Handing Over

Abstract

Facilitating the transition from student to teacher is a signature pedagogy of outdoor education. In this chapter I explore the scaffolding of this process and the consequences for both pre-service teachers and myself as teacher educator. The outdoor education day we run for school students is the most authentic experience in the outdoor education course and I anticipate pre-service teachers taking an active role in their preparations. Examining the changing roles of both teacher educator and pre-service teachers during the process of handing over reveals considerable discomfort. Using a framework of open-mindedness held in tension with discernment, I attempt to provide the space for pre-service teachers to take charge in their own way (rather than expecting cookie-cutter versions of my approach). Tensions arise because I still hold overall responsibility for the camp and need to ensure that minimum standards are met. Because of the high level of authenticity, pre-service teachers do work hard to provide good learning experiences for school students. There are some notable exceptions which shake my view of authenticity as the solution to pre-service teacher passivity. My responses to three examples of how preservice teachers respond to taking over control reveal my assumptions about what constitutes active learning. I examine the opportunities for education, but also for miseducation from the camp experience.