Through activity in the outdoors, we make ourselves more available to the value lessons of nature. Outdoor pursuits and adventure activities are the best providers of value experiences. These value experiences foster individual growth and respect for the environment. (KS)

Across cultures, a common motif is the rite of passage that facilitates transition to adulthood. The structure of an Outward Bound course parallels a classic adolescent initiation rite, involving separation from home and family, influence of a guide or instructor, group adventure in which participants increasingly take responsibility, a solo…

This research highlights the learning of female offenders on a 20-day tailor-made experiential adventure education course (Women in Action) delivered by Outward Bound New Zealand. The aims of the course were to increase self-awareness, to develop an understanding of the concept of choice and self responsibility, to improve communication skills and…

Describes an outdoor adventure program that uses high-risk activities to promote personal potential among well-adjusted participants. (Author)

Five stages of development in the facilitation of adventure experiences in order of sophistication are letting the experience speak for itself; speaking for the experience by the instructor; debriefing the experience through reflection; frontloading the experience with prebriefing; and framing the experience isomorphically. (KS)

Action learning is being used in corporate training; teams or work groups take an actual problem to the training program, work on solving it, commit to an action plan, and are accountable for carrying out the plan. Some companies include personal-growth training, such as outdoor adventure learning, as a component of team building. (JOW)

Experiential learning can be understood as a process in which learners recognize and develop their "action-theory." The aim of outdoor development programs--whether mainstream education, corporate training, or therapy--is to facilitate this process. A "reflection-in-action" approach to facilitation is presented and situated in…

People involved in adventurous activities frequently experience positive phenomena termed peak experience, peak performance, and "flow." Characteristics of these phenomena are compared, along with factors influencing the ability to experience such peak moments. Csikszentmihalyi's flow models are examined with regard to perceived levels…

Reviewing is an important component of adventure education that involves reflecting, describing, analyzing, and communicating what has been experienced. Reviewing adds value to the adventure experience for participants and provides information the leader can use to evaluate and revise the program. (KS)

Outdoor pursuits can facilitate major psychological and philosophical change in participants, and can act as a catalyst for self-actualization. Participants are temporarily relieved from all but the basic needs in life, allowing efforts to be concentrated on intense, meaningful, personal experience. (KS)

Twenty-seven corporate managers completed the Priest Attarian Risk Taking Inventory before and after a day of rappelling. Subjects also completed a business version of the inventory a few weeks before and a few weeks after the experience. Subjects appeared to transfer some of their new risk-taking behaviors to their jobs. (KS)

The stages of a model for reviewing or "debriefing" an adventure experience are: experience, or relive what happened; express feelings about the experience; examine, or analyze the experience for learning; and explore something brought out in the previous stages. Describes suggested activities for each stage of the sequence. (KS)

Naturalistic inquiry methods were used to explore the spiritual dimension of wilderness experiences among 26 participants in wilderness adventure programs. Participants identified their spiritual experiences and factors contributing to or inhibiting such experiences. Program recommendations are offered for planning wilderness trips conducive to…

Discusses Tikkun Olam--the Jewish tenet of healing the world through individual good deeds--and its applicability to the practice of adventure therapy. Focuses on the therapeutic relationship, as it develops in group settings, and the role of adventure leaders and therapists in nourishing such relationships to provide a vehicle for healing or…

This paper examines the relationship between outdoor recreation and environmental education. Observations of resident environmental education centers in Minnesota and of recreational programs on U.S. Forest Service lands found that, to the extent that planned and unplanned outcomes can be equated, the two types of programs seemed to produce the…