|
by Gwynn M. Powell, Ph.D.
As we gain access to and create better skills and tools to document the
outcomes that occur as a result of the camp experience, we have an opportunity
to partner with other youth development agencies to provide skill development
contexts for children and youth. School-camp partnerships are a natural
collaboration that allows learning and growth in a different environment
than the school setting. The following studies were presented at the 2004
Camp Research Symposium held at the American Camping Association National
Conference and provide practical applications for camp directors and staff
to consider for the current season and beyond.
Bridging Schools to Camp: Residential Outdoor Education
Program Outcomes
Allison Dowell and Chuck Wurth
4-H Camp Palmer, Inc., dowell.14@ag.ohio-state.edu
Background
This study measured teacher perception of student learning that resulted
from exposure to the 2003 4-H Camp Palmer Outdoor Education program. Using
a single-page survey, with ratings from 1 (none) to 5 (most) of the students,
teachers were asked to measure thirteen indicators and respond to three
open-ended questions. The list of thirteen indicators was developed using
the Outdoor Education program goals, Ohio State University Extension 4-H
youth development key elements, expert opinion, and historical information.
The surveys were sent to schools one full week after their three- to five-day
residential outdoor education experience during the spring and fall of 2003.
Surveys were sent in a packet to the school principal, and each survey had
the teacher’s name on a sticky note. The total number of participants
attending Outdoor Education, including students, counselors, and teachers
was 1,045. The survey was sent to fifty teachers and thirty-four were returned.
Of those returned half were from the spring, and half were from the fall
program.
Results
The results indicate that after attending 4-H Camp Palmer’s Outdoor
Education program teachers rated the greatest gain in students in:
- learning new skills (4.63)
- discovering new things that they are good at (4.48)
- improving cooperation (4.39)
The highest gains in subject areas were:
- science (4.45)
- physical education (4.38)
- art/music (4.12)
The overall ratings were high with the lowest average being for the indicators
of: increased decision-making skills (3.9) and the subject area of language
arts (3.5).
The open-ended question identified gains in gross motor activities as
highlights for the students. These activities are not normally found at
school: canoeing, archery, zipline, night hikes, reptile class taught using
live snakes, and evening dances. The greatest impacts identified in the
open-ended question were realized in cooperation, communication, respect
for one another, working together toward a common goal, being part of a
group, and communicating.
Practical Applications
Although this survey is specific to 4-H Camp Palmer, these findings provide
insight and “food for thought” for other camp directors and
outdoor education providers seeking to measure specific program accomplishments
and short falls. Aspects of outdoor education opportunities to consider
include:
- Classroom space is limited, but camp space is open. Conducting lessons
that require large spaces (fields, woods); specialized equipment (zipline,
canoes, bows and arrows); or land features (lake, wetland) and involve
gross motor activity make the camp/school experience unique.
- Outdoor education can be broken up into at least two components: content-based
classes and living together. As much effort should go into development
of the living together curriculum as goes into content-based classes.
We need to be deliberate in developing this unique aspect of our program
and marketing it to our schools.
4-H and School-Based Outdoor Education Partnership: Assessing
Problem Solving and Teamwork Skills
Kelly Krambeck,
Eastern NE 4-H Center, kkrambeck2@unl.edu
Background
This research measured the impact of a 4-H and school-based outdoor education
partnership. The more specific focus of this study was to determine the
impact of outdoor education on student ability to solve problems and work
as a team. The outdoor education partnership is a three-day, two-night stay
at a residential camp facility. The camp and school work together to provide
a range of educational opportunities including team building, high-element
ropes course, canoeing, prairie, history, geology, stream, forest, and astronomy.
Along with educational curriculum, these opportunities teach life skills
such as problem solving and teamwork.
The participants were five sixth-grade classes and one fifth-grade class
(221 students total, with 157 receiving parental permission to complete
the survey) from an urban school district in a Midwestern city who participated
in an outdoor education partnership program.
The survey was developed using Purdue University, Cooperative Extension’s
4-Fold Youth Development Model instruments. The problem-solving and leadership
instruments were shortened and changed into a retrospective pre-post survey
format to reduce the time required to take the survey and to eliminate “frame
of reference” bias. The revised survey was reviewed by Dr. Kay Rockwell,
evaluation specialist at the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. The camp director
administered the survey during the closing activities of each school’s
outdoor education program.
Results
This study provided qualitative and quantitative evidence that the outdoor
education program resulted in increased student ability to solve problems
and work as a team. Responses reflected ten general themes: trust, communication,
getting along, new experiences, making friends, curriculum and activities,
problem solving, teamwork, fun, and nonspecific responses. The quantitative
results were significant (p=<.001) for all problem-solving and teamwork
questions and from all participant groupings (gender, grade level, school).
Practical Applications
This study documents specific benefits to participants and can serve as
a catalyst for further research and marketing efforts of school-camp partnerships.
Benefits to explore include:
- Benefits to camps: This study provides research that supports the efforts
of schools and organizations who hope to partner in providing outdoor
education to youth. Many camps have facilities located in natural surroundings,
ample educational resources, and a need for increased participation and
revenue. These qualities alone make pursuing an outdoor education partnership
valuable.
- Benefits to schools: This study responds to a call by the National
4-H Council to include experiential education (e.g., outdoor education)
into 20 percent of existing school curriculums. Schools seek resources
and support for the teaching of life skills (problem solving, teamwork,
communication, leadership), as well as hands-on educational opportunities
for youth.
- Financial applications: This study can assist in justifying school
budget dollars used for outdoor education because of the curriculum and
impact provided to students. Camps may increase their revenue through
this program by increasing off-season (spring, fall) programming, while
maintaining a mission to provide summer camp programs.
Originally published in the 2004 September/October
issue of Camping Magazine.
|
