ExPERIENTIAL EDuCATION AND INquIRy LEARNING irect and authentic experiences pro - The Wilderness Experience and Real Life mental Education, adventure therapy, 4 Serv - vide some of the best opportunities the Bible contains numerous examples of ice learning, and numerous other programs. for adolescents to learn and practice great leaders and prophets of god going these forms of education are generally based Dthe critical and reflective-thinking through wilderness experiences in preparation on philosophical foundations in which individ - skills that accompany inquiry learning. it has for their life’s work. For example, Moses and his uals construct new ideas and generate mean - been my experience while working with 13- to years caring for sheep, david and his experi - ing from the interaction between current and 15-year-olds that when they are taken out of ences as a shepherd, and John the Baptist and past experiences. 5 these approaches offer the confines of chairs, desks, and whiteboards his experiences in the desert immediately helpful insights into how we might best learn to places where they feel free to explore and come to mind. Jesus’ experiences also provide and then transfer these new understandings express their abilities and overcome their limi - examples, such as when he “was led by the into new and different contexts. tations, deep learning and understanding are Spirit into the desert” and he “went out to a the term “Experiential Education,” as likely to occur. 1 While these experiences may mountaintop to pray and spent the night pray - used in this article, is defined as direct and also be of relevance for other age groups, this ing to god.” 2 the writings of Ellen White also authentic experiences in learning environ - group is my area of expertise and research. mention our inherent need for time in the natu - ments outside the classroom. OE, as a sub - in this article, experience is conceptual - ral world. 3 and adventism has a rich tradition of category of EE, can thus be applied to direct ized as a continuum with vicarious experi - using experiences in nature for personal devel - and authentic experiences in natural environ - ences at one end and real-to-life (direct and opment, spiritual connection, and discovery as ments outside the classroom. authentic) experiences at the other. the typified by the worldwide Pathfinder program. the literature contains numerous examples metacognitive moments afforded by direct supporting the value of direct and authentic and authentic experiences provide the rich - The Need for Direct and Authentic experiences in changing people’s attitudes est opportunities for reflection and critique. Experiences about the natural world. For example, rodger Experiential Education (EE) is an over - Jones, in the Journal of adventist Education’s arching term that encompasses Outdoor Edu - special issue on Environmental awareness, cation (OE), Experiential learning, Environ - BY TONY ROBINSON 34 The Journal of Adventist Education • February/March 2016 http://jae.adventist.org pointed out the value of environmental educa - spend time in direct and authentic experi - fosters deep engagement with their learning, tion for “changing people’s perceptions and ences in the natural environment. and providing experiences that enable stu - perspective by encouraging them to feel a dents to take on adult-like roles. 14 sense of dependence upon, and responsibility An Experiential Education (EE) the l4l program is organized with this for, nature.” 6 Jones believes that only as peo - Program in Practice framework in mind and includes three compo - ple experience natural environments will they the gilson College 10 learning 4 life (l4l) nents: expeditionary learning, urban learning, change their view of how to interact and care EE 11 program has been designed to minimize and service learning. a group of year 9 teachers for nature. it seems the farther we are re - the enervating effects of early adolescence cares for most of the curriculum and also coor - moved from the natural world, the less likely on academic learning. numerous teachers dinates, implements, and participates in each we will be to take responsibility for it. who work with young adolescents will attest aspect of the program. the planners structure in another example, richard louv de - that classroom-based learning is not high on the following components: scribes the need for young people to get into the agenda for many in this age group. in • an expeditionary component encour - the outdoors more often to alleviate “nature fact, one author was moved to write: ages self-confidence, environmental aware - deficit disorder.” 7 he sees a significant correla - “Many teachers believe they should re - ness, and spirituality. it comprises a day walk, tion between humanity’s growing detachment ceive hazardous duty pay for teaching ado - a five-day base camp experience with an from the natural world and the increasing inci - lescents. adolescence is for many—adoles - overnight backpacking walk, a four-day navi - dence of mental health and spiritual decline. cents, parents and teachers alike—a time of gation camp, and a seven-day expedition. Comments such as “time in nature is not turmoil, rapid growth, and learning, as well as • an urban component fosters group aware - leisure time; it’s an essential investment in our shifting emotions and searching for personal ness and dynamics within an inquiry-learning children’s health (and also, by the way, in our and social identities.” 12 context. it requires students to go on five-day own)” 8 highlight the value he places on direct authors such as Cole, Mahar, and Vin - trips to the Melbourne Central Business district and authentic experiences in the natural durampulle 13 have detailed the significant (CBd), where groups gather data relating to a world. mental, emotional, and social changes 13- to self-determined inquiry-learning theme. in Scandinavian countries, there is a 15-year-olds undergo in the normal course of • a service component enables partici - name for this outdoor connection: friluftsliv .9 adolescence. in their second paper on this pants to see themselves as part of a commu - historically, this has referred to the deep- theme, they suggested possible ways to mini - nity that contributes to the greater good seated relationship between humans and the mize the effects of this turbulent time; for ex - through giving back to their neighbors. Stu - natural world. Without this bond, people feel ample: finding a location where students feel dents spend three service days in the local unfulfilled and broken. the only way to able to develop a sense of ownership, offering achieve a sensation of wholeness is to opportunities to build strong relationships with their teachers, creating a curriculum that http://jae.adventist.org The Journal of Adventist Education • February/March 2016 35 area and attend an 11-day service camp in researchers have over it all. i feel exhausted. i want to Warrnambool near Victoria, australia, when give up. at this point, there is nOthing they work with local councils and community found evidence of the teacher/guide could say to make me groups in various voluntary capacities. move . unless i hold the desire in myself to Wherever possible, within the general heightened keep going. it’s the same with my learning. it learning areas, units of work are integrated taught me a lot of intrinsic motivation and with the three program themes. Before the metacognitive reaching my own goals. i realised that i can commencement of each year, the whole pro - do anything if i put my mind to it . (be it gram is mapped out with multiple curriculum skills in students mountain climbing, or Chemistry, study—lol) . areas aligned to the applicable program com - it’s all a state of mind.” 23 ponent. 15 For example, while expeditionary who have partici - it is evident that this participant has ap - learning is taking place, the students work on plied to life and classroom learning lessons units relating to mountain landforms, map - learned in outdoor experiences. the thinking ping, and navigation in their geography pated in EE or OE about thinking reflected in this comment course. another example involves students, shows that, for this participant at least, time as a part of their history studies, in writing a programs. a case spent in authentic outdoor experiences in nat - creative essay imagining themselves living in ural environments can be life-changing and one of the areas they visit when it was at the study of the l4l lasting. the depth of insight displayed by this height of the bustling gold-mining boom of young person’s reflection on the OE experi - the 1860s. they research the cultural and ge - program provides ences demonstrates the value of such oppor - ographical nature of the area around that tunities for critical thinking. time as they identify primary and secondary proof that partici - additional respondent comments from data sources to include in their story. this study appear to support this conclusion: during the urban-learning component, stu - pation in authentic “going through this program, just in gen - dents focus on a group-determined inquiry, eral, has changed me on the inside to a cer - within an assigned broad area, such as trans - outdoor activities tain degree. it has taught me to be more port or iconic buildings. Working in self-selected grateful for the small things in life, to be more groups of four or five and before the first visit to in natural environ - humble, to receive things with gratitude, the the urban center, the group members determine importance of friends and family in your life, what data to collect, how to collect and obtain ments achieves but most of all, how much we need and how the information, how the data assist in answer - important god is in our lives.” 24 ing their inquiry, and how their findings will be this goal.