My understanding of adventure education as a whole has transformed immensely over the past few years. When I began my degree, the knowledge I held of adventure was limited, and in all honesty I was under the impression that it was based purely on the development of ‘hard’ or ‘technical’ skills. How wrong could I be?! I was unaware of the full scale of the benefits that adventure has to offer, specifically the development of a vast range of ‘soft skills.’ The adventure experience is a psychological transformation that can be attained through physical activities (Blinde and McClung, 1997).
At this moment in time, my personal philosophy of ‘soft
skills facilitation’ involves creating situations that encourage the
development of moral and social capacities such as communication, self-esteem,
problem solving and responsibility, to name a few. As facilitators, we are
unable to dictate what individuals will learn, however we have the advantage of
creating situations where learning is likely to take place (Wurdinger, 2005). Program
designs and implementation will vary between groups and as facilitators we need
to know how to tailor a session to meet the needs of each individual within the
group. The outcomes that one group wants to focus on may be completely
different to the next group. Likewise, the way in which the session is facilitated,
whether this is incorporates direct facilitation or indirect facilitation of
soft skills may vary from week to week. The job of a facilitator therefore, is
to ensure the group has every opportunity to get the most out of the session
they are providing.
From personal experience, it
appears that hard and soft skills go hand in hand. For example, a facilitator may
teach a group how to perform a technical skill such as using a map and compass
to find a destination. Once these skills have been perfected the group may then
focus on working together and communicating well to find the destination. In an
ideal situation, both the task and objectives will be reached, however the
group may still be able to reach their objectives of communicating and working
together even if they do not complete the task effectively. Participants should be provided with the necessary skills, both mental and physical to enable them to experience success in using and preserving the outdoors (Shooter, Sibthorp & Paisley, 2001).
References
Blinde, E. & McClung, L. (1997) Enhancing the Physical and Social Self through Recreational Activity: Accounts of Individuals with Physical Disabilities. Adapted Physical Activity Quarterly. 14, 327-344.
Shooter, W., Sibthorp, J. & Paisley, K. (2001). Outdoor Leadership Skills: A Program Perspective. Journal of Experential Education. 32, 1-13.
Wurdinger, S. (2005). Using experiential learning in the classroom: Practical ideas for all educators. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
