What’s the story? Outdoor education in New Zealand in the 21st century

Outdoor education, in its various guises, has been part of the New Zealand education system for decades and is considered by many to be integral to school life. This paper addresses outdoor education within physical education in primary and secondary schools. It critiques the priority historically given to personal and social outcomes, suggesting that this has served to keep outdoor pursuits and adventure activities at the forefront of many school programmes, particularly in secondary schools. In turn, it is proposed that this has sidetracked the focus from outdoor environmental education, a problematic outcome given contemporary concerns about the need to foster environmental appreciation, understanding, and action. A range of possibilities for a practice of outdoor education that deliberately and creatively fuses simple, 'skill-full' adventures, and student connectedness and commitment to local environments is highlighted

Learning from leisure: Developing nature connectedness in outdoor education

The “greening” of outdoor education has received increasing attention from educators in Aotearoa-New Zealand and internationally. Given contemporary global concerns about the scale of environmental issues and the associated recognition that educating for sustainability is a matter of urgency, the continuing exploration of pedagogies promoting human connection to nature is arguably a central concern for outdoor educators. This paper contributes to professional dialogue about outdoor education pedagogies that may facilitate the development of students’ connectedness to, and care for, non-human nature. It draws from an interpretative research project that explored the meanings of nature-based leisure for eleven women aged 40 to 65 years. Findings from that research highlighted an important interplay between women’s conceptions of nature and their participation in leisure. The paper directs attention to three interconnected pedagogical principles that are teased from the women’s stories: repeated immersion in local nature environments, the decentring of traditional performance discourses, and critical reflection. These are presented as key considerations for outdoor education teachers and teacher educators in promoting nature connectedness and care. Recommendations are made for outdoor education researchers and teacher educators for future research directions

Assessment in senior outdoor education: A catalyst for change?

In recent times issues of sustainability and place, and human connectedness and care for outdoor environments, have been the subject of increasing professional dialogue in outdoor education in Aotearoa New Zealand. Attention has been drawn to the ways in which traditional, adventure-based conceptualisations of outdoor education shape pedagogical practice in particular ways, potentially obscuring opportunities to explicitly promote student connectedness to, and learning about and for the outdoors. This paper contributes to this evolving dialogue about the greening of outdoor education by specifically targeting assessment in senior school outdoor education. By initially establishing the interdependence of curriculum, pedagogy, and assessment, the potential that assessment has to constrain and/or drive this recent curriculum and pedagogical re-prioritising in outdoor education is made evident. We argue that it is possible for assessment to be a productive engine for student learning about sustainable relationships with the outdoors. Five interconnected catalysts are highlighted as being central to this: (i) the alignment process, (ii) using fresh eyes with current achievement standards, (iii) taking another look at curriculum in relation to assessment, (iv) writing programme-specific assessments, and (v) reflective decision making. These are suggested to be key considerations for outdoor educators for the potential of school-based outdoor education to be fully harnessed

Vibration induced damage due to construction work – Blasting tests

In this study, two instrumented blast test series were performed in a rock quarry in Norway. For the first test series, two buildings were erected, one made of Light Expanded Clay Aggregate (Leca) blocks, and one in cast-in-place unreinforced concrete. Both buildings were founded on a thin compacted gravel layer over rock. In the second test series one building made of Leca blocks was erected on top of an about 4 m thick filling, established at the same location as the buildings in the first test series. The test buildings were instrumented with triaxial geophones, accelerometers and Fiber Bragg Grating Sensors (strain sensors) in multiple positions. To gain full control, repeatability and traceability of the blasts, packaged emulsion and NG-based explosives together with electronic detonators were used

Issues of Justice and Equity in Special Education: Labels, Language, and Problems with the Medical Model of Disability

A PowerPoint presentation, titled Issues of Justice and Equity in Special Education: Labels, Language, and Problems with the Medical Model of Disability, given by Casey Cosgriff and Suzannah Chapman at the Justice Festival held on the campus of Morehead State University on October 19, 2022

A new species of the Rhytidosteidae from the Lystrosaurus zone and a review of the Rhytidosteoidea

Main articlePneumatostega potamia, a new rhytidosteid temnospondyl from the Lystrosaurus Zone, is described and compared with the other species of the family. Its evolutionary relationships and adaptive morphology are considered. The closest affinity is with the species of Deltasaurus from the Lower Triassic of Australia, the next closest with the species of Peltostega from the Lower Triassic of Spitsbergen and the most distant with Rhytidosteus capensis, a Karoo species which is probably also from the Lystrosaurus Zone. As with other species of Rhytidosteidae, for which both taphonomic and adaptive morphologic evidence is available, P. potamia was, apparently, a fluviatile, subsurface, piscivorous temnospondyl regarding its primary and preferred habitat. Proceeding from information contributed by the new species, the taxonomic structure of the Rhytidosteoidea is reorganised and expanded and new diagnoses are provided for both this superfamily and its contained families. The family Rhytidosteidae now includes Deltasaurus kimberleyensis, D. pustulatus, Peltostega erici, P. wimani, Pneumatostega potamia and Rhytidosteus capensis. A new family, Indobrachyopidae, is created to include Derwentia warreni (removed from the Rhytidosteidae), Indobrachyops panchetensis, Mahavisaurus dentatus, Mahavisaurus (Lyrosaurus) australis and Rewana quadricuneata. Laidleria gracilis is removed from the Rhytidosteoidea. Latiscopus disjunctus and Almasaurus habbazi possess some features in common with members of the superfamily but are too distinct in most features to be considered rhytidosteoids. Taxonomic distances among the rhytidosteids and indobrachyopids are established by a computer program. A phylogeny of the superfamily is constructed and this is consonant with the stratigraphic and geographic occurrences of the species. A southern origin for the superfamily with a generally northward dispersal is proposed.Non

"Opening that Trail in Their Mind": Communicative Practice of Trailblazing

Trailblazing can be understood as a process of negotiating communicatively constructed realities from the vantage of the social margins or an under-represented identity. An understanding of this process from the perspective of those situated in the margins encourages a line of questioning that delves into the communicative struggle about the self in relation to mental schema, past events and expectations for the future. How individuals communicate about themselves and express their identity is rooted in what individuals perceive as possible in light of social norms, expectations and standards. Pierre Bourdieu presents several key concepts, which create an outline of practice that guide our thought processes, how we behave and communicate about identity. A review of these concepts presents a foundation from which we can begin to make sense of the components that shape the trailblazing experience. Trailblazing research expands our understanding of what it means to be an agent of change. Specific nuances between trailblazers and pioneers are presented and discussed as typologies of agents of change. This project focuses on the specific communicative practices of female baseball players and organizers from across the United States as they negotiate expectations of conformity and aspirations for change.Using the theoretical lens and concepts of Bourdieu provides a unique opportunity for understanding the construction of an identity that is trying to make way through an organization embedded in a field that is dominated by a particular group