Nate Furman

Student Learning in Outdoor Education: A Case Study from the National Outdoor Leadership School

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.

The Roles of Heuristics, Avalanche Forecast, and Risk Propensity in the Decision Making of Backcountry Skiers

Backcountry winter recreation accidents and deaths due to avalanches have grown considerably in recent decades. To better understand how individuals make decisions in avalanche terrain, this study examined the decision-making factors identified by McCammon (2004) that are said to be complicit in avalanche accidents. This study also explored risk-taking propensity and avalanche forecast variables in decision making. Results indicate that five decision-making factors, risk-taking propensity, and avalanche forecast variables influence the decision to ski a slope. Implications for how individuals make decisions in risky leisure pursuits are discussed and implications for outdoor recreation, and avalanche education are considered.

Mechanisms of Learning Transfer in Adventure Education: Qualitative Results from the NOLS Transfer Survey:

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.

The Development of Prosocial Behavior in Adolescents: A Mixed Methods Study from NOLS.

Learning transfer and prosocial behavior (PSB) are critical components of many outdoor education programs for adolescents. This study examined the effects of a theoretically grounded treatment curriculum designed to foster the transfer of learning of general and contextual PSB (also called expedition behavior) among adolescents enrolled on 14-day backpacking courses with the National Outdoor Leadership School. Results suggest that the treatment curriculum increased proximal learning of PSB more than courses that featured the traditional curriculum. Qualitative results suggested that students learned PSB primarily as a result of its relevance to the expedition environment, that it is most useful when working with or understanding others, and that it can be applied to multiple contexts post-course, including with family, at school, and with sport teams. Implications for designing a curriculum that fosters transfer and for developing PSB in participants are considered.

The Effect of Decision-Making Factors, Risk-Taking Propensity, and Environmental Conditions on Decision Making in Hazardous Outdoor Terrain

D espite the popularity of avalanche education courses, snow avalanches kill or injure hundreds of winter backcountry users each year (Tremper, 2001). From 1998 to 2008, there have been 308 avalanche-related fatalities in the United States and 129 in Canada (American Avalanche Association, n.d.). Experts claim that accidents are often a combination of both environmental factors and human factors (Fredston, Fesler, & Tremper, 1994). Investigation of variables present during decision-making in hazardous outdoor terrain may inform experiential educational programs designed to teach students about these factors and ultimately, increase safety in the outdoors.

The Dialectical Utility of Heuristic Processing in Outdoor Adventure Education

Heuristics—cognitive shortcuts used in decision-making events—have been paradoxically praised for their contribution to decision-making efficiency and prosecuted for their contribution to decision-making error (Gigerenzer & Gaissmaier, 2011; Gigerenzer, Todd, & ABC Research Group, 1999; Kahneman, 2011; Kahneman, Slovic, & Tversky, 1982). Recent research in outdoor adventure education (OAE) using the heuristic concept to diagnose field-based decision-making errors has ignored this duality, focusing solely on the negative potential of heuristic processing (e.g., Clement, 1997; McCammon, 2004a; Simenhois & Savage, 2009; Tremper, 2008; Wheeler, 2008) and neglecting positive and prudent uses of heuristic processing in field-based risk management. This conceptual manuscript follows the suggestion of Furman, Shooter, and Schumann (2010) to explore the dual-nature of heuristic processing in OAE. Using a dialectical method, the authors interrogate the dominant, negativistic interpretation of heuristic processing as well as illustrate the common uses of heuristics in risk management curricula within outdoor pursuits. In the resulting synthesis, the authors show that a symptom-prescription view of heuristic duality can reclaim the utility of heuristics as decision-making aids (e.g., scenarios, mnemonics, visual models) in OAE, as well as provide implications for decision-making scholarship and field-based practice.

Environmental factors affecting the predicted decisions of backcountry skiers: An examination of the obvious clues method decision aid.

Snow avalanches present a dangerous and potentially fatal hazard to wintertime backcountry enthusiasts, and individuals who participate in wintertime mountain recreation often expose themselves to avalanche hazards. In the winter of 2009-10, 36 people were killed by avalanches in the United States, and from 1999/10 to 2009/10, there were 316 avalanche-related fatalities--97% of which were recreationists. (Colorado Avalanche Information Center, n.d.). The discipline of avalanche science has countered the rising accident and fatality rate with both research and education. Recent empirical work has focused on developing appropriate models of decision-making (McCammon & Haegeli, 2007), refining snowpack analysis tests to better inform backcountry skiers (Lehning et al., 2002), developing better rescue techniques (Genswein & Eide, 2008), and developing new technologies designed to reduce the chance of injury or deaths (Radwin & Grissom, 2002).

The Relevance of Campus Outdoor Recreation Programs to Higher Education: A University of Utah Example

This paper illustrates the relevance of campus recreation to higher education through a University of Utah case study. Offering Utah’s Experiential Learning and Outdoor Recreation Education (U-EXPLORE) program as our exemplar, we advance four lines of thought. First, we establish the relationship between an active body and an active mind. Second, we describe the manifestation of this relationship through U-EXPLORE. Third, we discuss the practical benefits of offering campus recreation programs that include a strong educational focus. Fourth, we conclude by emphasizing why recreation in particular is an ideal context for nurturing pastimes that unite mind and body and promote lifelong human growth and development.

Through Adventure Education: Using a Socio-ecological Model in Adventure Education to Address Environmental Problems

This chapter considers the relationship between adventure education and the socio-ecological model. A first look at the socio-ecological model might leave one wondering how adventure education fits within it. Given that the model is historically about promoting health behaviours by focusing on the interactions of people with both their physical environments and socio-cultural settings in their everyday lives, adventure education may seem at odds with socio-ecological thinking. After all, the nature of multi-day adventure education programs is to take participants out of their everyday environments, or what might be called their everyday social ecology. This chapter however, highlights the connections by suggesting there are three primary reasons why adventure education programs fit well within the socio-ecological model. First, both adventure education and socio-ecological models regard positive behaviour change as a desired outcome. Second, adventure education and socio-ecological models both offer insights to address environmental problems. Third, both models highlight our social and environmental interrelatedness. Adventure education provides a unique opportunity to step away from the complexities and distractions of day-to-day life and learn directly about both human and ecological interrelationships. Adventure education can be an effective way to teach systems thinking and the socio-ecological model provides a useful framework to do so.

Adventure Education Learning Mechanisms Across Populations: Qualitative Results from the National Outdoor Leadership School

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 organizations 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.