Background: The State University of New York (SUNY), the nation’s largest comprehensive public university system, recently proposed making experiential learning activities available to all students enrolled in an academic program. Each campus was tasked with examining the feasibility of including experiential learning activities as a degree requirement. The Plattsburgh campus faculty senate voted to reject this requirement. Purpose: In light of the Plattsburgh rejection of the SUNY mandate, this study seeks to examine the practice and perspectives of four Plattsburgh faculty through the lens of a single experiential learning assignment. Methodology/Approach: A case study approach was used to illuminate common and/or distinctive pedagogies of instructors across four disciplines. Findings/Conclusions: Common themes include the elements of choice, embodiment, relationships, and risk. Critical to each case study was the willingness and ability of the instructor to engage in the educational process as a participant and expert learner. Implications: If the state, university system, or campus seeks to mandate experiential/applied learning, the mandate should be focused on the pedagogical components of experiential education not on the types of activities that count.

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This paper presents the Eastern Oregon University Outdoor Program's application of John Dewey's philosophy of leisure to outdoor education and recreation programming. Central to Dewey's philosophy of leisure is his aversion to a socially constructed dichotomy between work and play. In the case of outdoor education and recreation programs within higher education, the dichotomy can often appear between students' academic studies and recreation (which may include curricular or co-curricular outdoor program courses and outings). The Eastern Oregon University Outdoor Program offers a Winter Wildlife Tracking Program that is grounded in Dewey's philosophy of integrated work and play, and is designed to engage participants in developing higher order and critical thinking skills. These critical thinking skills are facilitated through the application of winter backcountry recreation skills as well as knowledge of local ecology and animal tracking. The paper is presented not as a demonstration of "what works" or what should take place in other contexts, but is rather is intended to encourage new ways of thinking about the practice of outdoor adventure education and recreation within higher education.