Essence of Outdoor Experiential Education

The training program spans over ten days, focusing on the in-depth understanding of outdoor experiential education, including group-building activities, outdoor expedition, and high and low-rope elements.

THE PROGRAM WAS DESIGNED TO ACHIEVE THE FOLLOWING:

- Nature as a Tool: Inspire participants to use nature as a tool while working with groups, fostering a connection between nature and learning.

- Provide Strong Self-Experience: Engage participants in outdoor experiential activities to strengthen their understanding of the methods and self-awareness.

- Increase awareness and share the basics of wilderness first aid and outdoor risk management.

- Introduce Experiential Education Concepts: Reflect on experiences and discuss the basic concepts and models of experiential education.Develop the Competence of Facilitation: Enhance the skills required for the efficient facilitation of educational programs.

- Develop the Competence of Designing Programs: Enhance the skills required to efficiently plan and design educational programs.

- Introduce the framework of the European Training Strategy (ETS): Share insights about the ETS, supporting the self-reflection and assessment of participants.

METHODS

The program employs various methods to ensure a practical and engaging experience:

- Experiential Learning: Learning by doing. 

- Reflective Sessions: Individual, small, and big group reflections.

- Rope Elements: High and low rope activities.

- Outdoor Expedition: A two-night expedition in the forest.

- Meta Reflection: Analysis of the overall learning process.

- Sharing good practices among participants.

LEARNING OUTCOMES

In outdoor education:

• Competence in facilitating outdoor experiential learning activities on a basic level.
• Competence in using low-rope elements as part of your program on a basic level.
• Competence in using hiking and expeditions as a part of your program on a basic level.
• Gain knowledge and competence in the basics of outdoor risk management.
• Gain basic understanding and competence in ‘leave no trace’ practice in outdoor activities.
• Learn about the importance and topics of wilderness first aid that will allow participants to explore this topic and gain more competence later, outside of this training course.
• Gain basic understanding of high-ropes activities through experiencing it as a participant that will allow them to explore this topic and gain more competence later, outside of this training course.

In non-formal education:

• Improved competencies in facilitating groups' and individuals' learning processes.
• Ability to apply experiential educational approaches to program designs.
• Understanding ETS: A basic comprehension of the European Training Strategy framework.
• Enhanced self-reflection based on the ETS competence areas and understanding of how to facilitate group reflection processes.
• A more profound insight into the roles and responsibilities of a facilitator.
• Ability to apply outdoor experiential learning in youth work
• Gain a basic understanding of working with highly vulnerable youth and how this can influence our work as outdoor educators. The course doesn’t aim to provide in depth learning about trauma informed care or related topics. It only aims to introduce these topics.