Describes strategies for disciplining campers: establishing a caring atmosphere; using praise; modeling positive behavior; using time-outs; keeping campers busy; using conflict resolution; and improving communication with campers by using words they understand, getting on their level, establishing eye contact, using I-messages, and using humor…

Describes favorable practices for hiring outdoor summer camp counselors. Offers tips for looking at resumes and applications. Describes interview process and suggests interview questions for understanding applicants' motivation, maturity, and sense of responsibility. Emphasizes counselor as campers' teacher, leader, friend, and role model. (TES)

Discusses Alan Hales's model of safety management in the context of caving. When two sets of hazards, human and environmental, are present together, risk occurs. Objective risk is uncontrollable and should be avoided in educational settings; subjective risk is controllable. Presents positive and negative strategies for engaging or avoiding…

Identifies competencies required for outdoor leaders in England to gain a National Vocational Qualification in training and development. Describes how an outdoor leader encouraged collaborative learning among participants on a canoeing trip and how the skills and knowledge required of the outdoor leader related to training and development…

Social support, a key factor in determining physical and mental health, strongly predicted changes in outdoor adventure participants' psychological resilience. The support received from the least supportive person best predicted gains in resilience. Outdoor education programs should provide a learning environment that is both challenging and…

Outdoor leadership aims to assist outdoor participants in making logical and safe transitions from the routine of everyday life to a positive interaction with the natural world. Designed for outdoor leaders and administrators of recreational, educational, and adventure programs, this book provides an overview of current professional practices in…

Presents an overview of leadership principles for girls and women in outdoor recreation, offering basic information about gender roles and gender identity and suggestions for effective outdoor leadership. The article discusses transformational leadership, which emphasizes human relations and task functions; it presents ideas for implementation.…

This paper provides information sources and ideas for challenge and adventure activities. Main information sources are listed: libraries, ERIC, and several publishers and programs. Some useful publications are described that provide activities and ideas related to outdoor education, environmental issues, games, special populations, educational…

This paper lists 86 specific teaching methods for outdoor educators in the areas of content, technique, and group management. The methods were gleaned from a 30-day river instructor course conducted by the National Outdoor Leadership School. Relevant content is the heart of learning. Careful selection and coverage of topics during a course will…

An emotionally safe environment helps campers participate in adventure activities. Staff development tips for creating a safe environment include using cooperative goal setting; using parallel training processes; developing working lesson plans that outline facilitation techniques for creating emotionally safe environments; and using co-created…

Guidelines for beginning adventure education instructors include preparing to effectively manage accidents by identifying all risks associated with an activity, leading only those adventure activities in which one feels competent, and establishing goals in order to make good decisions in the field and approach programs with clarity and purpose.…

Focuses on risks and challenges of conducting adventure programming in foreign countries. Recommends actions to take before the crisis (involving assumptions, risk evaluation, emergency evacuation plans, awareness of medical-care costs, and foreign communications systems, family procedures plan, briefings); during the crisis (meeting staff and…

College outdoor program leaders are often paraprofessionals, who may have less training than professional outdoor educators, yet must deal with the same types of problems on the trail. This paper describes the Outdoor Action (OA) Program at Princeton University, and outlines the training assessment and development model used to train OA program…

Survivors of sexual abuse are likely to be among the participants of many adventure and experiential programs. This paper aims to increase outdoor leaders' understanding of the possible reactions of survivors to adventure experiences and related group interactions. Long-term effects of sexual violence are pervasive and may be triggered by the…

As experiential counseling gains wider acceptance, it becomes more important to operate from a structural framework promoting effective and ethical practices. This paper outlines a four-part model of experiential counseling: theoretical foundations, experiential activity and personnel, processing and communication skills, and prerequisites for…