We have been approached by IOL to see if we can provide a venue for further Access Code related training for Outdoor Leaders and Instructors. The training would be based designed around the Leave No Trace Project. The training will be free and be provided by an experienced LNT trainer. More information is available on Leave no Trace at their web site. It’s hope we can run during October to February. I’m sure it will be a worthwhile course and hopefuly we can attract staff from the nearby regions to attend. Could also be of interest to Duke Of Edinburgh Award Leaders in the area by providing innovative ways of teaching about camp-craft and impact.

Funny coincidence. Last night we had a fantastic meal at Abstract Restaurant in Edinburgh, and I have just managed to finish my abstract for my MSc dissertation. I must say I have found it the hardest bit of all. It’s below but next time I will put it in a better format as Fearghal Kelly’s blog has done with his work on CT using Scribd or something similar, I’ll look at these options when I get time.

Can Educational Establishments be Learning Organisations?

ABSTRACT: Current literature on the concept of the Learning Organisation often indicates that schools and educational establishments are incapable of becoming Learning Organisations as they often suffer from hierarchical and bureaucratic structures. These are considered as barriers for all organisations in achieving the Learning Organisation ideal. It is clear that as Educational establishments continue to be placed on the frontiers of change they could benefit from adopting the Learning Organisation concept. Although there is an abundance of literature on Learning Organisations, there appears to be a lack of literature and data on educational establishments as learning organisations. This study examines what the key characteristics of a learning organisation are by reviewing some of the main works on this complex and often vague concept. This work also reviews and selects a diagnostic tool for use within the authors own Local Education Authority to gather data on whether the reviewed and identified key characteristics of a learning organisation are present. A range of educational establishments were sampled within a Scottish Local Authority. The results of a web based questionnaire show that the identified characteristics do exist in the sampled educational establishments. Considering the results highlighted that strengths and areas of learning organisation confidence as well as spikes of dissatisfaction and areas for future work for educational establishments’ to achieve the Learning Organisation ideal were evident. It also concludes that the use of diagnostic tools which give an illustration of Learning Organisation Shape have a potential to support the delivery of Outdoor Management Development courses. The study also appreciates and identifies the need for further work on Learning Organisation Diagnostic Tools for the education sector and the transfer of learning using more coherent language, models and more considered, carefully designed creative and relevant experiential activities in Outdoor Management Development.

Great skies and sunsets at Arisaig during a short Sea Kayak trip over the weekend. What a fantastic area.

There are more pics here on Facebook (might be restricted if clicking from an East Lothian PC!)

We did 2 trips. One trip around Loch Sunart with a wild camp on the Isle of Ornosay. This was fantastic we saw, sea-otters, seals and porpoises as well as experiencing great conditions..oh yeah and midge. Also a day trip (decided to come ashore after a poor weather forecast) off Arisaig on Loch nan Ceall. We camped further up the road that night and wow what a sunset. As you can imagine everybody and their dug was out with a camera! Looking forward to our next trip back there. We had intended to paddle on Loch Ailort with a camp on Ardnish. It will have to wait until next time.

Just back from Pyrenees and hope to post some pictures soon. We had a fantastic time walking from St John Pied de Port to Gourette via the GR10 and the HRP. Fantastic Journey. We experienced all kinds of weather, blistering sun, hail, rain, snow, wind, fog at a variety of different altitudes. Fantastic panoramas and amazing countryside. I quite enjoyed the cheese and wine too! We finished it off with a couple of days in Biarritz via Pau. Certainly looking forward to a return journey to do some more of the route. We did 12 days of walking in total (it takes around 55 to do the whole route). will post a link when I get time.

We are trying to pack for the Pyrenees. How hot how cold? Tent and stove? or try and make it to the refuge? No doubt it will all come together in the next few hours before we set off via Bristol (two Bristol trips in a week!). Looking forward to experiencing the food in the area i.e. Fromage de brebis, Poulet Basquaise, Piperade & Boudin.

Just how far we will travel in the time we are there we are not sure as we hope to be distracted by festivals, food and wine, in no particular order. If we can scale some of the peaks via the HRP great , however we should be walking from the Atlantic western side  starting at St. Jean Pied De Port ( Thanks to Huberta at Esprit du Chemin for setting us up with our first nights accommodation on short notice!) and finishing in the Central Pyrenees or beyond..?

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/scotland/7411997.stm

As per the above video on the BBC , “The Scottish Conservatives have called for all teenagers to be given the right to outdoor education, such as climbing, hiking, sailing and abseiling. They want pupils between the age of 11 and 15 to have access to a one-week residential course. The Tories say 53,000 youngsters a year would be eligible - and the £8.5m it would cost could come from government and private donors. Teachers’ leaders said there would be a risk of accidents and legal action. Early signs suggest the scheme may win cross-party support” 

A Scottish Government spokesman said: “We want the opportunities for young people to participate in a range of outdoor education.

“The draft experiences and outcomes for Curriculum for Excellence which have been released over the course of this school year contain rich opportunities for schools to use outdoor education and outdoor learning to achieve the outcomes sought.
“We are setting up strategic advisory group to explore creative ways of delivering outdoor education, sharing good examples across the country and encouraging schools to provide more outdoor education opportunities.”

(IOL website)

I wonder if East Lothian Outdoor Education could help influence the draft outcomes and even join the strategic advisory group? Surely there is a need for more sustainable integration of outdoor learning than this headline grabbing strategy?

Not sure if this could be achieved jumping of Traprain Law. But really fancy a go.

I have been working on the data from the responses to my on-line questionnaire for my MSc, it’s starting to feel like I may finish this incredible learning journey soon. The questionnaire was selected from examining several diagnostic tools used in the field of Organisational Learning. I am learning so much from the reading and research. There is a lot of critical writing on whether schools and educational establishments are capable of achieving the LO ideal. So seeing the data coming back (over a hundred responses so far - thanks to all!) has been fascinating. The data is starting to build a Learning Organisation Profile and Dissatisfaction Index of the sampled EL educational establishments. I will be evaluating this data and its potential to support management development courses. As part of a literature review I read this article yesterday, and although I have reviewed already writings on what a LO is I like this interpretation of the essential features of a LO described by Gephart et al [(1996) p 38, Training and Development]

• “Continuous learning at the systems level - Individuals share there learning in ways that enable an organisation to learn by transferring knowledge across it and by integrating learning into routines
• Knowledge generation and sharing. emphasis is placed on creating, capturing and moving knowledge rapidly and easily..
• Critical systemic thinking. people are encouraged to think in new ways and use productive reasoning skills, systemically in order to see links and feedback loops and critically, in order to identify assumptions.
• A culture of learning. Learning and creativity are rewarded, supported and promoted through various performance systems from the top down
• A spirit of flexibility and experimentation. People are free to take risks, experiment, innovate, explore new ideas , and generate new work processes and products.
• People-centered. a learning organisation provides a caring community that nurtures, values and supports the well being, development and learning of every individual”

This is of course only one interpretation of the LO. Do our East Lothian Educational Establishments have these essential features?

After a quick session at the lagoons to make sure I could roll it, we had a late afternoon/early evening paddle between Dunbar East Beach and Barns Ness. what a fantastic evening! Saturday really was a great summers day. A little bit of swell as the tide turned but the new sea-kayak had it’s maiden voyage. I am so looking forward to travelling the whole of the East Lothian coastline. It will be great to see this amazing county from a different perspective.

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Finally took the plunge today and bought a sea kayak. I have been borrowing, hiring and using light touring boats in the past but time to get the real thing. Hummed and hawed about which one i.e price, length, materials etc, finally decided on a PH, RM Capella 16′. Looking forward to getting out and about in the holidays. As per the above picture from edge of Little Loch Broom a couple of years ago(amazing October conditions!!), hopefully next trip we will catch site of a basking shark again.