Does growth in the outdoors stay in the outdoors? : the impact of an extended residential and outdoor learning experience on student motivation, engagement and 21st century capabilities

Introduction: Student motivation and engagement underpin educational success, and recent research has found they are lowest in middle high school, especially for boys. At the same time, education systems are recognizing that academic performance is necessary but not sufficient to prepare young people for the adult world, and so-called “21st Century skills” (communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity) have been suggested as critical capabilities across all employment sectors in the future. The Glengarry program is a 6-month residential and outdoor learning experience for Year 9 (14–15 years old) boys at an Australian independent school, The Scots College (TSC) Glengarry. Intentionally located during the lowest point of engagement in their adolescent student journey, the Residential and Outdoor Education experience was hypothesized to boost their motivation and engagement and develop 21st Century skills. Methods: The Glengarry program involves students living in a boarding-style community for 20 weeks away from their families, participating in classes across all regular school subjects at a bush campus, and undertaking increasingly challenging outdoor education trips each week. The study aimed to measure how these factors transferred into students’ traditional school environment after their Glengarry experience. Year 9 was split into two cohorts who both participated in the study: one of which completed the Glengarry program in the first half of 2019, and the other during the second half of the year. Results: Self-reported quantitative and qualitative data supported the hypothesis that the Glengarry program did indeed, boost student motivation and 21st Century skills. While gains in 21st Century skills endured over the next 8–10 months, motivation and some engagement factors decreased upon return to the traditional school environment. Students described key factors in the Glengarry program which facilitated their development, including: an intense residential environment necessitating social growth, a closer connection with teachers in both school and community life, and an appreciation of learning in the natural environment. Recommendations are made for future research to strengthen these findings, and for how these mediating factors could be incorporated into the regular school environment

Rediscovering the potential of outdoor learning for developing 21st century competencies

In this century characterised by rapid change and unprecedented challenges, most education systems have acknowledged the importance of developing interpersonal and intrapersonal skills alongside technical knowledge. This chapter describes how two approaches to outdoor learning develop these 21st century competencies, through the lens of experiential education. Outdoor Adventure Education is an established pedagogical vehicle for developing psycho-social skills. Learning Outside the Classroom is a rising movement of teaching subject content while simultaneously promoting interpersonal, communication, teamwork, critical thinking, and conflict resolution skills, creativity and connection with nature. The chapter concludes with a discussion of the potential of outdoor environments to foster transformative competencies, and the inherent challenges for integration into regular school experiences

Embodied teaching and learning : exploring the mindfulness-nature-wellbeing connection

This mindfulness workshop will explore the interconnectedness between humans, nature, and wellbeing. We will begin this experiential workshop with a short and accessible mindfulness exercise focused on bringing our awareness back to nature. This exercise will serve as both a stimulus and provocation to discuss the concept of mindfulness, as well as steps and approaches for introducing mindfulness practices into educational settings. A selection of pre-workshop readings will focus on emerging evidence-based research on the mindfulness-nature-wellbeing nexus, as well as practitioner resources. This practitioner workshop will be facilitated by Dr Son Truong, a Certified Therapeutic Recreation Specialist (www.nctrc.org), internationally Registered Yoga Teacher (www.yogaalliance.org), and lecturer and early career researcher in Health and Physical Education (School of Education and Centre for Educational Research, Western Sydney University). One of the central aims of the workshop is to mutually generate and exchange ideas with participants on ways to integrate mindfulness into our teaching and learning. In particular, the workshop is intended to generate further dialogue beyond the short session that examines the call to reconsider cross-curricular pathways between Outdoor Education, Health and Physical Education, and Education for Sustainability

An experiential exploration of the mindfulness-nature-wellbeing connection

This workshop will explore the interconnectedness between mindfulness, nature, and wellbeing. Mindfulness is not a new concept; however, it has gained increasing attention in recent years, particularly in relation to positive education and strengths-based approaches for enhancing the wellbeing of young people. The importance of connection to nature for health, wellbeing, and educational outcomes is firmly supported by evidence-based research. As a result, environmental sustainability is established as a contemporary challenge for health researchers. Studies also suggest that our direct contact with the natural world, particularly in industrialised and urbanised settings has declined; thus, presenting a timely opportunity to examine health knowledge(s) and consider the possibilities for alternative understandings of health and wellbeing in relation to interconnectedness with the human and more-than-human world. In this workshop, I will draw from fieldwork and research projects to provide a practical introduction to mindfulness, and initiate discussion with participants on initial steps and approaches to embedding mindfulness practices into diverse settings. We will begin this experiential workshop with a short and accessible mindfulness exercise, which will serve as both a stimulus and provocation to explore the concept of mindfulness. One of the central aims of the workshop is to mutually generate and exchange ideas with participants on ways to integrate mindfulness into our educational and therapeutic approaches and modalities

Expanding curriculum pathways between Education for Sustainability (EfS) and Health and Physical Education (HPE)

In this chapter I argue that there is a need to strengthen and re-focus on the parallels between health and sustainability frameworks in order to integrate EfS and the HPE Curriculum in a way that fosters deeper connections with the human and more-than-human world

'Stepping out of the comfort zone’ : pre-service teachers’ reflections on international service-learning

Within the field of teacher education, international service-learning (ISL) provides a unique opportunity to help future graduates develop intercultural awareness and competency. This is significant given the diverse range of cultural backgrounds found in many schools, and particularly in many major urban settings. Drawing from extensive fieldwork in the area of ISL, the author’s previous research has revealed the potential danger of these cross-cultural experiences to perpetuate, rather than challenge stereotypes and ethnocentric viewpoints, which accentuates the importance of research that considers not only students’ learning experiences, but also the theoretical underpinnings and pedagogical practices implemented in these programs. This paper reports on a recent case study of Australian pre-service teachers abroad on a short-term ISL and cross-cultural program focused in the area of Teaching English as a Second Official Language (TESOL). The paper discusses students’ learning and critical self-reflection in relation to the themes of challenging cultural stereotypes, becoming more culturally aware, and developing pedagogical understanding. The students’ reflections are analysed with regards to their learning experiences, as well as discourses in the internationalisation of higher education. The analysis uncovers the transformative potential, as well as precariousness of students ‘stepping out of their comfort zone’ in these short-term cross-cultural experiences

Pre-service teacher identities and the social construction of childhood

In the contemporary global context of social, cultural, technological, political and economic integration, schools have become increasingly complex and diverse settings. Many Western countries, including Australia, have continued to see an increase of new immigrants, particularly from non-European-heritage countries (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development [OECD], 2013). Within these culturally diverse societies, schools, and in particular teachers, are tasked with the challenge of not only fostering an environment of respect for diversity, but also nurturing a sense of global citizenship through their teaching. However, given these responsibilities, it is essential to consider how we as educators develop or question our own perspectives and how this informs our approach to teaching children in culturally diverse educational settings. Fundamental to this process is a critical awareness of our own constructions of childhood and culture. This chapter examines the experiences of a small group of undergraduate students from a Canadian university during an overseas cross-cultural service-learning placement in Thailand in relation to the ways in which the experience became a catalyst towards a more emergent understanding of childhood and culture. As an ethnographic researcher, I was a participant-observer with the students during their placement and conducted interviews with them to facilitate reflection on their experiences