools expose learners to a full spectrum of outdoor activities and learning.
Expedition- or journey-based outdoor education schools have been developing in the United States since the early 1960s. These schools take learners to the desert, mountains, rivers, and oceans in the United States and around the world. Each school has a specific mission and focus and the expeditions last anywhere from a few days to a semester, with the average duration being just over two weeks. Often participants will explore leadership, character development, and personal change by participating in hiking, climbing, skiing, mountaineering, whitewater rafting, boating, and canyoneering. Outward Bound (OB) is an outdoor education school with 40 schools around the world and more than 200,000 participants a year. OB came to the United States from England in 1961 and set up camp in Marble, Colorado; OB currently engages learners in outdoor activities to promote character development, leadership, and service. The National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) is a wilderness education school that has been serving students for 46 years. The values of NOLS are wilderness, education, leadership, safety, community, and excellence. Each of these expedition-based outdoor education schools engages learners in outdoor activities in the wilderness to help them develop their cognitive, affective, and psychomotor domains.
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