Yellowcraig Scorpion. November 26, 2007
Posted by Bill in : Outdoor Learning , add a comment
A great find today at Yellowcraigs beach while out with a group from ELIS. It’s easy to forget that the simple activities like rock-pooling can be so rewarding. The group found some great sea creatures including brittle stars and a scorpion fish. Great to see the group get so focused (and a little too competitive!) it’s amazing that a fairly simple task can have such a positive effect and help with development.
Can outdoor education contribute to leadership programmes? November 19, 2007
Posted by Bill in : Outdoor Learning , 2commentsI was preparing some materials for a meeting and of course the answer to the above title is yes!I was reminded of a model I had designed a couple of years ago to help explain differences with they type of delivery on development training courses.
I copied this using a screen recorder, click on it for more information.
As Outdoor Ed teachers we often deliver courses towards the left hand side of the model but we can deliver more process rather than experience based training, i.e. the outdoors as a means to an end. This can be tailored to deal with work process reality and can stimulate process review in a range of life as well as work aspects. Although tasks that are used in programmes are not immediately seen as transferable, they are real-they actually happen. In the consulting process I find this quote handy;
“..although the outdoor tasks are not normal they are inescapably real. Managing an outdoor situation is like managing life : it is full of unpredictable events and people, a result has to be achieved and there are only limited resources and time available. Because the tasks are so different to the normal work situation, the underlying management processes are laid bare”
(Creswick, Chris and Williams 1979)
So yes outdoor education can help with leadership training by taking into account some of the requirements of leaders by focusing on the human processes of work through a variety of delivery styles (see model).
Taking a look at the SQH syllabus as a framework (click above for more detail) Outdoor experiential learning activities can assist in training in many of the unit criteria and not just the obvious i.e. “unit 4 - teambuilding, motivation”., but in many other areas i.e.;
- managing change
- project management
- performance issues
- reviewing personal development
- problem solving and decision making
- capability and capacity
The design milieu on what to deliver can be arrived at with focused consulting. It’s just a question of mixing the right activities and level of task process review(see slider model) & there has definitley been a move away from outdoor pursuit type programmes to a;
“wider spectrum of delivery techniques…indoor seminars,outdoor exercises, desktop simulations,experiential games,..motivational events..more effective and high impact solutions are required” (Black Mountain brochure quoted in Beard and Wilson(2002) - The Power of Experiential Learning”
With the addition of forming action learning groups (as one example, a recent mailing from Don proposes groups made up of several figures within the community) to help focus on specific outcomes and problems often by reframing. These action learning groups can be formed before the delivery of programmes and often the best work is in the reflection process after the delivery.
I’m not suggesting that Outdoor programmes are a panacea for all issues of leadership training but with good design some complex and in depth issues can be addressed i.e. the outdoor tasks as a catalyst for more meaningful process discussion work. It can certainly contribute to the proposed John Muir Leadership Programme
Sounds easy huh?
Plastered on Traprain Law. November 18, 2007
Posted by Bill in : First Aid, Outdoor Learning , add a comment
One of the many courses that get run by ELOE are our First Aid courses available to all EL employees. Thanks to all the attendees enthusiasm and great acting on the Emergency aid course that I have been teaching over the last few weeks. The last day was an outdoor day basing ourselves around Traprain Law.
I always feel it’s hard to get everything into such a short course, but the addition of the outdoor day helps. Here are some links to information pages on first aid discussed on Saturday (they link to others) and a reminder of one of the acronyms that we had been using (not on the slides). Please feel free to leave post on whether you find these resources useful and perhaps what you thought of the course. Thank you all for your positive comments at end of the course today, I really enjoyed the course too, mainly down to all the discussion and honest input from the group.(Erika- you were correct the second H is for head injuries! not hypoxia, but that could be in there too!)
- Fainting
- Infantile convulsions
- Stroke
- Heart attack
- Shock
- Head Injuries
- Asphyxia
- Poison
- Epilepsy
- Diabetes
(Causes of unconsciousness)
Some links to discussions today and also a link to First Aid Cafe - some good links from here.
Asthma (HSE site - other first aid info too)
Anaphylactic shock (NHS Direct Site- links to info on all conditions,recognition & treatment)
Epilepsy ( National Association)
S2 Indoor Climbing November 16, 2007
Posted by Bill in : Outdoor Learning , add a comment
Started the S2 indoor rock climbing course today after a morning kayaking with the PL ALPs group. So a great morning in remarkably fair weather conditions followed by some excellent climbing by S2 pupils.It’s always good to see the S2 pupils (Knox Academy) picking up the basic skills so quickly i.e. belaying, knot tying and trusting each other through belaying and encouragement. already I see some potential stars. We will be using Alien Rock and and also the new Tranent wall for one of the sessions.
The S2 kayaking & indoor climbing sessions are available every year and open to any school. We hope to encourage more schools next year.
Classroom of the future(circa 1820) November 12, 2007
Posted by Bill in : Outdoor Learning , 1 comment so far
Visited the famous New Lanark Heritage Site at the weekend. Inspiring stuff by the philanthropist and visionary social justice pioneer, the mill owner Robert Owen(1771-1858). The following quotes highlight his emphasis on education and outdoor learning!
“To train and educate the rising generation will at all times be the first object of society, to which every other will be subordinate”. (The Social System, 1826)
Where are these rational practices to be taught and acquired? Not within the four walls of a bare building, in which formality predominates ………. But in the nursery, play-ground, fields, gardens, workshops, manufactures, museums and class-rooms. …The facts collected from all these sources will be concentrated, explained, discussed, made obvious to all, and shown in their direct application to practice in all the business of life”. (Book of the New Moral World 3rd Part 1842).
Definitley worth a visit, if only to see the magnificent Falls of Clyde.
Scottish Outdoor Access Code Training Workshops November 8, 2007
Posted by Bill in : AccessCode, Outdoor Learning , 9comments
It’s great to see lots of marketing coming out for the Access Code training workshops.
There are some great draft resources at the SOAC website which will help with teaching young people understand the access code. The workshops look like they will be worthwhile, however I note there is not one south of Dundee. IOL have made contact through the blog so I have offered to provide a venue for a training workshop at Innerwick Outdoor Centre. We could host the training around the end of Jan. or Beginning of December. Just have to wait and see how many people show interest so we can get a date confirmed.
Its worth a look at the SOAC site as they have some draft materials for teaching the code to young people. I think it is important now to embed the access code in outdoor learning opportunities in Scotland and its good to see IOL and SH take the lead in doing this and producing resources.
Thanks for getting in touch Peter (IOL)
Forest Schools at Saltoun November 5, 2007
Posted by Bill in : Forest Schools, Outdoor Learning , 2comments
I popped along to Saltoun Primary School last week to help out with the Forest Schools class. It’s clear the pupils are having a fantastic experience. They are 100% engaged and involved at all times and the most noticeable thing was how the pupils have taken ownership of the project.
With help from the Rangers and school support staff they are having great success in getting this “pilot” Forest School running in East Lothian. There is all sort of opportunities for the 5 - 14 curriculum learning, based in this once a week outdoor classroom. During the course of the morning there were connections with, science , art, history, environment, design technology and there favourite food technology (the pupils made dough and cooked over an open fire).
This is only the tip of the iceberg as there are numerous skills developed through the teaching, i.e. health and safety, observation, interpretation, citizenship, and on a practical basis its not often I come across Primary pupils who can tie their own clove-hitch! Well done.
There is another meeting for anyone interested in Forest Schools in East Lothian in December - Contact me for more details or email Steven Wray at swray@eastlothian.gov.uk. Amongst other things the action plan for raising awareness and training for Forest Schools will be discussed.
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Dunbar D of E Awards. November 1, 2007
Posted by Bill in : Alexander The Great, Duke of Edinburgh Awards , add a commentI attended the Dunbar Grammar School Duke of Edinburgh Awards presentation this evening. The staff and pupils work really hard in making the whole award work. It is always fun to see the pupils whom I had assessed receive their awards and here so many of them say afterwards that they will go on to complete their Silver and Gold.
The presentations by the pupils were varied and interesting and a large audience of pupils, parents and staff enjoyed them .It is evident that the school is producing so many confident individuals through the use of this award. The Headteacher emphasised the schools value and use of the Award and the commitment of all the staff to ensure it’s delivery within a busy learning curriculum. During the pupils presentations I was reminded of an earlier post when I mentioned Alexander the Great and how his teacher, Aristotle, valued the use of teaching time in the outdoors. This is another example of the use of experiential learning in East Lothian producing results. I look forward to working with the school in the spring with the new Bronze pupils.
