1st Edition
Adventurous Learning A Pedagogy for a Changing World
Adventurous Learning interrogates the word ‘adventure’ and explores how elements of authenticity, agency, uncertainty and mastery can be incorporated into educational practices. It outlines key elements for a pedagogy of adventurous learning and provides guidelines grounded in accessible theory. Teachers of all kinds can adapt these guidelines for indoor and outdoor teaching in their own culturally specific, place-responsive contexts, without any requirement to learn a new program or buy an educational gimmick.
As forces of standardization and regulation continue to pervade educational systems across the globe, both teaching and learning have been starved of creativity, choice and ‘real world’ relevance. Many teachers are keen to improve their practice yet feel constrained by the institutional structures within which they work. By carefully examining adventure and its role in education, teachers can become better able to design and deliver engaging programmes that are underpinned by sound pedagogical principles, and which have deep and enduring meaning for their students.
Contents
Foreword
James Raffan
Chapter 1. Introduction
Chapter 2. Meanings of adventure
Chapter 3. Socio-cultural backdrop
Chapter 4. Adventure Education, Rationalization and Commodification
Chapter 5. Authenticity
Chapter 6. Agency and Responsibility
Chapter 7. Uncertainty
Chapter 8. Mastery through Challenge
Chapter 9. Adventurous learning: Weaving the strands together
References
Biography
Simon Beames is a senior lecturer in Outdoor Learning at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Mike Brown is a senior lecturer in the Department of Sport and Leisure Studies, The University of Waikato, New Zealand.
" This appropriately titled book is an engaging, compelling and clear read for any teacher involved in formal education and challenges the reader to conceive and construct approaches to learning that are arguably relevant for a changing world in the twenty-first century […] This is an excellent book that is well worth investing in. It is highly perceptive and pleasingly written and suggests an agenda of adventure for teaching both inside and outside the classroom. This work is highly recommended for outdoor practitioners and teachers alike, and would also be a valuable and meaningful read for policymakers, curriculum designers and educational leaders." - Mark Leather and Karen Stockham, Journal of Education for Teaching
