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Analysis of the history, purpose, and practice of field environmental education. Distinctions will be made in examining field programs at the personal, academic, and social levels. Topics will include application of learning styles to the wilderness experience, critique of the academic vs. experiential learning dichotomy, group dynamics and communication skills, and a variety of environmental education values. Special emphasis will be given to the complementary aspects of ecological literacy (understanding the particulars and processes of nature) and the ecological self (a sense of one's place in nature).
Course Outline
I.
History and Purpose of Wilderness Education
A. Approaches
to the backcountry classroom
1. academics
2. skills development
3. personal growth
B. Goals of wilderness
education
1. academic content and standards
2. ecological literacy
3. ecological self and the wilderness effect
4. group communication and rapport
II. Facilitating Learning in Wilderness
A. Learning styles
and academics in the outdoor classroom
B. Experiential
education: theory
1. learning by doing
2. education of the whole person (body, mind,
spirit)
C. Experiential
education: practices
1. getting out of the way: nature as teacher
2. cultivating the wilderness effect
3. games, exercises, processes, rituals
D. Working with
field journals
1. integrating field observations and assignments
2. creativity and personal reflection
III. Group Dynamics
A. The individual
and the group: rights and responsibilities
B. Stages of
group development
C. Communication
1. privacy and self-disclosure
2. direct feedback: giving and receiving
D. Cooperative
learning
1. instructor as member of group
2. learning from peers and small groups
E. Decision-making
and facilitating group consensus
F. Interpersonal
difficulties and dispute resolution
IV. The Spirit of Wilderness Education
A. The mythic
journey: separation, initiation, return
B. Deep ecology:
an individual experience
C. Environmental
ethics: marrying philosophy and practice
Required Text
Course Reader: instructor-compiled selection of readings from a variety of books and journals (available at cost)
Evaluation
Students will be evaluated according to the following requirements: participation in class discussion, an experiential project with report and a presentation.
program info | courses | field conditions | instructor | costs