What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being...What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and...

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What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being Dr John Quay [email protected]

Transcript of What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being...What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and...

Page 1: What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being...What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being Dr John Quay jquay@unimelb.edu.au What is outdoor education What is outdoor

What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being

Dr John Quay

[email protected]

Page 2: What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being...What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being Dr John Quay jquay@unimelb.edu.au What is outdoor education What is outdoor

What is outdoor education

What is outdoor education?

What is education?

More than a question of outdoor education alone.

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What is outdoor education?

What is outdoor education? What are some important words/phrases we use in outdoor education?

program

bushwalk canoeing

bushwalker

canoeist

camping

camper climbing climber

group

group-member

environment

nature

cook

stove

cooking

canoe

boots

harness

tent environmentalist

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What is outdoor education?

What is education? What are some important words/phrases we use in education?

student curriculum

content

pedagogy process

knowledge

assessment

maths maths work

maths-student

drama cast-member

netballer netball

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What is outdoor education?

BEING who as world

DOING how

KNOWING what

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What is outdoor education?

What makes it [outdoor education] significantly different from other subjects and what educational imperatives exist to compel schools and educational institutions to include outdoor education in the curriculum of the 21st century? (Alison Lugg, 1999, p. 25) Are there distinctive contributions of Outdoor Education that may strengthen a claim for space within the HPE [curriculum] framework? (Tonia Gray & Peter Martin, 2012, p. 42)

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What is outdoor education?

Report of the Committee to Study the Alternatives in Outdoor Education, convened by the Education Department of Victoria (1981). Nine terms of reference, the first of which was “to investigate whether there exists a body of knowledge, skills and attitudes that can be described as outdoor education and, if so, what is the nature of outdoor education” (p. 3). The specific conclusion reached was that “the term (outdoor education) does not include a body of subject matter, but rather a range of learning experiences designed to reinforce the development of abilities which help pupils understand the world about them and their place in it” (p. 10).

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What is outdoor education?

Quoted favourably in the Report: Outdoor education means learning in and for the outdoors. It is a means of curriculum extension and enrichment through outdoor experiences. It is not a separate discipline with prescribed objectives, like science and mathematics; it is simply a learning climate offering opportunities for direct laboratory experiences in identifying and resolving real-life problems, for acquiring skills with which to enjoy a lifetime of creative living, for building concepts and developing concern about man and his natural environment, and for getting us back in touch with those aspects of living where our roots were once firm and deep. (Smith, Carlson, Donaldson & Masters, 1972, p. 20, cited in Education Department of Victoria, 1981, p. 10).

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What is outdoor education?

Cynics might paraphrase such definitions as: ‘Outdoor education doesn’t have specific content, it just involves doing activities in the outdoors!’ (Alison Lugg, 1999, p. 26).

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What is outdoor education?

BEING who as world

DOING how

KNOWING what

Learning by doing activities – out-of-doors

Outdoor education as doing, as method, as process, as pedagogy that can be applied to many areas of

knowledge

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What is outdoor education?

Turning the question around: From distinctiveness to dispensability In what circumstances and on what grounds may outdoor education be dispensed with? (Andy Brookes, 2004, p. 22) Before one could be in a position to advocate outdoor education as a ‘solution’ one would have to know what educational problems were perceived by a community and what the alternatives to outdoor education (of any kind) were. (p. 27)

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What is outdoor education?

The problem of classroom based (indoor) education The question of choosing between classroom based education and something resembling contemporary outdoor education could only really arise when the provision of basic classroom education was universal in the colonies. (Andy Brookes, 2004, p. 26). The idea of outdoor experiences as part of the curriculum only emerged alongside debates about curriculum reform around 1900, and it is difficult to see how it could have come much earlier. (p. 26).

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What is outdoor education?

Education indoors It is only since [Australian] Federation in 1901 … that a full-scale educational apparatus has been built, ranging from differentiated mass schooling at all levels and stages to systematic and formalized teacher education and training. (Bill Green, 2003, p. 127) There would seem to be scholarly consensus that this was a significant period of nation building across many countries. (p. 127)

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What is outdoor education?

Education out-of-doors The first [Melbourne] Teachers College camp was that organised in 1901 by Frank Tate, then Principal. Exploration under the guidance of lecturers versed in various aspects of natural science. (Morley & White, 1973, p. 1031) Use of the outdoor classroom in Britain is an exciting adventure, but people hasten to add that it is a new venture and there is still much to learn. (Ian Whitford and Peta Whitford, 1974, p. 8)

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What is outdoor education?

Movement for out-door education (Elnora Whitman Curtis, 1909, p. 169) The advantages of studying nature at first hand and of substituting live growing things for museum specimens or book descriptions, and of cultivating habits of observation, is apparent to every student of elementary education. The advantage, also, of substituting the natural activities of play and work for the more artificial physical exercises of the schoolroom is too obvious to need more than a passing mention. Less obvious but no less important is the subtle influence of forest and field upon the aesthetic and emotional nature of children usually ignored in discussions of educational questions. (p. 188)

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What is outdoor education?

BEING who as world

DOING how

KNOWING what

Learning by doing activities – out-of-doors

But where is the distinctiveness? But where is the indispensability?

Outdoor education as school subject?

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What is outdoor education?

Australia not unique in facing this conundrum. The need for a solution to this dilemma was urged particularly by those whose quest it was “to solidify a place for outdoor education in the curriculum” so that outdoor education could “become an integral part of the curricula of the American school” (Knapp, 1967, p. 8). With this goal in mind, Cliff Knapp (p. 8) provocatively claimed that “the greatest single weakness has been the development of a broad concept of the term [outdoor education]. ” “An all inclusive definition tends to render the term ineffective” (p. 8). He (p. 8) argued instead that “the term outdoor education should assume a meaning within the framework of modern educational structure.” “Schools are placing more emphasis on academic programs,” he (p. 12) noted. So, arguing against an exclusive commitment to method, Knapp proclaimed that “outdoor educators must rise to this challenge and support this need. Outdoor education cannot attempt a reversal of this trend, but must function within this structure if success is to be realized” (p. 12). (Cliff Knapp ,1967, cited in John Quay and Jayson Seaman, 2013, p. 42)

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What is outdoor education?

A bid to have outdoor education included as a distinctive discipline [in the national curriculum]. (Peter Martin, 2010, p. 4) The push to have outdoor education included as a subject in the national curriculum. (p. 5)

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What is outdoor education?

A key signpost to a profession is a clearly defined body of knowledge. (Peter Martin, 2008, p. 14) Because of our focus on developing a body of knowledge for outdoor education as a curriculum subject we deliberately avoid framing any definition from the perspective of personal development and growth in participants. Such a focus may be appropriate for extra-curricular outdoor education programs, but we believe it is not suitable for an outdoor education subject embedded within a curriculum as an equal with other, more traditional subjects. (Chris Bucknell & Andrew Mannion, 2006, p. 39)

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What is outdoor education?

BEING who as world

DOING how

KNOWING what

Clarifying the body of knowledge that supports outdoor education is problematic. (Peter Martin, 2010, p. 6)

From learning by doing to learning as knowing

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What is outdoor education?

Here we also face the knowing-doing gap Kellert (2005) and Orr (2004), uphold the belief that simply having a cognitive understanding of environmental issues has little transference or impact upon behavior. This “gap” between environmental knowledge and pro-environmental behavior has been well researched. (Tonia Gray & Peter Martin, 2012, p. 44)

DOING how

KNOWING what

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What is outdoor education?

The position of Outdoor Education in schooling In advocacy leading to the release of the draft Shaping paper for HPE, Outdoor Education Australia argued for the distinctiveness of Outdoor Education in schooling based on three main outcomes for students. 1. Providing direct personal contact with nature (the outdoors). Doing 2. Enabling socially critical perspectives on contemporary living and human to nature relationships. Knowing contextualized by Doing 3. Developing competence and safety management in the Australian outdoors. Knowing contextualized by Doing (Tonia Gray & Peter Martin, 2012, p. 42)

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What is outdoor education?

Outdoor education means learning in and for the outdoors. It is a means of curriculum extension and enrichment through outdoor experiences. It is not a separate discipline with prescribed objectives, like science and mathematics; it is simply a learning climate offering opportunities for direct laboratory experiences in identifying and resolving real-life problems, for acquiring skills with which to enjoy a lifetime of creative living, for building concepts and developing concern about man and his natural environment, and for getting us back in touch with those aspects of living where our roots were once firm and deep. (Smith, Carlson, Donaldson & Masters, 1972, p. 20, cited in Education Department of Victoria, 1981, p. 10).

Page 24: What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being...What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being Dr John Quay jquay@unimelb.edu.au What is outdoor education What is outdoor

What is outdoor education

What is outdoor education?

What is education?

More than a question of outdoor education alone.

Page 25: What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being...What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being Dr John Quay jquay@unimelb.edu.au What is outdoor education What is outdoor

What is outdoor education?

What is outdoor education? What are some important words/phrases we use in outdoor education?

program

bushwalk canoeing

bushwalker

canoeist

camping

camper climbing climber

group

group-member

environment nature

cook

stove

cooking

canoe

boots

harness

tent environmentalist

Page 26: What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being...What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being Dr John Quay jquay@unimelb.edu.au What is outdoor education What is outdoor

What is outdoor education?

What is education? What are some important words/phrases we use in education?

student curriculum

content

pedagogy process

knowledge

assessment

maths maths work

maths-student

drama cast-member

netballer netball

Page 27: What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being...What is outdoor education? Knowing, doing and being Dr John Quay jquay@unimelb.edu.au What is outdoor education What is outdoor

What is outdoor education?

BEING who as world

DOING how

KNOWING what

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What is outdoor education?

BEING who as world

DOING how

KNOWING what

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What is outdoor education?

BEING who as world

DOING how

KNOWING what

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What is outdoor education?

BEING who as world

DOING how

KNOWING what

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What is outdoor education?

BEING who as world

DOING how

KNOWING what

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What is outdoor education?

BEING who as world

DOING how

KNOWING what

DOING how

KNOWING what

outdoor education as pedagogy/method/process

outdoor education as curriculum/subject matter/content

outdoor education as various ways of being/occupations

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What is outdoor education?

References Brookes, A. (2004). Astride a long-dead horse: Mainstream outdoor education theory and the central curriculum problem. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 8(2), 22-35. Bucknell, C. & Mannion, A. (2006). An outdoor education body of knowledge. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 10(1), 39-45. Curtis, E. W. (1909). Out-door schools. The Pedagogical Seminary, 16(2), 169-194. Education Department of Victoria. (1981). Report of the committee to study the alternatives in outdoor education. Melbourne, AU: Education Department of Victoria. Gray, T., & Martin, P. (2012). The role and place of outdoor education in the Australian National Curriculum. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 16(1), 39-50. Green, B. (2003). Curriculum inquiry in Australia: Toward a local genealogy of the curriculum field. In W. F. Pinar (Ed.), International Handbook of Curriculum Research (pp. 123-141). Malwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates. Knapp, C.E. (1967). Some challenges in outdoor education. Journal of Outdoor Education, 2(1), 8–9,10–12. Lugg, A. (1999). Directions in outdoor education curriculum. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 4(1), 25-32. Martin, P. (2008). Outdoor education in senior schooling: Clarifying the body of knowledge. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 12(1), 13-23. Martin, P. (2010). Outdoor education and the national curriculum in Australia. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 14(2), 3-11. Morley, F. H., & White, C. J. (1973). Special Services. In L. J. Blake (Ed.), Vision and realisation: A centenary history of state education in Victoria, Vol. I (pp. 987-1122). Melbourne, AU: Education Department of Victoria. Quay, J., & Seaman, J. (2013). John Dewey and education outdoors: Making sense of the ‘educational situation’ through more than a century of progressive reforms. Rotterdam, NL: Sense Publishers. Whitford, I., & Whitford, P. (1974). From Britain to Australia: Some thoughts on outdoor education. The Australian Journal of Physical Education, 63(March), 5-8.

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What is outdoor education?

https://unimelb.academia.edu/JohnQuay [email protected]

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