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Justin Gray, a M.Ed. student says, "Working with the Adventure Learning model has been a powerful experience for me. I have gotten to work with K-12 students who have experienced the Adventure Learning approach and have seen its impact firsthand. In my opinion, Adventure Learning is much more powerful than typical classroom activities. Working with a new model for learning is a really exciting opportunity at the University of Idaho."
AL@UI Framework
The Adventure Learning framework is being implemented in a variety of exciting projects at the University of Idaho, ranging from wilderness field science to climate change education. AL@UI expeditions began in 2011, with several sites scheduled to come online for 2012.
AL@ has partnered with multiple Idaho companies, including Core Concepts, an outdoor clothing company based in Boise; Northwest River Supply, Orchard Farm Soap and Mountain Blue Eye Jewelry all based in Moscow. Each company has supported important aspects of the AL@ mission, from keeping expedition team members warm and moving down the river to providing a token of appreciation to Main Salmon River residents who have shared their experiences during expeditions.
The AL framework has nine principles. They are:
- Identification of a location and issue to explore (including investigation of the contextual factors surrounding the location and issue;
- A researched curriculum that is inquiry-based;
- Opportunities for collaboration and interaction between learners, instructors, and experts;
- Use of the Internet to facilitate the learning experience, including the delivery of the curriculum, delivery of the media, and interaction between the individuals partaking in the experience;
- Timely delivery of media and text from the field to enhance the curriculum;
- Synchronized learning opportunities;
- The provision of pedagogical guidelines to guide curricular and online learning environment use for the instructor to effectively implement an Adventure Learning project;
- Adventure-based education to elicit excitement through uncertainty and risk; and
- Authentic narratives where the learning experience is based on an authentic story/narrative that (a) unifies the expedition, curriculum, student activities, media, and learning experience under a common purpose and theme, and (b) serves to encourage creativity and enjoyable learning experiences (The Learning Technologies Collaborative, 2010).
AL@ has partnered with multiple Idaho companies, including Core Concepts, an outdoor clothing company based in Boise; Northwest River Supply, Orchard Farm Soap and Mountain Blue Eye Jewelry all based in Moscow. Each company has supported important aspects of the AL@ mission, from keeping expedition team members warm and moving down the river to providing a token of appreciation to Main Salmon River residents who have shared their experiences during expeditions.