Using Outdoor Adventure Education to Develop Students’ Groupwork Skills

Abstract

This study investigates the initial development of groupwork skills through outdoor adventure education (OAE) and the factors that predict the extent of this development, using the first two levels of Kirkpatrick’s model of training evaluation. University students ( N = 238) completed questionnaires measuring their initial reactions to OAE (Level 1 of the Kirkpatrick model) and learning from pre- to post-course (Level 2). There were high levels of enjoyment and satisfaction with OAE, and significant self-reported improvements in the use of groupwork skills, attitudes toward groupwork, and groupwork self-efficacy. Learning and intention to transfer learning to the university setting were both positively predicted by students’ perceived use of groupwork skills before OAE, course satisfaction, enjoyment, groupwork self-efficacy, and attitude toward groupwork. These findings demonstrate that OAE increases students’ use of interpersonal groupwork skills, and that this is predicted by positive beliefs at baseline and favorable reactions to the learning experience.

The motric, Educational, Recreational and Satisfaction Impact of Adventure Education Activities in the Urban Tourism Environment

“…Diversifying the academic curriculum for students from Physical Education and Sports through the inclusion of a new Education discipline through adventure (AE) is part of the modern trends in leisure and in the European curricular modernization [28]. Adventure is a complex and dynamic form of education, representing a challenge of awareness and growth of physical, cognitive and emotional possibilities through specific activities carried out in a real natural environment and which provide satisfaction by assuming risks and uncertainties regarding the final result [29][30][31].…”

“Hitting the ground running”: preparing groups for outdoor learning using a theoretically-based video

“…An average was calculated for each subscale at each timepoint. The GSQ has demonstrated good psychometric properties in related samples (Cumming et al, 2014;Cooley et al, 2016).…”

“…The present study was conducted during an outdoor residential course for university students. Our previous research found this course to be effective in developing key groupwork skills that benefitted students' future experiences at university and beyond PREPARING FOR OUTDOOR LEARNING (Cooley, Holland, Cumming, Novakovic, & Burns, 2014;Cooley, 2015;Cooley, Burns, & Cumming, 2016). However, even though courses were often provided on an 'opt-in' basis, attendees were found to differ in their awareness of the course objectives and their attitudes towards groupwork and the outdoor environment (Cooley et al, 2014;.…”

The Gendered Hidden Curriculum of Adventure Education

“…Respondent 3Privileging these values is problematic to any systematically marginalized group who depends on community for safety and support. In particular, such gendered values do not take into account the relational orientation of many female participants (Sammet, 2010) despite the realization that group work and interdependence are beneficial to many program outcomes (Cooley, Burns, & Cumming, 2016).…”