Outdoor Education News Roundup

The Outdoor Education industry is abuzz with news this time of the year. What with school almost back in session and the industry’s largest and most influential conferences coming up in just a few months, its no wonder there’s so much outdoor education news to catch up on.

In no particular order:

There’s a new trade magazine just for the college and university outdoor education industry. The inaugural issue of Outdoor Insider — published by The Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) — is now available online without a subscription.

The 2nd edition of Administrative Practices of AEE Accredited Programs is now on sale for just $3.00. Published by the Association for Experiential Education (AEE), this book is an invaluable resource for any outdoor education program administrator. And at just $3.00, buying it now is a no brainer.

AEE is now accepting workshop proposals for its Symposium on Experiential Education in the Digital Age, which takes place in Boston, Mass. from May 2-3, 2015.

The latest issue (September 2014) of the Journal of Experiential Education is now available. Articles include:

• Effects of a Developmental Adventure on the Self-Esteem of College Students (This study examines the effects of outdoor developmental adventure programming (ODA) on college students’ self-esteem. Although some previous studies have shown that outdoor adventure programming has positive effects on self-esteem, others did not find any effect. A quasi-experimental study was conducted over 5 months, which included two pretests and two posttests to address some limitations of previous studies.)

• The Social Climate and Peer Interaction on Outdoor Courses (This two-study report investigates achievement goal theory in the social domain to gain greater understanding of how the social climate of outdoor courses relates to peer interactions.)

• Building a Community of Young Leaders: Experiential Learning in Jewish Social Justice (This study assesses whether more frequent participation in Jewish activist learning events is associated with higher levels of engagement in social justice-related activities and conceptions of Jewish identity. The study design was cross-sectional and comparative.)

• Case Study — Behavior Change After Adventure Education Courses: Do Work Colleagues Notice? (In this case study, a mixed-method approach is used to examine the extent and type of changes in workplace attitudes and behavior, as self-reported by soldiers who had participated in 6- to 10-day “Experiential Leadership Development Activities” (ELDAs) delivered by the New Zealand Army Leadership Centre.)

• Appreciative Inquiry and Autonomy-Supportive Classes in Business Education: A Semilongitudinal Study of AI in the Classroom (In this article, the authors describe 10 separate classroom experiences where an appreciative inquiry (AI) exercise was used for course creation. Post-exercise surveys of students showed that the AI exercise was perceived to be a successful practice.)

• Book Review: Adventures in Social Theory: An Introductory Guidebook

The Association for Experiential Education’s 42nd Annual International Conference is fast approaching. This year’s gathering of outdoor and adventure-based educators, academic and students takes place in Chattanooga, Tenn., Oct. 23-26.

The Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education is getting ready to host its annual conference. The 2014 AORE Annual Conference will be held in Portland, Ore., Nov. 12-14. This year’s conference theme is “Core of Discovery”.

The Outdoor Orientation Program Symposium (OOPS) is celebrating the 25th symposium event at the 2014 AORE Annual Conference. OOPS is seeking proposals for the symposium, which will take place at the Hilton Portland and Executive Tower in Portland, Ore., on Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2014.

The Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership is now available online. Published by a triumvirate of the Wilderness Education Association (WEA), the Association of Outdoor Recreation and Education (AORE) and the Western Kentucky University Research Foundation, the Journal’s mission is to improve outdoor recreation, education, and leadership through the publication and dissemination of peer-reviewed manuscripts.

While it’s still a bit of a ways away, make plans now to attend the 2015 International Conference on Outdoor Leadership. Hosted by the Wilderness Education Association (WEA), this conference takes place at the NCED Conference Center & Hotel in Norman, Okla., from February 8-10, 2015, and features workshops focused around the WEA curriculum, research, and a keynote address about current issues facing outdoor leaders. The deadline for submitting workshop proposals is Aug. 29, 2014.

AORE is currently accepting nominations for the 2014 Jim Rennie Leadership Award, Bill March Student Achievement Award, and David J Webb Program Excellence Award. These awards recognize AORE professional, student, and program members who have made outstanding and noteworthy contributions to the field of outdoor recreation and education. Learn more on AORE’s online awards nomination form (nominations are being accepted through Sept. 15, 2014).