hpr 443 outdoor leader competencies. overview (1) knowledge and skills (2) educational and...
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HPR 443
Outdoor Leader competencies
Overview
(1) knowledge and skills (2) educational and psychological
foundations (3) outdoor education foundations (4) environmental understandings (5) instructional methodologies (6) learning environment (7) assessment
Knowledge and skills
Generic skills Concerning types of outdoor leadership skills,
these areas are comprised of skills applicable to all adventure experiences; such as weather interpretation, first aid, trip planning, and appropriate level of performance.
Meta skills Concerning types of outdoor leadership skills,
this area combines hard and soft skills into a workable design; for example, leadership style, problem-solving, decision-making skills.
Professionalism
Know your topic Have the skills
Learn from formal Instruction Learn from informal instruction
Know your participants
Professional ResponsibilitiesPlanning & Organizing
Plan the work/work the plan Communicate with students Equipment (condition, amounts, fit, location) Materials (to aid in instruction: pictures,
handouts, drawings, CD’s/DVD’s, twigs, etc) Site knowledge Risk Mgt (before, during & after)
Personal PresentationDress appropriatelyArrive earlyStart on timeBegin to develop a rapport with students as soon as you meet themCommunicate personallySet expectationsClarify what’s going to happenRulesEquipment check – bring extras just in case
Educational and psychological foundations Clear goals Appropriate activities Curriculum materials Instructional strategies
outdoor education foundations Involves a structured experience for students Usually involving a challenge (possibly including an
element of risk) A period of reflection to help students derive
meaning from the experience An assessment activity Skilled outdoor educators can use outdoor
experiences to achieve many general education objectives in subject areas such as the arts, language, mathematics, science, and social studies
environmental understandings Major concepts
how natural systems work and how social systems interact with natural systems. Regarding natural systems, teachers should be able to
communicate and apply major ecological concepts. Individual: Existing as a distinct entity; separate: individual
drops of rain.
Species: a class of individuals or objects grouped by virtue of their common attributes and assigned a common name; a division subordinate to a genus.
Population: All the organisms that constitute a specific group or occur in a specified habitat
Community: A group of plants and animals living and interacting with one another in a specific region under relatively similar environmental conditions.
•Ecosystem: a system formed by the interaction of a community of organisms with their physical environment
•Interdependence: a reciprocal relation between interdependent entities (objects or individuals or groups)
•Niche: The function or position of an organism or population within an ecological community.
•Adaption: An alteration or adjustment in structure or habits, often hereditary, by which a species or individual improves its condition in relationship to its environment.
•Homeostasis: The ability or tendency of an organism or cell to maintain internal equilibrium by adjusting its physiological processes.
EthicsLeave No Trace http://www.lnt.org/programs/lnt7/index.html
instructional methodologies
Outdoor education addresses learning objectives through guided direct experience in the outdoors, using the natural and built environments as resource materials.
Such experiences in the outdoors provide three-dimensional reality to what is taught in the classroom and make possible depths of understanding and appreciation that may not be possible indoors.
learning environment
Outdoor education can occur in any outdoor setting, ranging from a school yard in an industrial neighborhood to a remote wilderness setting
Capable outdoor educators create a safe place for learning--a community of learners
Such a setting promotes appreciation, exploration, and discovery, and provides an intellectually open, stimulating, and exciting environment.
In such an environment, students pursue their own ideas individually and in groups.
Teachers also guide students in self-assessment, collaborative work, and preparation of presentations of accomplished work.
Capable outdoor educators model certain habits of mind, including curiosity, excitement, wonder, and imagination.
Assessment
Assessments should be ongoing. It's best to use a variety of strategies, such as
observing and listening to students as they work, discussing students' ideas and understandings, and asking students questions.