Outdoor Education: A Pathway to Experiential, Environmental, and Sustainable Learning (Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education) 3031354214, 9783031354212

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PALGRAVE STUDIES IN ALTERNATIVE EDUCATION

Outdoor Education A Pathway to Experiential, Environmental, and Sustainable Learning Stephen T. Schroth

Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education Series Editors

Helen Lees Independent Researcher London, UK Michael Reiss University College London London, UK

This series emerges out of a recent global rise of interest in and actual educational practices done with voice, choice, freedoms and interpersonal thoughtfulness. From subversion to introversion, including alternative settings of the state to alternative pathways of the private, the series embraces a diverse range of voices. Common to books in the series is a vision of education already in existence and knowledge of education possible here and now. Theoretical ideas with potential to be enacted or influential in lived practice are also a part of what we offer with the books. This series repositions what we deem as valuable educationally by accepting the power of many different forces such as silence, love, joy, despair, confusion, curiosity, failure, attachments as all potentially viable, interesting, useful elements in educational stories. Nothing is rejected if it has history or record as being of worth to people educationally, nor does this series doubt or distrust compelling ideas of difference as relevant. We wish to allow mainstream and marginal practices to meet here without prejudice as Other but also with a view to ensuring platforms for the Other to find community and understanding with others. The following are the primary aims of the series: • To publish new work on education with a distinctive voice. • To enable alternative education to find a mainstream profile. • To publish research that draws with interdisciplinary expertise on pertinent materials for interpersonal change or adjustments of approach towards greater voice. • To show education as without borders or boundaries placed on what is possible to think and do. If you would like to submit a proposal or discuss a project in more detail please contact: Rebecca Wyde [email protected]. The series will include both monographs and edited collections and Palgrave Pivot formats.

Stephen T. Schroth

Outdoor Education A Pathway to Experiential, Environmental, and Sustainable Learning

Stephen T. Schroth Department of Early Childhood Education Towson University Towson, MD, USA

ISSN 2946-5036     ISSN 2946-5044 (electronic) Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education ISBN 978-3-031-35421-2    ISBN 978-3-031-35422-9 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9 © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG, part of Springer Nature 2023 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are solely and exclusively licensed by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specific statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. This Palgrave Macmillan imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG. The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland

To the rebel teachers willing to engage in “the patient pursuit of the possible,” with affection and gratitude.

Preface

Schools are often in the news, with stories of dissatisfied teachers, students, parents, and administrators popular among those of all political persuasions, although their precise criticisms may vary. This work examines how burgeoning interest in all things green has caused exponential growth in outdoor education over the past decade. Although often confused or conflated with forest schools, outdoor learning, outdoor schools, and wilderness education, outdoor education builds upon the concept that learning must extend outside of the classroom and build upon hands­on experiences children share with others. Although its origins extend to before the scouting movement of the early twentieth century, outdoor education took hold in Europe mid-twentieth century and has since extended to other parts of the globe. As awareness of climate change, environmental degradation, and sustainable behaviors has grown, so too has concern for ways to address these. The realization that many students, especially those who attend urban schools, spend very little time outside has also increased interest in outdoor education in a variety of forms, including as an experience that consists of part of the school day. Outdoor education at its essence centers upon learning experiences that take place out of doors, project based, and involve a high degree of student autonomy. As alternative education has come to value student voice, choice, freedoms, and interpersonal thoughtfulness, many have come to regard outdoor education as a viable option to traditional means of schooling.

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Relationship with Environmental Education Although different from outdoor education, increasing interest in environmental education has helped to shape, frame, and influence how outdoor education looks and operates, especially in the United States. Environmental education has been concerned with, among other things, examining how the natural environment functions, the effects of humans and their activities upon the environment, and how certain behaviors and practices can be changed or altered to promote sustainability (Schroth & Daniels, 2021). It is, however, usually covered in classroom settings much like any other subject taught in schools. Outdoor education, by contrast, allows for immersion in the natural world and exposure to a variety of issues facing society. Outdoor education combines outside activities and environmental learning to form a cohesive whole that allows for experimentation and manipulation of the natural world. Outdoor education has the ancillary benefits of creating an appreciation for activity, cooperation, and the natural environment. Children exposed to outdoor learning benefit from increased ability to overcome adversity and enhanced personal and social development and build a deeper relationship with the natural world. Outdoor education encompasses environmental education, especially its exposure to the issues facing society and their possible solutions. It extends further, however, to include additional explorations of social norms and values (Cutting, 2022). Outdoor education fosters students’ voice, as it involves investigations that seek solutions to problems and questions identified by children themselves. Outdoor education encourages activities that build interaction with the natural environment, allowing children to learn about and participate in the shaping of social norms, to undergo and surmount challenges in a supportive environment, and to gain an appreciation of and understanding about the process of learning and engaging in activities with others. Outdoor education, in both theory and practice, is predicated upon the belief that a child’s true nature is revealed through working with nature, as he or she is removed from the distractions generated by modern conveniences and comforts. The process is not without various situations that cause stress—individuals facing such stresses, however, create an appreciation for his or her own abilities to survive and interact (McCree, 2022). Experience with outdoor education thus also serves as a vehicle for children’s self-analysis as well as a

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catalyst for personal growth. The combination of these forces builds a greater awareness of society in children and underscores the necessity of teamwork.

Benefits of Outdoor Education Teachers who engage in outdoor education often observe differences in student behavior resulting from such experiences. Marked changes also frequently occur in the relationships of children who comprised the group, further supporting the notion that outdoor education enhances group dynamics and builds a better understanding of teamwork. This relationship between outdoor education and group dynamics reaches back to the roots of educational theory, as theorists such as John Dewey, whose belief in the value of experiential learning greatly shaped elements of educational policy. With spreading urbanization, “nature deficit disorder” has become increasingly common (see, e.g., Louv, 2008). This disorder, caused by a lack of time spent outdoors, causes behavior problems linked to a lack of connection to nature (Blackpool, 2022). The situation is exacerbated by a concurrent increase in parental fears concerning germs, physical harm, and other issues associated with being outside. Although this disorder is not uniformly recognized by medical journals, it has become an issue that educators and other societal leaders have sought to address, especially for children from low-socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds, many of whom are children of color and English language learners. Against this background, outdoor education has become a popular way to remedy some of these perceived ills. Studies have examined the effects on students who engage in outdoor activity for prolonged periods of time (Tiffany, 2022). Outdoor activity has been demonstrated to have a positive impact on children’s physical development, improve their balance and agility, and enhance other fine motor skills (Cutting, 2022). Studies of outdoor education suggest that students engaging in it experience a decrease in the number of injuries caused by accidents as they develop skills in assessing potential danger in situations and recognizing ways to avoid danger. Additional benefits observed include an increase in the operation of students’ immune systems as a result of outdoor activity, a benefit to both students and their caregivers.

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Implementing Outdoor Education Outdoor education is appropriate for children at any grade level, from PreK through the 12th grade. It is frequently conflated with outdoor activities, such as canoeing, climbing, games, hiking, and rope courses. While these activities can comprise parts of outdoor education, by themselves they do not constitute the concept, which is more focused upon student-guided investigations. As some of these activities were originally believed to be too dangerous or rigorous for younger students, outdoor education in some areas centered mainly upon older children, such as those in high schools. As educators have become more familiar with what outdoor education entails, it has increasingly been used with younger students. One of the most interesting recent manifestations of outdoor education involves the formation of forest kindergartens. Forest kindergartens serve children between the ages of three and six, who, despite their youth, spend the majority of their day outdoors. This emphasis on outdoor instruction extends to all curricular areas, including teaching lessons on dressing appropriately for the weather. Although originating in Europe, forest kindergartens have spread to the United States and Asia. These schools are common in areas where the weather often curtails outside activities. For example, the private Waldorf school in Sarasota Springs, New York, has insisted the children enrolled there spent three hours a day outdoors, using a 325-acre portion of Hemlock Trail, a New York state park, as its campus the realization that inclement weather does not hinder outdoor education has spurred its growth. A variety of constructivist learning theories support outdoor education, a model of instruction that can be used with children from any background, but which holds special benefits for children of color, ELLs, and students from low-SES households (see, e.g., Christenson & James, 2023). The pattern of inquiry, suggested by John Dewey, supports outdoor education’s approach, with its emphasis upon student-identified problems and group investigations of possible solutions. Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences has been influential since the time that he first identified different expressions of intelligence related to cognition. Outdoor education also embraces Gardner’s work insofar that it allows students to negotiate their own learning in ways that increase performance. Gardner’s naturalistic intelligence, which centers on nurturing nature and relating information to natural surroundings, would seem a logical source of support for outdoor education. The work of other

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learning theorists also buttress the goals and objectives of outdoor education, such as Robert Sternberg’s view of practical intelligence, Joseph Renzulli’s emphasis on the need for task commitment, Paulo Freire’s concepts of how education can contribute to the empowerment of children from diverse backgrounds, and David Perkins’s stress on the necessity for active use of knowledge. As such, outdoor education aligns with goals and objectives of classical learning theory. Those who work to build outdoor education programs are frequently passionate about equity, constructivist practices, and providing opportunities to those who might not otherwise have the opportunity to engage in such experiences. Outdoor education programs, for example, often prohibit commercial toys with scripted uses or educational materials assembled as part of a kit. This policy encourages children to form their own language of play, assists them in determining which tool is appropriate for a given problem, and encourages the creation of a stronger community environment. The cooperative nature of outdoor education initiatives provides many occasions for the building of language for children. Language creation assists in the development of a child’s understanding of both the value of language and its use in assigning meaning. Better understanding of the conventions of language, and its creative nature, contributes to improvement in children’s verbal aptitude and builds imagination. As children grow older, however, concern about performance on standardized assessments reduces their opportunities for outdoor education. Considering various options to provide older children with opportunities for outdoor learning, even if abbreviated, is supported by studies that demonstrate the benefits of such experiences, academically, socially, and emotionally. Successful and effective outdoor education programs are grounded in a solid understanding of curriculum development theory and progressive instructional strategies and methods. Crafting experiences that are discipline-­based, grounded in clear learning objectives, and with measurable student outcomes is part of the role of teachers in such programs. The expertise, efficiency, and excellence using the tools of the profession enable outdoor education teachers to ground their work in classic curriculum theory and build connections between various aspects of the school’s course of study and the experiential learning opportunities so crucial to children’s understanding of the world around them. Children’s social and emotional development is also supported, as multiple grouping options and cooperative interactions with peers help to build their understanding

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of negotiating collaborations and contacts with others. Creative and critical thinking skills are also built through outdoor education, as student-led investigations permit multiple opportunities for use and refinement of these.

Conclusion In addition to an overview of the history and theory undergirding outdoor education, this work is based upon a study of outdoor education being implemented in the urban schools of a major middle-Atlantic region public school district, which serves a population of 80,000 students, 77 percent of whom are Black/African American and 14 percent of whom are Hispanic/Latino, and where over half of all students come from low-­ income households. Included will be information gleaned from the analysis of observation notes, other work product, and interviews that have been collected, transcribed, coded, and analyzed. IRB approval was obtained and releases from participants were granted. In examining both the theory emphasizing the need for outdoor education and providing practical and workable ways to achieve this, the work will provide a valuable contribution to the literature. The book is organized into three parts, with Part I dealing with the need for an alternative, Part II concentrating on the benefits of outdoor education, and Part III on assuring successful change. Each part is composed of three chapters that address these themes. Following Chaps. 2 through 8 are case studies that examine the issues raised in the chapter. Each case study is based upon interviews, observations, work products, and other documents that were collected as part of a multiple year qualitative study that examined one urban school district’s attempts to implement an urban education program at some of its schools. The methods used for the conduct of this study are contained in Appendix A, which follows below. Also included are three appendices that include resources that were used by teachers at the schools in implementing the outdoor education program—Appendix B contains children’s literature that was used by teachers as the basis for many of the instructional sequences they crafted, while Appendix C lists various websites and apps that were used by teachers and children as part of their work. Finally, Appendix D contains information about, and links to, a variety of associations, organizations, and groups that will assist in beginning an outdoor education program. It

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is hoped that others who are interested in exploring outdoor education may find these resources of interest. Each chapter begins with a poem from Walt Whitman’s Leaves of Grass, chosen because its theme resonates with the chapter which immediately follows it. Whitman’s work, although monumental and wide ranging in the topics it covers, began an appreciation of the outdoors and of nature which resonates to this day. Whitman, in his praise of nature and the individual’s role in it, began an examination of how humans interact with the world—for good and bad—that continues to this day. As Leaves of Grass was written over a period of 40 years, it dealt with the mass industrialization of the United States, as well as the changes that brought upon both individuals and the environment around them. Whitman uses the title metaphor of grass to conjure up an idealized pastoral vision of what life might be. Outdoor education itself looks beyond what we see in front of us when we look at classrooms and schools and instead suggests an ideal vision of a different, but related type, a place where every child learns, feels valued, and appreciates the natural world in which he or she lives. Certainly Whitman did not intend to create a nascent environmental movement when he penned the poems that comprise The Leaves of Grass. The influence and inspiration these poems provided to a later generation of activists might be deemed an unintended consequence of Whitman’s self-expression. So too, however, can an outdoor education program have unintended consequences. Children who are encouraged to think creatively and critically will learn how to draw their own conclusions about the world around them and may learn to be skeptical of many pat answers that are fed to them by individuals in positions of authority and power. Learning how best to work collaboratively and to consider the perspectives, thoughts, and feelings of others might also help them to interact more gracefully with others in the future. If enough children are exposed to such practices, they may like others before them change the world, only this time in ways that are more beneficial to others, and the planet itself, as they proceed on their journey into the unknown. Towson, MD, USA

Stephen T. Schroth

Acknowledgments

Thanks are due to both Dean Laurie Mullen and Dr. Janese Daniels, respectively Dean of the College of Education and Chair of the Department of Early Childhood Education, both at Towson University. Their support and encouragement, both psychological and financial, have made this book possible and have helped make Towson University such a terrific place to teach, learn, and work. Thanks, respect, admiration, and appreciation are also due to those teachers, administrators, coordinators, children, and their parents and families who were gracious enough to try incorporating outdoor education into their already demanding schedules. Spending Saturdays attending professional learning sessions and time after school parsing lessons and other instructional strategies made this project and thus book possible. Special thanks are due to Pieter Heesters, who provided a third set of eyes to help analyze data collected for use in this book. Thanks are also due to the students in my graduate classes, especially ECED 611, Teacher as Researcher: Research Methods in Education, who discussed some of the methodological challenges I faced while writing this book. Special thanks to two of my mentors, the late Donald J.  Treffinger, PhD, and Joan Franklin Smutny, both for the wonderful examples they have provided with their marvelous work as well as their friendship and support so generously provided. I have a deep sense of gratitude for my late parents, Stanley and Janis Schroth, who taught us a love of nature and the outdoors, as well as an appreciation for education

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and hard work. Thanks, too, are due to friends and colleagues to multiple to mention, who read portions of this manuscript, offered criticism of portions of the work, and who inspired me in so many ways to continue, especially Geoff Barnes, Morgan Lee, Dean Mary Crawford of Knox College, and Dr. Jason Helfer, Deputy Superintendent of the Illinois State Board of Education. Many other colleagues, too numerous to mention, also deserve thoughts for their insights and advice.

Contents

Part I The Need for an Alternative   1 1 Continual School Reform  3 School Reform Efforts   7 An Urban School District’s Struggles  12 Outdoor Education as a Possible Solution  13 2 Curriculum Development 17 Origins of Curriculum in Public Schools  18 The Development of Curriculum Theory  24 Delivery Models  41 Integrated Classroom Support  42 Cluster Grouping  44 Pull-Out Programs  45 Special Classes  47 Special Schools  49 Materials and Resources Needed  52 Case Study No. 1: Meeting Student Needs  54 3 Children  and the Outdoors: Theoretical Underpinnings 61 Varied Conceptions of Intelligence  62 Patterns of Inquiry  67 Quality Inquiry-Based Instruction  72 Guided Investigations  73 xvii

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Contents

Promoting Curiosity and Questioning  78 Case Study No. 2: Understanding the Connections  79 Part II The Benefits of Outdoor Education  83 4 Outdoor  Education and Its Benefits for Diverse Learners 85 Origins of Outdoor Education  86 Separate but Connected  95 Benefits for Children  97 Needs of Diverse Learners  99 Case Study No. 3: Establishing High Standards for All 100 5 Outdoor  Education and Group Dynamics103 Cooperative Learning 104 Outdoor Learning and Student-Identified Problems 107 Problem-Solving Styles 108 Formulation of Groups 111 Case Study No. 4: Building Better Group Interactions 114 6 Creativity  and Outdoor Education119 Defining Creativity 120 The Importance of Creativity and Innovation in Education 124 Developing Creativity 127 Creative Problem Solving 129 Mindfulness 133 Developing Critical Thinking Skills 136 How This Looks Outdoors 142 Case Study No. 5: Creative Thinking Skills for All 143 Part III Assuring Successful Change 147 7 Fostering Positive Change149 The Meaning of Educational Change 151 Traditional Model of Change 153 Successful Change 154 Implementing Change 155

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Implementation 166 Case Study No. 6: Planning and Managing Effective Change 168 8 Resistance to Change173 Taking Stock 174 Thinking Strategically 175 The First Year 178 Hiring New Faculty 180 Authenticating and Sharing Success 181 Case Study No. 7: Responding to Objectives to Change 182 9 Conclusion185 The Need for Outdoor Education 186 Benefits for Learners 187 Overcoming Impediments 189 Cultivating and Maintaining Success 190 Appendix A195 Appendix B207 Appendix C211 Appendix D215 References217 Index231

About the Author

Stephen T. Schroth serves as Professor of Early Childhood Education/ Gifted & Creative Education at Towson University. Past-Chair of the National Association of Gifted Children (NAGC) Arts Network and the Conceptual Foundations Network, Dr. Schroth serves as Editor of the Journal of Advanced Academics and is the author of multiple books, monographs, book chapters, articles, and other publications. Dr. Schroth holds a PhD in Educational Psychology/Gifted Education from the University of Virginia, where he completed cognates in Curriculum & Instruction; Administration & Supervision; and Educational Research, Statistics & Evaluation. On three different occasions his work has been selected for the Award for Excellence in Research by the MENSA Educational Research Foundation and his teaching has been recognized by receiving the Gloria A.  Neubert Award for Faculty Excellence in Teaching at Towson University, the Philip Green Wright/Lombard College Prize for Distinguished Teaching at Knox College, and the Los Angeles Educational Partnership Foundation Excellence Award. Prior to entering higher education, he served as a classroom teacher, gifted coordinator, and arts prototype school coordinator for a decade in the Los Angeles Unified School District (LAUSD). His research interests include outdoor education, green education, early childhood education, teacher preparation, the gifted and talented, the arts, differentiated instruction, learning styles, creativity and problem solving, effective instructional and leadership practices, and working with English language learners.

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List of Figures

Fig. 3.1 Fig. 7.1 Fig. 9.1

Interrelated nature of a child’s traits and classroom practices Elements of a successful change initiative Guided investigation process

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List of Tables

Table 2.1 Table 2.2 Table 2.3 Table 2.4 Table 3.1 Table 5.1 Table 5.2 Table 6.1 Table 6.2 Table 6.3 Table 6.4 Table 7.1 Table 7.2 Table 8.1 Table 8.2

Bloom’s Taxonomy of the cognitive domain 28 Taba’s concept development model 32 Interpretation of data 33 Stages and phases of CPS 38 Piaget’s developmental stages 69 Elements of successful cooperative learning experiences 107 Categories, subdomains, and examples of positive outcomes associated with outdoor education 109 Definitions of giftedness and implications for identification 124 Characteristics of creativity 126 Drigas and Mitsea’s eight pillars metacognitive model of mindfulness135 The three types of logical reasoning 139 Fullan’s framework for leadership 156 Attributes for change leaders 165 Right and wrong drivers 176 The innovation lifestyle cycle 179

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PART I

The Need for an Alternative

Schools are often in the news, with stories of dissatisfied teachers, students, parents, and administrators popular among those of all political persuasions, although the criticisms of various groups of course vary based upon their own particular learnings and perspectives. One might think that school reform is the logical next step with so many dissatisfied members of school communities, but this suggestion is vitiated by knowledge that American public schools have been undergoing almost continual reform for more than the past 60 years. This book, of course, suggests that outdoor education programs might be an alternative way of thinking about schooling, one that builds children’s critical and creative thinking skills while also permitting teachers and administrators the freedom to craft instructional sequences that are built upon student strengths and needs. The first section of this work, however, delves into why such an alternative is needed. The first chapter shall provide an overview of the current state of education in the United States, showing a great deal of dissatisfaction among all stakeholders, yet with little change in the problems undergirding schooling for the past 40 years. Complicating this problem, and increasing the urgency for alternatives to the status quo, is the rapidly increasing diversity of the K-12 student population, with over 50 percent of students now coming from low-socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds or being persons of color, groups that historically have had less access to safe green spaces or outdoor experiences. The desire for increased student performance has resulted in the implementation of standards, increased testing,

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and an emphasis in classrooms on English/language arts and mathematics, often at the expense of other areas of the curriculum. Concurrent with this, interest in green education has grown. Teachers have found the environment to be of great interest to students of all backgrounds, and a focus on green education has flourished in higher SES communities. Green education, although involved with a topic that motivates and fascinates children, may be conducted exclusively inside traditions classrooms. Outdoor education, or outdoor education experiences, which are often a type of green learning, has been essentially unavailable to many children, but especially those from diverse and low-income backgrounds. The second chapter shall review the non-negotiable aspects of quality curriculum, especially that it be rooted in the disciplines taught and that it be broken down into appropriate chunks for children of the readiness levels for which it is being prepared. During the 1970s, Bruner’s Man: A Course of Study curriculum demonstrated how this can be done, but unfortunately the practice has fallen by the wayside as schools increasingly focused on test preparation rather than pursuing a project-based approach. An examination of how preparing units must incorporate all of the components of a high-quality curriculum and brief examples of how this might look will be included. Finally, an overview of delivery models that might allow outdoor education to comprise some, most, or all of the academic day, which is especially useful for those schools and school districts unable to commit to a full-day experience but still want to provide students access to such a program.

CHAPTER 1

Continual School Reform

That Music Always Round Me The music always round me, unceasing, unbeginning, yet long untaught I did not hear, But now the chorus I hear and am elated, A tenor, strong, ascending with power and health, with glad notes of daybreak I hear, A soprano at intervals sailing buoyantly over the tops of immense waves, A transparent base shuddering lusciously under and through the universe, The triumphant tutti, the funeral wailings with sweet flutes and violins all these I fill myself with, I hear not the volumes of sound merely, I am moved by the exquisite meanings, I listen to the different voices winding in and out, striving, contending with fiery vehemence to excel each other in emotion; I do not think the performers know themselves—but now I think I begin to know them. (Whitman, 1892/1993)

Satisfaction with public schools in the United States is seemingly at an all-­ time low. Advocates of various academic, social, and political perspectives express their dissatisfaction with how teaching and instruction are accomplished and believe that change and reform are necessary to correct the

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 S. T. Schroth, Outdoor Education, Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9_1

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perceived predicament and to provide children with a better education.1 While this constant refrain calling for school reform can be disconcerting, disheartening, and disturbing for many teachers, administrators, and others involved in children’s education, it offers a fantastic opportunity to consider, experiment with, and try out various new approaches to teaching and learning that might appease and assuage those advocating for change while also providing teachers, children, and communities with valid and viable avenues of teaching and instruction.2 Outdoor education presents itself as a means by which those charged with reforming schools can use to bring about change while permitting those from a variety of political, cultural, and curricular backgrounds to work out a system of teaching and learning that appeals to their core goals and objectives while also permitting significant changes or alterations to the educational programs that meet the desires and requirements of those seeking change and revision of the educational program.3 Many today feel a sense of anguish caused by what they perceive as a lack of freedom—a situation caused by outside forces, uncaring institutions, or poor policies and regulations.4 Greene agreed with Jean-Paul Sartre that the cause of this anguish, whether consciously understood or not, stems from the individual’s appreciation of his or her own responsibility for permitting this lack of freedom to occur. While this interpretation might be perceived by some as “blaming the victim,” instead it is highly empowering as it encourages each person to assert control over his or her life and surroundings.5 The anguish and sense of disconnect that many children—and parents, teachers, and community members—feel and deal with daily often influence and shape how they interact with both academics and the world around them. Outdoor education can be used as 1  See, for example, Reeves (2020). Unhappiness with America’s public schools is certainly not held by just those with one political viewpoint, but dissatisfaction is spread equally across the political spectrum. 2  Terrific models for schools to adopt have existed for decades. See, for example, Adler (1982/1998). 3  Schroth and Daniels (2021). 4  Greene (1988). Greene was concerned with this anguish and saw the schools as being in a good position to act in a manner that might ameliorate or alleviate it. 5  Philip Towle analyzes the recent societal shift from celebrating heroes, or those who accomplish successes and achievements, to holding up victims as objects of adulation. While this shift may have been well intentioned, Towle suggests that it has been damaging for society as a whole and for children in particular, as it has fostered a society where analysis is more important than action. Towle (2018).

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a means through which children’s sense of agency—as well as their cognitive, psychomotor, and affective development—can be addressed and met. Certainly, some will grapple with the idea that teachers and other school leaders must sometimes choose to permit children to struggle with content, problems, and other issues rather than excusing poor performance because of extenuating circumstances. Indeed, Greene tackles this conundrum head on, noting: The point is not that there are never any excuses; it is that, in classrooms as well as the open world, accommodations come too easily. It is the case, as Sartre said, that there is an ‘anguish’ to action on one’s freedom, an anguish due to the recognition of one’s responsibility for what is happening. The person who chooses himself/herself in his/her freedom cannot place the onus on outside forces, on the cause and effect nexus. It is his/her reading of the situation that discloses possibility; and yet there is no guarantee that the interpretation is correct. If there is proof to be found, it is only in the action undertaken; and the action itself closes off other alternatives. There is always, as in the Robert Frost poem, the ‘road not taken’. (Greene, 1988, p. 5)

As Greene notes, the task and responsibility of the teacher is to make his or her charges independent, thoughtful, and active citizens who work within their environments and communities to shape and form the world in which they wish to live and learn. Many teachers and others who work with children wish to change this reality of anguish that many children inhabit, creating instead a world where students are equipped with the tools and dispositions necessary to identify the problems facing them and then address these head on, changing situations so that the children accomplish an outcome more to their liking. This would mean shifting our current celebration of victimhood and returning to a point where accomplishment was honored, praised, and commemorated.6 In an era of continual school change and reform, teachers, administrators, and other school personnel can use outdoor education as a means to accomplish their larger educational goals. Certainly teachers and others at a school do not work in a vacuum and must build support for the initiation of any new program—this engagement with the political 6  Towle (2018). Towle examines how the current fixation with victims has harmed fields as diverse as history, political science, and others, as well as impeding our national institutions to an extent that hinders progress and further accomplishment.

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process, including the need to articulate goals and objectives, persuades others of the efficacy of the proposed action and, then implementing it in an efficacious manner, will strengthen the program that ultimately is used with children. As Bruner (1966) noted, “[t]he political process—and decisions about the aims of education must work their way through that process—is slow, perhaps, but is committed to the patient pursuit of the possible” (p. 23). Those who wish to provide children with the tools to vanquish the anguish many face on a daily basis may find outdoor education an ideal means by which to do so. For the purposes of this book, outdoor education is an experiential learning approach that encourages children to explore, connect, and learn from the natural world. By doing so, these children and their teachers use the natural world as a setting for teaching and learning, It aims to enhance personal, social, and environmental awareness through identifying problems of concern to them, and then working cooperatively to develop possible solutions, and then working to adopt those solutions, either at their school or within the broader context of their communities. While outdoor education can certainly involve hiking, mountain climbing, kayaking, camping, or other adventure sports, it can also involve any learning activity that takes place out of doors. While outdoor education can also be used with any subject, it also is often used with science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects. The following chapters provide an entry point through which teachers, administrators, and others can begin to think about how outdoor education might look within the context of their schools. When considering the “ontology” of the reader, specifically teachers/administrators who believe in the inquisitiveness of learners and the importance of extending the walls of the school, suggestions are made related to how one might conceptualize outdoor education, how it might be configured to fit within the academic day and year, and how those from a variety of backgrounds, experience levels, and perspectives can formulate a program that works for their particular and specific needs. Those who wish to reduce the sense of isolation and anguish that so many students, and others, currently feel may be especially well served by outdoor education programming options. At the conclusion of each chapter is a short set of further readings that provide a point of departure for those who wish to engage more deeply with the topics explored within the foregoing chapter. These augment the appendices, which also contain additional resources.

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Outdoor education presents an opportunity for students, teachers, families, and communities to drive the curriculum studied while simultaneously building creative and critical thinking skills along with the ability to self-advocate.7 Those interested in exploring outdoor education often have a myriad of questions and concerns: What precisely is outdoor education? With which grade-level students may I use this approach? Which elements of the curriculum may I use with outdoor education? May I explore outdoor education for only a few weeks? For only a few class sessions? What about bad weather? Is outdoor education the same as environmental studies? How can I present this type of teaching and learning to parents/administrators/teachers? Is there any special equipment or resources that I need to begin? Where should I begin? Happily, outdoor education has proven itself to be accessible, malleable, flexible, and attainable by teachers of any experience level, of any subject, and of any grade level.8 All involved in education—be they parents, administrators, teachers, or concerned community members—want an education for children that is rigorous, excellent, equitable, and relevant. Outdoor education provides a pathway that permits school reform to occur in ways that are motivating, interesting, challenging, and appropriate.

School Reform Efforts Historically, education has been within the purview and control of state and local governments.9 It was not until the passage of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA) that the federal government began to take an interest in the schooling of American children.10 Part of the Johnson Administration’s War on Poverty initiative, ESEA initially authorized funds to be used for professional development opportunities for teachers, curricular materials, resources to support a variety of special  Treffinger et al. (2006), Treffinger et al. (2002).  Outdoor education is so popular precisely because it is so malleable and may be configured to meet the needs of any school community. Krishnaswami (2001), Waite (2017). A variety of approaches developed for various populations may also be used to integrate outdoor education into the life of a school. See, for example, Renzulli and Reis (2014), Tomlinson et al. (2009), Treffinger et al. (2004). 9  Ravitch (2001). School governance is still largely in the hands of locally elected school boards and state boards of education or departments of education. 10  Ravitch (2010). 7 8

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programs, and the promotion of family involvement in the schools.11 This legislation, which has been renewed every five years, has the federal government’s main avenue through which it influences and shapes educational policy at the state and local level. Funds designated by ESEA for low-income children became known as Title I funds. While efforts to change and modify what is taught to children and the methods by which this instruction takes place, current school reform efforts can trace their origins back to the 1983 publication of A Nation at Risk.12 Commissioned in response to a perception that the United States’ preeminence in manufacturing, technology, trade, and science were tied to a decline in America’s public schools. Led by Chair John W. Gardner, the former Secretary of Health, Education, and Welfare (HEW) under President Lyndon B.  Johnson, the report examined many aspects of schooling in the United States, including the curriculum taught, the way teachers were prepared, declining test scores, how teachers were evaluated and paid, and the high turnover rate of newly employed teachers.13 A Nation at Risk also highlighted statistics that suggested over 20 million American adults lacked basic literacy skills. Many of these problems were attributed to the “factory model” of education in place, where teachers using the same textbooks, receiving the same salary, were teaching the same number of students, year after year.14 While A Nation at Risk did not make many concrete suggestions for school reform, it did suggest that students be forced to take a more rigorous high school schedule, with at least three years each of science and mathematics courses and to study one foreign language for all four years. During the 1980s, most educational reforms were instituted at the state level.15 The National Governors Association (NGA) collectively made educational reform a priority, with a system of national student learning standards and monitoring of children’s annual yearly progress suggested as desirable changes. During his campaign for president in 1988, George  Ravitch (2001, 2010).  USNCEE (1983). Although this report was highly influential, it did not lead to major action on the part of the federal government until after the election of George H. W. Bush in 1988. 13  USNCEE (1983). 14  USNCEE (1983). 15  Ravitch (2010). Some state reform initiatives tried to create competition through the creation of charter schools or the use of tax-funded vouchers that permitted children to attend private or parochial schools. 11 12

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H. W. Bush pledged that he would be the “education president,” and after his election he set up what became known as the Charlottesville Education Summit, attended by Bush and 49 of 50 U.S. governors.16 The Charlottesville Education Summit, held on the grounds of the University of Virginia, The summit, overseen by Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton, lasted two days and was organized into six working groups.17 These committees focused upon teaching, the learning environment, school governance, school choice and restructuring, building a competitive workforce and lifelong learning, and post-secondary education and training.18 In his 1990 State of the Union address, Bush summarized the work of the committees as six goals for the nation to reach by 2000. These goals were: . All children beginning school ready to learn; 1 2. A national high school graduation rate of at least 90 percent; 3. All students leaving grades 4, 8, and 12 will demonstrate competency in challenging subject matter, including English/language arts, mathematics, science, history, and geography; 4. U.S. students’ performance in mathematics and science achievement tests will be best in the world; 5. Every American adult would be literate and able to compete in a global economy and understand his or her rights and responsibilities as citizens; and 6. All schools would be free of drugs or violence and offer disciplined learning environments conducive to learning.19 While Bush proposed legislation to address these goals, Congress did not pass it. The goals did help shape American educational policy for over 30 years. The Clinton administration was able to get The Goals 2000: Educate America Act passed in 1994.20 While essentially promulgating the aims of 16  Ravitch (2001, 2010). The reforms begun by the first Bush administration were essentially carried on seamlessly by the administrations of Bill Clinton, George W.  Bush, and Barack Obama. While the political affiliations of these men varied, their commitment to standards-based reform did not. 17  Ravitch (2010), Schroth and Helfer (2018). 18  Schroth and Helfer (2018). 19  Ravitch (2001, 2010). 20  Ravitch (2010), Schroth and Helfer (2018). The changes between the educational reforms sought by the first Bush administration and that of the Clinton administration were so slight as to be almost non-existent. Both adopted policies used in industry as a way to appeal to politicians who might otherwise be reluctant to strip power from the states and local authorities.

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the Charlottesville Education Summit, the Goals 2000 legislation marked a shift to what has become known as outcome-based education. Outcome-­ based education is an approach in which “success” of students, teachers, administrators, schools, or entire systems is determined based upon student progress at the completion of a certain educational sequence as measured by tests, exams, or other forms of assessment.21 As a result, student outcomes—also known as attainment targets, benchmarks, competency levels, or standards—are used to measure the effectiveness of teachers, schools, and school districts.22 Multiple targets set by the Goals 2000 legislation were not met by 2000, a failure which many believe led to the No Child Left Behind legislation of the following decade. Goals 2000 did result in many states adopting student learning standards, which were intended to standardize instruction across classrooms and between schools. The No Child Left Behind Act of 2001 (NCLB) was a bipartisan effort to correct what were seen as the accountability loopholes of the Goals 2000 legislation.23 Specifically, NCLB asked states that had not yet adopted standards to do so and encouraged annual assessments to measure student progress toward meeting certain benchmarks. Predicated upon the notion that setting high standards and establishing measurable goals would improve individual outcomes, NCLB provided funding to schools that complied with its goals. NCLB explored new ground insofar that it required schools to assess all students when administering the annual assessments. Schools would no longer be able to exempt students who had special needs, who were English language learners (ELLs), or who might otherwise be permitted not to take the annual assessment. NCLB permitted each state to develop its own standards, and each one was also allowed to create or choose its own assessment instrument. NCLB set, for the first 21  Ravitch (2001), Schroth and Helfer (2018). This shift to “outcomes” also permitted the cutting of expenditures on the “inputs” previously used to determine school quality, such as library size, monies spent on materials and professional learning, and the like. 22  Ravitch (2001, 2010). These reforms were supported by many corporations that were associated with academic assessment and text book publishing. 23  Ravitch (2001, 2010). NCLB was sponsored in Congress by Republican John Boehner and Democrat Edward M. (“Teddy”) Kennedy and was embraced by both parties, passing 381-41 in the House of Representatives and 87-10 in the Senate.

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time, requirements for teacher qualifications, required each school to produce a “report card” detailing its performance, monitored the annual yearly progress of each child, and set standards for annual yearly progress (AYP) for schools and various subgroups of students. Because each state was permitted to set its own standards and choose its own assessment instrument, some states were accused of manipulating the process to demonstrate “progress” where student performance had not improved.24 Although NCLB mandated annual assessments and information regarding AYP, there were no federal penalties attached for teachers, schools, or districts that failed to reach benchmarks set by the U.S. Department of Education (USDoE). Although due to be reauthorized in 2007, NCLB was left in place for an additional eight years because of a lack of consensus among lawmakers regarding how best to proceed.25 The Obama administration granted states that failed to make AYP waivers under NCLB, in return for certain reforms and modifications. For example, there was no requirement under NCLB that a uniform assessment of whether or not children were meeting academic standards, or even the standards themselves, be uniform. Thus, it was alleged that certain states were manipulating the system by implementing less rigorous standards and assessments than were some of their peers. The call for a more uniform system of learning standards and assessments began to be made. The Obama administration supported this call for uniformity in standards and assessments  by requiring states that it granted NCLB AYP waivers only if they agreed to adopt the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) and a common test to assess student progress toward achieving proficiency in these.26 Despite initial bipartisan support for NCLB, it soon became controversial and unpopular with certain constituencies, including teachers, administrators, local school boards, and state legislatures.27 This led to reauthorization of the legislation, which should have occurred in 2006,  Schroth and Helfer (2018).  Ravitch (2010), Schroth and Helfer (2018). Although the school reform movement was also used by political parties and politicians to attack those who opposed them, the school reform of the 1990s, 2000s, and 2010s was essentially bipartisan and opposed by only a handful of Representatives and Senators. 26  Schroth and Helfer (2018). These reforms also played havoc with many teacher education programs, with ever-changing requirements greatly diminishing the number of people who could qualify for teaching certificates or licenses. 27  Martinez-Alba et al. (2022). Although politicized, a change in administrations did not change the U.S. Department of Education’s support for NCLB. 24 25

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being put off until 2015. At that time, a concerted effort was made to craft a new law, which became known as the Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA). ESSA maintains NCLB’s mandate for annual standardized testing of most students, but accountability for low-performing schools shifts from the federal to state governments. Although states are able to select their own goals and objectives, and implement the standards they choose, they must still submit their plans to the USDoE for approval. Thus, although responsibility for working with schools that do not reach the required goals and objectives lies with the states, the federal government has a role in assuring that these goals and objectives are sufficiently rigorous, reasonable, and relevant. While ESSA seeks that all students be proficient in English/language arts and mathematics, it also asks states to identify those schools performing in the lowest ten percent so that they can be supported. ESSA examines four standard criteria: English/language arts and mathematics performance; English language proficiency; academic growth in elementary and middle school years; and high school graduation rates.28 ESSA also permits each state to identify an additional, fifth criterion; most states have selected in-seat attendance rates as their fifth indicator. ESSA also expects all students to be college or career ready upon graduation from high school, regardless of disability, ELL status, ethnicity, race, or socioeconomic status (SES) level. As a result, ESSA also requires schools to provide more and better access to advanced placement classes and college and career counseling.

An Urban School District’s Struggles The City of Emerson is located in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and has a population of 650,000 and is part of a metropolitan area with over 3 million. Emerson’s population is composed of about 30 percent White/Caucasian residents, 60 percent Black/African Americans, and the remaining 10 percent split between Hispanic/Latinos (7 percent) and Asians (3 percent). Like many older cities, Emerson has experienced tremendous gentrification over the past 40 years. Children are served by the Emerson City Public Schools (ECPS). ECPS enroll about 90,000 students and operate 75 K-8 schools, 10 middle schools, and 30 high schools. The student population is composed of 74 percent Black/African Americans, 16 percent Hispanic/Latinos, 7 percent White/Caucasians, 3  Schroth and Helfer (2018), Greenfield (2022).

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percent Asians, and fewer than 1 percent Indian/Native Americans. Over 60 percent of students come from low-SES households, 15 percent are English language learners (ELLs), and high transiency rates. As might be expected, ECPS have experienced numerous waves of reform over the past 40 years, including changes in governance structure, new curricular programs, different instructional approaches, and the reconstitution of schools, which included moving teachers, administrators, students, and even changing grade spans taught in certain buildings. Many new magnet schools were created, and the district’s gifted and talented programming was extended to all elementary schools, including those in neighborhoods traditionally underserved by such programs. Annually, professional development opportunities are offered to district teachers, and both teachers and administrators are eligible to receive sizeable bonuses depending upon whether or not certain student performance goals are met. Although some of these changes were more successful than others, the performance of ECPS, when compared to other school districts within the state where it is located, remains lower than that of any other district. As a result, ECPS continue to look for ways to improve the performance of all of its learners, as well as to close the achievement gap between Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino children and those of White/Caucasian and Asian backgrounds.

Outdoor Education as a Possible Solution Administrators and teachers charged with improving student performance at a particular school or in an individual school district might well consider outdoor education as a pathway by which student performance might be improved. Outdoor education, which is more fully defined below, is at its most basic level, instruction that takes place outside. The advantages of outdoor education are several. First, it is often highly motivating to children, who are keenly interested in the environment, both in terms of the neighborhood in which they live as well as the larger global community and the threats to that environment caused by unsustainable practices and other degradation of the planet.29 Second, outdoor education can easily be aligned with an increased focus upon science, technology, engineering, 29  Krishnaswami (2001), Waite (2017). While there is no universal definition for outdoor education, there are a variety of ways it looks in a variety of places. The best outdoor education programs are very much place-based, so this variance makes sense.

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and mathematics (STEM) instruction, a change that is generally popular with state departments of education, school boards, parents, and the children themselves. Third, as many states have adopted environmental learning standards, outdoor education offers a tremendous avenue through which these can be met, while schools operating in states without specific environmental standards can use a very strong set of national standards upon which to base instruction. Fourth and last, outdoor education, environmental science, and sustainability education have become common in wealthier, suburban school districts across the nation—in order to provide an equitable education to inner-city children, outdoor education presents an option that is attractive, intriguing, and innovative. The desire for increased student performance has resulted in the implementation of standards, increased testing, and an emphasis in classrooms on English/language arts and mathematics. This emphasis on English/ language arts and mathematics instruction has often been made at the expense of other areas of the curriculum, such as science, social studies, art, music, and physical education. Concurrent with this narrowing of the curriculum, interest in green education has grown. Teachers have found the environment to be of great interest to students of all backgrounds and effective as a way to work with children of all ages, in all content areas, and either as stand-alone lessons or as an entire curriculum. As a result of this, a focus on green education has flourished in higher SES communities, leading to higher levels of student engagement and more opportunities for project-based learning, deeper explorations of STEM problems, and internships. Many confuse and conflate outdoor education with green education, a mix-up that is understandable but incorrect. Green education, although involved with a topic that motivates and fascinates children, may be conducted exclusively inside traditions classrooms. Outdoor education, or outdoor education experiences, which are often a type of green learning, has been essentially unavailable to many children, but especially those from diverse and low-income backgrounds. Outdoor education programs, when conceptualized and implemented in ways that encourage children to use creative and critical thinking skills, to engage in problem-solving activities, and which provide them with the freedom to investigate issues and problems that are of deep concern to them and their communities, can change the focus and motivation of schooling. Rather than being something that is “done” to children, schools can become places where inquiry, excitement, and joy flourish. Outdoor education is certainly an approach that can be used to increase

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and improve student learning in a variety of disciplines, including English/ language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, physical education, and the arts. But, and perhaps more importantly, it can be used as a vehicle that changes how individuals view education, including teachers, administrators, parents and families, and the children themselves. This is perhaps outdoor education’s greatest benefit, a shift in how society views education, shifting from a perspective where it is seen purely as an outcome, an ability to do certain things, to instead representing a process, the greatest result is students learning to think for themselves, getting to the point where each may say, “I am moved by the exquisite meanings.”

References Adler, M.  J. (1982/1998). The Paideia proposal: An educational manifesto. Touchstone. Bruner, J. S. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Belknap Press. Greene, M. (1988). The dialectic of freedom. Teachers College Press. Greenfield, R. (2022). Be the change: Rob Greenfield’s call to kids—making a difference in a messed-up world. Greystone Kids. Krishnaswami, U. (2001). Beyond the field trip: Teaching and learning in public places. Linnet Professional Publications/The Shoe String Press. Martinez-Alba, G., Herrera, L.  J. P., & Hersi, A.  A. (Eds.). (2022). Antiracist teacher education: Theory and practice (Vol. 1). Rowman & Littlefield. Ravitch, D. (2001). Left back: A century of battles over school reform. Touchstone/ Simon & Schuster. Ravitch, D. (2010). The death and life of the great American school system: How testing and choice are undermining education. Basic Books. Reeves, J. (2020). Growing up in the grassroots: Finding unity in climate activism across generations. New Degree Press. Renzulli, J. S., & Reis, S. M. (2014). The schoolwide enrichment model: A how-to guide for talent development. Prufrock Press. Schroth, S. T., & Daniels, J. (Eds.). (2021). Building STEM skills through environmental education. IGI Global. Schroth, S. T., & Helfer, J. A. (2018). Developing teacher diversity in early childhood and elementary education: The REACH program approach. Palgrave Macmillan. Tomlinson, C.  A., Kaplan, S.  N., Renzulli, J.  S., Purcell, J.  H., Leppien, J.  H., Burns, D. E., Strickland, C. A., & Imbeau, M. B. (2009). The parallel curriculum: A design to develop learner potential and challenge advanced learners (2nd ed.). Corwin Press.

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Towle, P. (2018). History, empathy, and conflict: Heroes, victims, and victimizers. Palgrave Macmillan. Treffinger, D. J., Isaksen, S. G., & Stead-Dorval, B. (2006). Creative problem solving: An introduction (4th ed.). Prufrock Press. Treffinger, D. J., Young, G. C., Nassab, C. A., & Wittig, C. V. (2004). Enhancing and expanding gifted programs: The levels of service approach. Prufrock Press. Treffinger, D. J., Young, G. C., Selby, E. C., & Shepardson, C. (2002). Assessing creativity: A guide for educators (RM02170). The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, University of Connecticut. United States National Commission on Excellence in Education (USNCEE). (1983). A nation at risk: A report to the nation and the secretary of education. United States Department of Education. U.S. Department of Education. Waite, S. (Ed.). (2017). Children learning outside the classroom: From birth to eleven. SAGE Publications. Whitman, W. (1892/1993). Leaves of grass: The first edition of 1855 + the death bed edition of 1892. Modern Library.

Further Readings Cutting, R., & Passy, R. (Eds.). (2022). Contemporary approaches to outdoor learning: Animals, the environment, and new methods. Palgrave Macmillan. Jickling, B., Blenkinsop, S., Timmerman, N., & Sitka-Sage, M. D. (Eds.). (2018). Wild pedagogies: Touchstones for re-negotiating education and the environment in the anthropocene. Palgrave Macmillan. Parry, J., & Allison, P. (Eds.). (2021). Experiential learning and outdoor education: Traditions of practice and philosophical perspectives. Routledge.

CHAPTER 2

Curriculum Development

Stronger Lessons Have you learned lessons only of those who admired you, and were tender with you, and stood aside for you? Have you not learned the great lessons of those who rejected you, and grace themselves against you? Or who treated you with contempt, or disputed the passage with you? (Whitman, 1892/1993).

Curriculum development, one of the most important tasks that a teacher does, is often neglected in teacher education programs.1 The reasons for this neglect are several. A trend toward adopting packaged, or “idiot proof,” curriculum, where all decisions related to content are pacing are pre-determined by a publisher, thus minimizing the need for individual decision-making, planning, and choices. Similarly, many school districts have taken a much larger role in determining what is taught in individual

1  Schroth et al. (2011). Years of working with new teachers has shown that the two recurrent weaknesses most demonstrate is a lack of understanding of instructional planning and assessment and problems with classroom management. This is not surprising as these are skills that really need to be practiced in real-time situations before they can be mastered.

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 S. T. Schroth, Outdoor Education, Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9_2

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classrooms, including providing consistent instruction across school sites.2 Increased emphasis upon test preparation and computer programs that allegedly build and buttress skills thought to be necessary to be successful on standardized exams. State departments of education also very often mandate very strict requirements for pre-service teachers, leaving room for very few electives—as a result, many teachers who have not majored in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects feel unconfident regarding their personal knowledge in these subjects, much less feel comfortable teaching them. These varying reasons combine to leave many practitioners feeling they lack the abilities and skills necessary to create or tailor instruction for their own classrooms.

Origins of Curriculum in Public Schools Thomas Jefferson first proposed the concept of free public education for all beginning in 1784, when he published his Notes on the State of Virginia. Jefferson suggested it was necessary to provide Jefferson’s goal for this endeavor was to “diffuse knowledge more generally through the mass of the people.3 Jefferson believed all children should be taught reading, writing, and common arithmetic, while those demonstrating superior intellect should also be instructed in Greek, Latin, geography, and the higher forms of mathematic, such as geometry and algebra. Pursuant to Jefferson’s plan, every child between six and eight years of age in Virginia would be entitled to three years of primary school, regardless of his or her family’s ability to pay for the education. Those children aged 9 through 16 who excelled would also be eligible for free intermediate school, and such schooling would also be available to lesser intellects willing to pay for the privilege. Finally, the best and the brightest between the ages of 17 and 19 would be able to pay for a university education once they had completed their intermediate school studies. Jefferson strongly believed that children’s memory was the strongest between the ages of 8 and 16, thus he favored intense language instruction for children in that age group. While not all aspects of Jefferson’s plan were adopted during his lifetime, he was 2  See, for example, Darling-Hammond (2010). The problem with scripted curriculum is, of course, not its quality—some of it is quite good. The issue is that even the best instructional plans are only good for perhaps 50 percent of what will take place in the classroom. Good teachers understand that they teach people, not subjects, and that accommodations and changes must be made based upon children’s understandings. 3  Jefferson (1784), pp. 268–275.

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able to found The University of Virginia in 1818, an endeavor which he personally oversaw for the remaining eight years of his life.4 Upon his appointment as Secretary of the Massachusetts Board of Education in 1837, Horace Mann also played a major role in shaping the popularity of a free public education and helped shape what was taught in these schools. In addition to setting up a system of free publicly funded grammar schools in Massachusetts, Mann had a tremendous role in professionalizing the profession of teaching and encouraged similar systems of schools in other states. Mann encouraged women to join the teaching profession and established a system of normal schools to train young women to be prepared for the classroom, a system which still exists with state universities in Framingham, Westfield, and Bridgewater. Once teachers entered the classroom, Mann held annual teacher conventions where in-service professionals would attend lectures and presentations where new teaching methods and reforms were introduced. Mann was an early opponent of corporal punishment, and his efforts greatly curtailed the beatings of students that had before that time. In 1838 Mann founded The Common School Journal, a publication devoted to promoting public education and examining its problems and exploring possible solutions to these. In The Common School Journal Mann was able to outline the six main principles that he saw as necessary to guide public education. These principles entailed: . Fighting public ignorance through a system of public schools; 1 2. Funding by taxpayers of these public schools; 3. That public schools welcome and embrace children from all backgrounds; 4. That the public schools be non-sectarian in nature; 5. That the tenets of a free society be used to guide what is taught in the public schools; and 6. That the teachers who provide instruction in the public schools be well-trained professionals, abreast of and using the latest instructional techniques.5  Wagoner (2011). Jefferson is sometimes overlooked as one of the great educational theorists. His thoughts about the provision of a free public education for all were groundbreaking and his influence has been staggering. 5  Urban and Wagoner (2009). Mann’s influence is sometimes undervalued today, but he not only theorized and then implemented what he felt the ideal public schools should be like in Massachusetts, but he also spoke frequently around the United States at colleges and universities, having a huge influence on how others viewed public schools as well. 4

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Mann also traveled, at his own expense, to Europe to observe the school systems in place there. He was especially impressed by the schools in the Prussian Empire and promulgated his findings upon his return through his annual reports. Mann strongly believed that public schools could and should work for the social good. He believed, for example, that the mixing of children from different backgrounds in the same classroom would create a common learning experience that would help to equalize the conditions between different groups. Reforms that Mann introduced changed the practices in schools, not only in Massachusetts but across the United States. Believing women to be better teachers for children, Mann worked to feminize the teaching profession, which before him had been almost exclusively male. Mann also insisted that schools be secular in nature.6 While on the one hand this recognized the increased diversity of religious beliefs taking place at the time, on the other hand it flew in the face of tradition to separate teaching on morality from religious texts and beliefs. Mann believed, like Jefferson, that reading should be taught in the public school classroom but, in a precursor of the “reading wars” that occurred a century and a half later, he advocated teaching children memorize words, sentences, and short stories rather than learning the alphabet letters first. Favoring what became known as the “whole word” approach over phonics, where children learn the names of letters and the various sounds associated with them, Mann shaped public instruction across the nation. After a failed attempt to be elected governor of Massachusetts, Mann was named the President of Antioch College in Yellow Springs, Ohio, where he continued to advocate for public schools in the Midwest. Perhaps the most influential voice shaping curriculum in public schools in the United States was John Dewey. Dewey, born the year Mann died, was a huge proponent of democracy, seeing this belief as guiding political institutions, schools, and indeed all communication. Dewey believed that to support democracy, the public schools hinged upon teachers providing professional social services, a teacher’s knowledge, and a teacher’s level of  Urban and Wagoner (2009). This emphasis on secularism, or at least a form of Protestant, Christian secularism, also had a great deal to do with the creation of private and parochial schools by those who did not share Mann’s opinions. The Roman Catholic schools, those schools started by various Lutheran denominations, and others were all somewhat a response to and rejection of the values Mann thought appropriate to emphasize. 6

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pedagogical skill. When Dewey began writing about teaching and learning toward the end of the nineteenth century, he stressed his belief that most schools attempted to teach children a narrow set of pre-determined skills that were perceived as being necessary for success in the workplace.7 Dewey disagreed with this approach and instead believed that schools should help one realize his or her full potential and the ability to use those skills for the common good. Rather than teaching discrete skills, Dewey felt it was imperative that schools must make students have command of themselves, with the full and ready use of all of their capacities and talents. If schools are successful in accomplishing these goals, they will be instrumental in creating and supporting social change and reform. Dewey also had specific ideas about how teaching and learning should look in the classroom, emphasizing as he did experiential learning and hands-on activities. Dewey insisted that the purpose of education was not to train students for the workplace. To do so was to emphasize the student’s acquisition of a narrow set of skills and only the information necessary to be successful at a particular job. Instead, Dewey felt that this approach was too often applied to teacher education programs, which aimed to quickly prepare new teachers who possessed a limited set of instructional skills and knowledge of certain types of discipline. While this type of preparation might meet the immediate needs of employers, it did not provide new teachers with the skills and knowledge necessary to be provider of all of the social services required of a classroom teacher.8 As providers of social services, Dewey believed the teacher’s job was to increase the level of intelligence within the community in which he or she works, while also making this intelligence available to as large of a swath within the community as possible. Dewey felt that teachers must inculcate students with the many skills necessary to be successful in the workplace, both today and tomorrow, as well as instilling the type of character necessary to exist in a democratic society.

7  See Dewey (1963), Dewey (2021). Dewey, it has been said, can be used to support any position related to any topic within the field of education. His influence is huge, but he is often misunderstood and misinterpreted. 8  Dewey (2021). This is a continual conundrum for those involved in education. On the one hand, education is not about vocational preparation. On the other hand, people, including individuals and government entities, are only willing to pay for schooling if there is a perceived value at the end of the process.

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In order to produce such results, Dewey believed that teacher education programs must be prepared to teach critical and creative thinking skills, as these will ultimately prove more necessary for success in a rapidly changing world than will be a set of specific skills preparing one for a specific job, which may be obsolete in the future. The focus of teachers thus must concentrate on promoting intelligence, skills, and character, so that democracy itself may benefit from citizens possessing these. Rather than being prepared with a limited set of skills and practices, teachers must be educated to create intelligence, skills, and character within their charges.9 Of the knowledge required of classroom teachers, Dewey believed that the two most important aspects were each teacher’s own passion for knowledge and intellectual curiosity about the materials and instructional methods he or she uses to teach. Dewey was not overly impressed by those who could plow through, recite, and reproduce knowledge acquired for textbooks. Instead, Dewey posited that a love of learning and innate curiosity were far more important for competent teachers, as well as the ability to maintain these attributes throughout their teaching careers. Dewey suggested that a love of and passion for a single subject is much more important for a teacher than being a high-class scholar in all the subjects he or she must teach. Put another way, Dewey believed that the love for a single subject provided a lens through which all other subjects might be examined and explored. The excitement and enthusiasm that a teacher possesses is a key attribute to his or her skill set and works in conjunction with the aforementioned lifelong love of learning—it is not enough to love to acquire new knowledge, but one must also be driven to share that information with others. According to Dewey, the crux of teaching involves watching and responding to children’s learning. The teacher presents certain subject matter and then looks for indicators of understanding and the quality of responses on the part of his or her students. Good teachers possess a quick, sure, and failing sympathy with how the minds in which they are in contact operate and process the material studied. These teachers’ own minds move in harmony with those of their students, appreciating difficulties they 9  See, for example, Dewey (1963); Schroth and Helfer (2018). Teacher preparation continues to be a challenge for this reason today. Often school district leaders bemoan the fact that teacher education programs do not prepare new teachers to use the programs, practices, and curricular materials used in schools, an argument that is made especially challenging because these same school district leaders refuse to adopt a common approach to teaching which could conceivably be taught to teacher candidates.

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encounter, sharing their problems, and celebrating their intellectual victories. Dewey held teachers in the highest regard, shaping the cognitive, moral, and spiritual lives of children during their most formative years. The dispositions Dewey felt teachers must possess included a passion for inculcating the cognitive growth of children. Teachers must also be willing to accept long hours, stressful situations, and scant financial rewards. Dewey believed that pre-service teachers must possess a passion for working with children, a love of learning, and an innate curiosity about the methods and social issues related to the profession of teaching.10 Children should be involved in hands-on activities that are meaningful to them. Children must be allowed to relate what is being studied to their prior experiences and knowledge, which permits the child to deepen his or her understanding of the new knowledge acquired. While Dewey favored child-centered instruction, he felt that many of his acolytes carried the principle too far and ignored the underlying discipline being studied. It was this discipline, and not the child, which was the focus of the curriculum studied, and the discipline that controlled the quantity and the quality of the learning taking place. Indeed, Dewey believed, “the child and the curriculum are simply two limits which define a single process. Just as two points define a straight line, so the present standpoint of the child and the facts and truths of studies define instruction” (Dewey, 1902, p. 16). The intersection of the child, the curriculum, and the teacher was where learning took place, and each element is important to the process as the others. Dewey became one of the most ardent proponents of hands-on learning, which is sometimes referred to as experiential education. Experiential education is related to but not the same as experiential learning. Dewey argued that since knowledge comes from natural objects’ impressions upon the mind by natural objects, it is impossible to procure knowledge without the use of objects which in turn impress the mind. Dewey thus felt active inquiry was vital and necessary in the classroom and that the role of the teacher in the classroom should be more that of a guide rather than as a pendant. Dewey believed that then-current school practices, much like those of today, encouraged passive student behaviors via continual assessments of student performance and discipline policies that require quiet and no movement. Instead, Dewey believed that students must be autonomous, ethical, and reflective. Only with these characteristics will students eventually become citizens able to engage in the critical and creative 10  Mortimer Adler and his colleagues shared this viewpoint that a major goal of schooling is to excite children about the material being studied. Adler (1982/1998).

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thinking processes necessary for the types of discourse necessary to uncover and determine social truths. Dewey feared that democracy itself was threatened if schools were permitted to encourage and reward docile compliance with authoritarian structures in work and politics. Instead, he felt that teachers and schools must encourage individual and communal inquiry into relevant problems and to regard education as having a monopoly on higher learning. Dewey firmly believed that when children are taught that knowledge is transmitted in one direction, from the expert to the learner, students’ individual autonomy is stifled. To protect against this diminishment of individual autonomy, Dewey advocated for a change in the learning processes that must take place in the classroom, as well as a change in what teachers perceive as being “education,” which in turn will result in changes in their behavior and instructional practices. Dewey was a strong proponent for instructional activities that encouraged students to identify problems, compose questions, and create knowledge, rather than traditional educational practices that required the recitation back of lessons learned from the teacher—his preferences, controversial both then and now, have shaped thinking about curriculum and instruction for over a century.

The Development of Curriculum Theory Few have had as much influence on thinking about curriculum and assessment as Ralph W.  Tyler. Beginning his career as a high school science teacher in South Dakota during the 1920s, Tyler later shaped the policy undergirding the Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 and oversaw the development of the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). As a faculty member at the University of North Carolina, the Ohio State University, the University of Chicago, and the Center for Advanced Study in the Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University, he helped shape thinking about teaching and learning for over a half century.11 His early experience as a classroom teacher colored and shaped his later work, as Tyler was always deeply concerned with what students should know, understand, and be able to do as a result of an instructional sequence and how teachers and others may determine the quality of the 11  Tyler (1969). Tyler’s work, brilliant, succinct, and eminently practical is bizarrely sometimes ignored by educational reformers. His guidance on how to think about thinking and learning still rings true over 70 years since he first published it.

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child’s learning of the stated learning objectives. Tyler is considered to have created the concept of evaluation and to have focused on assessments that support and measure student progress toward defined learning objectives covered by the curriculum taught. Tyler first rose to national prominence is the director of the Eight-Year Study, a program evaluation that examined the performance of 30 secondary schools and 300 colleges and universities. Sponsored by the Progressive Education Association (PEA) and conducted between 1933 and 1941, the Eight-Year Study looked at the performance of graduates of 30 high schools that had adopted curricular reforms in an attempt to eschew the narrow and rigid curriculum frameworks then in vogue. Graduates of the 30 high schools deemed ready by each school’s faculty were guaranteed acceptance of one of the 300 colleges or universities which had partnered with the study. The results of undergraduates who had attended one of the 30 progressive high schools were compared to other undergraduates who had not at the same colleges and universities, and their performance and relative levels of preparation were compared and analyzed. The 30 high schools eschewed the narrow, rigid, and memorization-­ based curriculum in vogue during the 1930s and instead worked to provide students with a more progressive curriculum tailored to individual student needs. The more progressive curriculum provided increased amounts of individualized student attention and put in place more cross-­ disciplinary programming and emphasized the arts and extracurriculars much more heavily than did the traditional high school of the time. The extracurricular offerings provided by the 30 schools spanned the gamut, including such offerings as athletics, theater and choral performance, political groups, social offerings, and other such options. The academic performance of the 30 schools proved to be the same as their colleagues who had attended more traditional institutions of learning for their secondary education. The social, political, and artistic engagement of the students who had attended the experimental schools, however, greatly exceeded that of peers who had attended traditional high schools. Indeed, graduates of the most progressive schools outperformed all others. Tyler posited that this suggested that changes could be made to the curriculum offered in high schools without harming the learning, preparation, or performance of the children who attended those schools. As the 30 schools had not adopted a single approach to their curricular offerings, no alternative approach could be suggested to others who wished to attempt such a change. Tyler also noted the study was limited by the higher

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socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds of the students of the 30 high schools as compared to the average high school in the United States. Despite these limitations, the Eight-Year Study provided encouragement for those who wished to try new approaches to curricular reform. In the decade following the Eight-Year Study, Tyler worked on Basic Principles of Curriculum and Instruction (1949), a seminal work that still resonates today. In this book, Tyler laid out the Tyler Rationale, a simple yet elegant means by which to structure and evaluate curricular. The Tyler Rationale consists of four parts: 1. What educational purpose is the teacher seeking to accomplish by means of this instructional sequence? (This was the first time learning objectives were referenced); 2. Which learning experiences can be selected that will further that educational purpose? 3. How should the teacher organize the learning experiences so that they will be most likely to result in effective instruction; and 4. How can we evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum and instruction and its effect on student learning?12 Tyler believed that learning occurred as a result of what the student, not the teacher, did, as it is the student’s actions, not the teacher’s, that have an impact on learning. Robert Havinghurst, a chemist, also had a tremendous influence on conceptions of curriculum, defining what types of curriculum was developmentally appropriate for children at which ages, something that had hitherto been ignored. Although initially a chemist, Havinghurst was hired as a professor of education at the University of Wisconsin, later moving to the University of Chicago. At Chicago, Havinghurst investigated how cognitive and physical development effected the tasks that a child could be expected to successfully negotiate in the classroom. Havinghurst described human developmental stages, in language still used today, from birth through old age as being: . Infancy and early childhood (birth through age 6); 1 2. Middle childhood (ages 6 through 12); 12  Tyler (1969). One of a handful of books that can truly be considered classics in the field of curriculum theory, this short work should be mandatory reading for every teacher, administrator, or other who works with children or is responsible tor their learning.

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. Adolescence (ages 12 through 18); 3 4. Early adulthood (ages 19 through 30); 5. Middle age (ages 30 through 60); 6. Later maturity (age 60 and up).13 Havinghurst felt that the student’s physical maturation, personal values, and societal beliefs and pressures will affect how he or she can negotiate a given task or assignment, Benjamin S. Bloom chaired a massive effort to classify and define educational objectives in the cognitive, psychomotor (physical), and affective domains. Bloom also played a major role in developing the theory and practice related to mastery learning. After working to develop assessments used in the Eight-Year Study, Bloom studied under Tyler at Chicago, earning his doctorate in 1942. After working for the University of Chicago Board of Examinations, a body established to modify university requirements and assessments in a manner that would improve undergraduate education. While working for the Board of Examinations, Bloom began the work for which he is best known, a work that has become known as Bloom’s Taxonomy. Bloom’s Taxonomy was in fact three taxonomies. Although the cognitive taxonomy has become the most well known of the three, there were also psychomotor and affective taxonomies. Bloom’s Taxonomy was one of the initial efforts to systematically classify levels of gifted students’ cognitive functioning and gave structure to their otherwise amorphous mental processes. Bloom’s Taxonomy for the cognitive domain is broken into the six levels of objectives.14 These objectives were knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation. The taxonomy was hierarchical but not a stage theory—while the levels at the top (analysis, synthesis, and evaluation) required higher order thinking skills than the lower three, a student need not master the lower order thinking skills to be able to use the others. The levels are described in Table 2.1. 13  See Berk (2003). Considering children’s developmental readiness is often a crucial aspect that is ignored by change initiatives at school sites. While certainly there are children who do not fall within these categories despite their chronological age being aligned with these categories, they are the exceptions, the gifted learners or children with special needs who need something other than the general education curriculum. 14  Bloom (1984). Bloom’s work is also a model of clarity, relevance, and beauty and a great assistance to anyone seeking to create curriculum for children. Although revised by others about 20 years ago, the original is still the best avenue to explore.

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Table 2.1  Bloom’s Taxonomy of the cognitive domain Level Knowledge

Description

Recognizing or remembering facts, terms, basic concepts, or answers. Complete understanding of these is not required. These generally fit within William James’s three types of knowledge—knowledge of, knowledge about, and knowledge how. These are alternatively sometimes referred to as knowledge of: • Specifics, such as terminology, facts, or concepts; • Ways and means of dealing with specifics, such as categories, classifications, conventions, sequences, and trends; and • Universals and abstractions within a discipline, such as generalizations, methodologies, principles, structures, and theories Comprehension Demonstrating an understanding of facts and ideas. This may be done by organizing, summarizing, translating, generalizing, giving descriptions, or stating the main ideas

Application

Example Name the five forms and levels of clouds (stratiform non-convective; cirriform mostly non-convective; stratocumuliform limited-­ convective; cumuliform free-convective; and cumulonimbiform strong convective)

Summarize the various types of low-level clouds (stratus, either nebulosus or fractus; stratocumulus, either stratiformis, lenticularis, castellanus, floccus, or volutus) Using acquired knowledge to solve Could one make accurate problems in new situations. This involves predictions of the weather applying acquired knowledge, facts, based upon the types of techniques, and rules. It also involves clouds observed? using prior knowledge to solve problems, identify connections and relationships, and explain how they apply in new situations (continued)

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Table 2.1  (continued) Level

Description

Example

Analysis

Examining and breaking information into component parts, determining how the parts relate to one another, identifying motives or causes, making inferences, and finding evidence to support generalizations. Its characteristics include analysis of: • Elements; •  Relationships; and • Organization Building a new structure or pattern using diverse elements; it also refers to the act of putting parts together to form a whole or bringing pieces of information together to form a new meaning. The characteristics of this process include: •  Producing a unique communication; • Producing a plan, or proposed set of operations; and •  Deriving a set of abstract relations Presenting and defending opinions by making judgments about information, the validity of ideas, or quality of work based on a set of criteria. Its characteristics include judgements: •  Made using internal evidence; and •  Made using external criteria

Compare and contrast the characteristics of various types of clouds and explain why some are associated with certain types of weather systems while others are associated with other types

Synthesis

Evaluation

Using your knowledge of clouds and low- and high-pressure weather systems, prepare a chart that shows which types of clouds can be anticipated as accompanying different types of barometric system forecasts

Which types of clouds are suitable for producing rain for an annual planting of soybeans and why?

Bloom maintained that it was important that all students be exposed to equal numbers of tasks and investigations that addressed each level of the thinking domain. As teachers craft instructional sequences that children will investigate, it is important that these various thinking levels are built into the tasks at hand. Based upon his studies of the schools, Bloom theorized that if teachers adapted their teaching methods to each student’s individual learning needs, more children would receive the opportunity to learn better. From this theoretical work, Bloom’s mastery learning procedure were created. Bloom’s mastery learning required teachers to prepare lesson plans of one

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to two weeks in length, with definite skills and concepts identified as learning objectives for the instructional sequence.15 At the end of this instructional period, the teacher would give an assessment of what the child has used as a result of the unit, and each student would be provided with constructive feedback that focused upon what the child did well. The teacher would also note when children lacked understanding on any of the concepts being assessed. If children demonstrated a lack of understanding, they were assigned corrective assignments based on that part of the unit with which they were experiencing difficulty. After completing the corrective assignments, the children would then take a second assessment that concentrated solely on those skills and concepts with which they had struggled. This approach allows each student to benefit from individualized instruction at a pace that child needs to learn at an optimum level. For students who showed mastery of the given unit, it was recommended they receive enrichment activities related to the core concepts so that they could have additional learning experiences. Students are able to self-select enrichment activities and may come in various forms, including academic games, reports, special projects, or other representations of what they have learned. Bloom’s contemporary, Hilda Taba, believed strongly that students should be guided to think rather than merely to recite back facts which have been presented to them. Taba maintained that, in a society that is rapidly changing and evolving, it is imperative that we provide children with the thinking skills that require decisions based not on routinized behavior or tradition, but instead upon a critical analysis of the facts before them.16 Taba thought it necessary for individuals to make intelligent and independent decisions related to practical everyday matters, in professional situations, with regard to moral values, or in relation to political issues. As part of her work, Taba established a process that teachers could use to structure instruction and accomplish desired student outcomes. In 15  See Bloom (1985). Bloom studied those who produced exemplary levels of performance in a variety of fields, including chess, gymnastics, and mathematics. He found commonalities in the early preparation of these individuals, which often began with quite didactic instruction and then a gradual release of control by teachers and mentors as the young person began to perform at an independent level. 16  Taba (1962). Taba is less easy to read than some of her contemporaries, but has many valuable insights and suggests for those interested in curriculum and instruction and the nexus between the two. Her work emphasized the importance of critical thinking and provided a number of ways this could be developed in the classroom.

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order for teachers to be effective in the classroom, Taba felt it was necessary for them to understand what she deemed the three levels of knowledge. These three levels of knowledge consisted of facts, basic ideas and principles, and concepts. Facts consist essentially of information, statistics, and findings that scholars have made over time. While there is nothing wrong with facts per se, Taba believed that too many facts are presented in the classroom too quickly. As a result, children are not able to make connections between this new information and their prior knowledge. This approach ensures that facts are simply memorized and that most of them are forgotten by students within two years of encountering them in the classroom. Basic ideas and principles should be of the type that children can understand at their developmental level and be grounded in information which has historical or scientific validity. As much as possible, basic ideas and principles studied should stem from the disciplines, ensuring that children are presented with appropriate challenge and an accurate framework for future intellectual endeavors. Finally, concepts are those big ideas that permit children to make connections between the matter being studied and knowledge from other content areas so as to be better able to predict outcomes or effects. Taba and her students devised what has become known as the Taba Approach, which created four thinking strategies. These four thinking strategies include concept development; interpretation of data; application of generalizations; and interpretations of feelings, attitudes, and values. Concept development involves enhancing the thinking skills of students. It does so by asking them to categorize, develop, extend, and refine concepts. To build these skills, students engage in listing, grouping, labeling, regrouping, and synthesizing ideas in ways that help them better understand ideas and concepts. As shown in Table  2.2, each of these stages requires different actions from the teacher and the children with whom he or she works. These steps can be used individually or in sequence as part of a larger unit. Repeated use of this process assists students in becoming adept at seeing different perspectives, challenging accepted conventions, and building independent arguments.17 17  Taba (1962). These teaching strategies can be used with any subject area and with students of any age. They are very useful for those establishing an outdoor education program, as they provide teachers with first-rate tools that they can use after only a few hours of study and are a no-cost way to rapidly ramp up the level of critical thinking skills being used in a classroom.

Students, working individually or in groups, group the items on the list

Grouping

Synthesizing

Regrouping

Labeling

Teacher or students or both list ideas related to a concept and generated by the class

Listing

What do you see? What do you know? What else do you see? What else do you know? Do any of these items belong together? Which ones? Arrange them as such

Teacher List specific items

Students

Find various similarities and differences as a reason to group items from the list together Students give labels to the newly What might you call the group(s) you have Conceptualizes and states a defined groups formed? label that encompasses all Students explain to others the reason Is that the only appropriate name for that items in that group for their choices regarding grouping group? Identifies and names common and labeling Why did you group these items together? characteristics of items in a group Students regroup items or combine or Could some of the items in your groups States different relationships subsume individual items or entire belong to another group? Why? Shares additional relationships groups Can we place some items in a different group? Why would you do this? Students synthesize the information by Can you describe all of these groups using Offer a summary sentence summarizing data and forming one sentence? Considers the summary generalizations related to the ideas What would that sentence be? sentences of peers

Step

Process

Table 2.2  Taba’s concept development model

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Table 2.3  Interpretation of data Step

Questions

Rationale

No. 1

What did you notice looking at the Provides children the opportunity to data? become familiar with and enumerate What did you see? data What did you find? What differences did you notice? What similarities? No. 2 What do you think may have caused Permits children the opportunity to ______? draw inferences from the data and to What might be the effects of ______/ identify cause-and-effect relationships What might we infer from ______/ No. 3 Why do you think that? Provides students the opportunity to What evidence exists that supports support their inferences with data and that assertion? other evidence How do you account for ______? No. 4 After reviewing the data, can you Allows children the opportunity to make any type of generalization? generalize about the relationships they What type of general statement might observe when analyzing the data you make? Function Developing the skill of generalizing by organizing, analyzing, and thinking about data and drawing conclusions and generalizations from that process

Taba also placed a great deal of emphasis upon interpreting data, Generalizations were a major part of the concept development process, but Taba believed generalizations could only be made after the data is organized, analyzed, and considered. She developed a process that assisted students and teachers in addressing this problem. As set forth in Table 2.3, the teacher and students explore a series of questions that permit them to better interpret the data before them. Repeated practice with this process will help children become quite adept at organizing, analyzing, and drawing generalizations and observing trends related to data. Taba’s next step, application of generalizations, draws directly from skills practiced during the first two stages of her thinking process. Taba believed that generalizations are possible only after the data has been organized and that concept development and concept attainment strategies will assist children in making better generalizations. Generalizations, much like concepts, are the result of a process whereby an individual is

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abstracting from a group of items based upon his or her experiences of those elements or characteristics the items share. Generalizations also permit the student to express his or her recognition of these commonalities in ways that prove convincing to others. There are two major differences between concepts and generalizations. First, when making a generalization, the verbal form of the process is expressed as a sentence rather than a word or phrase as in the case of concepts. Second, that generalizations are taken as representing a higher level of thinking than concepts, insofar that they are a statement explaining the relationships among and between two or more of these concepts. Taba’s work related to the interpretations of feelings, attitudes, and values is probably the least well understood part of her work. In discussing this category, Taba recognizes at its essence, the focus of the data that is being interpreted is human behavior. This process assists children by helping them to deal with conflict both rationally and effectively. It does this by helping students to explore the feelings, attitudes, and values that are inherent in the data being examined. By encouraging children to consider the feelings, attitudes, and values of others as well as their own, this process helps students to consider multiple viewpoints. As part of this exercise, children are also given the opportunity to generate many alternative interpretations to the data they have examined and to consider various alternatives and the consequences of those thought patterns. The process also asks students to identify how individuals usually handle conflicts and disagreements of a specific nature and the relevant merits and drawbacks as each. Another proponent of thinking skills was Jerome S. Bruner, who began exploring teaching and learning during the 1950s. Bruner felt that education in the K-12 schools too often consisted of merely memorizing facts, a situation exacerbated due to the facts being memorized were often outdated or otherwise incorrect.18 Bruner felt that because children were still developing their cognitive abilities, teachers often need to scaffold in order to provide carefully programmed guidance that would assist students in 18  Bruner (1961, 1966). A giant in the field of educational psychology, Bruner would be important if only for his advocacy of Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky in the mid-twentieth century. His own work, however, really moved understanding of the importance of conceptbased instruction into America’s classrooms during the 1970s. Bruner not only was a master theorist, but also worked to create what was known as MACOS—Man, A Course of Study, which was a series of groundbreaking instructional materials that could be used with children of any age.

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completing tasks they could otherwise not tackle if working alone. As the student progresses in learning the task which he or she is attempting to master, the amount of assistance provided by the teacher is gradually reduced until the point the child is able to perform the task working alone. Bruner rather identified three modes of representation that students could use to represent, or experience, tasks. These three modes of representation included: • Enactive representation; • Iconic representation; and • Symbolic representation (Bruner, 1966). Enactive representation refers to action-based tasks, iconic representations are image-based work, and symbolic representations are those that are language-based. Rather than being indicative of neatly delineated stages, the modes of representation are integrated and only loosely sequential. Bruner believed that the three modes of representation did translate into each other and felt that symbolic representations were the ultimate mode, albeit the most mysterious of the three. Examining the three modes of representation, many have concluded that when new material is introduced, it is best done when the content is introduced using the enactive mode, then progressing through iconic before finally reaching symbolic representations. Bruner also famously suggested that any learner of any age is capable of learning any material, so long as that material is organized in ways that the instruction supports the student’s learning. Much as Bloom did, Bruner suggests that humans learn using a system of coding in which they form a hierarchical arrangement of related categories. As each successive category becomes progressively more specific, it also indicates a higher order level of thought. These higher categories also become more specific, again echoing Bloom’s explanation of knowledge acquisition as well as the related concept of scaffolding instruction. To facilitate instructional strategy, Bruner suggested use of a spiral curriculum, through which basic ideas would be introduced, revisited, built upon, and expanded until the child grasps the full formal concept. The spiral curriculum supported Bruner’s assertion that any child at any stage of development can be taught any subject in an intellectually honest form if adequate scaffolding is present. Unlike many other theorists, Bruner believed that intuition was an essential but often neglected facet of

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productive thinking and one which should be supported whenever possible. Bruner found discovery learning an ideal format through which to support both intuition and the spiral curriculum.19 Discovery learning, first identified by Bruner during the 1960s, suggests that students learn “by doing.” Discovery learning encompasses a variety of approaches, including project-based learning, experiential learning, guided investigations, and twenty-first-century learning. Discovery learning tasks can range from the relatively simple, such as detecting implicit patterns in representations of objects to working through manuals to elicit explanations of certain phenomena to conducting simulations and role playing. Discovery learning occurs at those times when the student is not provided with an exact answer but instead is given the materials necessary for them to determine the correct answer while working on their own. Discovery learning requires a different manifestation of roles, materials, and freedom than the typical classroom. Discovery learning often uses less teacher guidance, fewer situations where memorization and repetition are required, and fewer teacher explanations. Instead, discovery learning features open-ended problems, hands-on materials, and multiple solutions to tasks facing the group. Children are empowered to be open-minded and to engage in dialogue with those both within and without the classroom. Teacher guidance is not used to deliver information, but instead to encourage connecting investigations to learners’ prior knowledge and to build upon students’ reasoning. The classroom culture demonstrates a shared sense of purpose between students and teacher and a place where students can freely ask questions, inquire with teams of teachers and peers, and inquire through exploration and experimentation. Students are not left to their own devices when engaging in discovery learning, but instead are assisted by the teacher, although in a different role than that which many children have previously been exposed. J. Paul Guilford, E. Paul Torrance, and others have also studied children’s creativity, how it can be measured, and if it can be encouraged in the classroom. Guilford encouraged educational psychologists and others to think about creativity, as well as ways to encourage it.20 In Guilford’s 19  Bruner (1966). Discovery learning experiences could and should be guided by teachers, who serve as facilitators to children’s experiences. Too often discovery learning experiences are treated as though students must uncover all information on their own. This is incorrect, as discovery learning can also entail confirming the discoveries of others. 20  Guilford (1950). Guilford’s presidential address to members of the American Psychological Association can be seen as the beginning of the modern study of creativity.

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Structure of Intellect (SI) theory, further developed by Meeker, Guilford posited that a person’s underlying mental abilities or factors of intelligence are composed of up to 180 different intellectual abilities organized along the three dimensions of operations, content, and products. Using Guilford’s model, Torrance sought to develop an assessment that would measure creativity. To that end, Torrance while at the University of Minnesota developed what ultimately became known as the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT).21 The TTCT assesses one’s ability to perform divergent tasks and use various problem-solving skills. The TTCT measures five scales: fluency, resistance to premature closure, originality, abstractness of titles, and elaboration. Fluency examines the total number of interpretable, meaningful, relevant ideas generated and abstractness of titles in response to a stimulus. Resistance to premature closure looks at one’s ability to keep an open mind where incomplete figures are not closed by the quickest route, but instead through irregular lines or not at all. Originality looks at the statistical rarity of the responses with special attention paid to the ability to produce uncommon or unique responses. Abstractness of titles explores whether the title created for a figure moves beyond concrete labeling. Finally, elaboration concentrates on the ability to produce uncommon or unique responses. Also measured is something called creative strength, which is composed of 13 criterion-­ referenced measures which have been shown to be correlated with creativity. The TTCT, available in both verbal and non-verbal (figural) forms, is the most-used measure of creative thinking. Ways of improving children’s critical and creative thinking have also been investigated, created, and implemented. Treffinger and his colleagues developed what has become known as creative problem solving (CPS). Building upon the work of Osborn and Parnes, Treffinger developed a series of tools and processes through which students can generate ideas and develop solutions to problems they have identified. CPS is composed of three stages and six phases that assist teachers and children in negotiating the process.22 The stages and phases of CPS are set forth in Table 2.4. 21  Torrance (1980, 1981). Torrance’s groundbreaking work developing the TTCT provided the first valid and reliable way of assessing the creative thinking of children. It remains a major instrument used in the identification of children to participate in certain programs at schools. 22  Treffinger et al. (2007). The CPS tools and approach have a research base stretching back over 70 years. CPS is frequently used by teachers and students across the globe.

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Table 2.4  Stages and phases of CPS Stage

Phase

Process

Understanding the challenge

Constructing opportunities

Generating possible challenges and opportunities to consider. Focus upon the most promising opportunities to pursue Identify many sources of data from various perspectives. Identify the most important or key data Produce as many different, unique, and unusual ideas. Then, formulate or select a specific problem statement Find ways to develop, refine, and strengthen promising possibilities. Identify those ideas that have interesting possibilities to develop or use as solutions Find ways to develop and strengthen promising possibilities. Analyze, evaluate, prioritize, and refine promising solutions Consider various sources of possible assistance or resistance and possible actions that would assist implementation. Formulate specific plans to gain support for, carry out, and evaluate actions taken

Exploring data

Framing problems Generating ideas

Generating ideas

Preparing for action

Developing solutions Building acceptance

CPS can be used as a whole, where each stage and phase is fully explored, or it can be used individually, with individual phases used for a single instructional activity. CPS can be used with students of any age, with any subject, and as a way to build critical and creative thinking skills. Constructivism, the belief that, “each of us makes sense of our world by synthesizing new experiences into what we have previously come to understand,” has become increasingly popular as a model that schools use to structure educational experiences.23 Such an approach has a certain instant appeal to anyone, especially an experienced learner. Constructivism basically holds a learner approaches new information, sorts through it, compares it with what he or she has learned before, and ultimately adjusts this new insight so that it fits in with his or her world view. Without doubt, many constructivist practices, such as an emphasis on using primary resources, encouraging student autonomy, using open-ended questions, 23  Brooks and Brooks (1999), p. 4. Constructivism is perhaps the most commonly used approach to teaching in American schools.

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and getting elaboration of student answers, are valuable strategies that all teachers should employ.24 Instructional styles that favor Constructivist practices have become the preferred method in many districts and some states. At times this preference favors style over results. Some question the necessity, and indeed the value, of having learners work through all, or even most, ideas with a good measure of autonomy to achieve understanding.25 Time is a scarce resource in education; its use must be marshaled efficiently to achieve the optimal outcome. David Perkins suggests that schools must stop worrying about the styles used and instead concentrate on achieving retention, understanding, and active use of knowledge among their students. Retention involves the acquisition of organized knowledge in the mind and the ability to recall that knowledge. Understanding affects the development of intellectual skills and processes, a means of using the knowledge learned or accessed. Active use of knowledge establishes enlarged understanding of ideas and values. Focusing on these goals rather than arguing about learning styles will better assure student progress.26 The attainment of such goals will occur only in a situation where all players—including students, teachers, and administrators—see “conspicuous gains” at “minimally increased costs.”27 In other words, schools need to see lots of achievement bang for their instructional bucks. Perkins deems this arrangement one of recognizing cognitive economy, that is, making use of any and all effective teaching strategies to create an environment of excitement, passion, and motivation. Schools need a variety of strategies to achieve success. Some of these strategies (pp.  165–166) include: 1. A basic theory of teaching and learning that asks for clear information, thoughtful practice, informative feedback, and strong intrinsic or extrinsic motivation that reduces the cost of complex cognition by making it more accessible and reducing students’ risk of failure; 24  Brooks and Brooks (1999). It has been suggested that while many teachers claim to use constructivist practices, they in fact do not do so. 25  Perkins (1992). Perkins’s groundbreaking work is often overlooked, although its exploration of how children think and transfer learning from one area to another is highly influential. 26  Perkins (1992). Considering and understanding how children make sense of information and acquire new learning is a major role of teachers. 27  Perkins (1992), p. 164.

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2. Boosting intrinsic motivation by giving students more choice about exactly what they work on and more information sources than teacher and text; 3. Coaching and Socratic teaching that reduces the cost of complex cognition in risk and fear by supporting students in the learning process; 4. A pedagogy of understanding, with its focus on understanding performances, mental images, and powerful representations, that reduces the cost of complex cognition by making difficult ideas more accessible; 5. Higher levels of understanding, patterns of problem solving, explanation and justification, and inquiry that increases the gain by helping students feel more oriented to a subject matter and more empowered to do something with it; 6. Generative topics that increase the gain by making the subject matters more intrinsically interesting and more connected to the applications beyond the classroom; 7. Languages of thinking, integrative mental images, and learning to learn that reduce the cost of complex cognition by making difficult topics more accessible; 8. Intellectual passions, modeled and encouraged by teachers that develop proactive, thoughtful mindsets in the students; 9. Teaching for transfer, which makes the payoffs of more demanding studies clearer and preparing learners to transfer school learning to other classes and applications beyond the classroom; 10. The physical distribution of intelligence, via writing and other media, that reduces the cost of complex cognition by reducing cognitive load; 11. The social distribution of intelligence, via peer tutoring, cooperative learning, and peer collaboration, which reduces the cost of complex cognition through group support and the comfort of groups when tasks are hard; 12. The symbolic distribution of intelligence, through drawing a number of different symbolic forms into instruction in the different subject matters, such as stories, concept maps, diaries, improvisatory drama, and picturing.28 28  Perkins (1992), pp. 165–166. Schools must use all of these strategies when working with young learners, although it is to be expected that not all children will develop at the same time or at the same rate.

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While some might argue this list seems exhaustive, that is exactly the point. Schools must use all research-based strategies, methods, and approaches necessary to reach their students. Although no two learners might be exactly the same, clear instruction, opportunities to practice and ponder, and necessary support will improve the performance of most of the students. Providing students with mental models gives them structures with which to attack future problems. The amount of information covered must, depending on age, be comprehensible to students. Perkins’s strategies fit nicely with classic concepts of learning theory, such as Lev Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD).29 The ZPD is the distance between a child’s independent problem-solving level and that same child’s level of potential development at problem solving under an adult’s guidance (Bransford et al., 2000). Under Perkins’s model, teachers ascertain what a student’s independent problem solving level is and then provide that student with the supports and structures necessary for him or her to work at the next level. For example, a student working on a problem must be expected to do most of the work. Expert teachers do not help a great deal, instead hanging back, allowing the student to manage as much as possible. When a student’s attempts go askew, expert teachers raise questions rather than helping the student directly. The expert teacher will ask the student to explain how they progressed through a particular step of a problem, how an answer was arrived at, or how one answer deviates from another attempt. The truly exemplary practitioner even manages to use this situation to transition the student from an extrinsic to an intrinsic motivational source. Rather than praise the student for getting the correct solution after it is solved, the expert teacher discusses how difficult the problem is before it is tackled.

Delivery Models School leaders and teachers wishing to implement an outdoor education program have a variety of choices to make about how best to implement a new program in their building. Will it be a normal part of every day? Will there be special classes offered? Will entire schools become centers for 29  Bransford et al. (2000). Vygotsky’s work has been as influential as that of any other theorist over the past 50 years. Although a contemporary of Piaget’s, his early death in the 1930s, and internal unrest in the then Soviet Union, delayed his work achieving immediate international attention.

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outdoor education? None of these decisions need to be made in a vacuum, as there are a variety of models that can be used, many coming from other fields, such as special education, gifted education, arts prototype schools, and the like. Considering how much of an investment, not necessarily related to time but certainly related to effort, can often assist the decision-­ making process regarding how to begin outdoor education. Integrated Classroom Support Integrated classroom support refers to those education services—often for the gifted, special education, English as a second language, or other such programs—that are provided by students’ regular classroom teacher, with or without the assistance of an education specialist with special training in gifted education, special education, music, the arts, or the like. Integrated classroom support, also known as within-class services, has enjoyed a recent surge in popularity for a variety of reasons, including the goals of improving non-identified students’ access to quality resources, increasing the proportion of time during which students receive services, and achieving cost savings through reducing the number of specialized personnel needed to serve special populations.30 Such goals make integrated classroom support an attractive option to many school leaders. While the motives of its proponents are compelling, integrated classroom support has a weak research base to support its use. Indeed, an extensive study concerning integrated classroom support found that all other levels of service (pull-out, special classes, or special schools) demonstrated higher academic achievement among gifted students. Those gifted students in pull-out programs, special classes, or special schools “showed higher levels of achievement than students from within-class programs.”31 While attempts to provide integrated classroom support have been many, schools often return to traditional delivery models due to unhappiness with the services provided pursuant to this model. Historically, for 30  See Landrum (2003), Tomlinson et al. (2009), VanTassel-Baska (1992). Schools often make space on how to deliver services to children based upon funding and available space. While not often discussed, these factors play a huge role in shaping programs offered at schools. 31  Delcourt et al. (1994), p. 4. This makes sense, as one assumes that children exposed to a topic or approach for an entire period throughout the school year, or at a special school for all classes, would have more opportunities to learn than would children who only occasionally saw a teacher or studied a subject.

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example, many attempts to eliminate gifted education have later been reversed due to the failures of some teachers to adequately accommodate gifted students. Learning environments that neglect to offer an appropriate level of challenge have been cited in self-reported surveys of gifted students as a reason for low motivation. In making decisions to choose integrated classroom support, school leaders should be cognizant of the paucity of research supporting this position. In addition, the call for heterogeneous grouping as an anecdote to inequities, for example, is based on ethnographic studies rather than experimental studies of effects. Those curricular and instructional differences that are observed in those reports that are critical of other grouping arrangements may “represent appropriate responses to the different educational and emotional needs of different school children.”32 Although certain case studies and evaluations have highlighted individual schools where in-class services were effective, these schools have used out-of-the-­ classroom collaborative resource teachers who worked with regular classroom teachers to craft instruction for students with specialized needs (Kane & Henning, 2004; Landrum, 2003). Providing within-class services to special populations theoretically demands teachers skilled at working with every student in every classroom or at least in every classroom to which students with specialized needs are assigned. Callahan (2001) suggests that provision of high-quality education to gifted learners in the regular classroom demands: (1) serious commitment of time, energy, and funds, (2) teacher expertise in, and in-depth understanding of, the discipline content, processes, and products, (3) administrative commitment, and (4) a focus on the needs of all gifted students. Very little research documents the existence of these abilities across the teacher population, and some research indicates that teachers lack the skill and/or the will to provide such services. Robinson (2003) noted some negative effects of heterogenous grouping options in her observations that gifted students grow tired of the expectations that they must “carry” other students assigned to their groups and engage in coping mechanisms to avoid this. Specifically, studies have demonstrated that gifted students respond to the sucker effect, or the understanding that they are carrying a greater share of the group’s work, by reducing their own efforts for subsequent projects.33 When a  Kulik (2003), p. 277.  Robinson (2003).

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variety of options available to them, most children make the best choices for their learning needs and interests most of the time if an evaluation process is in place that will assess the contributions of each group member. Cluster Grouping Cluster grouping, a specific refinement of the integrated classroom support or pure heterogeneous grouping model, refers to the program model where gifted students receive services grouped with other gifted students in a regular education classroom. In several studies cluster grouping has resulted in benefits for students who are enrolled in classrooms that use these.34 In correlational analyses of multiple studies of cluster grouping, within-class programs in elementary and middle schools resulted in increased achievement scores for gifted students as well as other students in the classroom. Cluster grouping may also have financial benefits, as it allows for increased services for gifted students without the additional cost of a gifted education specialist if all teachers are sufficiently trained and willing to work with groups of gifted students in their classrooms.35 Schools that use cluster grouping also witness an increase in the number of students identified as gifted, which may indicate that some students thrive when higher ability peers are not in the classroom (Gentry & Owen, 1999). Cluster grouping seems as though it might provide a model to deliver outdoor education experiences to children in a school where different types of specialized education are offered. These special topics might include music, the arts, STEM subjects, outdoor education, or a host of other options. Implementing cluster grouping at a school involves going through a three-step process (Gentry, 1999; Gentry & Owen, 1999). Guidelines that have evolved from the study of cluster grouping include: 1. School administrators place three to ten students, identified as gifted, high-achieving, or high-ability, in a single classroom (Gentry & Owen, 1999); 2. The classroom teacher and students must accept that the grouping has been made so that differentiation may occur (Gentry & Owen, 1999); 34  Delcourt et al. (1994), Feldhusen and Moon (1992), Kulik and Kulik (1992), Reis et al. (1998), Schuler (1998). 35  Gentry and Owen (1999), LaRue (1986), Winebrenner and Devlin (1998).

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3. Teachers who serve high-ability clusters should demonstrate the background, training, experience, and expertise to work with gifted students.36 Each step in the process must be in place for cluster grouping to be effective.37 The notion of cluster grouping offends some teachers, who insist that non-gifted students need to work with gifted students so they will have a “model” for their own work and behaviors. Such beliefs have been reinforced by supporters of heterogeneous grouping, such as Slavin (1986), who hypothesized a “Robin Hood” effect for low-ability students working with more able peers, where the gifted students serve others less fortunate in the learning process. This belief, although passionately held, has not been documented—low-ability students do not model their behavior or learning on the behaviors or learning strategies of gifted students (Schunk, 1987). Indeed, non-gifted students also show positive benefits from cluster grouping, perhaps because such grouping also allows them to work at their instructional levels.38 Unfortunately, teacher attitudes can result in cluster grouping failing to serve gifted students adequately even when official policy favors grouping the gifted together (Blanksby, 1999). Planning and preparation on the part of school leaders can correct such attitudes, however. At one school where cluster grouping was studied, its effectiveness was enhanced when increased planning time and professional development were provided to the classroom teachers responsible for its implementation. For schools interested in using a cluster grouping model for an outdoor education initiative, building planning time and professional learning opportunities into the academic year is a must. Pull-Out Programs Pull-out programs, where students leave their regular classroom to work with a specialist trained in certain instructional strategies and approaches in a separate room. Pull-out programs represent a common form of gifted education, special education, English as a second language, and other such specialized approaches. In a survey of over 4500 third through sixth  Gentry and Owen (1999), Weinbrenner and Devlin (1998).  Gentry (1999), Gentry and Keilty (2004), VanTassel-Baska (1992). 38  Kulik (2003), Rogers (1991). 36 37

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graders scoring at or above the 95th percentile on standardized achievement tests, for example, 40 percent of these students received pull-out services, more than any other type of service. Although pull-out programs are often criticized as ineffective, elitist, separatist, and unnecessary, a meta-analysis conducted by Vaughn et  al. (1991)39 showed significantly greater gains for gifted students enrolled in such programs in achievement and thinking skills than did their gifted peers who received no services. Pull-out programs are also seen as a way of supporting students’ social and emotional needs, especially when those are not met in the general education classroom. Each of these benefits will be addressed. How pull-out programs affect students’ academic performance has been the focus of numerous studies. After examining many studies related to pull-out programs, for example, Rogers (1991) concluded that such grouping produced an academic effect size of 0.65, which is reflected in general achievement, creativity, and critical thinking skills. Similarly, Kulik (2003) examined 25 studies that explored the use of enrichment pull-out programs for gifted and talented students. Gifted and talented students who enjoyed such pull-out sessions outperformed gifted and talented students who did not by “.41 standard deviations, equivalent to about four months on a grade-equivalent scale,” as measured by standardized achievement tests.40 Additionally, since the pull-out sessions focused on enrichment, rather than acceleration, Kulik’s (2003) findings suggest that gifted and talented students have a need for instruction that focuses on depth and complexity, rather than mere skill-focused exercises. Interacting with others with similar intellectual skills as provided by pull-out programs has been documented in case study reports as important for students’ social and emotional development. In a qualitative study of 16 students enrolled in a pull-out program for gifted and talented, for example, students articulated dissatisfaction with the pace and depth of instruction in their regular classroom and also emphasized that they welcomed the opportunity to work with cognitive peers, which reduced feelings of isolation and frustration. These feelings of isolation are especially sensitive and complex for gifted students who are members of ethnic or language minority groups who may relish the intellectual compatibility but have difficulty with racial isolation. Recent examinations of Advanced Placement (AP) and International Baccalaureate (IB) programs, for  Vaughn et al. (1991).  Kulik (2003), p. 275.

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example, provided some evidence of the particular issues faced by minority students when grouped separately, particularly when the minority group is not well-represented.41 While minority students especially enjoyed being in classes with intellectual peers, they also expressed an appreciation of not being the only minority student in their classes. Those making decisions that involve removing minority students from their regular classroom setting would be well served to consider, and plan for, these dual social pressures. Popular belief relates that pull-out programs make students enrolled feel “odd” and out of place with classmates. When Cohen et al. (1994) examined gifted students, however, their findings indicated positive affective results for students enrolled in pull-out programs. The gifted students enrolled in pull-out programs were, relative to classmates, evaluated positively by peers, more aware of the demands of friendship, and perceived less often as victims or aggressors by classmates. Similar studies have also indicated better family- and home-school relationships resulted for those students enrolled in gifted pull-out programs. The self-concept of gifted students, however, is affected when gifted students are placed in situations where they work with their cognitive peers—those gifted students who regularly work with other gifted students have lower self-concept than those gifted students who spend their time in a regular classroom. Such a reaction is not necessarily a bad thing and indeed can improve gifted students’ work ethic. Further, lower self-concept does not translate into poor self-concept. Special Classes Special classes for students, whether created to serve a special population or to teach a specific subject in a certain way, have been used to refer to a wide variety of options, including pull-out groups or Saturday and summer programs. Usually, however, the term is used to describe classes that provide either enriched or accelerated curriculum for more able learners, such as honors or Advanced Placement (AP) or International Baccalaureate (IB) classes. Special classes can refer to self-contained classrooms made up almost exclusively of gifted and talented students at the elementary level; however, in practice they tend to be used mostly with middle and high school students. Special classes are unpopular with critics of gifted  Kyburg et al. (2007).

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education, although quite popular with proponents of education for other subgroups, such as the deaf or hard of hearing, the blind, or for children with special needs. The literature on special classes presents evidence of both positive academic and social and emotional benefits for gifted students and also raises questions about the impacts. Some students in special classes report feeling less capable in their level of achievement, greater reluctance to work independently, and less willing to seek challenge than their peers in within-class or pull-out programs.42 Another study involving 24 fourth- and fifth-grade students found that a self-contained class provided a challenging learning environment to all students, but that not all students responded positively to this challenge.43 As with many things in education, the success of any particular approach depends upon the individuals involved, their skills and needs, the buy-in by all participants, the professional learning opportunities provided, and other such elements. Outdoor education certainly can be introduced through a special class, and be successful if done so, although care must be taken to monitor how well certain elements are adhered to with fidelity. Such mixed findings are perhaps predictable, since studying with cognitive peers would certainly increase the performance levels of the children’s peers and present new and unfamiliar challenge. Special classes can, of course, focus on specific approaches, such as acceleration, enrichment, or both, or on a special topic otherwise not covered in the general education curriculum. Over 23 studies have focused on accelerated classes where the entire class received moderate acceleration.44 These were not cases where individuals received tailored instruction but classes that moved at a faster pace. In all of the cases examined by Kulik (2003), students in accelerated classes performed one full standard deviation better on achievement tests than their peers who did not receive acceleration. This amounted to accelerated students outperforming gifted non-accelerated students by a full year’s progress on a grade-equivalent scale. Such results greatly strengthen the argument for those advocating for special classes. Indeed, with gifted students removed from the mix, all 42  Delcourt et al. (1994). The effects of student programming arrangements and options is usually studied within the context of special populations: children with special needs, gifted students, ELLs, and the like. 43  Moon et al. (2002). 44  Kulik (2003). It probably does not need to be mentioned, but the classes referenced to be teaching a special topic were charged with doing so—no one kept track of what occurred in these rooms on a daily basis.

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classes are able to provide instruction better linked to students’ zones of proximal development. Rather than impede those students who are not in special classes, such offerings improve the instruction offered to all students. Special Schools The term special schools generally refers to public schools set up to focus on a specific disciplinary area such as math, science, technology, or the performing arts (although all subjects are taught). Schools with a special focus, such as outdoor education or those using a Montessori approach, also exist. Some of these schools may be residential. Other special schools have also been specifically established to meet the learning needs of a special population—such as the blind, the deaf, the gifted, or other such groups—in the broad educational realm.45 The focus of these schools vary, as does their geographic scope. Large districts can easily have their own specialty schools, while others must be open to students from a certain geographic area or indeed the entire state to draw an adequate number of students enrolled. Many recent studies examining these schools have often been qualitative in nature, with an emphasis on how interacting with other gifted children on a daily basis changes students’ experiences and motivation. Other studies have also examined aspects of special schools and how studying or teaching in one affects students’ learning experiences. As measured by achievement tests, students enrolled in special schools outperform all of their peers in other learning environments except those students enrolled in special classes, who perform equally well.46 In terms of achievement, a major study of special schools found that gifted children attending special schools for gifted students performed better than gifted peers not in programs.47 Other studies, conducted in a variety of settings, also illustrate that gifted students enrolled in special or magnet schools frequently perform at a high level of achievement. Some of these studies are limited, however, in not using control groups that could provide stronger experimental evidence of the effects of enrollment at the special 45  Coleman (2005). Special schools are often devoted to the sciences or the arts, but can of course be devoted to any subject or combination thereof. 46  Delcourt et al. (1994). Special schools and special classes thus seem to be a promising way of exposing children to a single topic or approach. 47  Delcourt et al. (1994).

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school and a high level of performance. It is also important to remember that the children enrolled in such schools had parents and families savvy enough to know about the special schools and tenacious enough to see that their child was enrolled in one. Recent qualitative studies have suggested that, for the students enrolled at the schools studied, students’ educational opportunities seem to be improved through attendance at special or magnet schools. Students enrolled in special schools report experiencing greater levels of challenge than students in other settings.48 A recent study examined the level of challenge presented to learners in regular classrooms as opposed to that provided in special or magnet schools.49 Students from both settings, at both the elementary and middle school level, were asked to report their perceptions of the level of challenge required by their classroom activities. Although elementary students did not report a significant difference in the level of challenge received between regular and special or magnet schools, middle school students at special or magnet schools reported significantly more challenge than did their peers enrolled in regular middle schools. Such findings are limited, of course, by the nature of self-report data and the risk that students have heard parents, administrators, or teachers refer to their schools’ high level of challenge and merely repeated these comments in response to questions regarding their placements. Despite this, the qualitative studies provide descriptive evidence of the types of experiences that can happen as a result of a special school. It seems, however, that special schools devoted to outdoor education could easily be as successful as those dedicated to another topic so long as similar attention was paid to curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Coleman (2005), for example, spent a year at a state-sponsored residential school for students interested in math, science, and technology conducting ethnographic research relating to the students’ experiences at the school. After observing, interviewing, and analyzing the school, Coleman (2005) determined that academic rigor and diversity available only in a special environment changed students’ lives. Specifically, Coleman found that students enrolled at the special school were better able to meet

48  Gentry and Springer (2002). The study paid particular attention to student perceptions of academic quality within the classrooms they attended. 49  Gentry and Springer (2002).

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and tackle new ideas than were their peers enrolled in regular high school settings.50 Coleman also concluded openness and acceptance were related to academic rigor and diversity and were significant due to the novelty of rigor and diversity for most of the special school’s students. Rigorous academic demands threw many students off balance, since “many have never had to study and few really know how to do it” (Coleman, 2005, p. 27). As one student explained, “At home I did my homework all in class and I got straight A’s. Here, I do homework and I study and I get mostly B’s.”51 The unyielding demands of homework and studying caused students at the school to adjust to their outlooks and work patterns. Student perspectives relating to the value of such schools are valuable, especially since special schools’ critics often attack demonstrated achievement as being the result of selection practices. Special schools can result in environments where test scores and achievement are valued above other accomplishments. Where a general education setting has proven inadequate for certain gifted students’ learning needs, however, special schools seem a valid and appropriate option. Special schools enjoy limited appeal because, except for very large or very wealthy school districts, they are impractical in terms of expense and logistics. It is important to note that students enrolled in special classes within a school enjoy essentially the same boost in achievement. With the recent focus on smaller schools or houses at the middle and secondary level, such schools may be more practicable for many districts that have not been able to make such an investment to date. School administrators, teachers, and others looking to begin an outdoor education program most often do not begin with a special school, but this can be an aspirational goal once the programming is begun. Outdoor education initiatives thus can take many forms and have greatly varying degrees of comprehensiveness. Some schools might choose to pursue outdoor education as a set period of time within which specific subjects are studied. Others might select to make outdoor education a year-long experience, with it taking the place of a given science or social studies class. Still others might elect to make outdoor education the theme 50  Coleman (2005). Of course it is important to remember that the students enrolled in a special residential school, even one sponsored by the state, may well be different from the general education population in most classrooms. 51  Coleman (2005), p. 36.

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of the school, with most instruction taking place outdoors, and children will use indoor classrooms only at certain times and for specific needs, such as using desktop computers, a SmartBoard, the school library, or other resources that can only be used inside. Inclement weather may also occasionally force children and teachers back inside the building when it arises, but even this is largely a matter of preference. A school in Wisconsin may elect to have young learners outside for five or more hours a day, year round, while a school in Southern California may cancel all outdoor activities when the temperature drops below 60 degrees Fahrenheit. While appropriate attire can protect children in just about any environment, such gear may not be available to all families or concern parents and families as to the well-being of their children. Just as the best outdoor education initiatives are place-based and concentrated upon local problems and issues, so too are the best outdoor education programs responsive to local concerns, norms, and needs. Tailoring programs to the needs, resources, and concerns of all constituencies is not only wise, but it also greatly ensures that the outdoor education initiative will be successful and sustainable over time.

Materials and Resources Needed Schools or districts considering the adoption of an outdoor education program must take stock of the materials and resources available to them and then compare this inventory to the materials and resources needed to successfully implement the program. The materials and resources needed will, of course, vary based upon the scope of the outdoor education program decided upon as appropriate at the school. This decision cannot be minimized—there is not a single way of implementing an outdoor education initiative. Some schools, for a variety of reasons which make sense to their school community, decide that an outdoor education experience is important, but can only be of a limited duration. This might be for an hour a day for a four- or six-week period or might even be limited to a single weekend overnight trip. While shorter than many outdoor education experiences, this is time enough to expose children at any age to the benefits that can be gleaned from leaving the classroom provided an emphasis is placed upon student-led projects and investigations. Other school communities might decide that the one-hour per day timeframe is appropriate for them but might wish to extend this to the entire academic year. Still others might radically transform their academic program so that children are

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outside for most of the day, with time spent in the building only for necessary housekeeping and other events. The key resource needed for successful implementation of an outdoor education program, whatever its scope, is professional learning that concentrates on using project-based learning and guided investigations to build creative and critical thinking skills. Nothing is more important than a deep understanding of how using a student-centered approach permits children to identify a problem or issue they deem significant and then develop possible solutions to those and consider how best to implement these, putting these into action whenever possible. Almost every public school in the United States have several days devoted to professional learning over the summer, either immediately after or before, or both, the academic year. Most schools, including those used in the preparation of this book, also have a day each week where students are released early so that the faculty can meet. These are ideal times to review, discuss, and reinforce the best ways of using constructivist practices with children. Nothing is more important to the success of an outdoor education program than is the professional learning opportunities that will ensure that all understand the hoped for goals and objectives of an outdoor education initiative. If economically feasible, hiring instructional coaches to assist with the transformation of the educational program to include outdoor education is a hugely important factor in ensuring the success of the initiative. If funding such positions is not viable, administrators can take on much of this role. It is imperative, however, that to do this, the administrators fully take part in the professional learning opportunities attended by the teachers. Unless this occurs, or when administrators claim, “I already understand this,” programs are inevitably implemented in ways that are ineffective and incomplete. It is also important that professional learning opportunities be differentiated, so that teachers and other educational professionals have some autonomy regarding what they are learning and when. Certainly some foundational material can and should be presented in a whole group setting. That being said, once teachers begin using the program they will find they have different needs and concerns. Using needs assessments, surveys, or other such tools, professional learning can be tailored to teacher perceptions of their needs, resulting in both a happier faculty and better functioning professional learning sessions. As to other needed materials it will depend upon the school setting. A northern school that serves a low-SES population of children will want to ensure that each child has adequate outdoor wear before progressing with

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outdoor education in the winter months. Such precautions will be unnecessary in other climes. Proper attire is the one non-negotiable, as children must be safe at all times. After that, however, the materials one can use can be whatever teachers and other professional staff think necessary. Electronic tablets, such as iPads, are very useful to have, as students can use these to take photographs, record data, and look up information in the field. That being said, notebooks and clipboards work well, too, although these will require a greater amount of time spent indoors transferring data to computers or other devices. It certainly is also important that there be access to the outdoors, but some worry too much about this. Being outside on the school grounds is being “outdoors.” Certainly teachers might prefer access to a park, forest, or nature preserve, but one can investigate an almost infinite number of issues and problems even if limited to the school grounds proper. Successful outdoor education programs can be begun at any school, in any location, by any teacher, and with any available materials and supplies. The key is to get children outside, as early and as often as possible. The problems and issues that might be investigated will, of course, vary based upon where the teacher and students can go, but a plethora of problems and issues exist at every location. Focusing on the key goals and objectives desired, such as project-based learning, guided investigations, the development of creative and critical thinking skills, developing the tools that can be used in problem solving, and the like is the most important factor in implementing a rich and rigorous outdoor education program. When this is done, the children the program serves will benefit and thrive and be able to say they “have learned lessons [not] only of those who admired [them], and were tender with [them], and stood aside for [them]” but also as a result of their own efforts, ingenuity, and perspiration.

Case Study No. 1: Meeting Student Needs Abbott Elementary School is located within the City of Emerson and serves approximately 350 children, 98 percent of whom identify as Black/ African American with the remaining 2 percent identifying as Hispanic/ Latino. All of the Abbott student population qualifies for the federally funded free and reduced meals program, and the school is located within one of the lowest income communities within Emerson. Most children live in single-parent households, and a large number of children, over 20 percent, are being cared for by a grandparent or other family member. Few

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parents have completed a college degree, and many parents lack a high school diploma. A neighborhood school, Abbott serves as a beacon within its community, with many programs run through the school and offered to members of the community at all hours, both during the school day and afterschool and during the summer period. Abbott Elementary School serves children enrolled in grades PreK through 5 and is located in a building that, while more than 70  years old, was extensively renovated and remodeled, reopening for the 2017–2018 academic year after being closed for 24 months for renovation. Mrs. Nancy Johnson has been appointed the new principal at Abbott. A 25-year veteran of the Emerson City Public Schools (ECPS), Mrs. Johnson has served as a principal for eight years before coming to Abbott and worked as an assistant principal for two years for seven years before that. A native of Emerson City, Mrs. Johnson attended ECPS as a child and earned her initial teaching credential and B.S. degree from a local historically Black college and university (HBCU). She later earned her M.Ed. degree and administrative endorsement at an Ivy League university and is nearly done with her Ed.D. degree from the state flagship university. Mrs. Johnson, while seen as no-nonsense by faculty and staff, is also seen as a very pro-teacher instructional leader and works diligently to build strong connections between the school and the community. Mrs. Johnson is also popular with the district’s central office, as she is seen as a highly competent administrator who is able to maintain the balance between equity and excellence at the schools where she works. Beginning the academic year at Abbott in June, almost immediately after the end of the prior school year, Mrs. Johnson has taken the time to make herself familiar with curriculum in place at the school as well as the histories of the teachers and other professional staff employed there. Under the leadership of her predecessor, Abbott is using a highly scripted curriculum programs for both reading/language arts and mathematics instruction. Little, if any, time is spent teaching science or social studies, and while the school has art and music specialists employed there, they do not meet with every class every semester. The PreK and Kindergarten programs do not use the scripted curriculum programs for reading language arts or mathematics, but the classrooms that work with these children instead create their own curriculum. From looking at examples of student work, Mrs. Johnson observes that there seems to be very little consistency across grade levels in student performance or even in terms of assignments and instructional activities. Based upon the analysis of the standardized

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assessments that the state requires each child to take every April, Mrs. Johnson notes that student achievement seems to be consistently at the lower 20th percentile in both reading and mathematics. The Abbott students are served by a teaching force of 23 teachers, all of whom are fully credentialed to serve the grade levels in which they teach. The teaching staff tends to be younger, with 14 of the 23 having fewer than six years of experience in teaching. A couple of teachers at Abbott have been there for over 30 years, and the rest of the faculty has about 10 years of experience working as teachers. About half of the teachers possess an M.Ed. degree, with the remainder of the faculty working toward those (the state requires teachers to hold an M.Ed. after ten years, and ECPS reimburse teachers for tuition costs). Two teachers hold national board certification, three hold an endorsement as a reading specialist, and one holds an endorsement as a gifted education specialist. None of these teachers with endorsements works within the field in which they are specialized to do so. Special education services are provided to those students with an individualized education plan (IEP) by two special education specialists who use a “push-in” model to assist the general education teachers with planning and serving children with identified special needs. During the previous academic year, while still at her prior school, Mrs. Johnson had attended a Saturday symposium on outdoor education, hosted by the faculty of a local university, Cheverly University (CU). CU is an R2 university, with a long history of being the primary producer of teachers within the state. The CU faculty had discussed outdoor education as being especially appropriate for urban settings and had shown data that explained that many children who live in urban areas spend exponentially less time out of doors than do their suburban or rural age peers. Intrigued by this presentation, Mrs. Johnson places a telephone call to the Dean of the College of Education at CU, who in turn refers her to Dr. Edward Hardin, the faculty member who had set up the symposium on outdoor education the previous spring. Dr. Hardin enthusiastically answers Mrs. Johnson’s questions, and they agree to meet for coffee to further discuss the options related to outdoor education, especially in terms of how it might look in a school setting. When Mrs. Johnson and Dr. Hardin meet, after exchanging pleasantries, they begin to discuss her vision for the school. She expressed her belief that the teachers, each of whom she has met, are energetic and want what is best for the children they serve. Through no fault of their own, the

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teachers have not been devoting the time necessary to develop the children’s social studies and science skills, something that Mrs. Johnson wants to address. She is intrigued by the concept of outdoor education, but is unsure how to proceed. She also wonders how she can best support her teachers in ways that will best benefit the children at Abbott Elementary School. She also knows that teachers at Abbott have not had much experience developing curriculum on their own and is concerned they might be overwhelmed by a new initiative that concentrates on having them play a lead role in the development of curriculum. Suppose you are Dr. Hardin. Considering what you know about Abbott Elementary School, how would you address the following issues and questions: • Might outdoor education be an appropriate innovation to consider for Abbott Elementary School? Why or why not? • If you decided to pursue outdoor education at Abbott, how might you envision it fitting in with the school day? • What professional learning opportunities would you imagine teachers at Abbott needing to be successful in implementing an outdoor education program? Which is their primary need?

References Adler, M.  J. (1982/1998). The Paideia proposal: An educational manifesto. Touchstone. Berk, L. E. (2003). Child development (6th ed.). Allyn & Bacon. Blanksby, D. C. (1999). Not quite Eureka: Perceptions of a trial of cluster grouping as a model for addressing the diverse range of student abilities at a junior secondary school. Educational Studies, 25(1), 79–88. SOI: 10.1080/ 03055699997972 Bloom, B. S. (1984). Taxonomy of educational objectives: Book 1 cognitive domain (2nd ed.). Addison-Wesley Longman, Ltd. Bloom, B. S. (Ed.). (1985). Developing talent in young people. Ballantine Books. Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L., & Cocking, R. R. (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school. National Academy Press. Brooks, J. G., & Brooks, M. G. (1999). In search of understanding: The case for constructivist classrooms. ASCD. Bruner, J. S. (1961). The process of education. Harvard University Press. Bruner, J. S. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Belknap Press.

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Callahan, C.  M. (2001). Fourth down and inches. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 12, 148–156. Coleman, L.  J. (2005). Nurturing talent in high school: Life in the fast lane. Teachers College Press. Cohen, R., Duncan, M., & Cohen, S.  M. (1994). Classroom peer relations of children participating in a pull-out-enrichment program. Gifted Child Quarterly, 38(1), 33–37. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698629403800105 Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education: How America’s commitment to equity will determine our future. Teachers College Press. Delcourt, M.  A. B., Loyd, B.  H., Cornell, D.  G., & Goldberg, M.  D. (1994). Evaluation of the effects of programming arrangements on student learning outcomes (RM94108). The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, University of Connecticut. Dewey, J. (1902). The child and the curriculum. The University of Chicago Press. Dewey, J. (1963). Experience & education. Collier Books. Dewey, J. (2021). Knowing and the known. Hassell Street Press. Feldhusen, J.  F., & Moon, S.  M. (1992). Grouping gifted students: Issues and concerns. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36(2), 63–67. Gentry, M. (1999). Promoting student achievement and exemplary classroom practices through cluster grouping: A research-based alternative to heterogeneous elementary classrooms. (RM99138). The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, University of Connecticut. Gentry, M., & Kelly, B. (2004). Rural and suburban cluster grouping: Reflections on staff development as a component of program success. Roeper Review, 26(3), 147–155. Gentry, M., & Owen, S. V. (1999). An investigation of the effects of total school flexible cluster grouping on identification, achievement, and classroom practices. Gifted Child Quarterly, 43, 224–242. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 001698629904300402 Gentry, M., & Springer, P. M. (2002). Secondary student perceptions of their class activities regarding meaningfulness, challenge, choice, and appeal: An initial validation study. Journal of Secondary Gifted Education, 13(4), 192–204. https://doi.org/10.4219/jsge-­2002-­381 Guilford, J. P. (1950). Creativity. American Psychologist, 5(9), 444–454. Jefferson, T. (1784). Notes on the state of Virginia. Paris. Printed 1784–1785 by the Author. Kane, J., & Henning, J. E. (2004). A case study of the collaboration in mathematics between a fourth-grade teacher and a talented and gifted coordinator. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 27(4), 243–266. Kulik, J. A. (2003). Grouping and tracking. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), Handbook of gifted education (3rd ed., pp. 268–281). Allyn & Bacon. Kulik, J. A., & Kulik, C.-L. C. (1992). Meta-analytic findings on grouping programs. Gifted Child Quarterly, 36(2), 73–77.

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Kyburg, R. M., Hertberg-Davis, H., & Callahan, C. M. (2007). Advanced placement and international baccalaureate programs: Optimal learning environments for talented minorities? Journal of Advanced Academics, 18(2), 172–215. https://doi.org/10.4219/jaa-­2007-­357 Landrum, M. S. (2003). Consultation in gifted education: Teachers working together to serve gifted students. Creative Learning Press. LaRue, P. J. (1986). A study to determine the degree of consensus regarding outcomes of band participation and the competitive elements in band programs among band directors, band members and members of parent booster groups. (Doctoral dissertation, University of Illinois). ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. Moon, S.  M., Swift, M., & Shallenberger, A. (2002). Perceptions of a self-­ contained class of fourth- and fifth-grade students with high to extreme levels of intellectual giftedness. Gifted Child Quarterly, 46, 64–79. Perkins, D. (1992). Smart schools: Better thinking and learning for every child. The Free Press. Reis, S. M., Gentry, M., & Maxfield, L. R. (1998). The application of enrichment clusters to teachers’ classroom practices. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 21(3): 310–334. Robinson, A. (2003). Cooperative learning and the high-­ ability student. In N. Colangelo & G. A. Davis (Eds.), The handbook of gifted education (3rd ed., pp. 282–292). Allyn & Bacon. Rogers, K. B. (1991). The relationship of grouping practices to the education of the gifted and talented learner (RBDM9102). University of Connecticut, The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented. Schroth, S. T., & Helfer, J. A. (2018). Developing teacher diversity in early childhood and elementary education: The REACH program approach. Palgrave Macmillan. Schroth, S. T., Helfer, J. A., Beck, D. L., & Swanson, B. L. (2011). Planning differentiated instruction * assessing results: Teaching to assure each student’s success. Kendall Hunt Publishing Company. Schuler, P. A. (1998). Cluster grouping coast to coast. National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented/The University of Connecticut. Schunk, D. H. (1987). Peer models and children’s behavioral change. Review of Educational Research, 57(2), 149–174. https://doi.org/10.2307/1170234 Slavin, R. E. (1986). Best-evidence synthesis: An alternative to meta-analytic and traditional reviews. Educational Researcher, 15(9), 5–11. Taba, H. (1962). Curriculum development: Theory and practice. Harcourt College Publishing. Tomlinson, C.  A., Kaplan, S.  N., Renzulli, J.  S., Purcell, J.  H., Leppien, J.  H., Burns, D. E., Strickland, C. A., & Imbeau, M. B. (2009). The parallel curriculum: A design to develop learner potential and challenge advanced learners (2nd ed.). Corwin Press.

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Torrance, E.  P. (1980). Growing up creatively gifted: The 22-year longitudinal study. The Creative Child & Adult Quarterly, 5(3), 148–158. Torrance, E.  P. (1981). Predicting the creativity of elementary school children (1958–80)—and the teacher who “made a difference”. Gifted Child Quarterly, 25(2), 55–62. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698628102500203 Treffinger, D. J., Isaksen, S. G., & Stead-Dorval, K. B. (2007). Creative problem solving: An introduction (4th ed.). Prufrock Press. Tyler, R. W. (1969). Basic principles of curriculum and instruction. University of Chicago Press. Weinbrenner, S., & Devlin, B. (1998). Cluster grouping of gifted students: How to provide full-time services on a part-time budget. Teaching Exceptional Children, 30(3), 62–65. VanTassel-Baska, J. (1992). Planning effective curriculum for gifted learners. Love Publishing. Urban, W. J., & Wagoner, J. L., Jr. (2009). American education: A history (4th ed.). Routledge. Vaughn, V. L., Feldhusen, J. F., & Asher, J. W. (1991). Meta-analyses and review of research on pull-out programs in gifted education. Gifted Child Quarterly, 35(2), 92–98. https://doi.org/10.1177/001698629103500208 Wagoner, J. L., Jr. (2011). Jefferson and education. The University of Virginia Press. Whitman, W. (1892/1993). Leaves of grass: The first edition of 1855 + the death bed edition of 1892. Modern Library.

Further Readings Adler, M. J. (Ed.). (1982/1998). The Paidea proposal: An educational manifesto. Touchstone Books. Bloom, B. S. (1984). Taxonomy of educational objectives: Book I cognitive Doman (2nd ed.). Addison-Wesley Longman. Bruner, J. S. (1966). Toward a theory of instruction. Belknap Press. Renzulli, J. S., Leppien, J. H., & Hays, T. S. (2000). The multiple menu model: A practical guide for developing differentiated curriculum. Prufrock Press. Schroth, S. T., & Daniels, J. (2021). Growing up green: Problem-based investigations in ecology and sustainability for young learners in STEM. Prufrock Press/ Routledge. Tomlinson, C.  A., Kaplan, S.  N., Renzulli, J.  S., Purcell, J.  H., Burns, D.  E., Strickland, C. A., & Imbeau, M. B. (2009). The parallel curriculum: A design to develop learner potential and challenge advanced learners (2nd ed.). Corwin Press.

CHAPTER 3

Children and the Outdoors: Theoretical Underpinnings

One’s-Self I Sing One’s-self I sing, a simple separate person, Yet utter the word Democratic, the word En-Masse. Of physiology from top to toe I sing, Not physiognomy alone nor brain alone is worthy for the Muse, I say the Form complete is worthier far, The Female equally with the male, I sing. Of Life immense in passion, pulse, and power, Cheerful, for the freest action form’d under the laws divine, The Modern Man I sing. (Whitman, 1892/1993)

Children, who generally love the outdoors, have in recent years been able to spend less and less time outside. Pandemics, rising rates of crime, lack of affordable childcare, and parental fears of negative influences from outside the home have led to many children spending little or no time outdoors. Outdoor education programs have curiously proliferated during this same time period, with bot independent programs and those run by schools developing to meet the perceived need of children to spend more time in active learning situations outdoors. While the explanations defining outdoor education are many, there are some common factors that tie all such programs together. These include taking children outside of the classroom, focusing on real-life problems in the world around them, and © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 S. T. Schroth, Outdoor Education, Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9_3

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using the outdoors as a laboratory through which explorations can be made. Depending upon one’s perspective, outdoor education can have different emphases and varying goals and objectives. While at its essence outdoor education is experiential learning about, for, or in the outdoors, the term is used sometimes in other ways. When used in its broadest sense, the term refers to a range of organized activities and outings that take place chiefly, but not always, outdoors. Consistent and common definitions of outdoor education are difficult to achieve because of widely varying philosophies, climates, cultures, and local conditions. Many use outdoor education as a synonym for forest schools, outdoor learning, outdoor schools, and wilderness education. It certainly can be said that outdoor education draws upon certain elements of other programs and initiatives so that it becomes somewhat difficult to explain the differences between the various approaches. A defining characteristic of outdoor education is its emphasis on the “outdoors.” This varies from, say, adventure education, which focuses more on the aspects of “adventure,” environmental education, which concentrates chiefly on the “environment,” or expeditionary education, which arranges “expeditions.” Outdoor education, of course, refers to students being outside, but it also encompasses a great deal more.1 Enjoying a surge in popularity because of better understanding of the advantages of a more active style of learning, outdoor education can include field trips focusing upon biology or ecology, searching for different types of trees in a neighborhood park. While outdoor education is often spoken of as a program, it is perhaps helpful to conceptualize it as an experience. An hour spent outside with children is outdoor education, as is a program where children are outside every day, for most of the day, for an entire academic year. Both are outdoor education experiences, and both are valid manifestations of the principles underlying the concept of outdoor education.

Varied Conceptions of Intelligence “Intelligence” is a term where multiple conceptions, opinions, and beliefs play a role in defining it and indicating how it can best be cultivated in children. Historically, intelligence was understood to be a general mental 1  See Krishnaswamy and Richter (2002), Waite (2017). Rather than debating which definitions are “correct,” it might be better to consider all of the definitions are accurate, merely different.

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capacity that permitted one to comprehend complex ideas, learn from experience, learn quickly, plan, reason, solve problems, and think abstractly. While it was always acknowledged that intelligence did not merely represent narrow academic abilities or test-taking skills, but instead signifies a broader, deeper, and more complete understanding of one’s surroundings coupled with an ability to make sense of things and to determine possible, feasible, and workable solutions to problems as they arise. Charles Spearman, building upon the work of Alfred Binet, first identified what he termed g in the early twentieth century. The g factor, sometimes referred to as general intelligence, general mental ability or general intelligence factor, represents a variable that summarizes positive correlations among different cognitive tasks. As such, g reflects the reality that an individual’s performance on one type of cognitive task tends to be comparable to his or her performance on other kinds of cognitive tasks. Measured by intelligence quotient (IQ) tests, g represents a source of variance among individuals, which permits comparison of individuals’ standing with relation to g to that of other individuals from the same population. Contemporary IQ tests transform raw scores to a normal distribution with a mean score of 100 and a standard deviation of 15. This results in about 68 percent of the population scoring between an IQ score of 85 and an IQ score of 115, with about 2.5 percent of the population scoring either below 70 or above 130. More recent conceptions of intelligence eschew the more rigid constraints of g. Howard Gardner developed his theory of multiple intelligences, which was a critique of standard intelligence theory.2 Gardner posits that individuals have several different ways of processing information and that these ways are relatively independent from each other. While proponents of g maintain that stress the correlation among various cognitive abilities, Gardner believed that this approach is incorrect and ignores many types of intelligences and talents that have historically been ignored or overlooked. Traditional IQ tests have examined chiefly linguistic, logical, and spatial abilities. Gardner initially identified seven intelligences: verbal/linguistic, logical/mathematical, visual/spatial, musical, bodily/ kinesthetic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. Verbal/linguistic intelligence is that represented by a felicity with words and language. This type of intelligence is typically measured by 2  Gardner (1993, 2006, 2011). Gardner’s work has been extremely influential, although often misunderstood and poorly implemented in the schools.

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standardized IQ and achievement tests. Logical/mathematical intelligence is often represented in those individuals who have the capacity to understand the underlying principles undergirding some type of causal system and often indicates skills in dealing with abstractions, logic, reasoning, numbers, and critical thinking. This, too, is typically measured by IQ and achievement tests. Visual/spatial intelligence involves the ability to visualize with the mind and to utilize spatial judgment, skills common among artists, architects, and others who design and construct objects. Visual/spatial intelligence is the third and final ability typically measured by traditional IQ and achievement tests. Bodily/kinesthetic intelligence involves the ability to control and manipulate one’s body and the capability of handling objects adeptly. Gardner suggests that bodily/kinesthetic intelligence includes the ability to train one’s responses, demonstrate a sense of timing, and possess a clear understanding of the goals of physical action. Musical intelligence represents those with special sensitivity to the rhythms, sounds, and tones of music. Those with a high degree of musical intelligence exhibit the ability to compose or sing music or to play musical instruments. Interpersonal intelligence indicates those who are highly sensitive to others’ feelings, moods, temperaments, and motivations, as well as their ability to function as part of a group. Gardner indicates that those with a strong degree of interpersonal intelligence are well suited to serve as teachers, counselors, social workers, salesmen, politicians, and others who interact daily with the public. Intrapersonal intelligence is represented in individuals possessing a high degree of self-reflection and introspection. Those with a high degree of intrapersonal intelligence are deeply in touch with their own emotions and have a terrific understanding of their relative strengths and weaknesses. Since initially developing the theory of multiple intelligences, Gardner has recognized two additional intelligences: naturalistic and existential. Naturalistic intelligence is evidenced in those who are able to recognize flora and fauna, to make other consequential distinctions in the natural world, and to use this ability productively, be it in hunting, in farming, in biological science. Existential intelligence is represented in those who exhibit a high degree of concern with important issues, such as death, the meaning of life, and other such major concerns. Gardner has investigated

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other types of intelligence as well and maintains that still other types of intelligence may be identified.3 Gardner’s contemporary, Robert J.  Sternberg, also examined intelligence, especially with regard to how the more intellectually gifted think and perform. Sternberg has defined intelligence as representing mental activity that is directed toward purposive adaptation to, selection of, and shaping of those real-world environments that are relevant to one’s life. Sternberg’s view of intelligence, as one’s means of adapting to the changes and challenges that life presents, is composed of three separate and discrete parts: componential, experiential, and practical intelligence.4 Componential intelligence is that which is traditionally valued in academic settings. Componential intelligence concentrates on one’s ability to dissect problems and to develop solutions to these that are unique and innovative. Individuals exhibiting high degrees of componential intelligence are those most often identified as gifted by schools, and these children often do well throughout school. Experiential intelligence is that which demonstrates the ability to be intellectually innovative and flexible. Experiential intelligence often manifests itself in both familiar and unfamiliar situations. Sternberg differentiates between novel situations and those where one’s reaction has become automated. Those adept at novel situations, which have not previously been experienced, are good at taking a task and developing new ways of solving it that the majority of individuals would not contemplate. This situation contrasts which one that has been faced so frequently that one’s response is now automated—in these situations one is so familiar with how to proceed that he or she does so with little thought or effort. Sternberg considers those adept at solving novel situations to exhibit a high degree of synthetic giftedness, thus being able to create new ideas to solve new problems as they arise. Finally, Sternberg’s third type of intelligence, practical or contextual intelligence, involves the mental activity involved in attaining the fit of a solution to the context of the problem. Those with a high degree of practical intelligence are able to use the three processes of adaptation, shaping, and selection to find solutions to problems facing them. Sometimes referred to as “street 3  Gardner (2006, 2011). Spirituality and religious intelligence have been investigated by Gardner and rejected as authentic intelligence because each was lacking certain factors. 4  Sternberg (1985, 1997). Sternberg worked as a member of the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented (NRC/GT), where he worked to broaden conceptions of giftedness, especially for children from historically overerlooked groups, such as children of color, ELLs, and students from low-SES households.

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smarts,” practical intelligence is demonstrated by those in the trades and other fields not generally thought of as intellectually demanding, such as plumbing, construction, or retail sales. Educational psychologist Joseph Renzulli developed the three-ring model of giftedness, which broadened the understanding of intellectual talent. While acknowledging that no single factor constitutes “giftedness,” Renzulli suggests all gifted individuals possess a relatively well-defined set of three interlocking clusters of traits.5 These clusters consist of above-­ average though not necessarily superior general ability, task commitment, and creativity. None of these clusters by themselves comprise giftedness. Instead, it is the interaction between the three that results in creative production, which can be seen as a manifestation of giftedness. Above-average ability, the first cluster of similar talents found in creative/productive individuals, can generally be seen as strong academic performance as measured by assessments, although not necessarily vastly superior to that of one’s age peers (Gardner’s work suggests a threshold IQ score of 120 is needed for preeminent performance). Task commitment represents a focused form of motivation that results in energy brought to bear with regard to a specific problem, or task, or a specific performance area. While considered a revolutionary change in defining giftedness at the time of its introduction, Renzulli correctly noted that historically a key ingredient that has characterized gifted persons’ work is their ability to involve themselves totally in a problem or area for an extended period of time. Thus, this cluster recognizes that ability plus hard work are needed to accomplish significant achievements. Finally, the third cluster of traits known collectively as creativity also must be present for eminent performance. Renzulli suggests that creativity might be identified by work exhibiting: . Originality of thinking and freshness of approaches to problems; 1 2. Constructive ingenuity; 3. The ability to set aside established conventions and procedures when appropriate; and

5  Renzulli (1978). Renzulli’s work is perhaps the most popular approach to talent development in the United States and has had a deep influence on gifted education programs globally.

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4. A flair for devising effective and original fulfillments of the major demands of the discipline: namely, technical proficiency, visual form (delight), planning, and human awareness and social purpose.6 Thus Renzulli’s use of the term creativity is much more specific and related to the problem-solving process than it is frequently used. Rather than alluding to grand concepts and earth-shaking innovations, Renzulli grounds creativity within the context of the problem to be solved and the discipline in which that problem is lodged. The three-ring conception of giftedness thus changes most historical conceptions of exemplary ability by also focusing upon behavior. Gifted behavior occurs when, and only when, all three clusters are present. Children who might exhibit such talents need opportunities to use all three clusters and to interact with problems lacking clear-cut solutions.

Patterns of Inquiry Beginning with Dewey, inquiry-based instruction has been seen as the polar opposite of, or an anecdote to, direct instruction and rote learning. Inquiry-based learning is a form of constructivism, insofar that it asks learners to generate information and to make sense of it based upon their personal or societal experiences. Dewey’s pedagogical approach maintained that experiential learning entails the learner actively engaging in personal or authentic experiences that permit him or her to make meaning from them. Inquiry is often used as a portal through which experiential learning occurs because inquiry values and encourages the same concepts and principles. These concepts and principles include engaging with the content and material, questioning its varied perspectives and meanings, investigating possible solutions and interpretations, and collaborating with others as part of this quest. This emphasis upon the student making his or her meaning based upon his or her patterns of inquiry marked a radical departure from previous patterns of teaching and learning. In his groundbreaking work, Jean Piaget identified four developmental stages that children progress through.7 These include the sensorimotor 6  Renzulli (1978), p. 184. These definitions have greatly changed how many teachers and others look at talent within their classrooms. 7  See Berk (2003). Piaget is one of the most significant educational theorists and the sway of his theories is enormous.

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stage, the preoperational stage, the concrete operational stage, and the formal operational stage. At the age of about 7, children reach the preoperational stage, at which point they can now converse and think logically, but are limited to what they can physically manipulate. By this time they are less egocentric, and they are becoming more aware of logic and conservation, topics previously beyond their understanding. Children in the preoperational stage also improve drastically with their classification skills. Sometime after the age of 11, children enter the formal operations stage. At this point, they begin to develop abstract thought and find it easier to conserve and think logically. Children at this stage begin to think abstractly and to use metacognitive skills and are able to engage more readily in problem-solving situations, with the ability to use multiple steps in the problem-solving process. Piaget’s stages are detailed in Table  3.1, with special emphasis laid on the development of problem-solving skills. Piaget also identified three intellectual structures, or schemata, that assist them in making sense of the world around them. These schemata include behavioral schemata, symbolic schemata, and operational schemata. Behavioral schemata represent organized patterns of behavior that are used to represent and respond to various objects and experiences. Symbolic schemata are those internal mental symbols, such as images or verbal codes, that an individual uses to represent aspects of his or her prior experiences. Operational schemata are those internal mental activities that the individual performs on his or her objects of thought. Children then use assimilation (the incorporation of new information into an existing schemata without changing it) and accommodation (using new information to reframe the situation, thus creating a new schemata) to grow and learn. As a result, being able to engage in inquiry-based instruction permits children the opportunities they need to assimilate and accommodate new information. Lev Vygotsky also believed that experience greatly shaped the individual’s understanding of the world, but also maintained that his or her outlook could also be greatly shaped by societal influences as well as those from mentors and others who facilitate learning. Vygotsky suggested that higher mental functions developed through cultural mediation and interpersonal communications and posited that the shared knowledge of a society influenced the individual’s learning. Internalization results from this process, which involves the integration of society’s attitudes, values, standards, and opinions into the individual’s own identity or sense of self. Thus, those internalized values of behavior implemented during early

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Table 3.1  Piaget’s developmental stages Stage

Substage (if applicable)

Sensorimotor

Birth to age 2 The child experiences the world through movement and his or her senses. Children at this stage are extremely egocentric and cannot perceive the world from others’ perspectives Reflexive schema Birth to Infant uses reflexes such as rooting 1 month and sucking Primary circular Ages Infants learn to coordinate sensation reactions 1–4 months and two types of schemata (habit and circular reaction) Secondary Ages Infants become aware of objects circular reactions 4–8 months beyond their own bodies and learn, for example, that to shake a rattle results in a sound, so they continue to do this for pleasure Coordination of Ages Infants now do things intentionally, secondary 8–12 months combining and recombining circular reactions schemata to attain a goal. Object permanence is attained during the later part of this substage Tertiary circular Ages 12 to Explorations regarding the reactions 18 months properties of objects by using them in novel ways. Imitation of unfamiliar behaviors. Ability to search for a hidden object in one or more locations Mental Ages Child forms internal depictions of representations 18 months to objects and events as indicated by 2 years sudden solutions to problems. Deferred imitation 2 years Children do not yet understand through concrete logic and cannot mentally 7 years manipulate information. Marked increase in playing and pretending. Difficulty seeing things from different perspectives. Beginning of symbolic play and manipulating symbols

Preoperational stage

Age range

Behaviors

(continued)

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Table 3.1 (continued) Stage

Substage (if applicable)

Age range

Symbolic 2 years function substage through 4 years

Intuitive thought 4 years substage through 7 years

Concrete operational stage

7 years through 11 years

Formal operational stage

11 years and up

Behaviors Child uses symbols to represent physical models of the world around them. Demonstrated through children’s drawing of their families where people are not drawn to scale nor are accurate physical traits given Indicated by burgeoning curiosity and multiple questions about the world. An emergence of interest in reasoning and wanting to know why things are the way they are. Centration, conservation, irreversibility, class inclusion, and transitive inference are all characteristics of preoperative thought Children are able to converse and think logically, but this is limited by what they can physically manipulate. Less egocentric, children become aware of logic and conservation and their classification skills markedly improve Children develop abstract thought and can conserve and think logically. Children also exhibit more skills oriented toward problem solving and engage in multiple steps when attacking new problems

socialization become key factors in predicting a child’s future moral character and his or her attitudes toward work, learning, and others. In terms of teaching and learning, this means that inquiry-based learning can help children develop the skills they need to be successful in school and in life while also being respectful of and acknowledging developmental limitations that are present in their understanding of the world around them. Inquiry-based learning involves a series of behaviors and actions that children engage in that constructivist theory suggests helps children

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assimilate and accommodate new learning. Specifically, inquiry-based learning asks children to: 1. Create questions of their own about problems facing them and their communities; 2. Determine what information is needed to answer these questions; 3. Obtain information and data that will help them to answer these questions; 4. Organize, analyze, and explain the evidence collected; 5. Construct an explanation using the evidence that answers the questions generated earlier; 6. Develop a means of convincing others to proceed forward with a solution that will help solve the questions that began the process. Inquiry-based learning thus involves processes, behaviors, and thinking skills that are directly related to the children’s world and allows the social interactions so central to learning.8 Outdoor education is so well suited to accommodating multiple learning styles and differing readiness levels among students because, if done correctly, it is so driven by student talents and needs. Too often schools adopt programs, but vitiate them to an extent that they are unrecognizable to those who advocate for them. When this happens, it is no surprise when the hoped for academic progress fails to occur. At its best, outdoor education incorporates many aspects of experiential education. As such it must include certain non-negotiable elements. These elements include a focus on the learner. At all times, the learner must: . Be willing to be actively involved in the experience; 1 2. Able to reflect upon the experience, both as it occurs and after its conclusion; 3. Possess and be willing to use the analytical skills necessary to conceptualize the experience; and 4. Have or acquire the problem-solving and decision-making skills necessary to use the new ideas gleaned as a result of the experience.

8  See, for example, Bruner (1966), Schroth (2007a, 2007b), Treffinger et al. (2004). A variety of approaches that encourage this exist, and it requires the encouragement of children investigating problems of interest to them.

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The focus of experiential learning, which is all too often ignored, is the reflection portion that permits learners to guide the learning process so that they are able to encounter first hand many things that they would otherwise have to read about in books or to listen to the experiences of others. Many school experiences—such as mentoring, job shadowing, or professional school—use experiential learning to benefit student learning. It is time that it be used more broadly.

Quality Inquiry-Based Instruction Schools and classrooms interested in implementing outdoor education must, of course, offer quality inquiry-based instruction to the students they serve. Bell and Banchi (2008) suggest there are four levels of inquiry that can exist in classroom settings and that within each of these levels multiple sub-levels also can exist. The four levels are identified as: 1. Confirmation inquiry; 2. Structured inquiry; 3. Guided inquiry; and 4. Open/true inquiry. Confirmation inquiry involves a situation where a teacher has taught a particular lesson or unit. He or she then develops questions and procedures that guide children through an exercise where the results are already known. This process helps to reinforce certain concepts and themes and helps introduce children to following procedures, gathering data, recording results, and confirming and deepening understandings related to the material previously covered. Structured inquiry consists of a teacher providing an initial question and a list of procedures to follow to investigate a problem she has identified. Children collect data, which they then organize, analyze, and evaluate, and use their responses to this to formulate explanations of their findings, which are then presented to others. Guided inquiry happens when the teacher only provides the question or questions to be investigated to the children, who then design and follow their own procedures for the collection and analysis of data. This approach permits children a great deal more freedom and often results in unique and unexpected results. Finally, open/true inquiry occurs when the children are empowered to formulate their own research questions, then to design and follow through with a procedure or procedures to collect data that may

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help answer that question. The data collection, analysis, and evaluation are left in the hands of the children, as are the avenues they choose to communicate their results to others. Unfortunately, very few schools or classrooms ever get to the open/ true inquiry stage. Administrators and teachers are often reluctant to relinquish the control and authority necessary for this transformation to occur. The critical and creative thinking skills that school leaders espouse cannot occur unless and until school administrators and teachers adopt an open approach to student inquiry. Open inquiry frightens many educators because it has no prescribed target, no desired result that can neatly be written into a lesson plan or learning framework. Instead, open inquiry emphasizes children asking questions, gathering and manipulating information, and creating information from a given situation. This contrasts greatly from conventional learning environments, which are quite structured and organized in settings where the outcome is already settled and known and students are only expected to confirm these findings with evidence that they are handed or permitted to organize. The benefits of open inquiry are many. First, it demands that children not simply perform experiments while working as automatons, but instead to actually think about real-life problems, possible solutions to these, how to collect data to answer these questions, what the data they collect means, and how next to proceed. Second, open inquiry has no way for experiments to misfire or otherwise go wrong, but instead there are no wrong results. Children are forced to look at the results they have come to and then to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of these results. Finally, open inquiry values student understanding over the memorization of knowledge. This means that children should not just be taught facts, but instead should understand and be able to explain what they are learning. This shift is significant and one that will take some members of the school community a while to embrace.

Guided Investigations A brief explanation of what guided investigations are, how to implement these in a classroom, and ways to use this with either the whole class or in small groups of students may be helpful. Children make sense of their world by synthesizing new experiences into what they have come to understand. Essentially, a child approaches new information, sorts through it, compares it with what he or she has learned before, and ultimately

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adjusts this new insight so that it fits in with his or her world view. Ways many of us have incorporated into our teaching to support this process include using primary resources, encouraging student autonomy, using open-ended questions, and seeking elaboration of children’s answers. Our goal as we use guided investigations is to build children’s retention, understanding, and active use of knowledge. Retention involves the acquisition of organized information in the mind, as well as the ability to recall that knowledge when appropriate. Understanding affects the development of intellectual skills and processes, the means of using the knowledge that is learned or recalled. Active use of knowledge establishes understanding of ideas and values, permitting the children to make them their own. Attaining these goals occurs only when all players—including children, parents, teachers, and administrators—see “conspicuous gains” at “minimally increased cost.”9 In other words, we all want to see lots of achievement bang for our instructional bucks. Rather than emphasizing the memorization of facts, we must focus upon helping children to acquire the data pertinent to given problem situations as they arise. Children must thus be provided with rich and authentic problems and challenges that require the use and manipulation of knowledge to forge a solution. As teachers work so that children acquire certain characteristics and qualities that predict success in later life—mindfulness, resilience, grit, and the like—they must structure instructional sequences that provide them with opportunities to use creative and critical thinking skills by devising solutions to open-ended problems that do not have a single resolution. A project-based approach in the classroom such as guided investigations permits young learners to experience active, engaged, and relevant learning. Project-based learning, which is similar to the guided investigations approach, is centered on the learner and provides him or her the prospect of an in-depth investigation of valuable and worthwhile topics. The goal is to create autonomous learners who are able to construct personally meaningful products and artifacts that embody their learning from the process.10 Guided investigations provide opportunities for children to express their curiosity in a purposeful manner and allow them to e­ xperience, 9  Perkins (1992), p. 164. Engaging in these thinking processes assists children in better understanding both the problem at hand and the way of investigating certain issues. 10  Isaksen et al. (2011), Schroth and Daniels (2021), Smutny and von Fremd (2011). A variety of resources exist that show how to build investigations that students may pursue.

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sometimes for the first time, the joy of self-motivated learning. When you use a well-developed guided investigation you will engage children’s minds and emotions, fostering a love of learning and levels of engagement that are rare in many classrooms.11 The children in our classrooms today are more diverse than ever before—children with special needs, gifted children, English language learners (ELLs), students from low-socioeconomic status (SES) households, and the like. Children learn best when the work they do in school is relevant to their lives and their communities. For instruction to take root, children must thus investigate real-life problems that touch upon and affect their world. Such problems, with open-ended solutions, will intrigue and interest children, spurring their best efforts and the most complete engagement possible. Teachers, as classroom facilitators, play an active role in guiding each child’s progress. Children embarking on guided investigations require superb teaching, as their misconceptions and immature thinking demand careful guidance. While leading a guided investigation, you will balance issues and disciplines and language to assure maximum learning.12 Student populations have changed dramatically over the past 25 years at many schools, with children today coming from much more diverse households than did their predecessors.13 The incidence of single-parent households and children who are English language learners (ELLs) has also increased exponentially. Parents, who work more hours than ever before, do not have the time and, in some cases, the skills to support their child’s learning at home. Traditional recreational endeavors, such as reading and athletics, which supported the school’s academic programming, have been supplanted by video games, smart phones, and other such activities. All of this has resulted in classes that are more diverse than ever before. Many of these children also have much less experience with the outdoors than prior generations and are sometimes reluctant to ­participate 11  Schroth et al. (2019), Treffinger et al. (2004). Treffinger’s and his colleagues’ Levels of Service approach is a fascinating read and a terrific foundation upon which to differentiate instruction at the classroom, school, or district level. 12  Adler (1982/1998), Schroth (2007a, 2007b). Adler’s work on the Paideia Program provides a terrific model of how to tie children’s work directly into the academic disciplines. 13  Schroth and Helfer (2018). Knowledge of the students with whom one works, including understanding their skills, needs, interests, and passions is imperative to creating learning experiences that assist children to reach their full potential.

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in new activities that they are not familiar with in prior schooling experiences. Children learn best when they are provided with a moderate challenge.14 When instructional tasks are much too difficult for a learner, the child feels threatened and will not persist with thinking or problem solving as a means of self-protection. Conversely, tasks that are too simple also suppress a learner’s thinking and problem-solving processes—rather than learning, a child presented with work that is too easy drifts through school, unchallenged by and indifferent to the learning process. Schools and classrooms that seek to minimize the amount of time seek to differentiate instruction as much as possible so that the needs of all learners are met.15 Teachers can improve the success of differentiated instruction in their classroom by organizing resources to support change. While in some ways differentiated instruction is so appealing because it simply represents good teaching, it must be acknowledged that many struggle to implement it with integrity in the classroom. When well done, differentiated instruction is deep, profound, and multifaceted and benefits all children in the classroom as it recognizes and honors children’s skills and needs, providing them with a learning environment in which they are included, respected, and provided with an appropriate level of challenge. If one is a novice teacher, differentiation provides a configuration he or she can use to establish their practice, and if one is a seasoned veteran of the classroom it continues to demand a continual adjustment and improvement of delivery and performance. Differentiation at its core asks teachers to determine the readiness, interests, and learning needs of each child and then to provide that child with activities and instruction that are appropriate, beneficial, and coherent. In assessing student learning and interacting with your class, you should determine children’s readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles. Readiness refers to children’s knowledge, understanding, and skills related to the content covered in a particular instructional sequence, which may relate to achievement but also to prior experiences. Interest concerns those events and subjects that spur children’s curiosity and evoke their passions. 14  Tomlinson (1999). True differentiated instruction is extremely challenging, in part because many teachers are fundamentally opposed to using different approaches to different materials with different children. 15  Tomlinson (1995, 2003). Teachers who successfully differentiate instruction are able to focus on the differing readiness levels, interests, and learning profiles that they identify.

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Learning profiles relate to learning styles, intelligence preferences, culture, gender, and other such attributes. Using knowledge of these three traits, teachers may alter the process, product, or learning environment in which they will have children work. Process involves those activities and practices teachers will have children engage in to make sense of information, ideas, and skills. Product entails how the child will demonstrate what he or she knows, understands, and is able to do as a result of the instructional sequence. Learning environment is concerned with the operation, tone, and atmosphere of the learning space. Teachers will change and adjust these to deal with student differences. As indicated in Fig. 3.1, a child’s traits and classroom practices are interrelated and used to improve each student’s performance. An emphasis throughout will be placed on how to differentiate these investigations so that they best meet the needs of all learners and support

Child

Process

Product

Readiness

Content

Learning env.

Interests

Learning Profile

Teaching & Learning

Fig. 3.1  Interrelated nature of a child’s traits and classroom practices

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their strengths and needs. Changing assignments, altering groups, or switching how content is provided will be done as needed to provide the optimal learning situation for the children with whom you work.

Promoting Curiosity and Questioning Far too many children spend most of each day sitting quietly at a desk, not paying much attention, and not being challenged or supported in the ways they need. An outdoor education program, with its emphasis on children identifying problems and issues of interest to them and then focusing on finding solutions to these, can shift the paradigm of schooling to one that welcomes curiosity and engages children where they are, letting their desires and interests play a major role in shaping what they study. This shift is a huge one at some schools, and there will doubtless be some teachers who oppose what they see as a loss of their authority and control. One might question, however, how much control and authority they really have, as children sitting quietly at desks, if also disengaged, are not really following what the teacher is trying to convey to them. It is important for teachers to realize that their roles as guides and facilitators actually provide children with greater power, but this does not come at the loss of the teacher’s own authority. Instead, they are welcoming children to be part of their own schooling experience and will find that student respect for their role increases greatly. Some children may need help initially in forming questions to be investigated. Teachers’ knowledge of the community they serve will prove vital in these situations, as they can lead a discussion that will assist the class in identifying problems or issues facing their community. The problem identified might be one with garbage or graffiti destroying the ambience of the neighborhood, a lack of a recycling program, a problem with rainwater runoff, or any of a multitude of other issues facing those who live near the school. Developing issues facing the school or the community in which it is located will take time and thought. For this shift in culture to take place, some will need to accept that thinking does not involve bustling around, completing paperwork, or other such activity. Whether or not the faculty at a college or university engage in more thinking than do employees at a restaurant, they certainly bustle around less. This emphasis upon the importance of thinking and reflecting will be a sea change for some, however, and advocates of the outdoor education initiative had best prepare for some opposition.

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Outdoor education is such a terrific option for learning chiefly because it is quite different than many of the ways children have been schooled before, especially children of color, ELLs, and students from low-SES backgrounds. For an outdoor education initiative to be successful, teachers, other educational professionals, and administrators must focus on the questions raised by the children they serve. Letting children’s naturally inquisitive natures and curiosity be unleashed will be uncomfortable for some, but it is at the heart of an authentic outdoor education experience. Children will rise to the occasion, however, and as they become more accustomed to having some freedom to pursue their passions and to make sense of the world around them, teachers and others will see the many benefits of such an approach. Promoting curiosity and questioning will ensure the outdoor education program’s success and provide each child a view “of life immense in passion, pulse, and power.”

Case Study No. 2: Understanding the Connections Calhoun High School is located within the Madison Hill neighborhood of the City of Emerson and serves approximately 1735 children, 50 percent of whom identify as Black/African American, 30 percent as Hispanic/ Latino, 10 percent as White/Caucasian, and 10 percent as Asian/Pacific Islander. While Madison Hill has been gentrified over the past 30 years and today features many restaurants, shops, and upscale row houses, the handful of children who live in the neighborhood do not attend Calhoun High School. Calhoun is one of Emerson City Public Schools’ (ECPS) neighborhood schools and serves a low-income population, many of whom reside in a nearby housing project. While Calhoun has a handful of Advanced Placement (AP) classes, these enroll fewer than 100 of its students and are not currently in demand from students or their families. A wing of Calhoun has been leased to a charter school that concentrates on a “classical” curriculum, and this school has its own principal and teaching staff and there is no interaction with the students or teachers at Calhoun. While approximately 40 percent of Calhoun’s graduates go on to college or university, most students who do go on to school do so at community colleges in the region. Ms. Liz Williams, the principal of Calhoun, is entering her third year at the school, after a successful terms as an assistant principal at a high school in a suburban district and a period working as a curriculum coordinator in the central district offices of ECPS, where she made many strong connections among upper-level district

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administrators and curriculum specialists. Most students at Calhoun perform at the 30th or 40th percentile on state achievement tests, although these numbers have been slowly rising since Ms. Williams arrived at the school. Calhoun employs 103 teachers who work in classrooms. As is typical in many high schools, the Calhoun teachers are organized as members of various departments, including those devoted to English/language arts, mathematics, science, social studies, world languages, special education, physical education, and the arts. The school employs five guidance counselors, which amounts to one guidance counselor for every 347 children, well above the American School Counselor Association’s recommendation of 1 to every 250 students. The school also has a part-time school psychologist and a full-time school nurse and several librarians. Ms. Williams is concerned that Calhoun’s teachers are too departmentalized and tend to see their work as taking place in “silos” that are unconnected to other disciplines and subjects. While the teachers are professional in their behaviors and respectful of each other, the faculty lacks a sense of collegiality and common focus that Ms. Williams believes is necessary to lift student performance to the next level. Ms. Williams also believes that the teachers at her school, while competent, worry too much about knowledge and comprehension and not enough about engaging children in higher order thinking skills. Ms. Williams also wants to increase parental participation at the school—Calhoun has no parent-teacher organization (PTO), and she finds the parents and families, who for the most part lack much formal education, hold fairly conservative beliefs regarding the purpose of school and how classrooms should be operated. She finds that this, along with the teachers being interested chiefly in their own disciplines, have resulted in educational practices within the school that are competent but little more than that. At a district-wide meeting of high school principals, Ms. Williams talks with her friend, Mrs. Maria Kainuma, a principal at a high-performing magnet high school located at the other side of the city. Mrs. Kainuma discusses the terrific experience she has had using outdoor education as a means of improving the learning environment at the school, as well as building a collaborative approach to teaching among the faculty. At lunch, Ms. Williams and Mrs. Kainuma meet with Dr. Lavonne Hayes, the assistant superintendent in charge of professional learning for ECPS. After further discussing the matter in some depth, Ms. Williams becomes convinced that pursuing an outdoor education might be the way to go at Calhoun.

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As Ms. Williams prepares to introduce the idea of pursuing some sort of an outdoor education initiative, please consider the following questions: • How might an outdoor education initiative be raised at a faculty meeting? How would you frame the issue? • What would the student benefits from such a program might be that you would concentrate upon? How could you tie this into work students have previously done? • What might be the best way to frame the initiative so that it would emphasize cross-curricular collaboration? Why?

References Adler, M.  J. (1982/1998). The Paideia proposal: An educational manifesto. Touchstone. Bell, R., & Banchi, H. (2008). The many levels of inquiry. Science & Children, 46(2), 26–29. Berk, L. E. (2003). Child development (6th ed.). Allyn & Bacon. Gardner, H. (1993). Creating minds. Basic Books. Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple intelligences: New horizons in theory and practice (2nd ed.). Basic Books. Gardner, H. (2011). Frames of mind: The theory of multiple intelligences. Basic Books. Isaksen, S. G., Dorval, K. B., & Treffinger, D. J. (2011). Creative approaches to problem solving: A framework for innovation and change. SAGE Publications. Krishnaswamy, J., & Richter, D. D. (2002). Properties of advanced weathering— Stage soils in tropical forests and pastures. Soil Society of America Journal, 66(1), 244–253. https://doi.org/10.2136/sssaj2002.2440 Perkins, D. (1992). Smart schools: Better thinking and learning for every child. The Free Press. Renzulli, J. S. (1978). What makes giftedness? Reexamining a definition. Phi Delta Kappan, 60(3), 180–184. 261. Schroth, S. T. (2007a). Gifted English language learners: Developing talent while supporting language acquisition. Gifted Education Press Quarterly, 20(2), 5–9. Schroth, S. T. (2007b). Levels of service. In C. M. Callahan & J. A. Plucker (Eds.), Critical issues and practices in gifted education (pp. 281–294). Prufrock Press. Schroth, S. T., & Daniels, J. (Eds.). (2021). Building STEM skills through environmental education. IGI Global.

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Schroth, S. T., Daniels, J., & McCormick, K. (2019). Altered carbon: How parents can encourage and support gifted children’s interest in STEM with readily available tools and apps. Parenting for High Potential, 8(1), 15–18. Schroth, S. T., & Helfer, J. A. (2018). Developing teacher diversity in early childhood and elementary education: The REACH program approach. Palgrave Macmillan. Smutny, J. F., & von Fremd, S. E. (2011). Teaching advanced learners in the general education classroom: Doing more with less! Corwin Press. Sternberg, R. J. (1985). Beyond IQ: A triarchic theory of intelligence. Cambridge University Press. Sternberg, R. J. (1997). Thinking styles. Cambridge University Press. Tomlinson, C.A. (1995). How to differentiate instruction in mixed-ability classrooms. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Tomlinson, C. A. (1999). The differentiated classroom: Responding to the needs of all learners. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development. Tomlinson, C. A. (2003). Deciding to teach them all. Educational Leadership, 61(2), 6–11. Treffinger, D. J., Young, G. C., Nassab, C. A., & Wittig, C. V. (2004). Enhancing and expanding gifted programs: The levels of service approach. Prufrock Press. Waite, S. (Ed.). (2017). Children learning outside the classroom: From birth to eleven. SAGE Publications. Whitman, W. (1892/1993). Leaves of grass: The first edition of 1855 + the death bed edition of 1892. Modern Library.

Further Readings North, C. J. (2020). Interrogating authenticity in outdoor education teacher education: Applications in practice. Springer. Steiner, R. (2015). Knowledge of the higher worlds and its attainment. SMK Books. Veevers, N., & Allison, P. (2011). Kurt Hahn: Inspirational, visionary, outdoor and experiential educator. Sense Publishers.

PART II

The Benefits of Outdoor Education

Although it has become exponentially more popular over the past several decades, outdoor education has roots in the late nineteenth century. Many early outdoor education programs, which still influence their successors today, were formed in the mid-twentieth century, with the years surrounding World War II proving especially influential, in terms of the response to both the Great Depression and preparation for war and the post-war feelings of exuberance and prosperity. Outdoor education also provides a marvelous platform for critical and creative thinking programs that are already extant, and these programs can help support teachers who are new to the idea of working with children to develop these skills. The fourth chapter examines outdoor education, with a look at its origins in the late nineteenth/early twentieth century in various initiatives such as the camping and scouting movements and as popularized by various institutions such as the National Park Service and the Sierra Club. Growing interest in outdoor education next moved to Europe, where schools in the United Kingdom, Germany, and Scandinavia began the shift to educating children out of the classroom. The distinctions, similarities, and differences between outdoor education, environmental education, sustainability education, and environmental science will be set forth explained. An exploration of some of the successful models of outdoor education currently in use—both those offering an out-of-doors experience and those moving the children almost exclusively outside—will provide some suggestions of what might exist. The benefits for children of outdoor education include increased opportunities for creativity,

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leadership, critical thinking, and improved group dynamics. Some of the barriers, real and imagined, to outdoor education will be examined, including funding, safety, professional development needs, and resources. Finally, we will look at how outdoor education has benefits for diverse learners (children of color, ELLs, and students from low-socioeconomic status [SES] households) that are especially appropriate and tailored to meet their needs. The fifth chapter explores how, as families have changed over time, so too has attendance at churches, synagogues, and other places of worship; participation in social groups and clubs; and opportunities for children to interact both formally and informally with those of all ages who are not related to them. Outdoor education, with its emphasis on teamwork and groups, provides an ideal way in which to improve group dynamics by providing children with the opportunity to learn how to work with others. Teachers in an outdoor education program may use a variety of grouping formations and techniques to provide all students with a supportive and appropriate learning environment. Chapter 6 looks at how creativity involves the formation of something new and valuable, either tangible or intangible. Children’s creativity increases and develops not when they sit in desks trying to regurgitate information poured into them by a teacher, but instead when they are working to find solutions to real problems they have identified that face them and their communities. Outdoor education provides a terrific platform that helps build critical and creative thinking skills, as it largely focuses upon just this process. Educators may proceed independently or adopt a variety of extant tools and programs for this process, such as creative problem solving (CPS) or shared inquiry. This sort of work can readily be adopted by teachers working with any age group of students from PreK through high school or teaching any subject.

CHAPTER 4

Outdoor Education and Its Benefits for Diverse Learners

In Paths Untrodden In paths untrodden, In the growth by margins of pond-waters, Escaped from the life that exhibits itself, From all the standards hitherto publish’d—from the pleasures, profits, conformities, Which too long I was offering to feed my Soul; Clear to me, how, standards not yet publish;d—clear to me that my Soul, That the Soul of the man I speak for, feeds, rejoices in comrades; Here, by myself, away from the clank of the world, Tallying and talk’d to here by tongues aromatic, No longer abash’d—for in this secluded spot I can respond as I would not dare elsewhere, Strong upon me the life that does not exhibit itself, yet contains all the rest, Resolv’d to sing no songs today but those of manly attachment, Projecting them along that substantial life, Bequeathing, hence, types of athletic love, Afternoon, this delicious ninth-mongh, in my forty-first year, I proceed, for all who are, or have been, young men, To tell the secret of my nights and days, To celebrate the need of comrades. (Whitman, 1892/1993)

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 S. T. Schroth, Outdoor Education, Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9_4

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Outdoor education has existed for centuries, insofar that children have always learned when outside investigating the world around them. That being said, formal outdoor learning has existed for little more than a century and has evolved from an almost entirely extracurricular approach with military undertones to one that is highly popular in educational circles as an alternative approach to formal schooling. It is also very important to understand that a monolithic model of outdoor education does not exist. Instead, a variety of schools and classrooms, each facing different needs and with diverse resources, formulate a way to work with children outdoors that works for that individual setting. Understanding how outdoor education has evolved is important to appreciating its value as well as being aware of the barriers facing its ready adoption in general education settings.

Origins of Outdoor Education Today a worldwide phenomenon, the scouting movement began in the United Kingdom in the early twentieth century under the leadership of Robert Baden-Powell, a lieutenant general in the British army. Baden-­ Powell rose to fame as commander of the British garrison during the Siege of Mafeking during the Second Boer War. During this siege, Baden-Powell was able to withstand the Boer’s larger forces for 217 days until relieved by British forces. During the Seige of Mafeking, Baden-Powell relied upon the Mafeking Cadet Corps, a group of White boys who carried out various tasks usually performed by soldiers, such as standing guard, delivering messages, and assisting in hospitals, which permitted the soldiers to concentrate upon fighting the Boers. His success in the siege resulted in a great deal of press coverage, and Baden-Powell found a training publication he had authored, Aids to Scouting, had become an unexpected best seller in the United Kingdom as a result of his fame.1 Upon his return to the United Kingdom, Baden-Powell was asked to become involved in the Boys’ Brigade, an international interdenominational Christian youth organization which used military discipline to engage boys in gymnastics, summer camps, classes, and religious services. After serving as Brigade Vice President impressed, 1  Baden-Powell (1891). It is difficult to overstate Baden-Powell’s influence over scouting and even outdoor education as a whole. Many conceptions that he first brought to the endeavor over a century ago remain extremely significant.

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Baden-Powell was sufficiently impressed by what he saw as the organization’s positive influences on young males to prepare a new edition of his book, with an eye on making it readable by a younger audience. The resulting book, Scouting for Boys: A Handbook for Instruction in Good Citizenship, ultimately became one of the best-selling publications of all time, selling over 150 million copies during the twentieth century. The enormous popularity of the book led to groups of boys and girls beginning scouting troops on their own around the United Kingdom. After various rallies of Boy Scouts were held across the United Kingdom, Baden-­ Powell formally devoted more time to leading the Boy Scouts, which was designed to be operated in self-governing patrols wherein the boys would elect their own leaders. Baden-Powell’s sister Agnes assisted him in forming the group that would become known as the Girl Guides. By 1910, the Boy Scouts involved over 100,000 boys across the United Kingdom. The popularity of the outdoor games and camping that Baden-Powell wrote about helped the scouting movement expand internationally. Scouting was soon established in overseas British territories and colonies, including Australia, Canada, Gibraltar, Malta, Malaya, New Zealand, and South Africa. The movement soon spread outside of the British Empire, with scouting organizations springing up in Argentina, Chile, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Sweden, and the United States. Initially designed for boys between the ages of 11 and 18, demand soon forced the scouting movement to create opportunities for both younger and older boys. These groups included the Cub Scouts, the Webelos, and the Rovers. While the scouting movement spread throughout the globe, each nation made certain adjustments to its programming so that it became adapted to satisfy local needs, mores, and norms. German educator Kurt Hahn, forced to immigrate to the United Kingdom in the 1930s, began the British Salem School at Gordonstoun in Moray, Scotland.2 Hahn had founded the Schule Schloss Salem in Baden, Germany, in 1920 and had emphasized the need for boys to spend a greater amount of time outdoors engaged in physical activity. The Schule Schloss Salem emphasized extracurricular and athletic participation as much as it did academics, and boys in the upper forms were responsible for 2  Flavin (1996). Certainly a great deal of Hahn’s popularity is due to his association with, and promotion by, Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh. This certainly helped make his well known, but Hahn’s ideas resonated with many, from both ends of the political spectrum.

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a great deal of the administration of the school. A vociferous critic of the Nazis, Hahn spoke out publicly against Adolf Hitler and the Nazi regime. Hahn was arrested in 1933 and spent five days imprisoned until an appeal from British Prime Minister Ramsay MacDonald resulted in his release on the condition he immigrated to the United Kingdom. Once in the United Kingdom, Hahn began Gordonstoun with British industrialist, Sir Lawrence Holt. Hahn’s educational philosophy was centered upon adolescents, whom he believed had tremendous qualities, including an innate sense of decency and moral rectitude, but who became increasingly corrupted by society as they aged. Hahn believed that education could hinder this corruption if children were provided with opportunities for personal leadership and the ability to see the consequences of their own actions.3 Greatly influenced by Plato’s Republic, Hahn favored incorporating outdoor adventure into the school day as a means of providing boys with the opportunity to engage in leadership activities and situations where their decision-making abilities were used in making necessary choices. To increase the outdoor adventure opportunities, Hahn hired Bernhard Zimmerman, the former head of the physical education department at Gottingen University, another refugee from Germany, to create new programs to support this emphasis. An early student at Gordonstoun was Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, who later became the Duke of Edinburgh. Hahn’s beliefs were shaped and colored by World War II, which he saw as evidence of how corruption and doom were in store for many unless schools could do a better job of educating the youth. At Gordonstoun the prefects, called color bearers, were promoted based upon their concern and compassion for others, their willingness to accept responsibility, and their concern for and tenacity in pursuing the truth. Punishment was used at Gordonstoun only as a last resort, and the emphasis of education was seen to be preparing citizens to participate in a democratic society. Hahn later was instrumental in the creation of both the Outward Bound program and The Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards. Outward Bound was begun in 1941 and serves as an outdoor education advocate and provider of services and experiences to young men and women who engage in outdoor expeditions. Outdoor Bound places a tremendous emphasis on 3  Flavin (1996). Hahn’s emphasis on the outdoors and hands-on activities, combined with a greater sense of independence for boys that many schools had heretofore offered, resonated with many, especially those weary of the struggles of World War II.

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community service, which has led to many of its chapters being involved in rescue work, either at sea or in the mountains. Outward Bound seeks to help young people on the path of self-discovery and holds personal growth as one of its central goals. Annually, over 250,000 young people around the globe and it is present in over 35 nations and manages over 250 wilderness and urban centers. Hahn was also instrumental in the establishment of the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards, an awards program begun by H.R.H. Prince Philip, The Duke of Edinburgh, in 1956 and which has since expanded to include 144 countries. Initially open to only boys, the Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards were designed to capture the interest of those who had to that point not been involved in other chief British youth movements, such as scouting. To participate in the awards program, it was not necessary to join any organization or wear a uniform. After over 7000 boys participated during the first year, the program was opened to girls the following year and has remained coeducational ever since. In the United Kingdom alone, nearly 500,000 young people participate in the Duke of Edinburgh’s Award programs annually, and these individuals are served by over 10,000 Duke of Edinburgh centers.4 Participants in the program set personal objectives in each of the following areas: volunteering, physical, skills improvement, and expeditions. The Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards recognize young people who complete a series of self-improvement exercises to fight the six declines of moral youth Hahn believed were imperiling modern society. His work with youth led Hahn to identify six “declines of modern youth” that he felt summarized the problems with modern life. These six declines consisted of: . Decline of fitness; 1 2. Decline of initiative and enterprise; 3. Decline of memory and imagination; 4. Decline of skill and care; 5. Decline of self-discipline; and

4  The Duke of Edinburgh Awards remain a unique blend of private support and public endorsement that works so well in the United Kingdom. More information about the awards can be found at https://www.dofe.org/ as well as other websites associated with the awards in other nations.

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6. Decline of compassion.5 Hahn believed all of these declines could be traced to the increasingly sedentary nature of modern life. To remedy the six declines, Hahn suggested four solutions to these problems, all of which manifested themselves into the daily routines at Salem, Gordonstoun, and other institutions with which Hahn was affiliated. These four solutions consist of: 1. Fitness training, emphasizing competing with oneself to establish a certain level of fitness as well as to train the mind’s discipline and determination through mastery of one’s body; 2. Expeditions, over land or sea, in an effort to encourage participation in long-term endurance tasks; 3. Projects involving crafts and manual skills to build concentration, self-reliance, and competency; and 4. Rescue service, consisting of first-aid training, lifesaving, and firefighting.6 The acquisition of the various skills and competencies provided by the four solutions would assist youth in overcoming the six declines caused by modern life. As Hahn continued this work, he refined his beliefs regarding how best to create a caring, adventurous culture that would both nurture youth and provide them with the skills, characteristics, and personal qualities necessary to be productive members of a democratic society. To that end, Hahn devised ten principles that he felt must guide all expeditionary learning. Each of these will later be explained in greater detail, but the ten principles themselves include: 1. The primacy of self-discovery; 2. The having of wonderful ideas; 3. The responsibility for learning; 4. Empathy and caring; 5  Croft (2019). Hahn’s work continues to resonate with many because of its emphasis on how modern life has endangered the development of children through its emphasis on material goods and inactivity associated with a more urban existence. 6  Flavin (1996). This emphasis on positive action permeates programs inspired by Hahn’s work.

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5. Success and failure; 6. Collaboration and competition; 7. Diversity and inclusion; 8. The natural world; 9. Solitude and reflection; and 10. Service and compassion.7 Each of these principles is equally important to the others, and all should be monitored so that they are present when children engage in expeditions or other forms of outdoor education. The primacy of self-discovery recognizes that learning occurs in the best way when emotion, challenge, and the requisite support are all in place. Situations and adventures that offer the unexpected permit children to discover their abilities, values, passions, and responsibilities that would not occur in other settings. In expeditionary learning settings, children face tasks that will help them to build craftsmanship, fitness, imagination, perseverance, and self-discipline while achieving significant achievements. Teachers must accept that their primary responsibility is to help children overcome their fears and to attend to the task at hand, which in turn will help them realize they have multiple untapped talents and skills. The having of wonderful ideas recognizes that schools help foster curiosity about the world through the creation of learning situations that provide significant things to ponder, time to experiment, and time to make sense of what is observed. Busywork is eschewed, and an appreciation of the process of reflection and learning is nurtured by all. The responsibility for learning is shared between the individual and the group. This principle recognizes that learning is both a personal quest and a social activity. As children and adults become more used to the rigors and demands of expeditionary learning, it is imperative that each takes increasing responsibility for his or her own learning. Empathy and caring recognizes that learning occurs most optimally in those communities where each student’s and each teacher’s ideas, questions, concerns, and perspectives are respected and nurtured. Learning groups are purposefully small, so that an adult is able to monitor and advocate for the learning and 7  Flavin (1996). Hahn’s vision of expeditionary education envisioned these outings as being part of the educational program at a school. In many places, of course, these expeditionary experiences are independent of schools and offered on weekends or during the summer.

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well-being of each child. Older children are encouraged to mentor younger peers, and students’ sense of emotional and physical safety are paramount. Success and failure are seen as twin goals, each as important as the other. Certainly children need to experience the feelings of meeting a difficult challenge and the sense of confidence, capacity, and capability which that brings. That being said, children also very much need to experience failure, so as to learn from these situations how to regroup, persevere, deal with challenges, and to recognize that not being successful initially presents a variety of opportunities that can be taken advantage of as one proceeds. Collaboration and cooperation both stem from working with others, something that many children initially dislike and try to avoid. It is important that working with others is included in the process as this leads to both individual and group development. In doing this, the value of friendship, trust, and group action are made apparent to all involved. Children are encouraged not to compete with other children, but instead to strive to achieve their own personal best performance and to adhere to rigorous standards of excellence at all times. Diversity and inclusion are valued because they increase the problem-solving abilities, creative power, and respect for others of all involved, while simultaneously strengthening the richness of ideas. As part of any expeditionary activity, children investigate, learn about, and come to value their varied histories and talents. While doing so, children also come to appreciate and cherish those of other communities’ cultures as well. To facilitate this process, learning groups are kept fluid, flexible, and heterogeneous. The natural world represents the classroom in which children work and learn, as well as the canvas upon which their growth takes place. A goal is for children to build and cultivate a direct and respectful relationship with the natural world. This relationship can both refresh the human spirit and teach the child about the recurring cycles and life as well as about the process of cause and effect. Through this process, children learn that they serve as stewards of the earth as well as of future generations. Solitude and reflection, so disparaged in many educational settings, are appreciated as necessary and essential for learning and growth to occur. Children and teachers need to spend solitary time with their own thoughts and ruminations so that they may explore their thoughts, make personal connections, and create their own ideas. Children and adults also require time when

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they can share their personal reflections with others and then discuss, ponder, and determine how they ultimately think. Finally, service and compassion emphasize our role as crew on the journey of life, not as passengers. Children and teachers are bolstered and improved through acts of service to others. One of outdoor education’s primary purposes is to instill in children the dispositions, mindsets, outlooks, and skills to learn from others and to be of service to them when needed. In the United States, NOLS (before 2015 the National Outdoor Leadership School) has strived to be the leading teacher of leadership and wilderness skills that serve both individuals and the environment.8 NOLS is based in Wyoming, but runs programming on six continents that teach environmental ethics, leadership, risk management and judgment, technical outdoor skills, and wilderness medicine to children from a variety of age groups as well as teachers and other educators. Technical outdoor skills taught include backpacking, canoeing, caving, fly-fishing, horse packing, mountaineering, packrafting, rafting, rock climbing, sailing, sea kayaking, and snowboarding. Leadership skills have long been a hallmark of NOLS programming and emphasizes the four roles of leadership, namely, designated leadership, active fellowship, peer leadership, and self-­ leadership. Risk management and judgment in the field revolves around self-care, preventing injury and handling risky situations. As part of this, children learn specific monitoring skills, such as proper footcare and regulating body temperature. Environmental ethics are woven throughout NOLS’s programming, which focuses on conservation and preservation, especially as these can be facilitated by individual’s behavior when outdoors. Founded in 1965, NOLS initially concentrated outdoor skills, focusing on what leadership meant in the outdoors. NOLS’s mission became more focused on ecological conservation and preservation during the 1970s, as society as a whole became more concerned about the degradation of earth and behaviors that would create a more sustainable way of live. NOLS was especially interested in nurturing leaders who knew how to behave responsibly in wilderness areas. The following decade, NOLS began partnering with the University of Utah to offer participants college credit and played a lead role in founding the Leave No Trace program, which sets seven 8  See Harvey (1999). As interest in the outdoors has increased, the work of institutions such as NOLS have served to make such experiences available to an increasingly larger group of children.

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principles those interacting with the outdoors should follow. These seven principles consist of: . Plan ahead and prepare; 1 2. Travel and camp only on durable surfaces; 3. Dispose of all waste properly; 4. Leave what you find; 5. Minimize campfire impacts; 6. Respect wildlife; and 7. Be considerate of other visitors.9 These principles were adopted by a variety of other institutions and organizations, including the United States Forest Service, the National Park Service, and the Bureau of Land Management. These adoptions proved highly influential, and in the 1990s NOLS partnered with the United States Forest Service to create an educational program and other materials that could be used in schools and by other groups to teach these principles to children and adults across the United States. NOLS has worked tirelessly to increase diversity in outdoor education, which traditionally has been the purview of White males. In 2013, NOLS sponsored Expedition Denali, which comprised the first group of African Americans to scale Denali (formerly known as Mount McKinley), the highest elevation in the United States. Weather conditions led to the expedition being unsuccessful, but the outreach efforts of NOLS and Expedition Denali members greatly expanded the awareness of individuals and organizations about the opportunities for people of color to engage in the outdoors. Expedition Denali also provided children of color with multiple role models for engaging with the outdoors. A documentary film, An American Ascent, was made as a result of the expedition, and this has been shown around the world in schools and at film festivals. NOLS works with children from all populations and all ages to fulfill their potential to preserve wilderness areas across the globes.10 9  Harvey (1999). These principles have become well known and are seen as the “gold standard” of desired behaviors by those in the field. 10  NOLS publishes a number of works that may be of use to those seeking to initiate an outdoor education program held in the wilderness, including those by Trantham and Wells (2018), Schimelphenig (2016).

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Separate but Connected As interest in the outdoors generally increased, so too did interest in outdoor education. This growth occurred in concurrence with burgeoning international interest in environmental and sustainability education, which can be but are not necessarily related to outdoor education. An examination of the backgrounds of some of the influences on outdoor education helps to better understand the nuances between the two. Outdoor education itself has roots in a variety of fields, including in addition to the expedition-­based experiences of the scouting movement, Outward Bound, NOLS, and the like, in forest schools, environmental education, sustainability education, and environmental science. Forest schools first began in Denmark during the 1950s.11 The idea soon spread to Sweden, and these schools developed as a delivery model for early childhood education programs, which in these countries served children below the age of seven. Seen as a delivery model through which children are provided the opportunity to develop self-confidence and skills through hands-on activities in a woodland setting, forest schools serve as both a pedogeological approach and as physical entities. In 1957 Goesta Frohm created the Skogsmulle concept to learn about mountains, nature, pollution, and water. Forest schools use the woods, forests, and other outdoor areas to help children and young adults build self-esteem and self-­ confidence. Sometimes referred to as nature schools, forest schools use the woodland environment to help introduce more abstract concepts than are generally used with young children, such as mathematics and means of communication. Units and lessons studied in forest schools are often cross-curricular in nature and often include the natural environment as both a subject studied and as a canvas upon which learning may occur. Children might, for example, examine the role trees play in society, exploring as they do so the complex ecosystem that exists in a forest, which specific flora and fauna are present in a certain location, and how interactions with humans support or hinder the natural environment. Such investigations help children to develop a sense of teamwork and creative and critical thinking skills, which 11  Cree and Robb (2021), Worroll and Houghton (2018). Forest schools have a certain way of encouraging children to interact with the outdoors and are most common in the United States in the form of PreK programs, and occasionally Kindergarten. Although quite popular at the moment, these principles could easily be used with older children.

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are considered just as important as other curricular matters by proponents of forest schools. Forest schools are now considered appropriate for any student, of any age, to study any subject. Learning in forest schools is led by the children’s interests, an approach that is slightly different than the approach in many outdoor education programs insofar that they usually begin with a question that relates to the community in which the child lives. When working with young children, forest schools as a primary goal attempt to encourage children’s desire to explore and sense of curiosity with all of the five senses. This provides children with a sense of empowerment in natural environments and also improves their spatial awareness and psychomotor skills. Because children who are outdoors are in a higher risk environment than those learning in classrooms, forest schools generally staffed with a higher adult-to-child ratio than are conventional schools. With older children, forest schools are often seen as a means of encouraging the development of social skills, a way to explore creative learning experiences and to build critical thinking and problem-solving skills. While often used as an approach in alternative schools and as a transitional approach for children returning to formal school settings, forest schools can be used as the primary approach to education and serve as the “regular” school for older children. Children who attend forest schools have often been described as more relaxed and have better social and working relationships with other children, teachers, the environment, and other adults with whom they work. Forest schools that incorporate simple meditation exercises into their daily routine, such as sit spots, assist children to increase their mindfulness across tasks and work. Forest schools have been especially successful with exceptional children, such as those with special learning needs, gifted and talented children, and those who are emotionally disturbed. Boys, and children from lower socioeconomic status (SES) backgrounds, tend to do especially well in outdoor settings. The outdoor setting proves restful to many, and the child-driven curriculum has been beneficial to those children who lack confidence. The high adult-to-child ratios used by forest schools allow children to participate in activities that are otherwise prohibited, such as starting a fire for heat or cooking or climbing rocks or trees. Children are allowed to explore large areas within the forest, and this provides them with a sense of control and freedom that is frequently lacking in other settings. This sense of control and freedom improves children’s ability to manage their own safety, insofar that it permits them to see which

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situations are safe and which are more dangerous. This permits children to move around more independently, which in turn increases their confidence and independence. From their origins in Denmark and Sweden, forest schools have spread internationally. Such schools are now present in Australia, Canada, Germany, Ireland, Israel, Malaysia, New Zealand, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Forest schools first came to the United Kingdom during the 1990s, after Bridgwater & Taunton College, based in Somerset, sent a group of nursery school teachers to Denmark to observe the Danish/Swedish forest school model first hand. Supported by various governmental agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), forest schools quickly became popular in the United Kingdom, with over 140 springing up within the first decade. In 2011, the Institute for Outdoor Learning was formed, and this helps to promote the United Kingdom model for forest schools. Forest schools came to Canada and the United States in the 2000s, largely spurred on by the experience that the Scandinavian and British schools had. Especially popular as a pre-Kindergarten (PreK) model, forest school graduates often demonstrate a much higher level of school readiness when they begin Kindergarten than do children who attended a different model of a PreK program. Research centers, advocacy organizations, and networks have helped teachers and administrators interested in forest schools and outdoor education to collaborate, share, and work with others with similar interests. A variety of resources are commercially available that can assist with planning for the operation of a forest school.12

Benefits for Children Outdoor education offers a host of benefits to the children who engage in programs that use it as a means of delivering instruction. The first benefit, obviously, is that the children get to spend time outdoors. All too often, children today spend excessive time indoors, often looking at screens of some type and being passive and immobile. This inertia benefits neither their mental nor physical health. Outdoor education, however the program is configured, gets children outdoors and allows them to engage 12  See, for example, Minnucci and Teachout (2018). Much like “outdoor education,” the term forest school has no precise meaning, but instead is a series of plans and programs put together to meet the needs of a particular school community.

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with nature and the world in which they live. Fresh air, sunshine, and a better understanding of the natural world are but a few of the advantages to moving instruction from the classroom to the great outdoors. Second, children involved in outdoor education programs gain a much greater sense of independence. Either working alone or in cooperative groups, children engaged in outdoor education are charged with identifying problems or issues facing their world and then working to develop potential solutions to that problem or issue. Rather than being spoon-fed information by a teacher or facilitator, the children themselves are asked to work independently to devise possible solutions that would lead to action by them or others or some combination thereof. This independence greatly changes how children view school, their place within it, and the possibilities that exist for them in the future. The third aspect of outdoor education to consider is the positive way it buttresses children’s connection with nature. All too often, children are disconnected from the world around them. Their food comes from a supermarket or restaurants, their water from a tap, their warmth from central heating. They have lost a sense of perspective regarding the importance of the natural world to their well-being, and the importance of it to their lives is reinforced by participating in outdoor education. A fourth reason to explore outdoor education is the positive effects it has on children’s mental health. Being outside in the fresh air and experiencing the elements, be it rain, snow, or sunshine, has benefits for children, which include understanding that most things will pass and that one can thrive and succeed in almost any environment or in any conditions. A fifth benefit of outdoor education is increased creative and critical thinking on the part of students who engage in it. Certainly this development can be expedited through the introduction of certain tools and approaches that assist children on working through the problem-solving process, but this growth comes from engaging in finding solutions to issues and concerns facing their communities. Although educational leaders often speak of the value of creative and critical thinking, far too often children are instead expected to serve as passive vessels into which information can be poured. Outdoor education demands that the children identify problems facing their community and then determining which possible solutions might address these issues and which are more likely than not to be adopted by others. A sixth benefit of outdoor education is improved group dynamics, in both a micro and a macro sense. Children who work together in cooperative groups will of course sometimes run

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into problems getting along and working with others, but over time they will become much better at negotiating disagreements and solving problems on their own. As children continue to engage in outdoor education activities, a sense of community will develop throughout the school, as group endeavors will build a sense of common purpose and respect for the work of peers. For this sense of community to develop it is imperative that the conclusion of units of study be celebrated by culminating activities that involve more than just the students involved—these should be community observances of the success of one’s peers and the benefits enjoyed by the community as a whole as the result of single project.

Needs of Diverse Learners Outdoor education programs are especially beneficial to diverse learners, such as children of color, English language learners (ELLs), and students from low-SES households.13 All too often diverse populations live in communities where parks and green spaces are few. The unfettered violence that plagues many urban neighborhoods also makes many parents and families reluctant to let their children play outside for fear of them being injured or killed as a result of gang warfare or other disputes. Many parents and adult family members of diverse youth are also busy working two or more jobs, which leaves them little time to escort the children in their care to parks, museums, or other areas where they might be able to engage in educational outdoor activities.14 Parents and families may also lack the resources to pay for camp or other Saturday or summer activities for their children that would permit them to spend more time outdoors and to engage with nature in ways that build their understandings of it to their daily existence. Children from diverse backgrounds all too often find themselves in classrooms and schools where the primary focus of instruction is on knowledge and comprehension.15 Unlike their peers in suburban of p ­ rivate 13  See, for example, Christenson (2020), Delpit (2005), Ladson-Billings (2022), Miner (2013), Schroth and Helfer (2018). The backgrounds of many diverse learners are different than those of children from other households. Different does not mean less than or better than, but teachers must expect that children from diverse backgrounds will come to the classroom with experiences that are different than those of other learners. 14  Delpit (2005), Miner (2013). These differences may also cause a different response by parents of diverse learners to school initiatives and new programs. 15  Schroth and Helfer (2018).

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schools, diverse learners are much less likely to engage in outdoor education opportunities. The reasons for this, of course, are several. Schools that serve diverse learners are often under mandates to focus on improving scores in English/language arts and mathematics at the expense of all other subjects. Teachers in such schools are also often younger and less experienced and thus less willing to take on the added responsibilities of initiating an outdoor education program. In some ways, this makes it all the more clear why outdoor education is needed for schools serving large numbers of diverse learners. Outdoor education programs can change the trajectory of school performance, lead to increased student achievement, motivate both teachers and learners, and reward those who choose to proceed “in paths untrodden.”

Case Study No. 3: Establishing High Standards for All Burleigh Middle School is located within minutes from the downtown area of the City of Emerson and serves approximately 860 children, 40 percent of whom identify as White/Caucasian, 20 percent as Black/ African American, 20 percent as Hispanic/Latino, and 20 percent as Asian/Pacific Islander. While an Emerson City Public School (ECPS), Burleigh is identified as a science magnet school, and seats in the school are assigned using a lottery system. Mr. Joseph Duarte, the principal at Burleigh, has been at his school for four years and is proud of his school, faculty, and students. Burleigh employs 52 teachers, all of whom are fully certificated. These teachers are split fairly evenly in experience levels, with 20 having between 1 and 6  years of experience, 15 having taught for between 7 and 12 years, and 17 having taught for 13 or more years. All but seven teachers hold an M.Ed. or Ed.D. degree, and the remaining teachers are all in the process of completing their master’s degree. ECPS has both “neighborhood” schools, which any child living within its boundary can attend, and “competitive” schools, which are magnet and specialty schools for which students must apply for admission. Burleigh is one of the higher performing middle schools in ECPS, and its students tend to be able to get in whichever of the competitive high schools they want upon graduation from the eighth grade. Burleigh, in addition to its general education curriculum, offers a host of honors classes, with many focused upon science and mathematics subjects. Visitors to the school often marvel at the advanced academics addressed in these classes. Many

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teachers at Burleigh hold the gifted education specialist endorsement, and all faculty members have received Shared Inquiry training from the Great Books Foundation, which encourages the use of Socratic questioning across content areas. Mr. Duarte is concerned, however, that while Burleigh offers a variety of honors classes, these enroll almost exclusively the White and Asian students, with the Black and Hispanic children enrolled in the general education program. Although he has worked with the schools gifted education specialist, Ms. Barbara Jenkins, in an attempt to increase the referrals to the honors classes, he has thus far been unsuccessful in getting the numbers to change. Mr. Duarte is willing to increase the number of sections of honors classes offered, so that increasing the number of Black and Hispanic students enrolled in these classes would not negatively affect members of any other group’s enrollment in these classes. After meeting with the district’s gifted education and science coordinators in the central district offices, Mr. Duarte decides to investigate outdoor education as an initiative that he might use to increase the enrollment of Black and Hispanic students in Burleigh’s honors classes. Upon returning to his office, Mr. Duarte schedules a meeting with Ms. Jenkins and Mr. Jason Helper, Burleigh’s lead teacher and chapter chair. After giving Ms. Jenkins and Mr. Helper an overview of what outdoor education is, and how he sees it broadening opportunities for all children at Burleigh, Ms. Jenkins and Mr. Helper respond enthusiastically to the possibility of the outdoor education program and promise to do what they can to support the new initiative. Independently, Ms. Jenkins and Mr. Helper review further information about outdoor education and they both become even more enthusiastic about the potential implementation of such a program at Burleigh. As Mr. Duarte, Ms. Jenkins, and Mr. Helper prepare to present information about outdoor education at Burleigh, how would you consider answering the following questions: • Which aspects of outdoor education might be the best to emphasize when introducing the topic of outdoor education? Why? • What sorts of professional learning opportunities might be needed before initiating an outdoor education initiative at Burleigh? • Which prior learning and experiences of teachers may be useful to the school in introducing an outdoor education program at Burleigh?

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References Baden-Powell, R. S. (1891). Reconnaissance and scouting. William Clowes and Sons. Christenson, L.  A. (2020). Strength in diversity: A positive approach to teaching dual language learners in in early childhood. Gryphon House. Cree, J., & Robb, M. (2021). The essential guide to forest school and nature pedagogy. A David Fulton Book/Routledge. Croft, S. (2019). Reconnect and renew: Can the principles of Kurt Hahn and Rudolf Steiner be applied to recovery from addiction? The Highgrove. Delpit, L. (2005). Other people’s children: Cultural conflict in the classroom. The New Press. Flavin, M. (1996). Kurt Hahn’s schools & legacy: To discover you can be more and do more than you believed. Middle Atlantic Press. Harvey, M. (1999). The National Outdoor Leadership School’s wilderness guide: The classic handbook, revised and updated. A Firestone Book. Ladson-Billings, G. (2022). The dream-keepers: Successful teachers of African American children (3rd ed.). Jossey-Bass. Miner, B. J. (2013). Lessons from the heartland: A turbulent half-century of public education in an iconic American city. The New Press. Minnucci, E., & Teachout, M. (2018). A forest days handbook: Program design for school days outside. Green Writers Press. Schimelphenig, T. (2016). NOLS wilderness medicine (6th ed.). Stackpole Books. Schroth, S. T., & Helfer, J. A. (2018). Developing teacher diversity in early childhood and elementary education: The REACH program approach. Palgrave Macmillan. Trantham, G., & Wells, D. (2018). NOLS wilderness navigation (3rd ed.). Stackpole Books. Whitman, W. (1892/1993). Leaves of grass: The first edition of 1855 + the death bed edition of 1892. Modern Library. Worroll, J., & Houghton, P. (2018). A year of forest school: Outdoor play and skillbuilding fun for every season. Watkins Publishing.

Further Readings Delpit, L. (2006). Other people’s children: Cultural conflicts in the classroom (2nd ed.). The New Press. Ladson-Billings, G. (1922). The Dreamkeepers: Successful teaching of African American children (3rd ed.). Jossey-Bass. Schroth, S. T., & Helfer, J. A. (2018). Developing teacher diversity in early childhood and elementary education: The REACH project approach. Palgrave Macmillan.

CHAPTER 5

Outdoor Education and Group Dynamics

Sounds of the Winter Sounds of the winter too, Sunshine upon the mountains—many a distant stram From cheery railroad tram—from a nearer field, barn, house The whispering air—even the mute crops, garner’d apples, corn, Children’s and women’s tones—rhythm of many a farmer and of flail, And old man’s garrulous lips among the rest, Think not, We give out yet, Forth from these snowy hairs we keep up yet the lilt. (Whitman, 1892/1993)

As family composition has changed over time, so too has attendance at churches, synagogues, mosques, and other places of worship; participation in social groups and clubs; and opportunities for children to interact both formally and informally with those of all ages who are not related to them. During the COVID-9 quarantines, many children stayed at home for months and were unable to attend live classes. All of these factors have had an effect on children’s social and emotional development, their ability to interact with others, and their perceptions of the world around them. Outdoor education, with its emphasis on teamwork and groups, provides © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 S. T. Schroth, Outdoor Education, Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9_5

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an ideal way in which to improve group dynamics by providing children with the opportunity to learn how to work with others. Teachers in an outdoor education program may use a variety of grouping formations and techniques to provide all students with a supportive and appropriate learning environment. Cooperative learning is an educational approach with a broad and deep background. Teachers use cooperative learning to organize learning activities so that they are both academic and social learning experiences.1 Often misunderstood, cooperative grouping involves much more than assigning children to work in groups rather than alone. Instead, cooperative learning asks children to work in groups collectively to attain certain academic goals. Cooperative learning helps children, regardless of ability level, to rely upon the academic and social capital of their peers to complete tasks in a non-competitive manner. Cooperative grouping also helps to redefine success, which now represents situations where everyone succeeds rather than just one individual. Many teachers are reluctant to engage in cooperative learning, in part because to do so results in a new and different role for them in the classroom.2

Cooperative Learning Prior to World War II, a variety of researchers conducted studies that indicated that group work was often more effective and efficient—in terms of quality, quantity, and overall productivity—when compared to that completed by an individual working alone. May and Doob (1937) solidified the support for cooperative learning when their study found that when individuals cooperated and worked together to achieve shared goals had a greater success rate at achieving those goals than did individuals who worked by themselves. They also found that those who worked in cooperative groups were less competitive than those who were working independently. Many progressive educators, who were interested in both improving student success rates and reducing what they saw as the unhealthy competitive ethos often associated with schooling, embraced

1  See Sharan (1994). Cooperative learning has one of the deepest research bases supporting it as any practice or method in education. 2  Sharan (1990), Sharan and Shaulov (1990), Sharan (2010). Cooperative learning has been used in classrooms throughout the globe.

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cooperative learning as a way to improve student learning outcomes as well as the classroom learning environment. Cooperative learning was so appealing to progressive educators because it met Dewey’s requirements of involving active hands-on knowledge creation, which were seen as necessary in developing both the academic and social skills that they would need once done with schooling. These skills were also important if children were in the future to take their rightful place as participating members of a democratic society. The desire for children to acquire these sorts of skills meant that the classroom had to be the place of a great deal of discussion and knowledge making in groups as opposed to traditional methods of schooling, which emphasized a great deal of time spent with the teacher talking and the students listening passively. It was believed that the interactions between group members required to successfully carry out and achieve the learning objective helped to establish relationships that had lasting effects. In situations where each child is responsible for contributing to group knowledge, positive social interdependence would also develop.3 Johnson (2009) identified five variables that they suggest mediate and influence the success of cooperative learning in the classroom. These variables include positive interdependence, face-to-face promotive interaction, individual and group accountability, social skills, and group processing. Each of these elements must be present for cooperative learning experiences to be beneficial and valuable for members of the group. Positive interdependence requires children working hard and putting forth effort within their group and that each group member has a clearly defined task to complete for the group, thereby helping each child understand that he or she is responsible for both their own learning and that of the group. Face-to-face promotive interaction requires each member of the group to promote and celebrate the success of his or her fellow group members. As children explore, it is imperative that each explains his or her findings to the other members of the group and to assist others with understandings and the completion of assignments. Individual and group accountability involves the balancing of group and individual norms, so that each child is engaged in work and not relying upon the efforts of their peers, something called the “loafer effect.” Instead, if the teacher takes steps, such as having group members evaluate each other’s efforts, there is increased 3  Sharan (1990). A variety of approaches and strategies can be used to support cooperative learning.

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accountability and hard-working students are not penalized by their less diligent peers. Social skills, which are quite important to the process, must sometimes be specifically taught to the children before they work in group settings, a situation especially common for gifted learners and children with special needs. Broadly speaking, these skills should focus on those attributes necessary for successful group dynamics, such as communication, interpersonal, and group accountability. More specifically, the skills addressed might include communication, conflict management, decision-­ making, friendship development, and trust-building techniques that the children can use to assure a smoother process within their group. Group processing, the final element, occurs when group members analyze the process and reflect upon which member actions helped to promote the goals and objectives of the group and which member actions were less beneficial. This analysis can lead to decisions about which behaviors to continue, as well as those that need to be changed. The five variables that are necessary for effective cooperative learning are delineated in Table 5.1. If these elements are present, the cooperative learning experience will most likely be productive and effective. If not, time spent in group activities may be wasted. Cooperative learning is not without its critics, although the condemnations have more to do with implementation than conception. Much like differentiated instruction, teachers have often proven unable to understand the reasoning behind cooperative learning and instead choose to engage children in busywork that superficially appears to be cooperative groupwork, but at its essence is clearly not that. Cooperative learning practices that are grounded in theory have evolved over the 40 or more years the approach has been used. As a result of this, many teachers, administrators, and teacher education programs have not kept abreast of the latest developments and thus are concentrating on outmoded and outdated practices. Children and their parents, especially those who consider themselves high-achieving, additionally often resist cooperative learning as they see it as something that hinders their academic progress. Ironically, the children who are most resistant to cooperative learning are often those who need it the most, as their social skills, maturity, and understanding of “success” is not where it needs to be.

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Table 5.1  Elements of successful cooperative learning experiences Element

Behaviors

Outcomes

Positive interdependence

Effort and participation from each group member. Each group member has a clearly defined task, role, or responsibility

Face-to-face promotive interaction

Members must assist others’ understanding and completion of problems, share in their peers’ success, and be willing to explain to each other what they are learning Processes must be in place so that certain work is done by individual members of the group and that evaluation and assessment processes are in place so that the efforts of the group as a whole, as well as those of individual members, may be evaluated The explicit teaching of those social skills necessary for the group to function successfully. These skills might include communication, conflict management, decision-making, friendship development, leadership, or trust-­ building or some combination thereof A process by which group members analyze and reflect upon decisions made by individuals and the group as a whole. The purpose is to determine which decisions to continue and which to change

Lack of confusion, focus on the problem to be solved, ways of determining who has contributed and who has not Assures that the academic and social goals and objectives of the process are realized

Individual and group accountability

Social skills

Group processing

Prevents certain group members from not doing their share of the group’s tasks but instead relying on the efforts of other group members to carry them along A smoothly functioning cooperative learning group

More smoothly operating groups going forward

Outdoor Learning and Student-Identified Problems Outdoor learning focuses upon students identifying problems facing them or their communities and then working cooperatively to devise possible solutions to those problems and testing these solutions to see if they are effective. Although supporting studies beginning in the 1940s were largely supportive of outdoor education, most simply described the enthusiasm and perceptions of participants but did not offer much in the way of an

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examination of learning outcomes for those involved. Despite this, such programs grew in popularity, and later studies began to look much more closely at student outcomes as a result of participation in outdoor education programs. Cason and Gillis (1994), who conducted an early meta-­ analysis of 43 studies examining the outcomes of children who participated in outdoor education programs, found an overall effect size of 0.31 as a result of involvement in such a program. The positive outcomes came from a variety of measurements, including assessments of behavioral assessments by others (0.40), grades (0.61), locus of control (0.30), self-­ concept (0.34), and school attendance (0.47). These findings caused an increase in interest in outdoor education since that time. As other studies have continued to examine outdoor education, with an eye on the beneficial outcomes it brings children who engage in such programming. Hattie et al. (1997) conducted a meta-analysis of studies that determined that there were 40 positive outcomes associated with participation in outdoor education programs. A list of categories, subdomains, and examples discerned by Hattie, Marsh, Niell, and Richards is detailed in Table 5.2. These positive outcomes, which are both wide-ranging and also closely aligned with what schools traditionally do, make the investment in outdoor educational viable, worthwhile, and a reasonable option for many schools and classrooms.

Problem-Solving Styles Style theory is predicated upon the assumption that problem solvers prefer to approach a problem, or to work on it, in specific ways that are often different from the tactics and methods used by others.4 Style represents an individual’s preference for the approach that is taken when attacking problems, thinking about information, and making decisions.5 Allowing individuals to use their preferred problem-solving styles, either when working individually or as part of a group, reduces the number of difficulties and

4  Alacapinar (2013), Sternberg (1997). While style is occasionally criticized by those lacking a grounding in educational psychology, its existence has been long established and documented. 5  Houtz and Selby (2009), McCoy et al. (2014), Stemberg and Grigorenko (1997). These conceptions of problem-solving style are tied nicely to CPS.

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Table 5.2  Categories, subdomains, and examples of positive outcomes associated with outdoor education Category

Subdomain

Examples

Academic

Academic-direct Academic-general

Leadership

Conscientiousness Decision-making Leadership-general Leadership-teamwork Organizational ability Time management Values Goals Physical ability Peer relations

Mathematics performance Reading performance Grade point average (GPA) Problem solving Attention to detail Reasoned decision-making Task leadership Seek and use advice, consultative leadership Organizational competence, active initiative Time efficiency Values orientation Setting goals

Self-concept

General self Physical appearance Academic Confidence Self-efficacy Family Self-understanding

Personality

Interpersonal

Well-being Independence Femininity Masculinity Achievement motivation Emotional stability Aggression Assertiveness Locus of control Maturity Neurosis reduction Cooperation Interpersonal communication Social competence

Self-peers, self-same sex, opposite sex self-concept Self-values, self-general, self-esteem, self-concept Self-problem solving Potency, emotional self Self-control, self-sufficient, self-reliance Self-parents, self-home Self-honesty, self-disclosure, self-criticism, self-awareness Life success, satisfaction, positive endeavor Autonomy

Emotional control, emotional understanding Reduce aggression Forthrightness Internal locus of control Non-repression, defensive, reduction in malaise Productive teamwork, group cooperation Likeability, trusting and listening Social aptitude, sociability, friendliness (continued)

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Table 5.2 (continued) Category

Subdomain

Examples

Behavior

Positive behavior, reducing behavior problems Relating skills Evaluation from others, sensitivity to others Recidivism Reduction in recidivism Adventuresome Challengeness Venturesome, challenge seeking, adventurousness Flexibility Openness to new ideas, adaptability, resourceful, imaginative Physical fitness Sit-ups, physical ability, resting pulse, physical strength Environmental awareness Wilderness appreciation, in tune with nature

increases the chance of a successful solution to the problem at hand.6 When engaged in cooperative learning situations, such differences in problem-solving styles can become more significant, as different preferences may reduce or limit a group’s ability to work together effectively. Specifically, how a group attends to its members’ needs to interact with others, go about solving problems, processing information, dividing tasks, and balancing needs to complete the tasks with personal and interpersonal concerns can greatly affect an individual’s experiences with that group. As the use of cooperative groups becomes more prevalent and popular in outdoor education settings, effective ways of forming those groups are increasingly important to course instructors, students, and administrators, especially as increased attention is paid to student learning outcomes. Indeed, there is a growing understanding that effectively formatted groups boost student achievement. Effective teachers know how to group students so that cooperative group experiences are productive and beneficial.7 Despite the body of literature supporting cooperative grouping, many students, and even some of their instructors, resist this instructional method in their classes.8 Few teachers or instructors understand or are comfortable

6  Batchelor and Bintz (2013), Houtz and Selby (2009), Schroth (2007a, 2007b), Selby et al. (2004). 7  Strong (2011), Stronge (2007). 8  Baer (2003), Marks and O’Connor (2013).

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with cooperative grouping.9 Such instructors need a way to quickly and inexpensively determine a way to group their students in a way that will produce groups that are productive, effective, and acceptable to students. VIEW represents one way to arrange such groups within a class, permitting the instructor insights into how his or her students prefer to solve problems and work with others. VIEW examines three preferences that individuals have when determining how to perceive and approach problems, to generate ideas that may result in solutions, and to evaluate and choose among possible resolutions. The three preferences that VIEW examines are orientation to change (OC), manner of processing (MP), and ways of deciding (WD).10 Orientation to change examines how comfortable an individual feels when working within a structure to solve a problem, especially with regard to preferences for responding to and managing authority, novelty, and structure when faced with solving problems. While some work best within the existing structure, others prefer to create entirely new arrangements and rules to deal with the problem at hand. Manner of processing scrutinizes the way in which individuals prefer to grapple with a problem, especially with regard to how they manage inner energy and resources, how they manage information, and how and when they share their thoughts and ideas with others. Some have a strong preference to rely upon their internal resources when considering ideas, while others elect to seek external views and insights from others. Ways of deciding denotes those considerations that are deliberated upon when choosing among possible solutions. Some individuals are more person-oriented and consider how a given solution will affect others, while others are more task-oriented and will seek solutions that get the job at hand completed.

Formulation of Groups Ways of grouping children by learning style are available to all teachers and have proven to be successful when used by teachers from a variety of disciplines.11 VIEW is a 34-item self-reported Likert-scale instrument that

9  Darling-Hammond (2010), Darling-Hammond and Bransford (2005), McCoy et  al. (2014), Missett et al. (2014). 10  Selby et al. (2007), Selby et al. (2004). 11  Schroth et al. (2015).

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measures three largely independent constructs.12 Individuals taking VIEW indicate their preference along a bi-polar scale for items related to orientation to change (OC), manner of processing (MP), and ways of deciding (WD).13 The poles for OC are explorer and developer, for MP these are external and internal, and for WD these are person-oriented and task-­ oriented. While some individuals exhibit no preference for a category, although most do. VIEW has been used for over two decades, permitting a body of evidence to exist that helps to assess its reliability and validity.14 With regard to reliability, VIEW demonstrates stability correlations from a test-retest reliability study where the 12-month test-retest reliability coefficients were orientation to change, r = 0.74; manner of processing, r = 0.83, and ways of deciding, r = 0.81.15 When the master database of over 45,000 VIEW scores were examined, they produced Cronbach’s coefficient Alpha results of 0.87 for OC, 0.86 for MP, and 0.84 for WD, exceeding the generally accepted criterion that internal consistency should be >0.70.16 A variety of studies also attest to the validity of VIEW.17 The results of VIEW assessments can be used by instructors for each class to group the students in cooperative groups of four (for younger children, groups of two are fine, and for those through the end of twelfth grade, groups of three are sometimes advisable). VIEW certification is necessary for the VIEW user, as only those who have been trained in the application, feedback, and administration of VIEW may administer the assessment. VIEW takes approximately 15 min for students in each class to complete and can be conducted during regular class time. It is important that participants understood that the results are not to be used for their course grades, but instead by the instructors for grouping purposes. VIEW results can be either hand-scored or machine scored, and feedback should be provided to participants regarding their individual and group scores and regarding creative problem-solving styles and preferences. Teachers can then use VIEW data to form groups for cooperative projects within each class. Many teachers who use VIEW consider OC scores as the primary means for forming groups, with WD scores used as a secondary means of consideration. OC scores can theoretically  Selby, Treffinger, and Isaksen (2002, 2007), Selby, Treffinger, Isaksen, and Lauer (2002).  Selby, Treffinger, and Isaksen (2002, 2007), Selby, Treffinger, Isaksen, and Lauer (2002). 14  Selby, Treffinger, and Isaksen (2002, 2007), Selby, Treffinger, Isaksen, and Lauer (2002). 15  Treffinger et al. (2011). 16  Treffinger et al. (2011). 17  Houtz (2002), Selby et al. (2002, 2005). 12 13

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range from 18 to 126, with a theoretical mean of 72.18 In forming the groups, teachers often group together those with similar scores. Group work is a vital part of effective outdoor education programs. Working with others, at least initially, often takes some getting used to and there needs to be an understanding that this transition will take some time. Many teachers will need to formally provide guidance to children on how to work effectively in groups, and this transition may take several weeks to achieve. While the children can be engaged in outdoor education activities during this period, the focus should be on the ability of children to work well in group settings, with other learning monitored but less important. Many learners, especially those who have been successful in the prior practices used in their classrooms, will often be especially reluctant to transition to a new, unfamiliar way of learning. Some parents may also feel that cooperative group work will hinder their children. It is, of course, important that teachers have processes in place to monitor both individual and group progress. Outdoor education initiatives work best where there are a balance of assignments, with some being the responsibility of the group while others are within the purview of the individual. Over time, group dynamics will shift as students begin to appreciate the contributions and efforts of their peers. Once the newness of group work wears off, and students become more used to working collaboratively with peers to identify and solve problems facing them, children will embrace group learning opportunities. Teachers may often need to change and alter group composition, as even the most carefully put together groups do not always work out as intended. Effective outdoor education program teachers often collaborate with peers in putting groups together, as this is work that greatly benefits from a variety of perspectives. If possible, use data generated by the VIEW assessment, as this can greatly expedite and facilitate the process. As teachers become more used to putting groups together, they will often find the process easier and more intuitive. It is also important for teachers to remember that they are the experts of their own classrooms, as this can help them sometimes make decisions that seem to go against the data based upon their knowledge of the individuals involved. Progress is not always instant when implementing cooperative groups and focus on group dynamics takes time to achieve, yet “we keep up yet the lilt.”

 Selby, Treffinger, and Isaksen (2002, 2007), Selby, Treffinger, Isaksen, and Lauer (2002).

18

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Case Study No. 4: Building Better Group Interactions Calhoun High School has discussed outdoor education and have decided to dedicate a 50-min advisory session each day to introduce an outdoor education experience to all sophomores. Discussions between the administration, teachers, and parents and families determined that it was best to begin with sophomore students, since first-year students were still trying to adjust from the shift from middle school and juniors and seniors were busy with other academic and administrative issues during this time period. By slightly adjusting the schedule so that the passing period on either side of the advisory period is extended to 10 min, Ms. Williams and the teachers feel that the 50-min period would be enough to provide each sophomore with an authentic and valuable outdoor learning experience. Ms. Williams has made clear from the beginning is that one of her hopes for the outdoor education program is to build collaboration between departments at the school and to embrace a cross-curricular approach to this time period. To this end, each teacher will be paired with another teacher from a different department. An English/language arts teacher might be paired with a science teacher, or a social studies teacher will be matched with a teacher who is from the mathematics department. Although the children will all be enrolled in a year-long class titled Outdoor Education, the focus of the period will be cross-curricular with an emphasis on building each student’s critical and creative thinking skills. Although the teachers will be expected to address the content standards from their own discipline, there are no specific ways the teachers must proceed, so long as they establish a final assessment that measures the children’s critical and creative thinking skills. During the spring semester of the previous academic year, Ms. Williams conducted a needs assessment to determine what professional learning opportunities the teachers and other professional staff felt they needed. The items the needs assessment identified as being of primary concern to the teachers included learning more about creative problem solving (CPS), how to more tightly tie classroom instruction and assignments into the disciplines which they represent, better approaches to co-teaching and collaborating, and ways to ensure outdoor education experiences are both rigorous and engaging. During the summer, the district provided specialized professional learning opportunities for teachers related to CPS, with these sessions differentiated based upon individual teacher’s prior

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experience, if any, with CPS. Those teachers who had no experience working with CPS received a basic overview of the program and the various tools associated with it, while those who had worked with CPS before were able to focus on an advanced exploration of select components of the program. The evaluations that participants completed at the conclusion of the two-week sessions were highly positive and teachers expressed a good deal of confidence related to how they would be able to use CPS during the forthcoming year. As Ms. Williams and her leadership team, which is composed of the chairs from the various academic departments, meet to discuss professional learning opportunities and supports needed during the upcoming year, how would you answer the following questions: • What might the focus of professional learning offered during the academic year be? How might this address the varying needs of teachers? • What type of other supports might teachers need to be successful in the outdoor education initiative? Why? • How might Ms. Williams assess the progress that teachers are making with the outdoor education initiative? What should be the focus of her assessments? Why?

References Alacapinar, F.  G. (2013). Grade level and creativity. Egitim ArastirmalariEurasian Journal of Educational Research., 50, 247–266. Cason, D., & Gillis, H. L. (1994). A meta-analysis of outdoor adventure programming with adolescents. The Journal of Experiential Education, 17(1), 40–47. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382599401700109 Baer, J. (2003). Grouping and achievement in cooperative learning. College Teaching, 51(4), 169–174. https://doi.org/10.1080/87567550309596434 Batchelor, K. E., & Bintz, W. P. (2013). Promoting creativity in the middle school language arts classroom: Four overarching principles and concrete learning activities help teachers to overcome challenges to promoting rich and authentic creativity among students. Middle School Journal, 45(1), 3–11. Darling-Hammond, L. (2010). The flat world and education: How America’s commitment to equity will determine our future. Teachers College Press. Darling-Hammond, L., & Bransford, J. (Eds.). (2005). Preparing teachers for a changing world: What teachers should learn and be able to do. Jossey-Bass.

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Hattie, J.  A., Marsh, H.  W., Neill, J.  T., & Richards, G.  E. (1997). Adventure education and outward bound: Out-of-class experiences that have a lasting effect. Review of Educational Research, 67(1), 43–87. https://doi. org/10.3102/00346543067001043 Houtz, J.  C. (2002). Creativity style makes a difference in problem solving. Creative Learning Today, 11(2), 7–9. Houtz, J. C., & Selby, E. C. (2009). Problem solving style, creative thinking, and problem solving confidence. Educational Research Quarterly, 33(1), 18–30. Johnson, D. W. (2009). An educational psychology success story: Social interdependence theory and cooperative learning. Educational Researcher, 38(5), 365–379. https://doi.org/10.3102/0013189x09339057 Marks, M.  B., & O’Connor, A.  H. (2013). Understanding students’ attitudes about group work: What does this suggest for instructors of business? Journal of Education for Business, 88(3), 147–158. https://doi.org/10.1080/0883232 3.2012.664579 May, M., & Doob, L. (1937). Cooperation and competition. Social Sciences Research Council. McCoy, F., Selby, E., & Houtz, J. (2014). Problem solving style and creative productivity. International Journal for Talent Development and Creativity, 2(1), 117–126. Missett, T.  C., Brunner, M.  M., Callahan, C.  M., Moon, T.  R., & Azano, A. P. (2014). Exploring teacher beliefs and use of acceleration, ability grouping, and formative assessment. Journal for the Education of the Gifted, 37(3), 245–268. https://doi.org/10.1177/0162353214541326 Schroth, S. T. (2007a). Gifted English language learners: Developing talent while supporting language acquisition. Gifted Education Press Quarterly, 20(2), 5–9. Schroth, S. T. (2007b). Levels of service. In C. M. Callahan & J. A. Plucker (Eds.), Critical issues and practices in gifted education (pp. 281–294). Prufrock Press. Schroth, S. T., Crawford, M. A., Dixon, J. D., Hoyt, H. M., & Helfer, J. A. (2015). Establishing groups in the college or university classroom: Using VIEW to achieve better cooperative groups and learning outcomes. Educational Research Quarterly, 39(2), 3–35. Selby, E.  C., Shaw, E., & Houtz, J.  C. (2005). The creative personality. Gifted Child Quarterly, 49(4), 300–314. https://doi.org/10.1177/ 001698620504900404 Selby, E. C., Treffinger, D. J., & Isaksen, S. G. (2002). VIEW: An assessment of problem solving style. Center for Creative Learning, Inc. Selby, E. C., Treffinger, D. J., & Isaksen, S. G. (2007). VIEW: An assessment of problem solving style: Technical manual. Center for Creative Learning, Inc. Selby, E. C., Treffinger, D. J., Isaksen, S. G., & Lauer, K. J. (2002). VIEW: An assessment of problem solving style technical manual and user’s guide. Center for Creative Learning, Inc.

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Selby, E. C., Treffinger, D. J., Isaksen, S. G., & Lauer, K. J. (2004). Defining and assessing problem-solving style: Design and development of a new tool. Journal of Creative Behavior, 38(4), 221–243. https://doi.org/10.1002/ j.2162-6057.2004.tb01242.x Sharan, S. (Ed.). (1990). Cooperative learning: Theory and research. Praeger Publishers. Sharan, S. (Ed.). (1994). Handbook of cooperative learning methods. Praeger Publishers. Sharan, S., & Shaulov, A. (1990). Cooperative learning, motivation to learn, and academic achievement. In S.  Sharan (Ed.), Cooperative learning: Theory and research (pp. 173–202). Praeger Publishers. Sharan, Y. (2010). Cooperative learning for academic and social gains: Valued pedagogy, problematic practice. European Journal of Education, 45(2), 300–313. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1465-3435.2010.01430.x Sternberg, R. J. (1997). Thinking styles. Cambridge University Press. Stemberg, R.  J., & Grigorenko, E.  L. (1997). Are cognitive styles still in style? American Psychologist, 52, 700–712. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003066X.52.7.700 Strong, M. (2011). The highly qualified teacher: What is teacher quality and how do we measure it? Teachers College Press. Stronge, J.  H. (2007). Qualities of effective teachers (2nd ed.). Association of Supervision and Curriculum Development. Treffinger, D. J., Schoonover, P. F., & Selby, E. C. (2011). Edicatomg fpr creativity & innovation: A comprehensive guide to research-based practice. Routledge. Whitman, W. (1892/1993). Leaves of grass: The first edition of 1855 + the death bed edition of 1892. Modern Library.

Further Readings Isaksen, S. G., Dorval, K. B., & Treffinger, D. J. (2011). Creative approaches to problem solving: A framework for innovation and change. SAGE Publications. Laughlin, P. R. (2011). Group problem solving. Princeton University Press. Plucker, J. A. (Ed.). (2017). Creativity & innovation: Theory, research, and practice. Prufrock Press.

CHAPTER 6

Creativity and Outdoor Education

On the Beach at Night Alone On the beach at night alone, As the old mother sways her to and fro singing her husky song, As I watch the bright stars shining, I think a thought of the clef of the universes and of the future. A vast similitude interlocks all, All spheres, grown, ungrown, small, large, suns, moons, planets, All distances of place however wide, All distances of time, all inanimate forms, All souls, all living bodies though they be ever so different, or in different worlds, All gaseous, watery, vegetable, mineral processes, the fishes, the brutes, All nations, colors, barbarians, civilizations, languages, All identities that have existed or may exist on this globe, or any globe, All lives and deaths, all of the past, present, future, This vast similitude spins them, and always has spann’d, And shall forever span them and completely hold and enclose them. (Whitman, 1892/1993)

Creativity involves the formation of something new and valuable, either tangible or intangible. Children’s creativity increases and develops not when they sit in desks trying to regurgitate information poured into them © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 S. T. Schroth, Outdoor Education, Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9_6

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by a teacher, but instead when they are working to find solutions to real problems they have identified that face them and their communities. Outdoor education provides a terrific platform that helps build critical and creative thinking skills, as it largely focuses upon just this process. Educators may proceed independently, or they may adopt a variety of extant tools and programs for this process, such as creative problem solving (CPS) or shared inquiry. This sort of work can readily be adopted by teachers working with any age group of students from PreK through high school or teaching any subject. It is especially useful for outdoor education activities or programs, as these tools—which are acknowledged to be an excellent way to teach creative and critical thinking skills—are something the students can, once taught how to use them and mastered, be used largely on their own.

Defining Creativity Creativity has been defined in numerous ways by numerous individuals at numerous times throughout history. While this is the case with multiple terms, there are certain consistent themes that run through the many definitions of creativity. Franken has defined creativity as being “the tendency to generate or recognize ideas, alternatives, or possibilities that may be useful in solving problems, communicating with others, and entertaining ourselves and others” (p. 396). Csikszentmihalyi (1996) posited that “creativity is any act, idea, or product that changes an existing domain, or that transforms an existing domain into a new one … What counts is whether the novelty he or she produces is accepted for inclusion in the domain.” Another definition of creativity, this one formulated by Weisberg, holds that the term refers to both novel products of value and also to the person who produces such work—creativity thus refers both to the capacity to produce such works and the activity of generating such products. Sternberg, with his investment theory of creativity, suggests that Creative people, like good investors, generate ideas that, at the time are viewed as novel and perhaps slightly ridiculous. The creative individuals are metaphorically “buying low.” Then, once their ideas have gained some acceptance, the creative individuals “sell high,” reaping the profits of their good idea and moving on to the next unpopular idea.1 1

 Sternberg and Luart (1991).

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Treffinger and others have suggested that rather than defining creativity, the better question is to ask how a specific individual is creative, since creativity exists in all humans. Amabile’s view of creativity involves the interaction between three distinct but related components: domain-relevant skills, creativity-relevant skills, and task motivation. Domain-relevant skills include knowledge about the domain, certain technical skills, and special domain-related talents. The creativity-relevant skills include various working styles, thinking styles, and personality traits. The task motivation dimension focuses upon the desire to do something for its own sake or based on a particular individual’s interest in the activity at a given point in time. Guilford emphasized a slightly different set of characteristics of the creative individual, including complexity, evaluation, flexibility, fluency, novelty, reorganization or redefinition, sensitivity to problems, and synthesis. In Guilford’s Structure of Intellect Model, creativity has usually been associated with the mental operation described as divergent production. Fromm described creativity as “the ability to see (or to be aware) and to Respond.”2 To exhibit the creative attitude, Fromm believed an individual must exhibit certain capacities or abilities. These include the ability to concentrate, the ability to be an initiator of ideas and actions, the capacity to be puzzled, and the ability to accept, rather than to avoid, conflict, or tension. Khatena also focused upon the individual when contemplating creativity. He believed that the creative person possessed the imagination necessary to break away from perceptual set and instead to structure or restructure ideas, feelings, and thoughts into new and related ways. The primary focus of both Fromm and Khatena was the person and those personality traits and attributes that contribute to creativity. Torrance, who pioneered the field of creativity testing, also promulgated his own definition of creativity. Torrance defined creativity as [A] process of becoming sensitive to problems, deficiencies, gaps in knowledge, missing elements, disharmonies, and so on; identifying the difficulty; searching for solutions, making guesses, or formulating hypotheses about the deficiencies; testing and retesting these hypotheses and possibly modifying and retesting them; and finally communicating the results.3

2 3

 Fromm (1959), p. 44.  Torrance (1974), p. 8.

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This definition, in conjunction with that of others but especially Guilford, helped to shape the early versions of the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT). This focus on the process was due to Guilford’s and Torrance’s beliefs that if the creative process were better understood, it would be possible to predict what type of person could master that process, what learning environment best facilitated the process, and what types of products might let us ascertain whether or not this process has been completed successfully. When discussing creativity, Maslow emphasized the importance of self-­ actualization in human behavior. Maslow believed, on the one hand, that many people are too fearful to learn much about themselves and as a result never become self-actualized. Creative people, on the other hand, are able to overcome their fears as well as society’s rigid pressures and are as a consequence able to free themselves to attain personal integration, wholeness, and creativity. Maslow described creative, self-actualizing people as bold, courageous, autonomous, spontaneous, and confident. Rogers emphasizing three major “inner conditions” of the creative person when discussing creative personality development: (a) An openness to experience that prohibits rigidity; (b) The ability to use one’s personal standards to evaluate situ ations; and (c) The ability to accept the unstable and to experiment with many possibilities. Rogers also believed that creative individuals were what he termed “fully functioning” (i.e., psychologically healthy). Gardner posited that the creative person regularly solves problems, fashions products, or defines new questions in a domain in such a way that his or her approach is initially considered novel but that ultimately becomes accepted in a particular cultural setting. It is true that unanimous agreement about what creativity entails does not exist. Some emphasize creativity’s effect on a child’s artistic abilities, while others maintain it has more to do with a set of cognitive skills, or inventiveness, or imagination. While these divergent definitions certainly exist, it is untrue to say that there is no consensus regarding what creativity entails. As Treffinger observed, a three-dimensional definition of creativity is generally accepted. This three-dimensional definition comprises the interaction of the individual, the environment, and the cosmos or

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“suprarational” dimensions. While it may be true that it is difficult to measure, to use Torrance’s phrase the “further reaches” of creativity, it certainly is possible to measure the more fundamental, rational dimensions of creativity. A variety of assessments, such as the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking—Figural, the Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking—Verbal, and the VIEW assessment all have demonstrated that valid and reliable measurement of rational dimensions of creativity is possible. Does a perfect assessment of an individual’s creativity exist? No, of course not. But it is disingenuous to assert that no assessments of creativity exist because by that standard, no assessments of anything exist. It is a basic tenet of assessment that for any assessment, X ± Y = Z, with X representing what the student actually knows, Z representing the score the student demonstrates on an assessment, and Y representing error. Error exists in all assessments. Problems do exist in lists or checklists that purport to define the “creative” person. As Treffinger noted, as there is not a single way for an individual to be creative, there cannot be a single list or checklist that defines the creative person. Instead of endlessly chasing the question, “How creative are you?”, Treffinger preferred the much more powerful query, “How are you creative?” Children who are encouraged to engage in certain types of learning activities are able to increase their critical and creative thinking abilities as measured by various assessments. Treffinger et al. (2006) stressed the importance of harmony or balance between creative and critical thinking during effective problem-solving and decision-making processes. They defined creative thinking as, “encountering gaps, paradoxes, opportunities, challenges, or concerns, and then searching for meaningful new connections by generating many possibilities, varied possibilities (from different viewpoints or perspectives), unusual or original possibilities, and details to expand or enrich possibilities.” Critical thinking entails, “examining possibilities carefully, fairly, and constructively, and then focusing thoughts and actions by organizing and analyzing possibilities, refining and developing promising possibilities, ranking or prioritizing options, and choosing or deciding on certain options.”4 With a precise definition such as this, it is possible to create instructional sequences and learning activities that promote specific behaviors and skills that permit children to build and hone their creative and critical thinking skills. Some of the major definitions of creativity, and the implications that has for identification, are set forth in Table 6.1. 4

 Treffinger et al. (2006), p. 7.

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Table 6.1  Definitions of giftedness and implications for identification Theorist

Emphasis in definition

Primary focus

Amabile

Interaction among and between person, process, situation, and outcomes Person

Multiple elements within Assessing multiple a specific context or dimensions in an specific task individual’s profile, with a variety of tools

Fromm, Khatena Gardner

Product

Guilford, Torrance, Treffinger

Cognitive processes or operations

Maslow, Rogers

Personal development or lifestyle

Characteristics and traits of highly creative individuals Creative accomplishments, results, outcomes Skills related to solving complex problems or creative (divergent) thinking Self-actualization; self-confidence, mental health, and growth; creative setting or context

Implications for identification

Testing of creative personality traits and attributes Reviewing and assessing products or demonstrated accomplishments and talents Assessing for specific aptitudes and skills related to creative thinking and problem solving Testing personal adjustment, mental health, and self-image; assessing climates that inhibit or encourage creativity

While these conceptions of creativity are interrelated, the distinct perspective and focus of each results in an expectation of different individuals being identified who would meet the criteria focused upon in each.

The Importance of Creativity and Innovation in Education In a world where knowledge is constantly expanding and technology is continually changing and evolving, older ways of teaching, which emphasized the memorization and recitation of certain facts, is less effective, efficient, and equitable. Instead of regurgitating what a teacher has told them, children need to be provided with the opportunity to create knowledge, to engage in creative and critical thinking skills, and to attack problems without a clearly defined plan of attack, instead developing possible solutions to the problems as they proceed. Outdoor education provides a

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significant way that teachers, administrators, and other school personnel can provide avenues through which children can engage in these processes. Unfortunately, such opportunities have disproportionately been provided to children from higher socioeconomic status (SES) levels, with poorer children and those who live in urban areas often excluded from these types of approaches and activities. Certainly, some of the difficulties with initiating outdoor education opportunities with urban and less wealthy populations have to do with the limited green areas in many of our larger cities. Additionally, pressure from many constituencies to raise basic achievement scores in English/language arts and mathematics has made many educators, schools, and school districts hesitant to try new approaches or more progressive methods with lower performing children. A lack of personnel, instructional resources, and even materials as basic as coats and gloves have also made many educators reluctant to try to initiate an outdoor education program with traditionally underserved populations. This hesitancy, while understandable, is unfortunate and, ultimately, wrong. Since over 40  years of non-ceasing school reform have seemingly done little to raise the academic achievement rates of diverse populations who now make up the majority of the public school student population, the time has seemingly come to try newer, bolder approaches in an effort to provide opportunities for all children to develop their creative and critical thinking skills and to engage in educational projects that are meaningful, relevant, and challenging to each child. A host of tools, approaches, and other resources exist that can help schools make the move to providing outdoor education opportunities to all children. Many of these can be introduced in a classroom setting, while others are probably best suited for when the children are in an outdoor setting. Regardless, using some of these methods to assist children to identify problems facing them or their communities, to devise a series of possible approaches to solve the problem, to analyze various options in order to determine which are most viable, and then to engage in the process of building support for a given choice helps children acquire important ways of thinking that will help them throughout their academic careers and future lives. For these tools to be effectively used, however, it is important to understand the characteristics of creative individuals so that these may be recognized in the classroom and then to create learning sequences and units that help support the creative child’s needs.

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Treffinger et al. (2002) determined that the characteristics of creativity could be placed in one of four distinct categories. These categories were generating ideas, digging deeper into ideas, openness, and courage to explore ideas, and listening to one’s “inner voice.” Not all of these characteristics will be present in all children to the same extent. It is important, however, for teachers to look at the characteristics of creativity, which are shown in Table 6.2: Table 6.2  Characteristics of creativity Category

Characteristics

Generating ideas

Fluency Flexibility Originality Elaboration Metaphorical thinking Digging deeper Analyzing into ideas Synthesizing Reorganizing or redefining Evaluating Seeing relationships Desiring to resolve ambiguity Bringing order to disorder Preferring complexity or understanding complexity Openness and Problem sensitivity courage to explore Aesthetic sensitivity and/or interests ideas High levels of curiosity Sense of humor and/or facility for producing humor Playfulness (also defined as silly, childish, sloppy, or immature) Capacity for fantasy or imagination Risk taking/thrill seeking Tolerance for ambiguity Tenacity and lack of inhibition (often spontaneous) in expressing of opinion Openness to experience and ideas and not rightened by the unknown Open to feelings and emotions; shows emotional sensitivity Adaptability; making do with what is at hand to reach goals Intuition Willingness to grow Unwillingness to accept authoritarian assertions without critical examination Integration of dichotomies (e.g., selfish and unselfish, extroverted and introverted) (continued)

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Table 6.2 (continued) Category

Characteristics

Listening to one’s “inner voice”

Awareness of creativeness; sees self as creative; sense of purpose; self-confident Persistence or perseverance Need for and/or demonstration of autonomy, self-discipline and self-direction; many self-initiated, task-oriented behaviors Independence of thought; internal locus of control; judgment and/ or action; courage; non-conformity; does not fear being different (or argumentative, stubborn, uncooperative, unconventional behaviors) Need for alone time; interest in reflective thinking; introspective (or low levels of sociability, deficient social skills) Rejects sex stereotyping in interests; free from other stereotypes (e.g., racial, language, class, etc.) Intense concentration and absorption in work (or absentmindedness, inattentive, mind wanders) Energetic (or hyperactive/overactive physically or mentally) Willingness to work hard; preference for, enjoyment of, and capacity for thinking and work

These characteristics will be present in children to varying degrees. Providing children with opportunities to develop their creativity will assist them in developing creativity in the classroom.

Developing Creativity Creative and critical thinking skills can be taught, and teachers who match the appropriate approach to specific student learning needs will be successful in improving their charges’ ability to engage in such thinking processes. Children will, of course, demonstrate varying levels of certain skills, and the careful teacher is aware of these variances and differentiates instruction so as to meet each child’s needs. There are certainly nearly infinite possibilities of each child’s level of skill at a given task, but teachers can accommodate most learners if they think of their competencies using three or four gradations of demonstrated ability. Many have found it useful to, when assessing a child’s current level of performance at a given skill, to assign them to one of four categories. These categories might be thought of as the child’s present level of performance as being not yet evident, emerging, expressing, and excelling.

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For the child whose skills are not yet evident, he or she may be thought of as discovering a new process or procedure and perhaps demonstrating a certain reluctance to proceed. In this event, the teacher should work to build the necessary foundation for creative learning, reviewing the steps in a process or procedure and letting the child explore various ways of proceeding. The child whose performance has been ascertained to be emerging may be thought of as either discovering a new skill or showing interest in using it as part of the learning process. Teachers should work to support these learners by allowing them to developing and practicing using various tools and creative thinking skills. For children who are considered to be expressing a given skill, they can be considered to be performing proficiently and with enthusiasm. In these situations, the teacher should look to help learners apply tools and skills to realistic problems and challenges, with some of these being appropriate real-life situations. Finally, for the child who demonstrates that he or she is excelling in using a certain skill, this soaring performance and enthusiasm for the process also can be served. The classroom teacher can permit such a child to identify problems in his or her community and then to apply appropriate creativity skills and tools to the process of trying to determine an appropriate action. This can be either done by the excelling child individually or as a member of a group allowing a demonstration of self-initiated and self-directed creativity. As to which skills or tools to use in an outdoor education program, the short answer is “Any that work!” Every school setting will have programs and processes that they have spent money on, which teachers enjoy using, and which have been the topic of study at many professional learning sessions. By all means these programs and processes should be used by the school as part of its outdoor education program if appropriate. A variety of children’s books, websites, and apps devoted to the outdoors can assist teachers in preparing educational sequences for the children with whom they work, and a variety of these are set forth in Appendices B and C. Any book, website, or app where a teacher sees a connection between it and the subject studies is, of course, appropriate, but these might give some a place at which to begin when planning activities and lessons. A variety of programs, approaches, and other materials also exist that assist in helping children develop creative and critical thinking skills, and some of these are discussed below.

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Creative Problem Solving Creative problem solving (CPS) works to help users build clarity with regard to problems facing them and their current situation, generate ideas for solving such problems, and taking action to develop or make decisions that address these problems.5 CPS is organized into three phases and six stages, which can be used as a whole or individually. The CPS phases are understanding the challenge, generating ideas, and preparing for action. Understanding the challenge assists users in being certain they are working on the right goals, challenges, or opportunities. It focuses on asking the right questions or stating the problem in such a manner that it will help them find some productive answers. Stages used in understanding the challenge include constructing opportunities, exploring data, and framing problems. Generating ideas involves coming up with approaches that have potential or provide solutions. There is only a single stage in generating ideas, and it involves coming up with many new, unusual, or varied ideas and then identifying the most promising possibilities of these. Preparing for action entails analyzing, refining, and developing ideas so that they may be developed into useful solutions and specific activities. The stages supporting preparing for action are developing solutions and building acceptance. The understanding the challenge stage requires some pre-planning on the part of both teachers and students. This part of the process is often overlooked, but it is arguably as important as any insofar it permits the teacher to prescribe specific treatments or responses to student talents or needs.6 St. Augustine’s guidance with regard to teaching was always to draw attention to discussion so that students would be able to dissect, analyze, ponder, and examine issues and problems so that all sides were examined. CPS’s process of appraising tasks demands that participants not only identify a job, task, or problem, but also to: (a) Identify the key people involved in the task and their roles; (b) Ascertain the desired content, outcomes, or results the group hopes to accomplish; (c) Examine the context in which the problem exists; and 5  See Treffinger et al. (2006), for an introduction to the CPS program. A full program, with a variety of tools and resources, CPS has over 70 years of research supporting its use. 6  Treffinger et al. (2006).

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(d) Determine whether CPS would be a useful method or structure with which to examine the problem.7 Using the elements of people, content, context, and method to appraise whether CPS would be a good fit is a task that will be considered by the teacher if he or she is working with young children. As students become more familiar with CPS, they should be encouraged to participate in this process. CPS works best if the process through which it will be utilized is thought-out in advance of beginning to use it. Considerations that teachers and students might make include: (a) What will be the scope of the CPS application? Will it be a session, project, or adaptation? (b) What level of CPS application will be chosen? Individual, group, classroom, or school? (c) Who will play which roles during the process? Who are the specific clients (those who will benefit) and owners (those who will do certain things)? (d) Who will do what during the process? Who is in which group? Who is responsible for certain tasks? (e) How are specific needs linked to specific CPS processes? Which component, stage, or tool is linked to which need? (f) How will CPS best be used? Individually? In a group? (g) Do all participants fully understand the CPS vocabulary? Should we review this before beginning? One of the advantages of CPS is its ability to be used in part or in whole, as part of a single lesson or a comprehensive unit. Determining which is preferred is something that should be determined as early as possible. Grouping is also quite flexible with CPS, and depending on the project, age of the children, and other considerations may be used by the individual child, a group, or the entire class. Assigning specific tasks to specific children both ensures that each child’s learning and affective needs are met while also permitting a level of accountability for the project. Linking specific steps in the CPS process to certain needs is an excellent way of ensuring that nothing falls through the cracks. If the class or group 7

 Treffinger et al. (2006).

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has frequently used CPS, this next step will be unnecessary, but it is often beneficial to review the meaning of various CPS terms and processes before proceeding. The first stage of CPS is known as understanding the challenge. At this point, individuals or groups engage in three activities, called stages, that will assist in better understanding the next steps to be taken. These processes include framing the problem, exploring the data, and identifying and selecting opportunities. Framing the problem often involves asking a series of focused series of questions that center on the purpose of the exercise. These questions may include: (a) What do we seek to do? (b) What are our goals? Our challenges? (c) Who are the people most interested in this issue? (d) What data might we examine?8 Once preliminary answers to these questions are gathered, it is beneficial to gather and explore whatever data exists related to the problem. The data may well be incomplete, so this is also an opportune time to consider what other data might be gathered to assist in the project. Finally, framing the problem guides the group in a very detailed and focused question that for generating and analyzing new ideas and approaches. Generating ideas consists of a single stage, but this stage is often misunderstood. The focus of the stage is the generation of many new, innovative, varied, and unique ideas. After a multitude of ideas are generated, these are analyzed and examined, sometimes combined, and ultimately culled down so that only the most practical and interesting are identified. Many children initially find this exercise challenging, especially because it does not focus on the “correct” answers and emphasis upon remembering upon which much of their prior schooling has focused. Instead, the process demands that students engage in a two-part process. The first entails generating as many possible solutions as possible—the emphasis during this first stage is upon quantity and speed. This is a process that many teacher-pleasing students will find disconcerting, as they are used to focusing on reciting back correct answers based upon what the teacher has previously told them or assigned them as readings. A variety of CPS tools

8

 Treffinger et al. (2006).

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exist that assist students and teachers work through the process, such as brainstorming, morphological matrices, and other thinking tools.9 After a large number of ideas are generated, students then (and only then) begin to think about which ideas are better than others, which might benefit from being combined with another idea, and which seem either impractical or inappropriate. After the number of ideas is refined and slimmed down, the students should concentrate on focusing ideas. Focusing ideas entails identifying the best ideas, and then determining, which seem most appropriate for the problem at hand? A good deal of the preference for certain ideas over those of others will depend upon the learning style and orientation of the children making the determination. Do the children have more of a developer orientation, seeking options that work within the current system and that strive to make processes and structures better? Or do the students exhibit more of an explorer style, demonstrating openness to the newest, most striking, and unusual ideas? One preference is not “better” than the other, but some ideas will be a better fit with the learning preferences of certain children. The preparing for action component of the CPS process is composed of two stages. These are known as developing solutions and building consensus. Developing solutions involves working on promising options developed as part of the generating ideas stage and then working to transform them into possible solutions. A solution differs from an idea insofar that it is more developed and refined than the initial thought, A solution also details a series of actions that, if taken, will lead to a successful resolution of the issue or problem facing the individual or group. Certain solutions may be very easy to implement, while others may require a great deal more planning or preparation. When multiple solutions exist, students must engage in judging these, analyzing: (a) Which would be difficult and which easy? (b) Is the option useful or not? (c) Are there other options that are better? (d) What are potential drawbacks to this solution? This process permits students to exercise judgment and to begin to ponder what elements they consider more or less important, disruptive, or attractive to others. 9

 See, for example, Treffinger and Nassab (2000).

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Building acceptance is the final stage in the CPS process. This stage recognizes that an excellent solution is not enough in and of itself. Instead, those who have devised the solution often must persuade others of the efficacy and efficiency of their preferred path. This stage requires those proposing a solution to look at it through the eyes of others and to determine what aspects of it might be attractive and which might generate objections or opposition that must be overcome. This part of the process is as important as any other, for a perfect solution that is unpopular will often not be adapted.

Mindfulness Mindfulness entails being aware of the present moment and an awareness of the events surrounding one as they unfold and the ability to view these in a non-judgmental manner.10 Variously described as a trait or as a state, mindfulness permits children to evaluate tasks facing them, their performance, and to act in a way that is non-judgmental, non-reactive, and present-­focused. Rather than waiting for evaluation or assessment by others of their work, mindfulness helps children to become better arbiters of their own performance and allows them to make needed corrections and changes before deeming projects complete. Teachers and other adults can provide mindfulness training to children, which will in turn improve their ability to self-regulate and self-assess their performance. While mindfulness strategies can and should be taught to the whole class, it may also be used as an intervention strategy tailored to those children who are experiencing difficulties in thinking about their work objectively or in a manner that supports their academic success. Mindfulness training and instruction involves systematic mental training.11 Each child needs to learn how to best orient their attention and focus to the present moment. Instead of permitting one’s thoughts to jump from topic to topic, the student who has been trained in mindfulness strategies instead orients his or her attention to the present moment and then monitors any emotions, sensations, or thoughts that may arise. 10  Shirley and Hargreaves (2021), Silva and Miele (1977). Teaching children to think in the present, and about the world around them, has terrific benefits to them in being successful in school settings. 11  Pinker (2021), Silva and Miele (1977). Many schools now include mindfulness training as part of their academic program.

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Mindfulness training concentrates on increasing self-awareness, cultivating the individual’s ability to modulate his or her behavior, which leads to increased levels of self-regulation. This increased level of self-regulation benefits children with regard to academic, behavioral, and vocational settings. These skills related to self-regulation also tend to improve one’s relationships with others. Mindfulness interventions are often used with children who are experiencing difficulties self-regulating their behavior. The following metacognitive factors are part of this process: 1. Attention regulation; 2. Body awareness; 3. Emotion regulation; 4. Changes in one’s self-perspective. Much of mindfulness training turns on attention, insofar that one is consciously shifting one’s attention to certain topics, subjects, and occurrences rather than others. This focus is at the center of a great deal of mindfulness training. When adjusting the individual’s control of his or her attention, several key attentional processes are involved. These attentional processes include: 1. Attentional orienting, which includes acceptance, and openness; 2. Engaging attention; and 3. Sustaining and monitoring one’s attention.

curiosity,

The attentional control mechanisms in the brain allow the student to focus upon the task at hand, and possible solutions, rather than becoming distracted by the many other thoughts and topics of which they might think. Mindfulness training is also considered to help foster inhibitory control capacity, which in turn improves some level of impulse control. Mental flexibility is also increased through mindfulness training, as the student is more aware of the origin or theme of various thoughts and concepts with which he or she deals. Drigas and Mitsea (2020) created a model through which mindfulness training can be introduced and taught. The eight pillars of this approach are described in Table 6.3. Depending upon prior experience with mindfulness training, as well as the age of the learners, the amount of time spent on each of these pillars

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Table 6.3  Drigas and Mitsea’s eight pillars metacognitive model of mindfulness Pillar

Characteristics

Theoretical understanding of mindfulness

Mindfulness is not a one-dimensional concept. On the contrary, it requires an understanding of increasingly advanced and complex concepts

Required Understandings

Mindfulness is characterized by a broad theoretical background beginning from the ancient traditional systems of medicine to modern neuroscience Experiential Practice helps people to apply the acquired Mindfulness is inseparably understanding knowledge taking into consideration the connected with practice in of mindfulness parameters that define a given situation. real circumstances During this process, the subjects learn by experience. They realize their strengths and weaknesses. They are required to estimate the situations as well as the demands imposed by the external environment and make decisions about new opportunities Mindful This process requires the development and The meta-ability of self-observations the engagement of a mental construction self-observation requires which is termed internal observer which is real-time monitoring of closely related to attentional processes the emotional and mental movements that arise moment by moment in the field of perception Mindful Each time the observation procedure One has the ability to self-regulation detects distractions, the subject employs redirect the mind from self-regulation strategies to restore off-topic thoughts to the disturbances and re-establish relaxation subject at hand Mindful The individual’s ability to respond flexibly The strategies one uses adaptation to unexpected conditions and heavy vary depending upon the stressors employing adaptive strategies circumstances Mindful The human meta-ability to identify Each person may recognize recognition automatic reactivity, cognitive bias, and those conditions and distorted perceptions patterns of thinking that interfere with concentrating on the task at hand (continued)

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Table 6.3 (continued) Pillar

Characteristics

Required Understandings

Mindful discernment

The meta-ability of filtering, to make wise judgments, to discern between thoughts and emotions, and deliberately chose those that assure physiological and psychological well-being A state of awakening and relaxed awareness in which cognitive processes operate without effort, liberated from distractions

Conscious choices made by the individual can permit him or her to better focus upon the subject studied

Mnemosyne

Using mindfulness strategies leads to better performance and a more enjoyable working experience

will vary. Using a checklist or other simple form of assessment will assist teachers in supporting children’s needs. While mindfulness training should certainly be offered to the entire class as a whole group activity, certain students may need additional or supplemental assistance based upon individual needs.

Developing Critical Thinking Skills Critical thinking entails forming a judgment after analyzing various arguments, evidence, facts, and observations related to a given problem.12 While the process itself is fairly straightforward, various definitions of the method exist, all of which involve the rational, skeptical, and unbiased analysis of facts and other evidence in order to draw a conclusion. Critical thinking is a process which is simultaneously self-directed, self-disciplined, self-monitored, and self-corrective. It involves logic as well as communication and problem-solving skills to make an evaluation of certain arguments, situations, or solutions. Critical thinking can involve either deduction, induction, or abduction and is a skill that develops over time, with the opportunity to practice using these processes proving paramount to growth and mastery. Studies have been conducted on how critical  See, for example, Davies and Barnett (2015).

12

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thinking skills are best acquired, and materials, approaches, and other tools have been developed to help build critical thinking skills in educational settings, although some of these have demonstrated more effectiveness than others. The development of critical thinking skills is seen by many as one of the principal goals of schooling, and how best to achieve this remains an area of interest and concern to many. Indeed, the development of critical thinking skills in children is considered by some to be one of the best ways to combat the ego-centrism and socio-centrism that ails so much of modern society. The ancient philosophers stressed the importance of the development of critical thinking skills in students. Indeed, Plato’s earliest dialogues are concerned in part with Socrates engaging with others on the ethics and appropriateness of his remaining in prison or taking offered opportunities to escape both imprisonment and certain death. Since Socrates believed that certain concepts were higher in importance than himself, his respect for the laws of Athens meant that he needed to stay in jail as an escape would indicate a lack of respect for the law. Socrates certainly did not advocate always following the rules and regulations set down by those in authority, however, as he also maintained that those with power and authority are also often confused, irrational, or simply wrong. Thus each person must understand that he or she cannot depend upon those in authority to have sound insights and knowledge, but instead rely on one’s own critical questions and judgments that are associated with his or her own interrogative soul. Socrates believed that, in order for an individual to possess a “good life” that is worth living, he or she must ask deep questions that probe into thinking before accepting ideas or concepts as worthy of belief. Socrates set forth a process by which one could establish a belief in certain positions, individuals, or concepts. This process involved the following steps: • Seeking evidence; • Examining reasoning and assumptions closely; • Analyzing basic concepts; and • Tracing out implications of both what is said and done. The method of questioning he developed is now known as Socratic and is perhaps the best known critical thinking teaching method. At all times, Socrates stressed the importance of thinking for clarity and logical consistency. Plato, Aristotle, and other Greek philosophers continued Socrates’s

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process of using systematic thinking and asking questions to establish the true nature of reality rather than accepting things from the way they appear. Most modern advocates of critical thinking believe that the process entails actively and adeptly conceptualizing, analyzing, applying, synthesizing, and evaluating, or some combination thereof, information that has been gathered from or generated by communication, experience, observation, reasoning, or reflection. The results of this process will guide the individual to the adoption of certain beliefs or actions. Logic also plays a major role in the critical thinking process. Logic involves the analysis of arguments, which includes an assessment of the arguments’ degree of correctness. In logical thinking, the thinker is removed from the train of thought and the analysis of connections between concepts or points is made based upon the elements of these alone. The process thus free from any bias. In order for the logical analysis to be legitimate, it must be abstract, analytical, objective, and universal in nature. While certain weaker thinkers have criticized the logical thinking process, their positions are ultimately untenable as they are based largely on emotion and whimsy. Logical reasoning can be considered to consist of three types of thinking: formal deduction, induction, and abduction. When provided with a precondition or premise, a conclusion or logical consequence, and a rule or material conditional that implies the conclusion given the precondition, an individual can explain the situation in one of three ways, using either deductive, inductive, or abductive reasoning. The three types of logical reasoning are set forth in Table 6.4. For all three of these types of reasoning, they are perhaps best visualized in terms of a mathematical model. The creation of the structure of the model is abduction. Assigning values or probability distributions to the parameters of the model is induction. Running the model is deduction. While other types of reasoning certainly exist, for the purposes of schooling, these three are the ones most commonly used. Critical thinking is seen as an important aspect of schooling insofar that it provides children with a variety of skills and tools that they can use across subjects and throughout their lives. Critical thinking specifically develops the ability to: • Recognize problems; • Find workable solutions for those problems; • Understand the importance of prioritization in problem solving; • Realize the order of precedence in problem solving;

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Table 6.4  The three types of logical reasoning Type of reasoning

Attributes

Example

Deductive reasoning

Determines whether the truth of a conclusion can be determined for that rule, based solely on the truth of the premises. Commonly associated with mathematical or philosophical reasoning Attempts to support a determination of the rule. It hypothesizes or develops a rule after numerous examples are taken to be a conclusion that follows from a precondition in terms of such a rule. Problematic insofar that while the arguments may be persuasive, they are not deductively valid Selects a compelling and persuasive set of preconditions. Given a true conclusion and a rule, it attempts to select some possible premises that, if true also, can support the conclusion, though not uniquely. This type of reasoning can be used to develop a hypothesis, which in turn can be tested by additional reasoning or data. Often used by scientists, diagnosticians, and others

When the temperature is below 32 °F, water freezes. The temperature is below 32 °F. Therefore, water will freeze The water froze numerous times when the temperature dropped below 32 °F. Therefore, water always freezes when the temperature drops below 32 °F When the temperature is below 32 °F, water freezes. The water is frozen. Therefore, the temperature may have been below 32 °F

Inductive reasoning

Abductive reasoning

• Gather and organize relevant data; • Comprehend unstated assumptions and values; • Grasp and use language with clarity, accuracy, and precision; • Analyze and interpret data, both to evaluate arguments and appraise evidence; • Appreciate the relationship, or lack thereof, of logical relationships between propositions; • Draw appropriate conclusions and generalizations from data and situations; • Test the conclusions and generalizations at which one arrives; • Reconstruct personal patterns of belief as a result of real-life experiences; • Make accurate judgments about specific situations and theories.

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Being able to use these skills to attack problems and reach decisions builds one’s ability to use logic, but also to express oneself with accuracy, breadth, clarity, credibility, depth, fairness, precision, relevance, and significance. Critical thinking involves a variety of fundamental skills that may be used by an individual or a group involved in a problem-solving experience. These fundamental skills include observation, analysis, interpretation, inference, explanation, extrapolation, evaluation, and metacognition. Observation is crucial insofar that one must be able to accurately and reliably be able to gather evidence and then to record it in a systematic and reliable manner. Analysis involves taking data, viewing it, manipulating it, and considering the best ways to contrast it with other evidence. Interpretation involves drawing meaning and explanations from data, considering it from multiple perspectives, and also considering what additional information is needed. Inference concerns seeing connections that are perhaps not readily visible, but upon reflection might exist and then investigating further. Explanation entails creating a story based upon the evidence reviewed, being sure to continually revise that story as new data is uncovered. Extrapolation concerns drawing conclusions or making estimates for certain situations where certain variables are unknown based upon the data one has. Evaluation entails assessing one’s work to date and determining if the objectives and goals established when the project was begun are reached as a result of the study conducted. Finally, metacognition, which is not dissimilar to evaluation, requires thinking about the thought processes and steps undertaken as a result of the investigation and, if necessary, making adjustments to the process as one continues. Each of these elements is important to the problem-solving process and is built through repeated interaction with them as part of the problem-­ solving process. Teachers who work consistently with their charges to build the students’ critical thinking skills will see many of these skills develop and transfer to all subject areas over time. Glaser (1941), in a pioneering study, suggested that critical thinking involves three elements. These elements are: 1. An attitude which disposes one to consider thoughtfully the problems and situations that come within the range of one’s experience; 2. Knowledge concerning the methods of logical inquiry and rea soning; and

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3. A certain degree of skill and experience in applying these methods to real-life problems. Initially, teachers must explicitly teach children the various methods of logical inquiry and reasoning. For initial investigations, the teacher will mostly lead the problem-solving experience, with the children following along. Over time, the teacher will gradually release her or his control of the process, and the children themselves will lead the process, working either individually or in groups. Certain children will need additional instruction in the methods of logical inquiry and reasoning, as well as additional supports to help them with the process. In order for children to learn content, they must be actively engaged with the subject studied. For students to adhere to Dewey’s approach, where each individual constructs his or her own knowledge, it is necessary for each child to engage in his or her own thinking. This does not mean, of course, that each child must always do all of his or her work individually and independently. To assist each child in thinking about the projects facing them, teachers concentrate upon those readings, questions, and activities that stimulate the mind and encourage each child to take ownership of the subject matter. While the teaching of critical thinking for decades focused only upon mathematics and logic classes, over the half past century this practice has extended to include all subjects. This trend has followed growth in approaches and content mostly ignored in the past, such as gender theory, collaboration, empathy, and connected knowing. Some concern exists regarding the effectiveness of the teaching of critical thinking skills in school settings. A variety of studies have indicated that too few children are exposed to real-world problems or encouraged to engage in open dialogue within a supportive environment. Critical thinking can be taught to children using any subject, and often even those at a very young age can benefit from an introduction to such skills. Frazier (2017) observed that the humanities in particular have been a rich field that supports the development of critical thinking skills, although one that historically has been underutilized. In addition to academic success, increased levels of critical thinking skills among students should assist in making the citizenry better consumers of news and other information necessary to make important life decisions and to guide them in their voting preferences in elections. While often used within a single disciplinary context, critical thinking skills are universal in nature and thus transferrable if sufficient time is devoted to reflective contextualization.

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How This Looks Outdoors While outdoor educations can be configured to look any way its leaders choose, the best outdoor education programs cherish and celebrate student independence and initiative. These teachers use a process that emphasizes project-based learning and guided investigations to support and assist children’s learning.13 Their emphasis and concern is as much on the process by which children learn as the results, as they are interested in giving children lifelong creative and critical thinking skills and tools that they may use in other settings and situations. As such, the outdoor education program should focus upon having children develop possible solutions to issues and problems facing them and their communities. These investigations may involve as wide a variety of problems and issues as the children’s imaginations permit. Children might investigate how best to reduce the amount of wastewater that flows into its sewer system. They might seek an answer to growing amounts of litter and other debris left in their neighborhood. They might seek ways to reduce their school’s carbon footprint through recycling and other sustainable practices. They might identify a parcel of land that might be used as a community park and then take the steps to petition the local government to make this happen. The children might determine how to raise money to fund a series of community murals at their school to beautify their community. Or they might develop countless other ideas and plans. The key is not so much what the children decide to investigate, but how this investigation might support their learning and become a valuable academic experience. Teachers who serve as guides and facilitators need to carefully monitor what their charges are doing and think of ways to ensure that the academic goals and objectives of the project-based learning or guided investigation will support student learning. An effort to paint murals on school walls, for example, will require calculations of the amount of paint needed for such an endeavor, as well as developing advocacy skills to convince others that such art is the best way to proceed. Teachers who are seeking to initiate and support such learning are not alone in their efforts. A variety of approaches and methods exist that can support outdoor education initiatives. These approaches and methods that include CPS and shared inquiry, as well as the many resources focused upon how best to implement  Larmer et al. (2015), Schroth (2007a, 2007b).

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project-based learning and guided investigations, can be used by teachers to enrich and augment their own plans and activities. For the children served, these ways of thinking and tools shall “forever span them and completely hold and enclose them.”

Case Study No. 5: Creative Thinking Skills for All As Burleigh Middle School has implemented outdoor education classes across all subject areas, classes in which all enrolled are considered honors students, it has seen marked improvement in the performance of the Black/African American and Hispanic/Latino children who are enrolled in the honors courses for the first time. What Mr. Duarte had not expected, but which arose, were complaints from parents of those children who had already been enrolled in honors classes, who fear that the content of their children’s classes is being “diluted” so that more can be served. Despite Mr. Duarte’s demonstration that the performance of all children at the school, regardless of racial or ethnic subgroup, has increased since the implementation of the outdoor education initiative, complaints are still being made, both at the parent-teacher organization (PTO) meetings and to district administrators at the central office. After Mr. Duarte, Ms. Jenkins, and Mr. Helper had initially discussed a possible outdoor education initiative, they had brought the proposal to a faculty meeting, where it was overwhelming approved after a brief discussion. Since Burleigh uses a community school management approach to all details regarding planning, curriculum, and professional learning, various committees had worked to determine, among other things, the professional learning that would be offered over the summer before the roll out of the outdoor education program began. During this process, Mr. Duarte had made sure that all teachers were given additional training in how best to differentiate instruction in a mixed ability classroom, as he wanted to circumvent any possible issues regarding the “watering down” of Burleigh’s well-known science and mathematics classes. As a result of this training, which was provided by both district instructional specialists and faculty from a local university, all teachers reported a much better understanding of differentiated instruction and a greater degree of confidence in their ability to deliver such instruction, than they had reported before the professional learning opportunities. In addition, Mr. Duarte was able to secure funding to hire two instructional coaches, who were able to provide additional support to the classroom teachers throughout the year to ensure

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that the theory of differentiated instruction was able to be translated into practice. Despite these efforts, concerns from parents and families continue to be raised, both at PTO meetings and to central office administrators. Some of these administrators are especially sensitive to parent opinions and have asked if the outdoor education initiative really is the best way to proceed for high-ability learners. To address these questions, Mr. Duarte has formed an ad hoc committee that will gather evidence that demonstrates that the outdoor education initiative has been successful. Mr. Duarte has also asked this group to determine how best to explain the program to parents and families as well as how steps were taken to ensure that the learning of high-ability children did not suffer as a result of the expansion of the honors program to include more diverse learners. If working with Mr. Duarte, how might you choose to address parental concerns regarding the expanded honors offerings? Specifically, how would you address the following questions: • How might Burleigh’s faculty and Mr. Duarte address concerns of parents regarding the quality of the outdoor education honors classes? Why would you choose this way to address the issue? • Is there a way differentiated instruction might best be described to parents, families, and other community members interested in the quality of instruction at the school? If so, please describe it? • What sort of data might convince parents and families, as well as central office administrators, that the outdoor education initiative has been successful?

References Csikszentmihalyi, M. (1996). Creativity: Flow and the psychology of discovery and invention. Harper & Row. Davies, M., & Barnett, R. (Eds.). (2015). The Palgrave handbook of critical thinking in higher education. Palgrave Macmillan. Drigas, A., & Mitsea, E. (2020). A metacognition based 8 pillars mindfulness model and training strategies. International Journal of Recent Contributions in English Science IT, 8(4), 4–17. Frazier, K. (2017). Humanities, too: In new study, history courses in critical thinking reduce pseudoscientific beliefs. Skeptical Inquirer, 41(4), 11.

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Fromm, E. (1959). The creative attitude. In H.  H. Anderson (Ed.), Creativity and its cultivation (pp. 44–54). Harper & Row. Glaser, E. M. (1941). An experiment in the development of critical thinking. Bureau of Publications, Teachers College, Columbia University. Larmer, J., Mergendoller, J., & Boss, S. (2015). Setting the standard for project based learning: A proven approach to rigorous classroom instruction. ASCD. Pinker, S. (2021). Rationality: What it is, why it seems scarce, why it matters. Viking Press. Schroth, S. T. (2007a). Gifted English language learners: Developing talent while supporting language acquisition. Gifted Education Press Quarterly, 20(2), 5–9. Schroth, S. T. (2007b). Levels of service. In C. M. Callahan & J. A. Plucker (Eds.), Critical issues and practices in gifted education (pp. 281–294). Prufrock Press. Shirley, D., & Hargreaves, A. (2021). Five paths of student engagement: Blazing the trail to learning and success. Solution Tree Press. Silva, J., & Miele, P. (1977). The Silva mind control method. Gallery Books/Simon & Schuster. Sternberg, R. J., & Luart, T. I. (1991). An investment theory of creativity and its development. Human Development, 34(1), 1–31. Torrance, E. P. (1974). Torrance tests of creative thinking. Scholastic Testing Service, Inc. Treffinger, D. J., Isaksen, S. G., & Stead-Dorval, B. (2006). Creative problem solving: An introduction (4th ed.). Prufrock Press. Treffinger, D. J., & Nassab, C. A. (2000). Thinking tools lessons: A collection of lessons for teaching creative problem solving. Prufrock Press. Treffinger, D. J., Young, G. C., Selby, E. C., & Shepardson, C. (2002). Assessing creativity: A guide for educators (RM02170). The National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented, University of Connecticut. Whitman, W. (1892/1993). Leaves of grass: The first edition of 1855 + the death bed edition of 1892. Modern Library.

Further Readings Schroth, S. T., Helfer, J. A., Beck, D. L., & Swanson, B. L. (2011). Planning differentiated instruction and assessing results. Kendall Hunt Publishing. Treffinger, D.  J. (2000). Creative problem Solver’s guidebook: A practical set of reproducible templates to guide facilitators and group participants. Prufrock Press. Treffinger, D. J., Isaksen, S. G., & Stead-Dorval, K. B. (2006). Creative problem solving: An introduction (4th ed.). Prufrock Press. Treffinger, D. J., & Nassab, C. A. (2000). Thinking tools lessons: A collection of lessons for teaching creative & critical thinking. Prufrock Press.

PART III

Assuring Successful Change

As those who work with schools know too well, merely having a terrific idea and plan does not mean that this will be implemented, flawlessly or at all, in the schools it is designed to assist. The change literature provides careful guidance about how best to proceed so that the goals and objectives of new outdoor education initiatives are actually implemented faithfully and successfully. Of course every situation varies, which is one factor that makes change so difficult. The strengths and needs of any given program will vary from those of another. But carefully planning change, and the change process, will help with the implementation of any outdoor education initiative and ensure a better result for the children the program serves. Chapter 7 will review how, although schools and teachers are often criticized for the teaching strategies used and the material studied, in reality decisions related to the choice of these rest in the hands of elected or appointed members of Boards of Education. A vast literature exists that explores why some school change is successful while most is not. Those wishing to create and implement an outdoor education program must plan how to roll out, execute, maintain, and evaluate that method of teaching and learning. Because outdoor education is still not part of the mainstream practices of most education systems, it is also important that its proponents be able to document student success, using both traditional and innovative means of doing so. Eliciting the opinions of all stakeholders, providing appropriate and tailored professional development, securing needed resources and materials, and monitoring successes and needs of

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those involved are all part of the process of beginning an outdoor education program that is successful, effective, and self-sustaining. Chapter 8 will look at change in schools, especially in those serving diverse populations, is difficult. Many new initiatives are opposed as being unsuitable for “those” children, and more focus is placed upon children’s deficits than their strengths and talents. Resources are often lacking, as many schools located in low-socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhoods receive less funding than those in more privileged communities. Schools serving diverse learners also frequently have teaching faculties that are less experienced, less credentialed, and less educated than teachers in other schools. Finally, Chap. 9 will review how outdoor education provides an ideal vehicle for those who wish to build children’s critical and creative thinking skills, to close the achievement gap, to tap into children’s fascination with nature and the environment, and to build connections between schools and the communities they serve. Outdoor education may be used as an all-day, all-the-time program, although children in schools where this is not possible would benefit from an outdoor experience that is built into their school’s schedule. Adaptable to children of any age studying any subject, those interested in increasing exposure to science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) instruction will also find that outdoor education provides an especially rich, rigorous, and rewarding way of doing so.

CHAPTER 7

Fostering Positive Change

World, Take Good Notice World, take good notice, silver stars fading, Milky hue rift, weft of white detaching, Coals thirty-six, baleful and burning, Scarlet, significant, hands-off warning, Now and henceforth, flaunt from these shores. (Whitman, 1892/1993)

Attempts to improve the quality of the education offered to children have existed since the first public schools. Indeed, one might state that the one constant in American public education is change. Conservatives, liberals, progressives, and others have from time to time found fault with the curriculum studied, the way it is taught, disciplinary practices, school uniforms, and a host of other issues. Despite this clamor for change, the implementations of reform initiatives, new programs, revisions to the curriculum, innovative instructional methods, new materials, and the like often fail abysmally. Why is this so? Why are some change initiatives successful while so many others change? What sorts of approaches differentiate between successful and failing attempts to change educational practices? How might school leaders best proceed in ways that are most likely to foster the change new programs or approaches seek to achieve? What resources are most important in fostering a climate where change may occur? How should one start with a change initiative? © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 S. T. Schroth, Outdoor Education, Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9_7

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Although schools and teachers are often criticized for the teaching strategies used and the material studied, in reality decisions related to the choice of these rest in the hands of elected or appointed members of Boards of Education. A vast literature exists that explores why some school change is successful while most is not.1 Those wishing to create and implement an outdoor education program must plan how to roll out, execute, maintain, and evaluate that method of teaching and learning. Because outdoor education is still not part of the mainstream practices of most education systems, it is also important that its proponents be able to document student success, using both traditional and innovative means of doing so. Eliciting the opinions of all stakeholders, providing appropriate and tailored professional development, securing needed resources and materials, and monitoring successes and needs of those involved are all part of the process of beginning an outdoor education program that is successful, effective, and self-sustaining. Many charged with implementing new programs or change initiatives fail to understand that the most important group to ensuring the success of these endeavors are the teachers and other school personnel who will be responsible for working with children to ensure that these efforts are successful. For the change to be successful, it is thus vitally important that each teacher, administrator, and other educational professional be on board with the goals and objectives of the change initiative. This means that they understand why the new program is being used, that they understand how to use it, that they have all of the training and materials needed to be successful, that there be in place some way to evaluate the success of the implementation, that continued professional learning opportunities are provided, and that adjustments are made as needed to ensure the success of the initiative. No single element is more important than the others, yet most change initiatives fail because of inattention to one or more of these factors. For new initiatives to work, it is imperative that those who wish to make them understand educational change, both in terms of what it is and also as to what supports are needed to ensure its success.

1  See DuFour and Marzano (2011), Duke (2010a, 2010b, 2016), Fullan (2016, 2020), Sergiovanni (1994). All of these agree that school change is difficult and that it often proceeds too quickly and is rejected as a failure too early.

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The Meaning of Educational Change While attention is often given to an exceptional teacher who has gone above and beyond in his or her efforts to support a student or students, the reality of education is that it takes a small army of trained professionals to ensure that a child makes it from PreK or Kindergarten through to graduation from high school. When a low-performing school seeks to turn around its performance, this is impossible to do without the involvement and expertise of the faculty at that school site.2 No principal, or single school turnaround specialist, can make a positive change without the buy­in and participation of the faculty at that school. Similarly, no matter how enthusiastic or talented a collection of parents and concerned community members may be, it is unlikely they alone will be successful in improving a school’s performance on their own. It is imperative that school change initiatives be supported by a competent and committed faculty. Supporting change means supporting the faculty, both in terms of understanding the reasons underlying the desire to change and providing them with the tools necessary to effect that change. Those who have studied change, such as Fullan (2020), Duke (2016), and DuFour and Marzano (2011), all indicate that change is inevitable— schools, and those who work in them, either adapt and change or become obsolete. At the same time, change is impossible without the expertise and knowledge of those who work in the schools, the teachers, administrators, and other professionals who are the experts in the talents and needs of the children they serve. Certainly multiple achievement gaps exist in the United States. These achievement gaps affect children across multiple categories, including race, income level, geography, and home language. The search for change that will allow these gaps to lessen, and for student achievement to rise, has been a primary aim of schooling for at least the past 40  years. For real change to occur, the culture of a group must embrace a series of shared assumptions as it solves its problems of external adaptations and internal integrations.3 These shared assumptions must be perceived to be a valid way to address problems and then taught to new

2  Duke (2015), Fullan (2020). The steps taken by successful turnaround programs have been written about extensively, as has the problems of districts trying to replicate these turnarounds while skipping some of the steps. 3  Fullan (2020), p. 2.

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members of the faculty as the correct ways to perceive, think, and feel in relation to new problems as they arise.4 This embracing of change, of course, is much easier said than done. How do school leaders know it is time to change? How do they select the best change options to achieve their goals? It often requires a great deal of unhappiness with the current situation, or direct outside pressure, to encourage a majority of members of a school community to desire change. Few are doing things in a manner that they believe are not beneficial to children—indeed, one of the common misconceptions of school reform advocates is that teachers and others in the schools do not mightily desire their students to succeed.5 While there exist many ways to change, there also exist many ways to fail. Two leadership styles in particular, the coercive and the pacesetter, are especially prone to failure.6 The coercive leader demands compliance from those who work for him or her—they adopt the “Do as I say” mentality in managing those who work for them. The pacesetter sets high standards, but also demands that workers follow his or her lead—they use the “Do as I do” approach. The coercive style of leadership causes workers to resist and resent the leader, while the pacesetter style often results in people feeling overwhelmed and burnt out. Neither is effective as a long-term way of implementing change. Instead, effective leaders see themselves as charged with creating a “learning-in” situation, where the leader learns along with all other members of the school community. Rather than forcing solutions upon students, faculty, parents, and others, the effective leader creates and maintains an environment in which everyone learns to cope with the situation in which they are working and begins to slowly and steadily integrate the change that seems appropriate to their situation. While we as a society often seek a leader who has the “answers” to problems and a map to the future, instead it is often advisable to choose a person who admits there are no simple solutions to many problems, but instead seeks to find appropriate responses to the issues at hand. Within this context, change means finding shared meaning and establishing program coherence, so that instructional and curricular decisions are predicated upon student need and the talents and skills of the faculty and administration. There is no “one size fits all” answer, but instead different responses to different situations and challenges.  Fullan (2020).  Fullan (2020). 6  Goleman (2000), pp. 82–83. 4 5

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Traditional Model of Change Traditional leaders have multiple characteristics, but one of the most central, before and after their appointments, is confidence. Unfortunately, confidence seems to have little if any role in the success of an individual’s leadership of a school or other organization. The Race to the Top program, launched by the Obama administration in 2012, provides a good example of the traditional model of school change. First, a decision was made for a top-down type of school reform, one in which those responsible for implementing it, and those vulnerable to repercussions if it did not work, had little or no say. Then, state departments of education were charged with implementing four key areas of reform, which included: 1. Developing a set of more rigorous standards and assessments that were tied into measuring if these were being met by children; 2. Adopting data systems that would better provide information about individual student progress to teachers, school leaders, and parents; 3. Supporting teachers and administrators to become more effective through professional learning opportunities and coaching and support; and 4. Increasing resources and the importance of intervening to address the turnaround needs of the lowest performing schools. The emphasis on school “accountability” emphasized the closure of many schools and the reconstitution of others. Despite the punitive consequences, little improvement was made in the performance of the lowest performing schools, leading many to believe that traditional systems of rewards and penalties were ineffective in changing school performance. The problem with traditional methods of top-down school reform is that it is often not embraced by the individuals responsible for carrying it out. This is not to say that teachers, and administrators, and others responsible for implementing reforms do not do their jobs, but they are taking actions based upon fear and coercion, not because they embrace the goals and objectives related to the initiative. This use of the coercive style of leadership has, not surprisingly, long-term negative results and usually fails

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to garner the results desired. Instead, the main result of coercive leadership is fear, demonstrated in terms of: • Fear of a loss of power or position; • Fear of temporary incompetence; • Fear of punishment; • Fear of the loss of one’s personal identity; and • Fear of loss of group membership.7 Certainly, a different approach is needed by those interested in implementing outdoor education programs in a classroom, school, or district. Fullan (2020) suggests that effective school leaders realize that change intimidates and scares those involved. Change asks that individuals involved give up what they know, the status quo, and instead embrace possible gains, which are both theoretical and located in the future. When these very normal human fears are considered in the light that most leaders are ineffective, unsuccessful, and not to be trusted, the chances for change become quite slim. Effective change occurs only when the leader is open about admitting their needs to increase their understandings and skills at dealing with the human and social factors that undergird and buttress both good and bad change. Although the traditional types of change and school reform are comfortable because they are familiar, they must be eschewed by those who wish their school initiatives to be successful, who wish to build new cultures that are better able to support children’s talents and meet their needs, both cognitive and affective. Only by embracing new models of change can those who desire the best outcomes for children be successful.

Successful Change Change can occur only when every member of the school community accepts the need for it and is working toward changes that will benefit the children served by the school, its teachers, and other professional staff. Often arriving at the concept that change is needed will take considerable time and discussion. This time often discourages those who are anxious for change to occur, but it is necessary to build the foundation that will support lasting change. The involvement of all constituencies of a 7

 Fullan (2020).

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school—including administrators, teachers, parents, and students—is also needed to build the type of consensus necessary for change to occur. In order for change to be successful, all involved must see the necessity for change. The vast majority of teachers, administrators, and parents want children to be successful, both academically and in terms of their social and emotional needs. In order for the various parties to understand the need for change, however, it is often necessary to review the situation in ways that may make some uncomfortable. This discomfort is necessary to achieve the consensus needed for change initiatives to be embraced. The types of data that must be examined to appreciate the need for change will vary from school to school and from district to district. Some schools and districts may need to look at evidence of children’s academic performance, which might include achievement tests, standardized assessments, as well as district and other local measures of student progress. Other schools and districts may wish to examine measures of children’s social and emotional well-being, which might include attendance records, disciplinary referrals, numbers of school suspensions, participation in after school and summer programs, and other such indicators. Still other schools and districts may need to examine resources, both hard and soft, available to provide services to children, the professional learning wanted and needed by various parties, or the future of various other initiatives ongoing in the building or district.

Implementing Change Fullan (2020) suggests that certain attributes, characteristics, and skills are necessary for a school leader to be successful. These attributes, characteristics, and skills are set forth in Table 7.1. It is important to note that, when all the conditions for successful change are met, the outcomes entail commitment and more good things, and fewer bad things, happening—perfection is not an expected, or even a desired, outcome. Successful change is about progress, not perfection. Schools and districts that are continually examining their performance and continuing in a manner that increases the number of positive outcomes while reducing the number of negative outcomes are successful. Change will not happen overnight, but instead is a process by which those who seek improvements in student outcomes consciously make changes in their behaviors and practices that make those changes more likely than not to happen.

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Table 7.1  Fullan’s framework for leadership Attributes

Components of leadership

Outcomes

Energy

Moral purpose Nuance: understanding change

Commitment (external and internal) More good things happen, fewer bad things happen

Enthusiasm Relationships, relationships, relationships Knowledge building and deep learning Hope Coherence making

The three attributes identified by Fullan—energy, enthusiasm, and hope—are fairly straightforward and self-evident. An effective leader must be energetic, insofar that he or she understands and appreciates that new endeavors take time, work, and effort to successfully accomplish the goals and objectives sought. He or she also displays a strong degree of enthusiasm, realizing that the behaviors of those one works with often follow those of the leader. If he or she is consistently optimistic and trusting in the change that will result from the new initiatives, those who work directly with children will also share that confidence and passion. Finally a strong leader is able to express hope for a better future, a vision of a school, district, or other unit that better serves children and provides them with increased opportunities for learning and exploration of their futures. The components of a successful leader also must be in place, beginning with a sense of moral purpose. While certainly some religious figures and social reformers have a strong sense of moral purpose, so too can school leaders who are committed to change that will improve the cognitive and affective outcomes of the children they serve. Moral purpose involves both the ends and the means of successful change initiatives. The end which all seek by means of a successful implementation of a new program or initiative is to make a positive difference in the lives of the children served by the school. But the means by which the school meets that end, namely, the fair and respectful treatment of all teachers and other educational professionals involved, is just as important as the end. It is only by means of fair and respectful treatment that a school leader gains followers and adherents. Sergiovanni (1994) notes that improving the quality of how a

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school’s personnel live and work together is a moral objective of the highest order.8 Nuance, insofar that it reflects understanding of the change process, is also an imperative component of effective leadership. Fullan holds that nuance means that school change is more about innovativeness than innovation and more about strategizing that strategy.9 By this, he indicates that because there is a tremendous knowledge about school change, much of it contradictory, the effective leader must be able to consider varying opinions and advice and be able to choose those solutions that will work for his or her situation. Framing the work as a learning problem, rather than as an execution problem, permits all players in the change initiative to participate in the change process, beginning from where they are, and proceeding on the continuum of learning that exists for all. This approach embraces the idea that “change happens,” although it occurs differently for every organization and person depending upon conditions, needs, and skills. Understanding change thus means understanding people and realizing that what works for one may not work for another. Fullan suggests nine strategies that will help leaders become more change savvy as they proceed through the process. These nine strategies are: . Be right at the end of the meeting; 1 2. Relationships first; 3. Acknowledge the implementation dip; 4. Accelerate as you go; 5. Beware of “fat” plans; 6. Behaviors before belief; 7. Communication during implementation is key; 8. Excitement prior to implementation is fragile; and 9. Become a lead learner.10 These suggestions must be taken in total, not as stand-alone measures. These nine strategies work in conjunction with each other, with no one being more important than the others. Often the strategy selected is matched to the situation one is facing, and some might not be used at all.  Sergiovanni (1994).  Fullan (2020), p. 41. 10  Fullan (2020), p. 46. 8 9

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Understanding what each is, and how they work together, is important for the success of any project. Being right at the end of the meeting means getting all stakeholders involved in the decision-making process and that a problem can be solved only by listening to people faced with the problem. Considering the perspectives and views of all stakeholders permits leaders to make decisions that are better. Relationships first involves considering the individuals in place in the organization and taking care not to move too fast or too slow to implement change. If one moves too fast, the faculty will rebel, but if one moves too slowly, change will never occur—the trick is finding the balance so that the strengths and needs of the school may be considered. Acknowledge the academic dip which refers to the expected time it will take after the introduction of a new program or process for progress to be seen. There is always a learning curve with a new program, and it is vital that leaders realize the goals and objectives they seek will take time to arrive. Accelerate as you go acknowledges that the best way to build momentum is through purposeful action. Building upon early successes and celebrating progress is one way to build speed after laying a solid foundation. Beware of fat plans cautions school leaders not to over plan. While knowing what one wants to accomplish is, of course, a good thing, but often situations arise that cannot be planned for in advance—it is sometimes more important to get moving with the change rather than obsession about details before beginning. Behavior before beliefs emphasizes the importance of having teachers and other professional staff be engaging in the desired actions required by the new initiative rather than worrying if they fully understand why they are doing so. Belief often follows action, as those involved are able to see and better understand the positive reasons why they do certain things. Communication during implementation is paramount is fairly self-evident, but nonetheless often an overlooked component of change initiatives. Leaders who fully participate with teachers in training, planning, and implementing new programs have been shown to have the most impact and being present helps the leader to communicate with teachers, students, and parents. Excitement prior to implementation is fragile acknowledges that while members of the team may be enthusiastic before beginning a new program, true excitement stems from accomplishing some of the goals and objectives one set out to achieve while also overcoming the inevitable hindrances that occur. As excitement builds due to success, even setbacks will be welcomed as problems in need of solving. Becoming a lead

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leader involves immersing oneself in the process and following certain clearly defined but overlapping aspects. These aspects include: • Participating as a learner; • Listening, learning, and leading, in that order; • Serving both as an expert and as an apprentice; • Developing others to the extent you become dispensable; • Being relentlessly persistent and courageous about impact; and • Focusing on the “how” as well as the “what” of change. (Fullan, 2020) If these aspects are adhered to, leaders often find that change occurs more quickly and effectively than if they are not. As one works to implement change at a school, nothing is more important than the relationships that exist there: relationships between administrators, relationships between administrators and teachers, relationships between teachers, relationships between teachers and students, relationships between administrators and students, and relationships between administrators and teachers and parents and families. How individuals interact with each other, and the kinds of relationships they form, have a huge role in the culture of a school. When relationships are strong, positive, and affirming, people want to be part of an organization and are willing to do much more for it than would otherwise be the case. Leaders who pay as much attention to how they treat people as they do to data, programs, strategies, and scheduling find that their schools run much more effectively and successfully than those of other leaders who do not pay this attention to the humans with whom they work. This attention to relationships emphasizes more than just being nice to the teachers who work in a building, although at some schools this would be a good beginning. Instead, it involves creating and supporting the conditions that teachers need to be successful. When judging school leaders, we need to examine their school’s performance. Put another way, the central goal of a leader should be to help his or her team outperform others. This means leaders must consider the various strengths and needs of their faculty and professional staff in a variety of ways. It will often be the case that a 30-year veteran will need different professional learning opportunities than will a first-year teacher. Permitting adult professionals to have some choice in the professional learning they pursue is also, of course, important. There may indeed be certain professional learning that should occur for all members of the school community. Examples of this might

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include an overview of what outdoor education is, ways of crafting lessons and instructional sequences to support student learning standards, or reviews of new materials of resources. But after this, teachers may have different interests, concerns, and priorities. Some teachers may be interested in learning how to better differentiate instruction in a mixed-ability classroom. Others might be interested in better serving English language learners, while still others might desire to learn more about serving children with special needs. Permitting teachers to build their professional competencies by selecting those sessions that appeal to them increases teacher buy-in, and of course is also the appropriate way to treat adult professionals, many of whom hold advanced degrees. Learning must always be the central focus of any school. Student learning, teacher learning, parent learning, and administrator learning all are paramount. The type and amount of learning that occurs, however, is directly influenced by the culture of the school. Culture is the foundation that allows and supports everything that happens in a school to take place. Culture involves the ways people do things at a given school, how adults treat each other and children, how children treat each other and adults. Certain instructional approaches, and materials, have been demonstrated to have a positive effect on student performance. These practices—some of which are cooperative grouping, Socratic dialogue, creative problem solving (CPS), providing students with feedback, metacognition, and the like—are those which teachers should spend time learning about, practicing, and using more in their classrooms. When this is done, student learning will improve. Some of this emphasis on relationships also demands a fresh look at some long held practices, especially as those relate to professional learning opportunities. For over 30 years, for example, collaboration has been seen as a good and beneficial. Lately, however, those looking carefully at the results generated by collaborative learning in schools have noticed that not all collaboration is advantageous. Two or more teachers collaborating can decide to do nothing, or they can use incorrect strategies to create lessons that are not appropriate or tenable. This is the problem that comes from embracing processes without understanding how best to use them. Certainly great work can and has been done by collaborations. But great work has also been done in isolation. Different individuals have different preferences in how they solve problems. These differences include individuals’ favored orientation to change, manner of processing, and ways of deciding. Acknowledging that people prefer to work in different ways, and

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that some are better working in some ways than engaging in other activities, is a way of acknowledging relationships and individual differences. Schools that succeed work at knowledge building and deep learning. Knowledge exists only in people. It has to do with knowing what types of activities students respond to, how materials can best be organized to permit effective learning, and how to interact with parents and families that encourage them to participate in the learning community that is a school. Focusing on memorizing and recalling information rather than the social skills and competencies that comprise knowledge. Individuals cannot be changed without also changing the environment in which they live and learn. Leaders must focus not only on what is to be learned, but also on the environment in which learning takes place. Schools that focus on knowledge creation and knowledge sharing are the most effective at improving children’s performance. The sharing of knowledge and expertise with peers is a key part of teachers’ work—creating an environment where they are able to work together and share challenges and successes permits better student learning and performance. Concentrating on how to use information, rather than the acquisition of knowledge itself, is the mark of an effective learning community. Some have suggested that emphasizing certain global competencies will have better results for children’s performance. Rather than asking children to be able to regurgitate information, which is readily available via an Internet search or quick trip to a library, proponents of this approach suggest focusing on a variety of global competencies that will serve children well in their future lives. These global competencies, of which Fullan (2020) identifies six, include: • Character; • Citizenship; • Collaboration; • Communication; • Creativity; and • Critical thinking. No single characteristic listed is more important than the others, and all need to be inculcated to all children. Focusing on these instilling and nurturing these characteristics in children rather than emphasizing the acquisition of information will serve them, as well as society, much better in the future.

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Emphasizing character involves helping children begin to take a more proactive approach toward life and leaning to learn. Contrary to many misconceptions, learning is not especially easy, and to learn children need to acquire grit, learn the value of perseverance, prize, and exhibit compassion toward others, and become individuals who demonstrate integrity in their actions and thoughts. Citizenship entails acquiring a global perspective and viewing the world as a complex place where a variety of diverse and sometimes competing belief systems and a commitment to both the individual and the common good. Problems facing the world, including those related to human rights and environmental sustainability, are complex and require thoughtful, nuanced responses that only an empathetic and compassionate citizenry can develop. Collaboration that encourages both interpersonal and team-building skills that permit individuals to work interdependently as part of a team. For this collaborative work to proceed in a positive manner, all children must possess the social, emotional, and intercultural skills, as well as insights into the best ways to manage team dynamics and challenges. Communication will continue to be important in the future, as consideration of one’s audience, perspectives, and possible barriers will greatly affect the impact of one’s words. Considering how best to make an argument that advocates a specific position, while also reflecting upon ways to further develop and improve messaging. Creativity helps individuals and groups to ask the right questions, to develop novel ideas and solutions, while also possessing the leadership to bring those ideas to fruition. Such creative behaviors help to advance humanity through scientific inquiry, entrepreneurship, and social programs designed to address problems facing society. Finally, critical thinking involves having children evaluate information, and arguments, make connections, identify patterns, construct meaningful knowledge, experiment, reflect, and take action on ideas that resonate in the real world. Concentrating upon students’ acquisition of these six characteristics will improve deep learning, but switching focus to the acquisition of these skills will often meet with resistance. It is easier to assess the acquisition of information than it is deep learning and habits of mind. Standardized tests, district-wide assessments, and traditional means of evaluating students will not work nearly as well to determine mastery of the six characteristics. Teachers may also have some difficulty in transitioning from serving as the fount of knowledge and moving into a role where they focus more on coaching and guiding students through the learning process. Although this transition requires less direct instruction, it demands careful

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monitoring of student performance and interventions when and if children demonstrate misconceptions or struggles with the process. Coherence making is also a goal and responsibility of leaders, insofar that they need to assist teachers and other professional staff recognize those creative ideas and novel solutions that arise out of the change process that are most effective and appropriate. Coherence making can be seen as the means leaders use to make sense of the moral purpose, understanding change, building relationships, and deep learning they have encouraged to this point. Unfortunately, many educational “reforms” result in a slew of new procedures and processes, placed on top of those already in place. What occurs is often a duplication of steps and the adoption of many superficial adornments that do little to improve children’s performance. Coherence is not common understanding, rather it is an emotional response related to shared experiences. Shared collective understanding comes only through shared, day-to-day interactions, which is experienced in one’s daily working environment. Thus school leaders need to provide opportunities, and time, for teachers and professional staff to engage in common experiences while, as much as possible, culling from the school community those practices and procedures that are unnecessary. School leaders can engage in four behaviors that foster coherence. To foster coherence, school leaders must: • Focus direction; • Cultivate collaborative cultures; • Secure accountability; and • Deepen learning. (Fullan, 2020) To focus direction, school leaders must change their leadership practices so that they focus more upon clarity of strategy and goals that impact student and teacher performance. To this end, all actions must be purpose driven, with an emphasis placed upon student learning. To cultivate collaborative cultures, school leaders must learn leadership skills and inculcate these among the teachers at their schools while also emphasizing capacity building and collaborative work. A collaborative culture will also benefit from a culture of growth, where all members of the community are seeking continual improvement on the part of children, teachers, families, and the community as a whole. To secure accountability, school leaders must establish both internal and external accountability. All members of the community must be clear on what the goals and objectives of the

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change initiative are and know that their success or failure at attaining these involves how they will be evaluated. Finally, the school community needs to deepen learning across the school community. This deepening learning involves clarity of learning goals for children, precision in the pedagogy used in the classroom, and a gradual shift in practices through capacity building, which requires extensive professional learning and coaching. Deep learning plays a crucial role in the development of attaining coherence across new programs. Coherence does not develop in a linear fashion but instead occurs when all four behaviors are occurring simultaneously. This will often entail pursuing fewer goals—three or less—than many school leaders are inclined to pursue. That being said, full implementation and attainment of three goals is vastly preferrable to the willy nilly pursuit of many. Again, this growth takes time, as administrators and teachers must often learn what they are trying to do, practice doing so, and then returning and reflecting upon what has gone well and what still needs to be further refined and better implemented. The change sought must be woven into all aspects of the school’s culture, such as hiring practices, teacher supports, professional learning opportunities, practice opportunities, access to necessary resources, the cultivation of innovation, and the celebration of success. As one initiates change, the “going slow to go fast” mantra must often be revisited, as it is a natural impulse to wish to rush a well-thought of program or reform. Going slowly permits all members of the community to see the context of the problems facing the school in which they work as well as permitting the connection of the correct individuals to the proper issues. As this occurs, momentum builds and real change begins to take place. Leadership in many settings is inadequate to implement new programs. All too often, change initiatives try to accomplish too much too quickly and then are discarded for the new “flavor of the month” initiative before time is permitted for true change to occur. Too often, new “leaders” are brought in from outside of the school or the district, which in addition to failing to build the organization’s capacity also lengthens the learning curve as newcomers must take a certain amount of time to learn about the culture, talents, and needs of the school or district in which they work. All too often, good teachers are left behind and choose to leave a school or district for another position rather than dealing with inept leadership.

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The continuing demand for change has, in fact, changed the change process. There are many more opportunities to change, as well as many more ways to fail. Leadership for change often requires slightly different attributes than those of leaders who are charged with maintaining an organization. Table  7.2 indicates the attributes necessary for change leaders and indicates why those particular qualities are important in change situations. These attributes, specially oriented toward the leader who is seeking to be a change instrument, are all important for any who are concerned with building the competencies among faculty and staff that will both support change and also permit these changes to continue after the leader leaves.

Table 7.2  Attributes for change leaders Attribute Be a lead leader from day one

Importance

Trying to make meaning of the system in which one works, and sharing that meaning with others, is largely about learning both the strengths and needs of a school. Be careful to discover the assets already there Listen and learn As one begins one’s journey, he or she will have more questions and answers. Over time, and with increased expertise regarding the school, its students, and its faculty, the leader comes to have more to contribute Be both an expert Leaders generally have a certain level of expertise, which they should and an apprentice feel free to share, but they must also nurture their learning side and be able and willing to learn about that of which they are less knowledgeable Learn in context Leaders must be knowledgeable about the context in which they work, understanding that each new situation leaves one deskilled in terms of knowledge of preferred communication, faculty strengths and needs, histories of various families and students, and the like Make your moral If the leader’s moral values and commitment are evident to all, they compass dynamic let purpose lead, inspire others, and build and keep the moral agenda in the forefront Make yourself After six or seven years of strong leadership, the leader him- or herself dispensable (in becomes dispensable. Insofar that faculty and students know what the right way) they are supposed to be doing and do it

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Implementation While certain similarities will exist across sites that implement outdoor education programs, no two such endeavors will look precisely the same. This is because each school’s outdoor education program should be built around the strengths and needs of that particular school community, and as these vary from setting to setting, so too do the programs devised to deal with these. Each program is different, therefore the implementation of each will vary as well. This being said, there are certainly some commonalities that every school interested in implementing an outdoor education program effectively should consider. Every school that determines it should implement an outdoor education program should develop a sense of consensus that this is a good way to proceed. It is not necessary that every member of the school community be on board before beginning such an initiative, but it should be generally accepted as one way of proceeding to meet definite needs and strengths associated with the school and its students. This can be accomplished by a deep dive into student performance data related to the school’s children, with a careful analysis identifying those areas of strength as well as those that need improvement. Once this sense of consensus is established, school leaders should plan out the professional learning and other supports that teachers and other educational professionals will need to have to implement the program. The teachers should, of course, play a major role in the identification of what professional learning opportunities are needed. Certainly all administrators, teachers, and other educational professionals need an overview of outdoor education that provides with a sound understanding of what precisely such an approach entails. After this initial overview, however, different teachers may identify different types of professional learning they need to be successful in implanting the program. Some teachers may feel they need support with instructional planning, while others may desire more information on how best to differentiate instruction in a mixed-ability classroom. Still other teachers may want assistance in challenging their high-ability learners, while others might seek better ways to cover additional subjects simultaneously. These desires must be respected and honored and opportunities provided for teachers to pursue this learning. Where possible, instructional coaches or other types of in-classroom support should also be put into place. Each school must also decide how much academic time they wish to devote to outdoor education. Some schools will determine that they can

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only devote a set number of hours to such an initiative. These schools might want to plan a six-week, one-hour sequence of outdoor education for each child in the school and will then need to determine if they want this to occur simultaneously or have the experience provided to one grade level at a time. Other schools might want to create an outdoor education class for all students, either for a particular grade level or for all grade levels within the building, perhaps using advisory time for this. Still other schools will want to spend most of the academic day, every day, for outdoor education. Schools that experience very inclement weather have sometimes chosen this latter option, with children outside for five or more hours each day. Any of these arrangements will work, so long as overarching student needs are attended to and their skills developed as best as possible. For those who benefit from a visual representation of how to think about successful change, Fig. 7.1 provides a graphic representation of a successful change initiative at a school site: All members of the school community, or at least most of them, need to agree on the need for a new program or initiative. The evidence for the need might be data from student performance, reports or studies that demonstrate the effectiveness of a given initiative, or some combination thereof. After members of the community agree that some sort of change is needed, there must be buy-in that the outdoor education initiative is the correct way to proceed. The group must also possess the shared will to

Quality Planning and Delivery of Instructional Sequences Common Professional Learning

Perceived Need

Buy-In

Fig. 7.1  Elements of a successful change initiative

Differentiated Professional Learning

Shared Will

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adopt the program—it is often easy to see a need, and not that difficult to see the steps that must be taken to change it, but the group must also be willing to do so. Appropriate professional learning opportunities must be provided so that all teachers and administrators have the knowledge base and technical expertise to implement the program. This will be optimized where there are opportunities for educators to choose some of the opportunities are those they choose. Finally, the program must be implemented effectively and well in the classrooms, with appropriate changes made where necessary. Programs will also need a variety of materials and supplies, the list of these of course also being influenced by the scope of the program. An inventory of available materials should be taken before ordering, both to save money and to carefully hone a list which materials are most necessary. Teachers and other educational professionals should work to comprise lists consisting of “must have” materials, those which would be “nice to have,” and those which would “be a luxury but still useful.” If the outdoor education lasts for multiple years, items from the latter two lists could be purchased over time and those from the first list replenished annually. The implementation of an outdoor education program is about making steady progress and supporting children on their learning journey. When this occurs, all involved may proclaim, “world, take good notice,” our outdoor education program is thriving and successful.

Case Study No. 6: Planning and Managing Effective Change Mrs. Johnson wants her outdoor education initiative to be successful, so she schedules a meeting with Dr. Hardin at Cheverly University (CU) to discuss aspects of planning change, both those that she is fairly confident in and those that give her some concerns. Dr. Hardin asks Dr. Matt Hickey to come to the meeting, as he is a retired superintendent of schools, a professor at CU, and a well-respected expert in managing school change, at both the local and national level. Not only does Dr. Hickey have a great deal of experience in successfully implementing change initiatives in both the cases of school- and district-wide innovation. He is much trusted and respected by senior district personnel across the state, and his opinions are very well respected. As a result, not only will his practical advice be of great value, but any proposal having his imprimatur will also hold great sway

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with Emerson City Public Schools’ (ECPS) superintendent and other upper administrators. The three meet in a conference room located next to Dr. Hickey’s office on the CU campus. After preliminary introductions, the three settle down around a table and begin to discuss Mrs. Johnson’s vision for Abbott. Mrs. Johnson mentions that she worries that the Abbott teachers, through no fault of their own, will experience difficulties planning instructional sequences on their own after years of using a scripted curriculum, which was enforced by previous administrators by means of pacing plans, daily classroom visits, and evaluations that focused heavily upon compliance with the programs selected by prior administrations. While she has a great deal of respect for the integrity and work ethic of her teachers, she is concerned that they will have difficulty switching gears and working collaboratively to create curricular experiences that will benefit the children Abbott serves. Dr. Hickey asks Mrs. Johnson, “Tell me more about the children at Abbott—what are they like? What experiences do they come to the school having experienced? What are the strengths of the learning community and what are its challenges?” Mrs. Johnson thinks for a moment and then responds, “The children come to school very loved by their parents and families. We are located in one of the lowest socioeconomic status (SES) communities within ECPS, but everyone, including teachers, parents, families, and the students themselves, want what is best for these children. The children are curious, and fun, and pretty well behaved. We have many fewer behavioral problems than do many ECPS schools, and the children are for the most part kind to each other, to their teachers, and to our professional staff. The parents and families are interested in the school, and we offer parenting classes and have a room dedicated to the parents, which they use for a workroom, a volunteer center, and as a place to socialize.” Dr. Hickey, who had assiduously been taking notes while Mrs. Johnson spoke, then asked, “How about the community in which Abbott is located? What is that like?” Before Mrs. Johnson responded, Dr. Hardin interjected, “I can answer that. I have been to the school community several times to meet with Mrs. Johnson. The area is mostly residential, comprised chiefly of row houses, about half of which are vacant and boarded up. There are a handful of small markets and liquor stores, but no large supermarkets or pharmacies. There is, however, a large park directly across the street from Abbott, and there is a branch of the public library located on the other side of that park. The public library also serves as a

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community meeting place, and they have programming throughout the year to encourage reading.” Mrs. Johnson now added, “There is also a tremendous amount of support for the school from local businesses. There is a dog food cannery located a couple of blocks away from the school and they, a local fire department branch, and several of the smaller businesses nearby raise money for summer backpacks full of books for children, as well as collecting toys and other gifts for the children at Christmas. Every year Santa comes to the school site on a firetruck to distribute gifts to the children, and it is quite the community event.” Dr. Hickey then asks Mrs. Johnson to think about whom she considers to be the leaders within her school community. He asks her, and Dr. Hardin, to consider the following questions: • Which parents, teachers, families, or others help to shape opinions within the community? What do these individuals value? • How might Mrs. Johnson gather information about the perceived strengths and needs of Abbott? What would be the most useful way to collect this information? How long might such a process take? • What might be the best way to build support for an outdoor education program at the school? How would you decide to present information about the program? Who would you notify about the possibility of the program?

References DuFour, R., & Marzano, R. J. (2011). Leaders of learning: How districts, schools, and classroom leaders improve student achievement. Solution Tree Press. Duke, D. L. (2010a). The challenges of school district leadership. Routledge. Duke, D.  L. (2010b). Differentiating school leadership: Facing the challenges of practice. Corwin Press. Duke, D. L. (2015). Leadership for low-performing schools: A step-by-step guide to the school turnaround process. Rowman & Littlefield. Duke, D. L. (2016). The children left behind: America’s struggle to improve its lowest performing schools. Rowman & Littlefield. Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). Teachers College Press. Fullan, M. (2020). Leading in a culture of change. Jossey-Bass. Goleman, D. (2000). Leadership that gets results. Harvard Business Review, 78, 78–90.

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Sergiovanni, T. J. (1994). Building community in schools. Wiley. Whitman, W. (1892/1993). Leaves of grass: The first edition of 1855 + the death bed edition of 1892. Modern Library.

Further Readings Duke, D. L. (2015). Leadership for low-performing schools: A step-by-step guide to the school turnaround process. Rowman & Littlefield. Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). Teachers College Press. Fullan, M. (2020). Leading in a culture of change (2nd ed.). Jossey-Bass. Sergiovanni, T. J. (1994). Building Community in Schools. Jossey-Bass.

CHAPTER 8

Resistance to Change

Twilight The soft voluptuous opiate shades, The sun just gone, the eager light dispell’d—(I, too, will soon be gone, dispell’d), A haze—nirwana—rest and night—oblivion. (Whitman, 1892/1993)

Change in schools, especially in those serving diverse populations, is difficult. Many new initiatives are opposed as being unsuitable for “those” children, and more focus is placed upon children’s deficits than their strengths and talents. Resources are often lacking, as many schools located in low-socioeconomic status (SES) neighborhoods receive less funding than those in more privileged communities. Schools serving diverse learners also frequently have teaching faculties that are less experienced, less credentialed, and less educated than teachers in other schools. Almost all new initiatives are expected to succeed, but unfortunately few do, with many attempts to implement new programs jettisoned within 3 years of commencing. These initiatives do not fail because they are, necessarily, ill-­ advised or inadequate. Instead, they flounder because change is extremely difficult and, even with adequate funding and expert leadership, face a great deal of opposition, whether voiced or silent. Understanding that opposition, both in terms of where it comes from and why it exists, is

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necessary for those wishing to implement new programs so that they may have a better chance of being adopted. When a new program or initiative is unveiled, many administrators, teachers, parents, and families have many questions regarding the process. Why do certain change initiatives fail? Why are some new programs, seen as necessary by most of the school community, successful in being implemented while others are not? Are certain resources missing in unsuccessful change attempts that are present in other more effective efforts? Is there something special that should be done to ensure the desired result? Who gets to define what is successful? Is it better to seek radical or incremental change? Why do some teachers and administrators, who are fully trained and skilled, embrace change while others resist it? How can we increase the chances that a new initiative will be successful? How long will it take after initiating change to see positive results? Certainly, these questions are quite complex, and no one answer will be valid for every situation or setting. That being said, there are specific reasons why some change initiatives fail, and understanding these will greatly improve the chances of new programs and processes taking root and being successful.

Taking Stock When administrators, teachers, parents, families, and others desire to make a change in a school setting, it is advisable that all involved take stock of the assets and problems facing a particular school setting before proceeding. Certainly such an analysis would include an inventory and assessment of the state of the faculty in terms of training, experience, competencies, and needs. So too must such a process include an evaluation of the materials and other resources that are available to the school community, and this would include prior trainings provided to faculty and staff as well as materials and other “hard” resources. What many fail to consider, however, is those prior initiatives and programs that have been put into place at the school. Considering what the aims of these initiatives and programs were, and how long they were in place, often has a great deal of influence upon how faculty and staff who remain at the school view the new proposal. These factors are terrifically important because they color and shape how the faculty and staff who were there for these initiatives and proposals view the new program. Many administrators suggest that a new building principal should make very few changes during his or her first year at a school, instead taking the

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time to carefully understand the setting, the people, and the resources that exist at that site. As the principal undertakes stock of the school, he or she must consider the assets and strengths of the school as well as its problems and challenges.1 At most schools, the most important asset is the teaching staff, individuals who are trained, certificated, and able to work with children to improve their learning and experience at the school. The careful administrator takes note of the expertise of the staff, which includes education, experience, professional learning, as well as special passions for certain subjects, expertise with technology, and the like. These administrators will take note of who can do what and who might need some additional training to better understand the task at hand. While leaders of new initiatives or programs often focus upon the gains and benefits that will result from the change, those who are charged with carrying it out—the teachers and other professional staff—often are more likely to concentrate upon the costs of implementing that change.

Thinking Strategically School change is often influenced by the perceptions of those who are charged with implementing a new program or policy. If they see the change as something that is beneficial to the organization, and to them personally, Fullan (2016) discusses the value of policy drivers. A policy driver is a policy and associated set of strategies that are intended to bring about positive change in a school or system. Conversely, a wrong driver represents a policy that fails to positively affect the school or district. If strong drivers exist, rather than wrong drivers, the change is more likely to succeed. There are four drivers, sometimes referred to as right drivers, that exist, each of which has a corresponding wrong driver. The right drivers and the wrong drivers are set forth in Table 8.1 and bear examining. As mentioned previously, the United States has been in a series of constant school reforms for over the past 40 years. Many of these reform initiatives have focused on “increased accountability,” but, despite this, most have failed. While clearer student learning standards and assessments that track student progress are desirable, they will not drive the system forward of assist with the implementation of change. Instead, schools and districts 1  Duke (2010), Sergiovanni (1994). If an administrator has a mandate from district leadership to make radical changes immediately, this does not hold true.

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Table 8.1  Right and wrong drivers Right drivers

Wrong drivers

Capacity building Collaborative work

External accountability Focus on individual teacher and leadership qualities Technology Fragmented strategies

Pedagogy Systems focus

that concentrate on professional learning rather than external accountability experience more success. Investing in collaborative practices, coaching, technical skill building, targeted instructional strategies, and the like is a much more successful strategy for ensuring growth and progress toward common goals. Improving professional learning opportunities increases internal accountability, which is much more powerful and likely to result in the desired changes. Seeking individual teacher and school leader accountability are certainly two of the more significant factors in promulgating successful change; it is less effective as a measurement of progress than is increased collaboration among teachers and other professional staff at the school. While many in this country are enamored with the idea of rewarding the good and punishing the bad, the reality is that successful school reform does not occur by focusing on individual teachers. Instead, true and lasting change occurs when the entire teaching force is the focus of improvement. Collaborative learning benefits the group as a whole, raising the bar for all teachers and thus ensuing better instruction for all students. For those fixated upon punishing poor performers, it is also the case that as teaching becomes more public and more of a group activity, lower performing individuals are squeezed out of the profession. When collective efficacy is the focus of the school community, that community attracts better talent, and both the group and individuals get better simultaneously. Technology is also not the driver of change that many, including the sales forces of large technology, would have one believe. While billions have been spent on technology over the last four decades, most of this expenditure has focused on acquisition to the exclusion of all other needs associated with technology such as repair, professional learning, or coaching. As a result, several meta analyses have demonstrated that technology

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has no positive correlation with improved student performance.2 Finally, change efforts must focus on large, systemic goals and objectives rather than isolated, unconnected initiatives, no matter how well intended. Focusing on a few, straightforward goals and objectives, such as “improving student achievement” or “closing the achievement gap,” is much more likely to be successful than are initiatives that concentrate chiefly on the adoption of certain isolated practices. By thinking strategically, and choosing a few right drivers that will increase the chances of successfully reaching the desired goals and objectives, school leaders greatly increase the chances of effecting real and lasting change. In reaching this decision, school leaders must consider how best to initiate change. Should it involve the entire school community? Should the initiative instead start at a certain grade level or levels and then expand from there? If so, which grade levels should be selected for the initial rollout of the new program? These questions cannot be given an universal answer, and instead school leaders and communities must consider their particular needs and competencies. In some schools, a certain grade level may be composed of individuals who are exceptionally skilled, and the school leader might decide to begin there as he or she knows that any well-thought out reform will be embraced by these instructional leaders. In future years, this group might prove an asset as the initiative is expanded to include other grade levels. In another school, there might be a grade level that is composed chiefly of newer teachers or teachers whose skill levels could use some additional support. For this reason, school leaders might choose to begin with this group, hoping that increased professional learning opportunities will result in increased enthusiasm and buy-in when the program is later expanded to other grade levels. Finally, still other schools might exist in an environment where district or state leaders have targeted a certain grade level for the development of certain skills. In this case, it might make sense for school leaders to choose to begin with this group for reasons of political and practical expediency. This should show that there are no “correct” or “incorrect” places at which to begin, and every situation will vary. So long as the decision about where to begin is thought out and considered, it is defensible and will work for the setting in which it is made.

2

 See, for example, Cuban (2013), Hattie (2009).

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The First Year While teachers, and teacher unions, sometimes have the reputation for choosing school reform and change initiatives, this is chiefly because of their experiences with past reforms that have focused too heavily upon the “wrong drivers” that were ineffective and ill-advised. Teachers and their organizations might oppose a new initiative for many reasons. An individual educator or group of teachers may oppose a change initiative because they were heavily invested in the last reform effort, one which required them to undergo professional development sessions on their own time, to eschew previous instructional approaches, and to comply with administrative dictates that decreed this approach was the way to proceed in the classroom to ensure student success. Is it any wonder that these teachers are cynical about the “next” great approach? Recognizing and acknowledging that prior teacher behaviors were dictated by administrators and district leadership is an important step to addressing these teachers’ concerns. Other teachers might not be so heavily invested in the programs being replaced, but still have seen enough unsuccessful past initiatives to be unenthused about this new approach. These teachers will sometimes be heard to mutter, “This too shall pass,” which is a response based upon their practical experience that demonstrates that change initiatives come and go. This group needs to be assured both that this new initiative is needed and that the school and district are committed to its implementation for a set period of time. Making these assurances will assist these teachers in accepting the change and working to improve for the benefit of the children they serve. Other teachers will express initial excitement for the change, but soon become disillusioned or fatigued. These teachers will need the support of their peers and school leaders so that can see the results of their efforts. A similar group are those who think they are adopting the change initiative, but who in reality are doing this only in a superficial and non-meaningful way. Again, while some of this is unique to the given school setting, much of it can also be predicted as following certain patterns. As long ago as the middle of the last century, Rogers (1962) noted that there are trends at every organization regarding who adopts what and when. Rogers’s categories that comprise the innovation lifestyle cycle are set forth in Table 8.2. Understanding these categories, and that they are inevitable in any school, district, or other organization, is an important part of leading new change initiatives. New innovations or programs will not be welcomed by

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Table 8.2  The innovation lifestyle cycle Category

Behaviors

Innovators Those willing to take risks and are closely interested in the theory and research undergirding the new program or innovation. They have a high degree of risk tolerance and are willing to try innovations that fail. High social status and frequent interactions with other innovators Early Readily adopts new program and innovation, is enthusiastic about it, and adopters provides positive feedback and support. More discreet in adoption choices than are innovators. They tend to have high social status, advanced education, and are opinion leaders within the school Early They readily adopt the innovation, but after a considerably longer period of majority time has passed than do the innovators and early adopters. They possess above-average social status but are rarely opinion leaders Late They adopt the innovation or program, but well after those in the majority majority of classrooms. They are highly skeptical of the innovation and often express their doubts. They tend to have below-average social status within the school, are not opinion leaders, and maintain regular contact only with early majority and other late majority adopters Laggards They adopt new innovations or programs only under threat. They are generally adverse to any sort of change and are highly focused upon “how we’ve always done it.” Lowest social status, typically older than others in the building, not opinion leaders, and have less contact with others than any other group

all members of the community, for no reason associated with the innovation or program itself, and for no shortcoming on the part of the leadership charged with implementing the change. It is perhaps important here to differentiate between adoption and diffusion. Adoption is an individual behavior—it involves an individual process through which one first hears of an innovation and the steps he or she takes and goes through to adopt it. Diffusion refers to a group phenomenon and is concerned chiefly with how innovation spreads throughout an organization. Experience suggests that one is best off beginning change initiatives with innovators and early adopters, as these individuals will be the most willing and enthusiastic to buy-in to the new innovation or program, as these groups will be most willing to try new ideas and will also have the most influence upon other members of the school community if successful in doing so. Not only will members of these groups be more likely to faithfully adopt the proposed innovation but they will also, as

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opinion leaders at the school, persuade others to also implement the new innovations and programs.

Hiring New Faculty One of the most significant supports administrators and teachers can contribute to an outdoor education initiative is to take the hiring process of new faculty seriously and to use it as a means to buttress and support the change sought. Almost every school has a certain amount of turnover in its teaching staff each year. Teachers decide to retire, stay at home with their children, leave the profession, move to follow a spouse who has been transferred to the other side of the country, or take a position as a specialist at another school. A change initiative itself will often also lead to an increased number of openings. Even the most successful change initiative will loom as more change than certain teachers welcome into their lives at a given moment. Some teachers will choose to retire rather than learn about a new system, others will seek transfer to another school within the district or a position in a neighboring school district. Regardless of the reason, openings for teachers occur at most schools most years.3 Many schools now use a team approach in hiring new teachers for the faculty. The school forms a committee, which often consists of one or more administrators, teachers, school staff, or parents or some combination thereof. Certain schools have a preference for hiring new teachers fresh from a teacher certification program, while others will not hire a teacher without at least 5 years’ experience in the classroom. Leaving those preferences to the hiring committee, it is nonetheless important that it considers how an individual will be able to contribute to an outdoor education program. Certainly job candidates need not have experience with outdoor education to be a viable option for hire. But teachers who have experience planning instruction, taking children outdoors, working in camps, or the like may be a better fit for the school than those who have not. Looking for experience in planning instruction need not preclude recent graduates, as many teacher education programs do a terrific job of preparing new teachers to plan and deliver instruction. The hiring process is a major way in which the outdoor education can be supported, and taking it seriously and aligning interview questions and job postings to 3  DuFour and Marzano (2011), Duke (2015), Fullan (2020). Even with the current teacher shortage, hiring of the best and the brightest is a key element of successful change.

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emphasize the approach of the initiative can play a key role in making it successful over time.

Authenticating and Sharing Success Schools have always assessed student progress, but the assessment movement has taken center stage in many school reform processes over the past quarter century. Teachers regularly use both formative and summative assessments to drive their instruction, and administrators and central office personnel examine assessment results to determine patterns and to allocate resources to those students and classrooms that demonstrate need for additional support. Formative assessments are those instruments and observations that a teacher uses during the teaching of a unit to check on student understanding and to help him or her make adjustments as indicated to increase student learning. Summative assessments are those administered at the end of unit of study and are used to determine both the effectiveness of a program and the degree to which children are learning what they are intended to learn. Both sorts of assessment data are available at almost every school and should be reviewed on a regular basis so that adjustments may be made to the program if necessary and an understanding of student achievement may be gleaned. After the rollout of an outdoor education program, both formative and summative assessments should be used to monitor student progress and to determine whether or not the program is being successful in achieving the goals and objectives that it was implemented to support. These results, whether positive or negative, should be shared with central office administrators and parents, so that all can see how students are progressing as well as the changes made, if any, to better support children’s learning. Certainly when the assessment results show positive growth this should be emphasized, but it is also important that adjustments be made where needed so that all children can achieve to their greatest potential. As decisions about the viability and continuation of the outdoor education program will often be made as a result of these assessments, it is important that all aspects of the program be assessed, not just progress in reading/ language arts and mathematics.4 Looking at all curricular areas studied, and children’s social and emotional health, is also important. 4  Schroth et al. (2011). Being able to plan cross-curricular units is a vitally important skill that must be nurtured.

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At the conclusion of each unit of study, it is also important to have some sort of a culminating activity to mark the event. This both helps children make sense of what they have studied and accomplished, but is also a fantastic opportunity for others to be made aware of the children’s learning as well, such as administrators, parents, community members, and central office personnel. Culminating activities can consist of student presentations, a “museum” where the exhibits are examples of student work, models of projects completed by students, a magazine or book that details student accomplishments, a gallery walk where students present posters of their projects, or any other type of celebratory event that recognizes the accomplishments of the children. Since outdoor education programs need supporters, sharing the successes of that program with as many interested parties as possible is one way in which to build continued support for it in the future, when memories of the program will be “a haze— nirwana—rest and night.”

Case Study No. 7: Responding to Objectives to Change The administrators at all three schools—Mrs. Johnson at Abbott Elementary School, Mr. Duarte at Burleigh Middle School, and Ms. Williams at Calhoun High School—all worked diligently to persuade teachers, educational professionals, parents, families, and other community members that an outdoor education program was a good fit for their school site. While getting all of these constituencies on board with the change, convincing the Emerson City Public Schools (ECPS) central office administrators and the locally elected school board that outdoor education was a viable option worth exploring was a different matter. Some administrators and board members feared that implementing such a program would endanger the strong achievement results of the students at Burleigh as well as high achievers at the other two schools. Other administrators and school board members expressed concerns that lower performing students at all three schools would not be up to the challenge of an outdoor education program. At each school, certain teachers and parents, although a definite minority, also expressed objections about the proposed outdoor education program. After consulting with Dr. Hardin and Dr. Hickey at Cheverly University (CU), the three administrators met for lunch at a small Mexican restaurant

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located near Burleigh Middle School. After ordering and enjoying their meal, the three began to compare notes and thoughts regarding the opposition to the outdoor education initiative at their school. Mrs. Johnson found that the main opposition to outdoor education consisted of two groups: more experienced teachers who were reluctant to leave the classroom and teach part of their day in the park located across the street from the school and very new teachers who feared having to plan instructional sequences on their own rather than following a program. Mr. Duarte informed the others that his chief opponents were a handful of parents of children who were identified as gifted and talented, who were fearful that their children would be overlooked should the outdoor education honors classes be opened to all students, as they believed teachers would focus on struggling learners rather than their children. Ms. Williams expressed that the chief opponents to her outdoor education proposal seemed to come from across departments but seemed to come from teachers of all experience levels who cited a dislike for group work and collaboration and feared that their subject would be slighted should the outdoor education initiative be adopted. All three administrators are convinced that the opposition to the outdoor education program represents a small minority at each of their schools. That being said, each would like to address this before beginning, both so that the adoption will be less stressful for all involved and so that they can be sure to collect the data and other evidence needed to help persuade those who are more reluctant to adopt an outdoor education program that the initiative is indeed working and helping children academically and with their social and emotional learning. Each principal had, of course, already planned to collect assessment data, both formative and summative, that showed the progress of students as the outdoor education was implemented, but now each worries that he or she might need to accumulate extra data that would assist others in seeing the viability and success of the initiative. Imagine you joined this conversation. How might you advise Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Duarte, and Ms. Williams regarding the following: • How might Mrs. Johnson, Mr. Duarte, or Ms. Williams address the concerns of those opposed to the outdoor education initiative at their school? Would your advice be the same or different for all three? Why or why not?

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• How might the concerns of reluctant teachers be addressed so that they would feel more comfortable adopting an outdoor education program? What sort of assessment data might persuade the various constituencies at each school that the program is successful? • How can the concerns of parents and families of high achievers be assuaged as the outdoor education program is implemented? What communications might be useful in garnering their support?

References Cuban, L. (2013). Inside the black box of classroom practice: Change without reform in American education. Harvard University Press. DuFour, R., & Marzano, R. J. (2011). Leaders of learning: How districts, schools, and classroom leaders improve student achievement. Solution Tree Press. Duke, D. L. (2010). Differentiating school leadership: Facing the challenges of practice. Corwin Press. Duke, D. L. (2015). Leadership for low-performing schools: A step-by-step guide to the school turnaround process. Rowman & Littlefield. Fullan, M. (2016). The new meaning of educational change (5th ed.). Teachers College Press. Fullan, M. (2020). Leading in a culture of change. Jossey-Bass. Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. Routledge. Rogers, E.  M. (1962). Diffusion of innovation. Free Press of Glencoe/ Macmillan Company. Schroth, S. T., Helfer, J. A., Beck, D. L., & Swanson, B. L. (2011). Planning differentiated instruction & assessing results: Teaching to ensure each student’s success. Kendall Hunt Publishing Co. Sergiovanni, T. J. (1994). Building community in schools. Wiley. Whitman, W. (1892/1993). Leaves of grass: The first edition of 1855 + the death bed edition of 1892. Modern Library.

Further Readings DuFour, R. (1998). Professional learning communities at work: Best practices for enhancing student achievement. Solution Tree Press. DuFour, R., & Marzano, R. J. (2011). Leaders of learning: How district, school, and classroom leaders improve student achievement. Solution Tree Press. Fullan, M. (2019). Nuance: Why some leaders succeed and others fail. Corwin Press. Fullan, M., & Kirtman, L. (2019). Coherent school leadership: Forging clarity from complexity. ASCD.

CHAPTER 9

Conclusion

Long, Long Hence After a long, long course, hundreds of years, denials, Accumulations, rous’d love and joy and thought, Hopes, wishes, aspirations, ponderings, victories, myriads of readers, Coating, compassing, covering—after ages and ages encrustations, Then only may these songs reach fruition. (Whitman, 1892/1993)

Increasing the opportunities available to children and helping them to improve their performance in key academic areas are goals shared by all involved in education. A variety of reform efforts over the past half century have, unfortunately, had very little positive effect on either children’s performance or public perceptions about America’s public schools. Recent analyses of student performance indeed indicate that the achievement gap between children of different racial or ethnic backgrounds and socioeconomic status (SES) levels have indeed increased over recent years, despite the best efforts of teachers, policy makers, and the students themselves. During the recent pandemic and resulting quarantine, concerns have also arisen regarding the different levels of access children from different backgrounds have to the outdoors, with many poorer children from historically underserved backgrounds spending much more time indoors than do © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 S. T. Schroth, Outdoor Education, Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9_9

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other children from higher SES households and more privileged backgrounds. Outdoor education initiatives have been demonstrated as an effective method of increasing students’ creative and critical thinking skills while also granting them increased access to the outdoors. Both for academic as well as social and emotional reasons, outdoor education thus is a viable route for school leaders, teachers, and others who wish to improve the educational offerings made available to all children, but especially those from diverse backgrounds.

The Need for Outdoor Education As schools, administrators, teachers, and other educational professionals help to prepare children for the future, almost all agree that they need to be able to engage in and use creative and critical thinking skills and processes.1 Far too often, however, children are forced to focus upon memorizing large amounts of unconnected information and then producing that same information back in the form of test answers or other responses. Certainly information is important, but with the quantity of information available to anyone with a few keystrokes today, the ability to critically think about that data and the capacity to use it in new and creative ways are vastly more important and relevant for children’s future well-being. Any school reform or change initiatives must focus on providing children with the opportunity to create information and knowledge, rather than just creating it, as this permits students to fully engage with material and to acquire the types of skills that they can transfer to their future lives. Outdoor education provides such a marvelous platform through which to build creative and critical thinking skills because it is so flexible and customizable to the needs of a particular school setting. Outdoor education can be a one-hour instructional sequence that takes place on the school campus or it can be a year-long activity where children spend most of the day outside. It can be used as a weekend or summer program, or it can be used as part of the regular academic day. It can be used to address a specific subject, such as science or social studies, or it can be used as part of a cross-curricular project where all learning focuses on a project or guided investigation. Indeed, outdoor education works especially well as 1  Adler (1982/1998), Greene (1995, 2001), Schroth and Helfer (2018). The vision for an outdoor education is one of its most important aspects. What are the dreams for the children served?

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part of a project-based education approach because it is so easily tailored to address concerns and issues facing the students and their communities. It is simultaneously relevant, rigorous, and related to the children and their worlds.

Benefits for Learners Outdoor education provides children the opportunity to engage in collaborative projects and other work that permits them to learn, practice, and master various ways of thinking that they can use both to find solutions to the problem at hand and carry with them to other settings and situations where they need to utilize creative and critical thinking skills. Programs, such as those that teach how to use shared inquiry processes or creative problem solving tools, exist that will help teachers and other school staff to better understand how to support, stretch, and challenge the learners in their charge. One of the fascinating aspects of teaching involves that complete mastery of one’s craft is never completed—any and every teacher could always be doing a better job of reaching either a single student who is struggling, another who needs an additional challenge, or an entire class that needs to improve their group dynamics. Outdoor education provides a way of accomplishing all of these goals, while also permitting the teacher ways to develop his or her expertise in dealing with guiding a learning community in ways that are best suited to supporting the whole child, the community in which he or she dwells, and the other professionals in the building, including both teachers and administrators. In real-world settings, individuals are seldom asked to simply regurgitate answers related to information they have been fed by a figure in a leadership role. Instead, they must become aware of various problems facing them and others, to consider this issue in terms of what possible solutions might resolve it, to weigh the various possible solutions and to determine which solutions are better than others considering a variety of factors at play. Sometimes two or more solutions might be combined to create a new way of proceeding so that a better resolution to the situation might be achieved. After selecting a solution, children must then, much like adults do every day, consider how best to persuade others that their solution is the most effective, efficacious, and efficient option that exists. Once this persuasion is complete, and the solution is approved, the children must then implement their proposal and demonstrate that it indeed works. Certainly creative and critical thinking skills are needed in such a

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situation, but so too are communication skills, collaboration abilities, cooperation, and compromise. All of these outcomes result from successful outdoor education experiences. While increased creative and critical thinking skills, increased cooperation, and better group dynamics are among the benefits of outdoor education initiatives, so too is an increased sense of motivation that is fostered in the children involved in such programs. All too often, children are told they need to work, learn, and behave in school because it will benefit them “in the future.” Elementary school children are told them will use certain schools in middle school, middle school students are told them will use certain information in high school, high school learners are told they will benefit from a certain program after graduation, and the like. This being said, very little in the way of knowledge, understandings, or skills are taught to children that they can use today. Is it any wonder, then, that many children are bored, disengaged, and exasperated with school? Far too often, children do not see the value of what they are being asked to do and are frequently not so inclined to simply accept vague promises that engaging in certain activities will benefit them at some uncertain future point. Outdoor education motivates children because they are the ones who drive the process, the projects, and the pacing of what they are doing. While a given problem may greatly intrigue a teacher, if his or her students do not find that situation especially compelling, or interesting, or pressing, a group of students using a project-based or guided investigations approach to outdoor education can simply choose to explore a situation that is significant and stimulating to them. It often takes children, who are used to constantly being told what to do, how to do it, and when to do it, a period of time to adjust to this new approach to learning. Figure 9.1 indicates the process through which a child or children will go to try and find answers or solutions to problems facing them or their communities. These children are taken aback by being asked to identify their own problems and then have at it. Once they begin to understand, however, that they indeed have the ability, discretion, and permission to look into those issues that they find worthy of investigation. Motivation grows exponentially as children begin to realize that they own their education and that their schooling, while guided by teachers and other educational professionals, can explore issues and content that is significant to them.

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Child

Culminating Activity

Possible Solutions

Problem

Guided Investigation

Fig. 9.1  Guided investigation process

Overcoming Impediments While outdoor education has tremendous potential to transform schools and the children they serve, implementing such a program is often not without its challenges. Outdoor education, even if just a one-hour per day experience that lasts for 6–8 weeks, is a radical departure to what has gone before. Instead of having children sitting in desks that have been arranged by teachers and other adults, the children are out of doors, in all weather, at all times of the year. Despite evidence that children in quite cold climates are often outdoors for hours at a time, some worry that the children will be harmed by the elements. Others, including many teachers, recoil at the freedom given to children in some outdoor education programs, despite the evidence that such liberty has multiple positive effects this provides, including increased academic progress, better group dynamics, and improved social and emotional health. Change is often disruptive, threatening, and challenging to those who are faced with implementing and living with it on a daily basis. Opposition to new initiatives, programs, and reforms can come from a variety of quarters, and some are not necessarily negative in terms of thinking about the organization. Some teachers will have been huge advocates of a prior initiative, have worked hard at mastering the nuances of the programs involved. As they trained in instructional methods used by the

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prior approach, and read the research and theory undergirding it, they became convinced that it benefited the children they served. They are justifiably skeptical of a new approach, especially if it means giving up instructional strategies, materials, and other aspects of the program which they believe are important tools to help students learn. Others may have experienced too many reform efforts and are skeptical that the new approach will indeed be adopted. Still others might accept the basic tenets of the new initiative, but doubt that the school and district administration will support the new program with the resources necessary for it to be successful, resources that might include professional learning opportunities, needed materials, instructional coaching, and a commitment to the initiative for a certain period of time. School leaders who expect these types of opposition, however, can successfully plan to address each issue. It is important that administrators establish committees and other groups that can explore certain aspects of the new program, such as its goals and objectives, curricular materials, instructional strategies, assessment tools, and other aspects of the program. Gaining support from the central office administrators and parents and families and other community members also greatly assists in the launch of a new program. Those leading the new initiative must be careful to address the concerns and worries of the various constituencies that comprise the school’s students, faculty, parents, staff, and community, because when teachers and others see the connection between the instructional goals and objectives and the benefits of outdoor education, with an emphasis on the benefits for children, they will better understand the importance of the initiative. It may be best to specify specifically how these benefits tie directly to identified student academic needs and how it will help build creative and critical thinking skills in all learners served by the program.

Cultivating and Maintaining Success Nothing, of course, builds a sense of success and accomplishment better than celebrations of success and accomplishment. It is imperative that all members of the school professional community—including teachers, administrators, and other educational professionals—monitor student progress experienced as a result of the outdoor education initiative and to document both children’s successes and needs. It is important to publicize student growth and to ensure that parents, central office administrators, community members, and even some teachers, know that the outdoor education program is successful and helping to improve student

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performance, both cognitively and affectively. Certainly, interventions should also take place if and when it is determined that some students are struggling. These interventions are, vital so that these students’ academic needs are met so that they are able to be successful. Certainly the normal referral process for children with suspected special needs should continue, and all academic interventions that have proven to be successful in the past should be continued. Organizing a culminating activity which occurs at the conclusion of a unit of study is also crucial to celebrating the success of an outdoor education program. Culminating activities, be they a program where children share their learning with others, a student-created museum detailing what they have done, a podcast or website that details what findings have been made, or some other celebration of learning, help children to cement the concepts they have grappled with and mastered. Such celebrations of learning also assist parents, administrators, community members, and others better understand the learning that is taking place as a result of the program and the avenues for exploration that it is opening for children in the future. When working with low-SES children, it is especially important to make them aware of possible career options that stem from the work which they do at school, so to the extent it is possible to include speakers or other participants who might speak to how the children’s work connects to the discipline they represent. Outdoor education opens new doors of learning for children and teachers and new possibilities for the future. Much as Whitman did not foresee how Leaves of Grass would inspire generations of environmentalists, teachers and administrators who provide children with opportunities to engage in outdoor education cannot predict all of the benefits, advantages, and gains that might result from the implementation of an outdoor education program. The program might be of limited duration, for example, for a set period of 6 weeks, or it might result in a school that is devoted to outdoor education for every subject and every period. How a particular school or group of educators will decide to conceptualize and implement an outdoor education program will depend upon many variables. These variables will include access to resources, such as parks, wilderness areas, or nature preserves. The varying goals and objectives of administrators, teachers, parents, and families will also vary greatly, which will result in different conceptualizations of how a successful program might look. Past experiences with school reform efforts and the level of tolerance one has for progressive education initiatives will also shape and color how a school’s choices may look and result.

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Ultimately, the best outdoor education programs will fit nicely the goals and objectives of the school, which in turn are aligned closely with the skills and needs of the children served by that school. Outdoor education is a platform upon which enriching and valuable educational sequences may be built, but for such an initiative to be successful the teaching and learning that occurs must be grounded in practices that have been demonstrated to be successful over time. While some was poetic about certain types of educational practices, at the end of the day, good programs are built around programs and practices that have a strong research base and a teaching corps that is highly proficient in such mundane practices as instructional planning, teaching using a variety of instructional methods and approaches, assessment that measures student learning, and responses to that assessment data that are appropriate and responsive to what it indicates. Only then will an outdoor education program be successful, although the results may include more than what is anticipated. The independence in attacking problems, excitement in pursuing a certain choice, understandings of group dynamics, and celebrations that stem from the successful conclusion of a guided investigation are the true benefits that stem from well-implemented outdoor education programs. May many children in many schools enjoy the fruits of these successful programs, to sing the songs of the outdoors and all that it offers. For this to happen will represent a great deal of work by a great many teachers, and “then only may these songs reach fruition.”

References Adler, M.  J. (1982/1998). The Paideia proposal: An educational manifesto. Touchstone. Greene, M. (1995). Releasing the imagination: Essays on education, the arts, and social change. Jossey-Bass. Greene, M. (2001). Variations on a blue guitar: The Lincoln Center Institute lectures on aesthetic education. Teachers College Press. Schroth, S. T., & Helfer, J. A. (2018). Developing teacher diversity in early childhood and elementary education: The REACH program approach. Palgrave Macmillan. Whitman, W. (1892/1993). Leaves of grass: The first edition of 1855 + the death bed edition of 1892. Modern Library.

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Further Readings Jeffs, T., & Ord, J. (Eds.). (2018). Rethinking outdoor. Routledge. McGregor, G., Mills, M., Riele, K.  T., Baroutsis, A., & Hayes, D. (2017). Re-imagining schools for education: Socially just alternatives. Palgrave Macmillan. Riley, G. (2020). Unschooling: Exploring learning beyond the classroom. Palgrave Macmillan. Rushton, E. A. C. (2021). Science education and teacher professional development: Combining learning with research. Palgrave Macmillan.



Appendix A

Method To more fully understand those settings that support academic engagement and success among low-economic students of color and outdoor education, it is important to explore the interactions between teachers, administrators, children, and families and the environments in which they work and learn. Teachers and administrators are, of course, learners as well as instructional and building leaders. The children with whom they work, the students, while individually unique are the same as students in any classroom. The National Research Council (2002) proposes that: (a) a wide range of contextual factors in students’ lives impact their school performance, (b) those factors include activities and interactions within the environment where the student is expected to learn, and (c) students make meaning as they interact with their environments and the interactions create new contexts for learning. The Council also notes that while factors such as program size, instructor quality, and available resources are associated with learning and behavior outcomes, the influence they have occurs through student-teacher interactions. A goal of this study was to better understand a variety of contexts in which low-income persons of color, especially those who are males, seek to achieve academically as a result of outdoor education, above and beyond that which might be predicted by their ethnic, gender, and economic status. Because individuals assign meaning as they interact with the dynamic elements in their environments, the study lends itself to naturalistic inquiry. © The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 S. T. Schroth, Outdoor Education, Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9

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Naturalistic Inquiry Naturalistic inquiry accepts the premise that realities are multiple and constructed (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). A naturalistic inquirer seeks to understand those realities by being non-obtrusive, non-manipulative—letting events unfold naturally (Patton, 2001). Naturalistic inquiry is predicated upon certain axioms. First, proponents of naturalistic inquiry believe that realities are multiple, socially constructed, and holistic. Realities might be different for different individuals based upon their varying experiences, personalities, and backgrounds. Second, in studies using naturalistic inquiry, the knower and the known are both interactive and inseparable. When we consider the implications from a given set of circumstances, we must always consider these within the context of the person or persons to whom they revealed themselves. Third, within the framework of naturalistic inquiry, only time- and context-bound working hypotheses are possible. Whatever conclusions or recommendations we may extract from a given set of circumstances are inextricably connected to the situation and setting in which they took place—generalizability is difficult if not impossible when circumstances vary. Fourth, with studies using naturalistic inquiry, all entities are in a state of mutual simultaneous shaping, so it is impossible to distinguish effects from causes. When one or more factors are changed in a situation being studied, the results may be different. Fifth and last, inquiry is always value-bound. The perceptions and beliefs of all involved in a study using naturalistic inquiry influence and affect what is found and how the processes examined unfolded. The study of the outdoor education experiences at the Emerson schools was affected by a confluence of factors, including the individuals working as teachers, those assisting them in this journey, the experiences all parties had, the supports and challenges that presented themselves, and a variety of other factors. Thus this study uses both naturalistic inquiry and emergent design.

Emergent Design The design of a qualitative study needs to be emergent, flexible, and responsive to changing conditions of the study. Such a study assumes that realities are context sensitive and that participants construct multiple realities (Erickson, 1986; Lincoln & Guba, 1985; Merriam, 2007). Unlike quantitative research that tests existing theory, qualitative research attempts to find a theory that explains data (Merriam, 2007). Although

  APPENDIX A 

197

conceptual areas of interest are determined prior to conducting the research, because participants, researchers, and contexts will interact in unpredictable ways, qualitative research does not seek to devise a theory in advance of the research (Erickson, 1986; Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Thus in this study, researchers examined existing research in relevant areas prior to entering research sites and developed semi-structured observation and interview protocols based on existing knowledge, but also allowed for inevitable changes in direction of the inquiry with variance in research sites, participants, and interactions between them.

Case Study Case study research is a tool for investigating complex social units that contain multiple variables that are potentially important in understanding a phenomenon. Since case selection based upon representativeness seldom is able to produce these understandings, when selecting subjects for these case studies, the researchers used information-oriented sampling. This study employs case study design, focusing on key cases, to understand settings in which male low-economic persons of color seek to find support for academic and professional success within a teacher education program at higher levels than they might have achieved based on their ethnicity, race, and economic status. A case study is a kind of empirical inquiry that explores current phenomena in their real-life context—particularly when the phenomena and context are difficult to separate (Yin, 2014). Thus, a case study is a descriptive research approach used to obtain an in-depth analysis of a specific person, group, or phenomenon. Case study is the preferred approach to research when “how” or “why” questions are at the heart of the inquiry, when the study’s focus is on contemporary events in a real-life context, and when researchers have little control over events being studied. Case studies of this sort may include explanatory, exploratory, illustrative and/ or descriptive elements (Yin, 2014). Case studies are especially useful for developing novel hypotheses for later testing, and they can provide detailed descriptions of specific cases that might help guide others facing similar circumstances. The current study is a multiple case design examined teacher candidate experiences at a summer enrichment program and at four school sites and involving a range of grade levels from preschool through high primary. The multiple case approach allowed for both independent investigation of

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a phenomenon (in this case, support for academic success in male, low-­ socioeconomic status [SES], minority teacher candidates) within a site and for examination of the phenomenon across sites. Such an approach uses a sort of replication logic, with each individual site feeding both questions and understanding of subsequent sites. Multiple case study method thus results in a study generally considered more robust than one employing a single case design (Yin, 2014). In this particular study, the site known as the City of Emerson was the focus of Years 1 through 3 of the three-year research cycle, as was the site known as Cheverly University (CU). The sites known as Abbott Elementary School (PreK through grade 5), Burleigh Middle School (grades 6 through 8), and Calhoun High Schools (grades 9 through 12) were the focus of Years 1 through 4. The overlapping time periods enabled researchers to learn from one site to sharpen inquiry in subsequent sites.

Sites This study took place in sites: Cheverly University, Abbott Elementary School, Burleigh Middle School, and Calhoun High School. All site and participant names are pseudonyms and in some cases represent composite profiles used in order to emphasize certain points and to make for easier reading. Cheverly University was founded in the mid-nineteenth century as the state’s primary teacher training school. It is located just outside of the City of Emerson, and Cheverly University (CU) has long been involved in preparing teachers, administrators, and other educational professionals for the Emerson City Public Schools (ECPS). Over the decades, CU and ECPS have worked together to help prepare new teachers and meet the needs of ECPS students. Every year hundreds of pre-service teachers complete fieldwork and internship hours in ECPS schools, and many future educators complete their student teaching experiences in ECPS schools. CU runs M.Ed. cohorts at ECPS school sites that help in-service teachers gain the credits needed for their master’s degrees in a variety of subjects, including early childhood education, elementary education, teaching dual language learners, gifted and creative education, instructional technology, school psychology, and administration and supervision. Many of these M.Ed. degrees also entitle completers to gain an endorsement on their existing teaching certificate. Together, CU and ECPS run a variety of professional development schools (PDS), at which CU pre-service teachers

  APPENDIX A 

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can complete their training while working in classrooms while CU faculty can provide professional learning opportunities tailored to the needs of each PDS site. The University continues to believe, and works to assure, that all individuals are provided the opportunity to learn, grow, and contribute. The outdoor education program, which was begun at a handful of ECPS and supported by CU, is one way in which CU opens opportunities for local students in PreK through the twelfth grade. CU is located in an ethnically diverse city of 60,000 located in the Middle Atlantic region of the United States. The city is located in an area adjacent to the City of Emerson, which is a major metropolis with a population of nearly 650,000. Emerson’s population is composed of about 30 percent White/Caucasian residents, 60 percent Black/African Americans, and the remaining 10 percent split between Hispanic/Latinos (7 percent) and Asians (3 percent). Like many older cities, Emerson has experienced tremendous gentrification over the past 40 years. Children are served by the Emerson City Public Schools (ECPS). ECPS enroll about 90,000 students and operate 75 K-5 schools,410 middle schools, and 30 high schools. The student population is composed of 74 percent Black/African Americans, 16 percent Hispanic/Latinos, 7 percent White/Caucasians, 3 percent Asians, and fewer than 1 percent Indian/Native Americans. Over 60 percent of students come from low-SES households, 15 percent are English language learners (ELLs), and high transiency rates. The outdoor education program described herein was designed by ECPS administrators and teachers and CU faculty to alleviate the challenges facing many families by offering acceleration, enrichment, and (when needed) academic support to PreK through twelfth grade students from a variety of schools located in Emerson. An effort was made to select schools that represented different demographic groups, both in terms of race, ethnicity, home language, and SES levels in an attempt to see if the programming worked better with some groups than others. The project served approximately 2000 students during Year 1 of the study and about 3600 by Year 3. CU used 12–15 university teaching candidates as teaching assistants to provide support and assistance to students with special needs. The program also allowed the CU teaching candidates additional exposure to master teachers and a chance to work with students from low-­ income backgrounds, children of color, and English language learners individually or in small group settings. CU and ECPS also allowed participating CU teaching candidates to consider how best to transform the

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curriculum used with high needs students so that every student receives the education best able to maximize his or her potential. Abbott Elementary School is a pre-kindergarten through fifth-grade school serving approximately 350 children, 98 percent of whom identify as Black/African American with the remaining 2 percent identifying as Hispanic/Latino. All of the Abbott student population qualifies for the federally funded free and reduced meals program, and the school is located within one of the lowest income communities within Emerson. Most children live in single-parent households, and a large number of children, over 20 percent, are being cared for by a grandparent or other family member. Few parents have completed a college degree, and many parents lack a high school diploma. A neighborhood school, Abbott serves as a beacon within its community, with many programs run through the school and offered to members of the community at all hours, both during the school day and afterschool and during the summer period. Abbott Elementary School serves children enrolled in grades PreK through 5 and is located in a building that, while more than 70 years old, was extensively renovated and remodeled, reopening for the 2017–2018 academic year after being closed for 24 months for renovation. Burleigh Middle School is located within minutes from the downtown area of the City of Emerson and serves approximately 860 children, 40 percent of whom identify as White/Caucasian, 20 percent as Black/ African American, 20 percent as Hispanic/Latino, and 20 percent as Asian/Pacific Islander. While an ECPS school, Burleigh is identified as a science magnet school, and seats in the school are assigned using a lottery system. Mr. Joseph Duarte, the principal at Burleigh, has been at his school for 4 years and is proud of his school, faculty, and students. Burleigh employs 52 teachers, all of whom are fully certificated. These teachers are split fairly evenly in experience levels, with 20 having between 1 and 6 years of experience, 15 having taught for between 7 and 12 years, and 17 having taught for 13 or more years. All but seven teachers hold an M.Ed. or Ed.D. degree, and the remaining teachers are all in the process of completing their master’s degree. Calhoun High School is located within the Madison Hill neighborhood of the City of Emerson and serves approximately 1735 children, 50 percent of whom identify as Black/African American, 30 percent as Hispanic/Latino, 10 percent as White/Caucasian, and 10 percent as Asian/Pacific Islander. While Madison Hill has been gentrified over the past 30 years and today features many restaurants, shops, and upscale row

  APPENDIX A 

201

houses, the handful of children who live in the neighborhood do not attend Calhoun High School. Calhoun is one of ECPS’s neighborhood schools and serves a low-income population, many of whom reside in a nearby housing project. While Calhoun has a handful of Advanced Placement (AP) classes, these enroll fewer than 100 of its students and are not currently in demand from students or their families. A wing of Calhoun has been leased to a charter school that concentrates on a “classical” curriculum, and this school has its own principal and teaching staff and there is no interaction with the students or teachers at Calhoun.

Units of Analysis The unit of analysis in this study varied across sites based on the nature of the site and access to teachers, students, and classrooms within the site. In each instance, however, focus was on teacher thinking, motivation, planning, teaching, and reflection. The schools in the district do not function from a common philosophy and practice regarding students and thus it was most useful to examine those classrooms in which teachers—working largely as “soloists”—to enable the children served to succeed at a new level of challenge. In the ECPS site, the unit of analysis is the school. In this site, the staff does work from a common philosophy and agreed upon practices to support the success of all children, including those from low-­ SES backgrounds, students of color, and English language learners, and thus it was most useful to examine those practices at the program level with examples from various facets of the school. In the CU site, not only was there a lack of common philosophy and agreed upon practices regarding support for the success of outdoor education, but a new provost and president assumed leadership of CU, thus changing priorities for the program. For that reason—quite different from the rationale in the district— it once again made sense to establish the classroom as the unit of study and to seek data from a variety of personnel and classrooms as that was possible.

Participants Purposive sampling assumes that the researcher wants to gain maximum insight from the research and therefore should select a sample from which the maximum can be learned (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). This research study employed purposive sampling for that reason. Because the goal of the study is to describe contexts in which students from low-SES

202 

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backgrounds, children of color, and ELLs find adequate support for academic and social and emotional success in an outdoor education setting. These students were viewed as learners, and researchers ultimately focused on those teachers, classrooms, scaffolds, and programs that provided consistent examples of such support. In sites, at least some teachers gave evidence of both a desire to create classrooms supportive of academic success for low-economic students of color and a level of competence in doing so. Teacher selection began with recommendations of knowledgeable school personnel and proceeded with verification through preliminary observation and interview by the researchers. As site visits continued, researchers ultimately focused on classrooms and teachers that proved to be the richest sources of illustrative data. At CU, researchers also identified a group of 18 classrooms (also called target classrooms) whom researchers interviewed over the course of the three-­ year program and whom researches also sometimes shadowed during their school day. All of the target classrooms were participants in the outdoor education program, all had a past record of at least some success working with diverse students, all were currently enrolled in one or more CU classes, and all were evidenced at least satisfactory performance in their classrooms during the duration of the study. At CU and in ECPS classrooms, researchers had conversations with a range of interns as opportunities occurred and conducted group interviews with some students. In all three sites, researchers conducted interviews with administrators, teachers, and students.

Researchers The Principal Investigator throughout the study is a Professor of Early Childhood Education and former Graduate Programs Director at Towson University. He has more than 20 years’ experience as a classroom teacher and 20 years at the university level. His past research has been both qualitative and quantitative in nature. The focus of his work—both in research and practice—has been on developing and supporting learning opportunities for academically diverse student populations. He served as an on-site observer and interviewer in all of the study sites. He also coordinated the work of all other researchers involved in the study. The Principal Investigators met individually with each of the researchers and with the research team as a whole on a regular schedule throughout the research cycle.

  APPENDIX A 

203

Data Collection Methods In an attempt to understand the experiences of diverse learners, outdoor education, and the teachers who worked with them in the various sites, the study relied heavily on classroom observations and interviews as well as analysis of some documents (i.e., school handbooks, teacher lesson plans, student materials, published standardized test scores). In each site, researchers spent the equivalent of three and five  weeks of school days visiting classrooms and places where instruction happened and conducting interviews over a three-year research span in each site. Observations allow researchers to develop a sense of environments in which activities take place, see what goes on as individuals react and interact in shared environments, and develop a sense of the multiple perspectives of individuals in the environments (Patton, 2001). Interviews enable researchers to ascertain from individuals things they cannot directly observe (Patton, 2001). All researchers in the case study projected used semi-structured observation and interview protocols (Patton, 2001) to ensure focus on the study’s questions within and across sites. In addition, however, because of the emergent nature of qualitative inquiry, researchers also developed and pursued additional questions as the research progressed. Each researcher took notes during observations, tape recorded interviews for later transcription, and maintained observer notes.

Data Analysis Data analysis was conducted following Patton’s (2001) guidelines for effective analysis of case study data. After transcription of observation notes and tape recorded interviews, researchers assembled the raw data, including available documents. Next, researchers constructed a case record using content analysis. In this stage, researchers condensed the raw data by organizing, classifying, and editing it into a form that is more easily read and managed. Content analysis calls on researchers to identify, code, recode, and categorize patterns in the raw data. Researchers in this project conducted content analysis by hand rather than with the use of computer programs. Notebooks of raw data, categories, and codes were developed by doctoral students who, in regular consultation with the Principal Investigator, used the materials to develop initial case study narratives.

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The Principal Investigator then reviewed the raw data, case records, and case narratives for each of the three sites, developed individual case reports, and wrote the cross case analysis. On-going conversations among the researchers throughout the four-year research cycle facilitated immersion of all researchers in the study’s questions as well as emergent issues and potential findings. Teaming in data analysis not only ensures stability of research methods across sites and builds trustworthiness, but also contribute to building cross-site understandings. As we developed case reports and initial case records, we used broad guidelines for our work developed together but had the freedom to develop coding systems, informant names, and case record logic based on the nature of the site and information available in the raw data.

Trustworthiness Trustworthiness in qualitative research is a means of ensuring that findings are worthy of the attention of those who make use of them. Trustworthiness in qualitative research relies on the skill and integrity of researchers who conduct it. Lincoln and Guba (1985) suggest four characteristics of trustworthy or reliable qualitative research: credibility, dependability, transferability, and conformability. These case studies sought credibility through prolonged fieldwork in each of the three sites and use of source (student, teacher, administrator) and method (observation, interview, document analysis) triangulation. Credibility is also influenced by researcher credentials, noted earlier in this appendix. To increase dependability, researchers used a code/recode process as well as peer examination both within and across sites. Further, an audit trail of raw data, coded data, and case reports have been established and will be maintained for a minimum of five years following publication of this work. While the study does not seek generalizability, it addresses transferability via purposeful sampling and use of thick description within case reports. This allows readers to move beyond facts to the voices and perspectives of the teachers, students, and administrators who took part in the study. It provides representations of their voices, feelings, actions, and meanings (Dentin, 1989). Finally, conformability exists to the extent that data and interpretations of data are grounded in events rather than in the researcher’s personal

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205

biases and constructions (Lincoln & Guba, 1985). Triangulation of data, use of observer notes and reflexive journals, the project’s audit trail, collaboration of two researchers in each site, and review of documents and findings by the project’s research team support conformability of findings in this research project.



Appendix B

Children’s Literature Many find it easier to build lessons, units, and other instructional sequences around children’s literature, as this provides all children with a common foundation as well as a means of entry into new subjects. A growing trend supports the use of picture books with high school and even college and university students, so the books below are listed without being segregated by reading level. Instead, information about each book is provided, briefly, so that readers might determine if it might be of use in the classroom. Author

Title

Themes

Constance Allen and Maggie Swanson Helene Becker

Shake a Leg! (Sesame Street)

Encourages young children to participate in movement and exercise using language that is friendly to very young children

Counting on Katherine: How Katherine Johnson Saved Apollo 13 Don’t Throw that Away! A Lift-the-Flap Book about Recycling and Reusing

Relays the life history of Katherine Johnson, whose early skills in mathematics ultimately led to her working for NASA to assist the Apollo space program Following the escapades of an environmental superhero, the book explores the ways common household items can be recycled and reused (continued)

Lara Bergen

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 S. T. Schroth, Outdoor Education, Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9

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(continued) Author

Title

Themes

F. Isabel Campoy & Theresa Howell Nancy Carlson

Maybe Something Beautiful: How Art Transformed a Neighborhood Get Up and Go!

Tells the true story of how a young girl living in San Diego transformed her neighborhood through a series of community murals

Jason Chin

Matthew Cordell

Phillippe Cousteau & Deborah Hopkinson Jess French

H. Joseph Hopkins

Alison Inches

Alison Inches

Laurie Lawlor

Encourages young children to participate in movement and exercise and explores the benefits of going out to do this Redwoods A boy riding on a subway finds a book about redwoods, and while reading it is transported to California to learn more about the trees Wolf in the Snow A young child and a wolf cub are both lost in the snow in this 2018 Caldecott Medal-­ winning book, that relays the tale of how friendship and trust developed between two friends from very different backgrounds Follow the Moon Home: Beautifully illustrated tale by a well-known A Tale of One Idea, environmental activist that shows how even the Twenty Kids, and a youngest children can make a powerful Hundred Sea Turtles difference in their world What a Waste! Trash, An heavily illustrated non-fiction work that Recycling, and explores the problems of waste and pollution Protecting Our Planet and relays the shocking facts about where our waste goes The Tree Lady: The The story about a young teacher who had True Story of How One grown up among the redwoods of northern Tree-Loving Woman California who moved to San Diego, where Changed a City Forever there were almost no trees, and what she did to remedy that The Adventures of an Told through the diary entries of an aluminum Aluminum Can: A can, this book shows its life cycle, from its Story about Recycling beginnings as ore within bauxite rock, then through a manufacturing line, its sale in a store, its use at home, and finally its trip to a recycling plant The Adventures of a Similar to the previous book about the Plastic Bottle: A Story aluminum can, this tells the journey of a plastic about Recycling bottle, from the refinery, to the manufacturing line, to the store shelf, to a recycling bin, to its new life as a fleece jacket Rachel Carson and Her A biography of eminent environmentalist, Book that Changed the Rachel Carson, whose book Silent Spring is World credited by some as beginning the modern environmental movement (continued)

  APPENDIX B 

209

(continued) Author

Title

Themes

Mary Nhin

Earth Ninja: A Children’s Book about Recycling, Reducing, and Reusing Habitat Destruction: Earth in Danger

Charming and clever story about a small ninja who shows his friends how to protect the Earth by recycling, reducing waste, and reusing items

Helen Orme

Explores how animals around the world are losing their habitats due to industrial development and environmental changes, causing many of them to become endangered Miranda Paul One Plastic Bag: Isatou Tells the story of a Gambian woman who Ceesay and the addressed the problem plastic bags were Recycling Women of the causing the environment while also creating an Gambia indigenous industry Bao Phi A Different Pond A Caldecott Honor book that relays the story of a young boy who goes fishing at dawn at a lake outside of Minneapolis and where his father tells him of a similar lake in his native Vietnam Lynn Plourde The Dump Man’s Mr. Pottle, who runs the town dump, cannot Treasures read. Despite this he works to find homes for discarded books, helping to teach his neighbors the value of both reading and reusing/recycling Anne Rockwell Why Are the Icecaps Friendly and accessible book explores why the Melting? The Dangers climate is changing, what dangers this causes, of Global Warming and some steps we may take to address this Francesca The Journey Beautifully illustrated tale of a story of a family Sanna whose lives are disrupted by war and death, forcing them to leave their home for a new life in a new country David Shannon The Rain Came Down A neighborhood where disagreeable, argumentative neighbors undergo a change in attitude and behavior as the result of the rain stopping, the sun coming out, and a rainbow appearing Susan Verde The Water Princess: True story of an African girl who works to Based on the Childhood improve her community’s access to potable Experience of Georgie water with which they can drink, cook, and Badiel clean Laurie Grace Hopper: Queen Biography of Grace Hopper, a pioneer in the Wallmark of Computer Code field of computer coding, focusing upon some of her greatest challenges and accomplishments Melanie Walsh 10 Things I Can Do to Colorful and attractive non-fiction book that Help My World sets forth ten simple and practical ways children can address environmental degradation through sustainable behaviors



Appendix C

Apps and Websites As a result of recent events, many schools, teachers, and students possess a great deal of confidence in and ability to use technology as part of their instruction. A variety of free apps and websites exist that can assist with outdoor education initiatives and provide teachers and students with tools that will assist them in completing a variety of projects. If tablets or other devices are available to be used outdoors, children can utilize these resources on the spot. If not, they can easily be used in conjunction with notes, photographs, or other data recorded outdoors and then used as part of a later project. Web Site

URL

Content

Cosmic kids

https://www.cosmickids. com

Dictionary.com

https://www.dictionary. com/

Action for healthy kids

https://www. actionforhealthykids.org

Yoga and wellness activities directed to help children embrace mindfulness and wellness Online dictionary with definitions, synonyms, antonyms, and other features National non-profit dedicated to creating healthy school environments for children (continued)

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 S. T. Schroth, Outdoor Education, Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9

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(continued) Web Site

URL

Content

Healthy children

https://www. healthychildren.org/ English/healthy-­living/ fitness/Pages/default.aspx App Store or Google Play

Hosted by pediatricians that encourages ways to engage with children around fitness and well-being

Habitz

Climate kids

https://climatekids.nasa. gov/weather-­climate/

U.S. Environmental https://www.epa.gov/ Protection Agency ghgreporting

Great Big Story

National Geographic Kids

Generation Genius

Earth Rangers

Garbology

https://www.youtube. com/channel/ UCajXeitgFL-­rb5-­gXI-­ aG8Q/featured https://kids. nationalgeographic.com/

https://www. generationgenius.com/ videolessons/ magnets-­and-­static-­ electricity-­video-­for-­kids/ https://www.earthrangers. com/

https://naturebridge.org/ garbology

Free app that that has parental controls and allows children as young as four years old track their fitness goals National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) website geared toward children to teach them about weather and climate change Greenhouse gas reporting tool at the U.S. EPA website that permits modeling of various greenhouse gas emitters A YouTube channel devoted to short documentaries and films covering a number of themes, including the environment America’s largest geographical organization, devoted to preserving wildlife and the environment for over 130 years, provides a variety of educational resources including films, reports, and games A series of videos and other online instructional experiences and materials that explore science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects A free app that once downloaded permits children to build backyard habitats, protect marine animals from pollution, and make forest-friendly crafts A subsection of the NatureBridge website, Garbology explores the study of what happens to our garbage and where it ends up (continued)

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213

(continued) Web Site

URL

Content

FLIGHT

https://ghgdata.epa.gov/ ghgp/main.do

The National Wildlife Federation

https://www.nwf.org/

Versal

https://versal.com/

Hour of Code

https://hourofcode.com/us

Cosmic Kids

App Store or Google Play

Project Noah

https://www.projectnoah. org/

Manufacture Your Future

https://www. manufactureyourfuture. com/

PlanetPals

http://www.planetpals. com/

Discover the forest

https://discovertheforest. org/

Green Map System

http://www.greenmap. org/greenhouse/about

Facility Level Information on GreenHouse gases Tool (FLIGHT) that shows the location of greenhouse gas emitters One of the largest and most influential conservation organizations, the site provides a variety of wildlife and nature guides as well as other educational resources Provides the tools to create online learning environment for students that permit individualized explorations A one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to explain the coding process, let anyone learn the basics of coding, and increase participation in the field of girls and diverse learners Free app that contains yoga and mindfulness activities for children ages 3 to 9 A platform that permits children from throughout the globe to identify, share, and discover wildlife Materials, virtual tours, and curricular materials rooted in STEM principles to help cultivate the next generation of manufacturing innovators and leaders A collection of games, videos, and other materials designed to help children learn more about the environment, endangered species, and other related issues and themes A collection of activities that permit children and their families to study nature, identify trees, track wildlife, and a variety of other topics Provides tools for mapmaking that permit children to create maps that show the cultural and environmental state of their communities



Appendix D

Organizations A variety of organizations, groups, and other entities advocate or provide resources for learning experiences that take place outside. Teachers, administrators, community members, researchers, and others may find some of these useful as they prepare to create an outdoor education program. Organization American Trails

Purpose

Organization that works on behalf of all trail initiatives and interests. Provides a series of online sources for planning, building, designing, funding, managing, enhancing, and supporting trails, greenways, and blueways Association of Outdoor A group of recreation and education Recreation and professionals who share a passion for Education outdoor education. Works to empower leaders of outdoor education initiatives and provide them resources and networking opportunities

Website https://www. americantrails.org/

https://www.aore. org/

(continued)

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 S. T. Schroth, Outdoor Education, Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9

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(continued) Organization Boy Scouts of America (BSA)

Purpose

Umbrella organization for all scouting programs in the United States. Originally intended for boys only, it now also serves girls in some of its programs Chesapeake Bay Trust Provides a variety of resources for those interested restoring watersheds and other wetlands, including learning materials, grants, and news of successful outdoor education initiatives The Duke of The original program that has sponsored Edinburgh Awards the DofE awards for over 60 years. A (United Kingdom) variety of resources are provided, many of which are now available internationally Girl Scouts of the USA Originally the companion group to the BSA, the Girl Scouts offers a variety of outdoor experiences for school-age girls and young women Institute for Outdoor UK organization that provides training, Learning resources, materials, and other networking opportunities for those interested in outdoor education Maryland Association Statewide organization that provides for Environmental & professional learning opportunities, a Outdoor Education resource library, and links to many other (MAEOE) organizations U.S. National Park An agency of the U.S. government that Service manages all federal parks, wildlife areas, and other properties. Offers a variety of resources and volunteer opportunities National Outdoor Organization that produces materials, Leadership School training, and outdoor experiences of up to (NOLS) a semester in duration. Highly influential in the outdoor education community North American While focused primarily on environmental Association for education, the group’s focus on taking care Environmental of the outdoors means that it provides a Education (NAAEE) variety of materials and other resources Outward Bound Offers programming for students who wish to spend a weekend, summer, or semester engaged in outdoor activities. Government funded, it provides opportunities at a variety of locations Wilderness Education Professional organization that provides Association support, including a certification program, for teachers who work in outdoor education programs

Website https://www. scouting.org/

https://cbtrust. org/

https://www.dofe. org/

https://www. girlscouts.org/

https://www. outdoor-­learning. org/ https://www. maeoe.org/

https://www.nps. gov/index.htm

https://www.nols. edu/en/about/ about/ https://naaee. org/

https://www. outwardbound. org/

https://www. weainfo.org/

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Index1

A Accountability, 10, 12, 105, 106, 130, 153, 163, 176 American Ascent, An, 94 Analysis, xii, 4n5, 27, 30, 55, 72, 73, 106, 136, 138, 140, 166, 174, 197, 201, 203–204 Annual yearly progress (AYP), 8, 11 Arts, The, 15, 25, 42, 44, 49n45, 80 Asian/Pacific Islander, 79, 100, 200 Assessments, xi, 10, 10n22, 11, 17n1, 23–25, 27, 30, 37, 50, 53, 56, 66, 108, 112–115, 123, 133, 136, 138, 153, 155, 162, 174, 175, 181, 183, 184, 190, 192 Attention regulation, 134 B Baden-Powell, Robert, 86, 86n1, 87 Black/African Americans, xii, 12, 13, 54, 79, 100, 143, 199, 200

Bloom, Benjamin S., 27, 27n14, 29, 30, 30n15, 35 Bloom’s taxonomy, 27–29 Body awareness, 134 Boy Scouts, 87 Bruner, Jerome S., 2, 6, 34–36, 34n18, 36n19, 71n8 C Capacity building, 163, 164 Change, vii, ix, xii, xiii, 1, 3–5, 8, 9n20, 11n27, 13–15, 18n2, 21, 24, 25, 27n13, 49, 65–67, 76–78, 98, 100, 101, 111–113, 120, 133, 134, 147–170, 173–184, 186, 189, 197 Charlottesville Education Summit, 9, 10 Coherence making, 163 Collaboration, xii, 40, 81, 91, 114, 141, 160–162, 176, 183, 188, 205

 Note: Page numbers followed by ‘n’ refer to notes.

1

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2023 S. T. Schroth, Outdoor Education, Palgrave Studies in Alternative Education, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-35422-9

231

232 

INDEX

Communication, 20, 68, 95, 106, 136, 138, 157, 161, 162, 184, 188 Community, xi, 1, 2, 4–7, 7n8, 13, 14, 21, 52, 54, 55, 71, 73, 75, 78, 79, 84, 89, 91, 92, 96, 97n12, 98, 99, 107, 120, 125, 128, 142–144, 148, 151, 152, 154, 159, 161, 163, 164, 166, 167, 169, 170, 173, 174, 176, 177, 179, 182, 187, 188, 190, 191, 200, 215 Concept attainment, 33 Confidence, 92, 96, 97, 115, 143, 153, 156, 211 Connection with nature, 98 Constructivism, 38, 38n23, 67 Cooperative learning, 40, 104, 104n1, 104n2, 106, 110 Creative Problem Solving (CPS), 37, 37n22, 38, 84, 108n5, 112, 114, 115, 120, 129–133, 129n5, 142, 160, 187 Creative thinking skills, 1, 22, 38, 73, 84, 114, 120, 128, 143–144, 148 Creativity, 36, 36n20, 37, 46, 66, 67, 83, 84, 119–144, 161, 162 Critical thinking skills, xii, 7, 14, 31n17, 46, 53, 54, 74, 95, 120, 123–125, 127, 128, 136–142, 186–188, 190 Curriculum, xi, 2, 7, 8, 14, 17–57, 79, 80, 96, 100, 143, 149, 169, 200, 201 Curriculum development, xi, 17–57 D Deep learning, 161–164 Developer, 112, 132 Developmental stages, 26, 67, 69–70 Dewey, John, ix, x, 20–24, 21n7, 21n8, 22n9, 67, 104–106, 141

Differentiated instruction, 76, 76n14, 106, 143, 144 Differentiation, 44, 76 Digging deeper, 126 Discovery learning, 36, 36n19 Diverse learners, 84, 86–101, 144, 148, 173, 203 Duke of Edinburgh’s Awards, The, 87n2, 88, 89, 89n4 E Early adopters, 179 Eight-Year Study, The, 25–27 Elementary and Secondary Education Act of 1965 (ESEA), 7, 24 Emerson, City of, 12, 54, 55, 79, 100, 198–200 Emotion regulation, 134 Energy, 43, 66, 111, 156 English/language arts, 2, 9, 12, 14, 15, 80, 114, 125 English language learners (ELLs), ix, x, 12, 13, 48n42, 65n4, 75, 79, 84, 99, 160, 199, 201, 202 Enthusiasm, 22, 107, 128, 156, 177 Environmental education, viii–ix, 62, 83, 95 Evaluation, 25, 27, 43, 44, 73, 115, 121, 133, 136, 140, 169, 174 Every Student Succeeds Act (ESSA), 12 Experiential learning, ix, xi, 6, 21, 23, 36, 62, 67, 72 Expertise, xi, 43, 45, 151, 161, 168, 175, 187 Explanation, 35, 36, 40, 61, 71–73, 140 Explorer, 112, 132 External, 111, 112, 151, 163, 176 Extrapolation, 140

 INDEX 

F Families, 7, 8, 15, 18, 50, 52, 54, 79, 80, 84, 99, 103, 114, 144, 159, 161, 163, 169, 170, 174, 182, 184, 190, 191, 195, 199–201 Forest schools, 62, 95–97, 95n11, 97n12 Fullan, Michael, 151, 151n2, 154–157, 159, 161, 163, 175, 180n3 G Gardner, Howard, x, 63–66, 63n2, 65n3, 122 Generating ideas, 126, 129, 131, 132 Goals 2000, 10 Gordonstoun, 87, 88, 90 Group dynamics, ix, 84, 98, 103–115, 187–189, 192 Grouping, xi, 31, 43–46, 84, 104, 110–112, 130, 160 Guided investigations, x, 36, 53, 54, 73–78, 142, 143, 186, 188, 189, 192 Guilford, J. Paul, 36, 36n20, 37, 121, 122 H Hahn, Kurt, 87–90, 87n2, 88n3, 90n5, 90n6, 91n7 Hands-on activities, 21, 23, 88n3, 95 Havinghurst, Robert, 26, 27 Hiring, 53, 164, 180, 180n3 Hispanic/Latino, xii, 12, 13, 54, 79, 100, 143, 199, 200 Holt, Lawrence, 88 Hope, 114, 129, 156 I Implementation, 1, 14, 45, 53, 101, 106, 143, 147, 149, 150, 156–158, 164, 166–168, 175, 178, 191

233

Independence, 88n3, 97, 98, 142, 192 Inference, 140 Innovators, 179 Inquiry-based learning, 67, 70, 71 Instruction, x, 3, 4, 8, 10, 13, 14, 17–20, 23, 24, 26, 30, 30n15, 30n16, 34n18, 35, 40, 41, 43, 46, 48–50, 52, 55, 67, 68, 72–73, 75, 75n11, 76, 76n14, 76n15, 97–99, 114, 127, 133, 141, 143, 144, 148, 160, 162, 166, 176, 180, 181, 203, 211 Integrated classroom support, 42–44 Intelligence, x, xi, 21, 22, 37, 40, 62–67, 77 Interests, student, 2, 14 Internal, 41n29, 68, 111, 112, 151, 163, 176 Interpretation, 4, 5, 31, 33, 34, 67, 140, 204 J Jefferson, Thomas, 18, 19n4, 20 K Knowledge building, 161 L Learning, vii–xi, xiii, 1, 2, 4, 6–11, 10n21, 14, 15, 20–27, 24n11, 26n12, 29, 30, 34–36, 36n19, 39–41, 39n25, 39n26, 43–45, 48, 49, 51, 53, 54, 57, 61, 62, 67, 68, 70–80, 75n13, 84, 86, 90–92, 95, 96, 101, 104–108, 104n2, 110, 111, 113–115, 122, 123, 125, 127, 128, 130, 132, 142–144, 147, 150, 153, 155–164, 166, 168, 169, 175–177, 181–183, 186–188, 190–192, 195, 199, 202, 215

234 

INDEX

Learning profile, 76, 76n15, 77 Listening to one’s inner voice, 126 Low-SES, x, 13, 53, 65n4, 79, 99, 191, 199, 201 M Mann, Horace, 19, 19n5, 20, 20n6 Manner of processing (MP), 111, 112, 160 Mastery learning, 29 Materials, xi, 7, 10n21, 22, 22n9, 23n10, 34n18, 35, 36, 52–54, 67, 72, 76n14, 90n5, 94, 125, 128, 137, 138, 147, 149, 150, 160, 161, 168, 174, 186, 190, 203 Mathematics, 2, 8, 9, 12, 14, 15, 18, 30n15, 55, 56, 80, 95, 100, 114, 125, 141, 143, 181 Mental health, 98 Metacognition, 140, 160 Mindfulness, 74, 96, 133–136 Moral purpose, 156, 163 N National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP), 24 Nation at Risk, A, 8 No Child Left Behind (NCLB), 10–12, 10n23, 11n27 NOLS (before 2015 the National Outdoor Leadership School), 93–95, 93n8, 94n10 Nuance, 95, 157, 189 O Observation, xii, 43, 136, 138, 140, 181, 197, 202–204 Openness and courage to explore new ideas, 126

Orientation to change (OC), 111, 112, 160 Outcome-based education, 10 Outdoor education, vii–xiii, 1, 2, 4–7, 7n8, 13–15, 31n17, 41, 42, 44, 45, 48–54, 56, 57, 61, 62, 71, 72, 78–81, 83–84, 86–101, 94n10, 97n12, 103–115, 119–144, 147, 148, 150, 154, 160, 166–168, 170, 180–184, 186–192, 195, 196, 199, 201–203, 211, 215 Outward Bound, 88, 89, 95 P Parents, vii, 1, 4, 7, 14, 15, 50, 52, 55, 74, 75, 80, 99, 99n14, 106, 113, 114, 143, 144, 151–153, 155, 158–161, 169, 170, 174, 180–184, 190, 191, 200 Pedagogy, 40, 164 Perkins, D., xi, 39, 39n25, 39n26, 40n28, 41, 74n9 Physical education, 14, 15, 80, 88 Piaget, Jean, 34n18, 41n29, 67–70 Preparing for action, 129, 132 Problem-solving style, 108–112 Professional learning, 10n21, 45, 48, 53, 57, 80, 101, 114, 115, 128, 143, 150, 153, 155, 159, 160, 164, 166, 168, 175–177, 190, 199 Project-based learning, 14, 36, 53, 54, 74, 142, 143 Pull-out programs, 42, 45–48 R Readiness, student, 71, 76 Reasoning, 36, 64, 106, 137–141 abductive, 138

 INDEX 

deductive, 138 inductive, 138 Relationships, viii–ix, 34, 47, 92, 96, 105, 134, 139, 157–161, 163 Renzulli, Joseph S., xi, 66, 66n5, 67, 67n6 Resistance, 37, 162, 173–184 Resources, xii, xiii, 6, 7, 38, 39, 42, 43, 52–54, 74, 74n10, 76, 84, 86, 97, 99, 111, 125, 142, 147–150, 153, 155, 160, 164, 173–175, 181, 190, 191, 195, 211, 215 S School reform, 1, 3–15, 125, 152–154, 175, 176, 178, 181, 186, 191 Schule Schloss Salem, 87 Science, 5n6, 8, 9, 14, 15, 24, 49–51, 49n45, 55, 57, 64, 80, 83, 95, 100, 101, 114, 143, 186, 200 Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM), 6, 14, 18, 44, 148 Six declines, 89, 90 Social studies, 14, 15, 51, 55, 57, 80, 114, 186 Special classes, 41, 42, 47–49, 49n46, 51 Special education, 42, 45, 56, 80 Special needs, 10, 27n13, 48, 48n42, 56, 75, 106, 160, 191, 199 Special schools, 42, 42n31, 49–52 Stakeholders, 1, 147, 150, 158 Standards, 1, 8, 9n16, 10–12, 14, 46, 48, 63, 68, 92, 100–101, 114, 122, 123, 152, 153, 160, 175 Sternberg, Robert J., xi, 65, 65n4, 108n4, 120

235

Structure of Intellect (SI) theory, 37 Student-identified problem, x, 107–108 Success, 4n5, 10, 21, 22, 39, 48, 53, 74, 76, 79, 86, 91, 92, 99, 104–106, 133, 141, 147, 150, 153, 158, 161, 164, 176, 178, 181–183, 190–192, 195, 197, 198, 201, 202 Sustainability, viii, 14, 83, 95, 162 T Taba, Hilda, 30–34, 30n16, 31n17 Taba Approach, 31 Taking stock, 174–175 Task motivation, 121 Task oriented, 111, 112 Teaching, x, 3, 4, 6–9, 11n26, 18–24, 22n9, 29, 31n17, 34, 38n23, 39, 40, 48n44, 49, 55, 56, 67, 70, 74–76, 79, 80, 84, 120, 124, 129, 133n10, 137, 141, 147, 148, 150, 173, 175, 176, 180, 181, 187, 192, 198, 199, 201 Technology, 8, 18, 49, 50, 124, 175, 176, 198, 211 Thinking styles, 121 Tomlinson, Carol A., 42n30, 76n14, 76n15 Torrance, E. P., 36, 37, 37n21, 121–123 Torrance Tests of Creative Thinking (TTCT), 37, 37n21, 122 Transfer, 39n25, 40, 140, 180, 186 Treffinger, Donald J., 37, 37n22, 71n8, 75n11, 121–123, 126 Tyler, Ralph W., 24–27, 24n11, 26n12 Tyler Rationale, The, 26

236 

INDEX

U Understanding the challenge, 129, 131 United States Forest Service, 94 Urban, vii, xii, 12–13, 19n5, 20n6, 56, 89, 90n5, 99, 125

W Ways of deciding (WD), 111, 112, 160 White/Caucasian, 12, 13, 79, 100, 199, 200 Working styles, 121

V VIEW assessment, 112, 113, 123 Vygotsky, Lev, 34n18, 41, 41n29, 68

Z Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD), 41