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Recent research underscores the importance of the skills, beliefs and behaviors that support student achievement in the classroom and beyond. This set of intrapersonal and interpersonal assets (e.g. perseverance, grit, social skills, efficacy beliefs and mind-sets) are often referred to as noncognitive factors, as they are not measured directly by traditional academic assessments. Outdoor adventure education (OAE) is well positioned to deliver these desired outcomes—boosting self-confidence, self-efficacy and social skills while developing leadership and communication competencies. Therefore, the primary aim of this study was to better understand the form, function and delivery of an effective OAE program/school partnership targeting factors that support student success. Findings explain how shared OAE experiences among adolescent girls attending the same school contribute to greater social connectedness, self-efficacy in leadership competencies, and a recalibrated sense of self and personal poten...

This study examined the relationship between dietary intake and changes in participants’ (N = 39) body composition during National Outdoor Leadership School courses. Body composition, height, and weight were measured pre- and posttrip. Participants completed food logs to record daily dietary intake. Changes in anthropometric measurements were analyzed using a paired samples t test. Correlation analyses were conducted to examine relationships between dietary intake parameters and anthropometric changes. Males lost an average of 3.4 (SD = 3.7) kg of weight and females lost 0.10 (SD = 1.6) kg. Males lost an average of 3.7 (SD = 2.7) kg of body fat and females lost an average of 1.5 (SD = 1.9) kg. In contrast, females showed greater gains in lean mass (1.5 ± 1.1 kg) than males (0.32 ± 2.3 kg) did. Average caloric intake for the total sample was 2,865.7 kcal/day (SD = 691.2). Overall, findings indicate that retention of lean body mass may have been due to both adequate carbohydrate and protein intake. Subscribe to JOREL

In a society that is becoming more dynamic, complex, and diverse, the ability to solve ill-structured problems (ISPs) has become an increasingly critical skill. Students who enter adult roles with the cognitive skills to address ISPs will be better able to assume roles in the emerging economies. Opportunities to develop and practice these skills are limited in the traditional schooling structures. In contrast, wilderness education is one environment that provides students opportunities to engage with the critical elements that aid in the development of these cognitive skills. The purpose of this study was to measure the effects of wilderness education on students’ ability to solve ISPs when compared with peers in a traditional classroom setting. Results of this study suggested that students who were engaged in a wilderness education setting showed significant gains in their ISP skills when compared with their peers.

Outdoor adventure education (OAE) spaces are historically white and privileged. Through a social justice lens, if we, as OAE providers, believe that all people should have access to OAE experiences, one potential remedy to access barriers may be the provision of scholarships to students from lower socioeconomic status. This would increase diversity, broadly conceived, on OAE courses which would, in turn, affect group interactions. But in what ways? Through socio metric measures (social network analysis) as well as interviews, this exploratory study sought to describe the experiences of students on OAE courses composed of different numbers of students receiving full scholarships. Challenges of integrating students receiving scholarships into existing OAE program structures are discussed, and programmatic modifications are considered.

Learners thrive when they have the capacity to regulate interest and goal direction. Through direct experiences that are interesting and goal-relevant, learners can internalize and better understand their own agency in the learning process. This article further examines this premise in an outdoor adventure education (OAE) context through two interrelated studies. The aim of the first study was to investigate the potential of OAE to afford more frequent experiences that are interesting and goal-relevant. The aim of the second study was to build on the findings from the first study and determine if exposure to OAE programs might lead to more self-directed learning. The results partially support the premise that OAE can foster experiential self-regulation.

Outdoor adventure education (OAE) provides a unique and dynamic context for small groups. Whether a group functions efficiently, both socially and technically, can be tied to the structure of the small group. Considering the development of relationships and community are some of the main drivers of student participation on OAE courses (Sammet, 2010; Sharpe, 2005), an outcome that is important to the well functioning of small groups is cohesion (Forsyth, 2010).

“Learning can be valuable.” “Learning can be fun.” For most people, these two statements are easily accepted. And combing these two descriptors, “Learning can be both valuable and fun,” is not controversial. Yet, it is also apparent that learning is not always both valuable and fun. We have all willed ourselves to study, memorize, and apply educational content that might charitably be considered irrelevant. We have also learned skills and content that have little to no practical value, yet were fun and interesting to discover. Fortunately, in the best situations, we experience learning that is both valuable or relevant and fun or enjoyable. This combinatory learning experience affords a number of benefits and learning in this state can be energized and sustained by either willpower or intrinsic interest. That is, the energy that is necessary for learning can be fueled by willful effort, by intrinsic interest, or by both simultaneously.

Effective outdoor educators need to understand the developmental characteristics of students to best tailor programs to capitalize upon their capabilities. To the extent that learning is a primary objective of outdoor education programs, understanding our students' intellectual processes, specifically, can enhance our effectiveness in achieving this goal. This article presents several frameworks for understanding the developmental knowledge construction of adolescent, college-aged, and young adult students that were developed in traditional education settings. The purpose of this study was to determine the relevance of these models in an adventure education setting. Qualitative data were collected from students of the National Outdoor Leadership School. Results indicate that, despite differences between traditional and adventure learning environments and the types of problems students encounter in those settings, established framework of developmental knowledge construction are observable in the outdoor education classroom. Implications for teaching to developmentally different populations of students are discussed.

In this study of 227 students enrolled on 30-day backpacking courses, we examined how certain demographic factors relate to status within the task (goal-related) and social (interpersonal) domains of group functioning. Of particular interest were socioeconomic status (SES) and gender. Using a mixed methods approach, we found that female students had less status in task-based and social contexts, even when controlling for previous experience. Students with low SES had lower status than did their peers in the task-based contexts, but this difference disappeared when also considering previous multinight backpacking experience. As we expected, sources of status differed based on the situational context, with competence driving status for task-based contexts and interpersonal relationships taking precedence in social situations. The findings have important implications for practice in outdoor adventure education, as student demographics change and programs seek greater diversity in a field in which students are traditionally White and male.

Transfer of learning from adventure programs remains of critical interest to adventure education professionals. Although some research has investigated what transfers, notably less has focused on mechanisms that might influence transfer. This paper explores the mechanisms of transfer reported by a stratified random sample of National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) alumni. The 538 participants reported that instructors (through a variety of means), inherent qualities of the adventure courses (e.g., group dynamics, natural setting), and curriculum (e.g., leadership progression) were critical mechanisms of transfer. Some of the literature-based mechanisms were not evident in the data; however, some (e.g., active learning, feedback) are inherent in adventure education. Thus, adventure education programs may inherently foster learning transfer through a variety of both data- and literature-based means. Ultimately, learning transfer is complex and highly individual; astute adventure educators should intentionally use a wide spectrum of techniques and tools, ranging from group dynamics to curriculum, when considering transfer in adventure education.

While much attention has been paid to what students learn in outdoor education settings, little has been paid to the process through which that learning occurs. The purpose of this study was to identify the mechanisms through which students report learning one of six targeted objectives on courses offered by the National Outdoor Leadership School. Results suggested five broad domains through which learning occurs: structure-oriented mechanisms; instructor-oriented mechanisms; student-oriented mechanisms; student- and instructor-oriented mechanisms; and mechanisms that are a result of environmental qualities. The relative importance of each of these domains is discussed, as are recommendations for practice.

Allowing students a sense of autonomy has long been considered an important pedagogical tool. This paper synthesizes the current literature on student autonomy from the education, youth development, and outdoor adventure fields and explores its value through an analysis of data from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS). The results supported the two main hypotheses: Developmental outcomes are related to participants' perceptions of autonomy, and autonomous student expeditions (ASE) provide students with authentic and meaningful opportunities to experience autonomy during adventure education programs. A secondary analysis found that injury, evacuation, and near-miss rates were no different during ASEs than when students are accompanied by instructors. Despite these findings, the use of ASEs remains controversial. Implications for research and practice are discussed.

Recreation program evaluation efforts historically have focused primarily on the identification of program-specific outcomes rather than focusing on the influence of specific mechanisms of change. The purpose of this study was to begin to examine programs offered by the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) to develop an etiological model of participant development. Hierarchical modeling results identified participant antecedents and malleable program characteristics that predict participant development measured by a set of six targeted outcomes: communication, leadership, small group behavior, judgment in the outdoors, outdoor skills, and environmental awareness. Participants' perceptions of personal empowerment and previous expedition experience were both related to increases in all targeted outcomes. Five other predictor variables were significant in certain models.

The purpose of this study was to begin to identify what students learn from semester-length wilderness-based courses that they may not learn from shorter courses. Students on semester-length courses from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) were asked to respond to the open ended question: “What did you learn on your semester course that you could not have learned if your course had only been 30 days long?” The responses of 468 students were analyzed individually via constant comparison. Eight themes were generated from the responses and the most prominent theme, “expedition behavior,” was further analyzed via constant comparison and divided into five subthemes. These findings are related to the concept of overlearning and provide insight into the concept of expedition behavior. Due to the limited understanding of learning on wilderness-based semester-length courses, this research provides a starting point to begin to recognize what students learn on these courses.

Course length is a logical factor affecting learning in experiential education. With respect to wilderness-based programs, research does suggest a difference in outcomes as the duration of courses increase (Hattie, Marsh, Neil, & Richards, 1997; Cason and Gillis, 1994). However, little, if any, research has focused on full semester-length wilderness-based courses, perhaps due to a lack of opportunity: Hattie et al.'s (1997) meta-analysis of 96 studies found that 72% of courses were between 20 and 26 days in length. In contrast, semester courses at the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), specifically, range from 66 to 93 days. Some research has considered other types of experiential semesters, such as a “semester at sea” or an “alternative” type of semester (e.g. Dukes, 2006; Johnson & Alexander, 2009), but these are not wilderness-based courses. To the extent that increased course length, as an indicator of increased exposure to learning opportunities, should enhance learning outcomes, research is needed to understand the differential impact of semester courses. The purpose of this study, then, is to begin to identify what students learn from semester-length wilderness-based courses that they may not learn from shorter courses.

Proper energy balance and nutrition are paramount to the success and enjoyment of all participants on backcountry expeditions (Howley Ryan, 2008). Planning a diet that meets both the nutrient and caloric demands while also overcoming the packing, preservation, and cooking obstacles unique to the backcountry can be challenging. Current recommendations for such diets include estimates for the proper amounts of carbohydrates, protein, fats, and micronutrients (FAO/WHO/UNU 1985, Howley Ryan 2008). However, there are few direct measurements of the energetic needs of backcountry enthusiasts and athletes while in the wilderness (Rejc et al. 2010).

In addition to the outcomes of adventure education, it is important to understand the process of how students learn in these settings (Ewert & McAvoy, 2000; Hattie, Marsh, Neill, & Richards, 1997; Henderson & Fox, 1994; Klint, 1999). Adventure education research has not thoroughly addressed the processes of student learning. There is little support for claims of specific mechanisms that might work differently in determining a targeted learning outcome. This study is a replication and extension of the work done by Paisley, Furman, Sibthorp, and Gookin (2008), except with a larger sample size and a different qualitative coding scheme. A large sample of adventure education students was surveyed to find out which of the organization's six standard outcomes the students learned most about, and then what techniques, circumstances, or pedagogies were most important to learning that particular outcome. These data were linked with pertinent course information to provide relationship information about how students learn differently given these varying factors.

Historically, adventure-based research and models have inadequately described the role of the instructor in the process of student learning of transferable outcomes. The purpose of this case study was to investigate the influence of instructors from the National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS) on learning transferable outcomes from participation in adventure education. Qualitative data indicated students perceive instructors to influence learning through two major categories (a) instructor traits and (b) instructor behaviors. Data analysis yielded 11 subthemes describing the influence of the instructor. Salient instructor traits included being patient, knowledgeable, empathetic, inspiring, and fun/entertaining. Influential instructor behaviors included role modeling, providing feedback, providing formal curriculum, creating a supportive learning environment, managing risk, direct instruction/coaching, and using a “pet” quote or phrase. Variables identified in the present study are compared to existing models of student learning in adventure education. Implications and considerations for instructor practice, hiring practices, and staff development are discussed.

The self-reported pretest/posttest has been commonly used to assess change in recreation research and evaluation efforts. The viability of comparing pre and post measures relies on the assumption t...