Background: Some medical schools offer co-curricular experiential education programs. Despite the established value of such experiences, there are no published studies that reflect upon the systematic integration of perceptions of primary stakeholders, whose engagement is necessary for program continuity. Purpose: To showcase how stakeholders'…

Background: The 4-week-long College Orientation Workshop (COW) is an experiential education program that combines physical and mental challenges with classroom instruction to promote self-confidence, self-control, wellness, and life success in promising male youth facing challenges to reaching their full potential. Purpose: This was an exploratory…

Background: Experiential learning is a common instructional method for Homeland Security and Emergency Management (HSEM) education. Purpose: The purpose of this research was to pilot the use of the experiential learning survey (ELS) tool in determining student perceptions of the value and contribution of experiential learning methods in HSEM…

This study explicated the theory underpinning the Human Ecology Practicum Program offered in the Department of Human Ecology at the University of Alberta. The program has operated for 40 years but never been formally evaluated. Using a document analysis, focus group and individual interviews, and a stakeholder working group, we explored…

Behaviors that warrant school discipline (e.g., fighting, victimizing peers) is detrimental to school climate and the learning process. This study examines the effectiveness of preventing school disciplinary incidents in middle school through an experiential, social and emotional learning (SEL) program. A community youth development organization,…

"Voluntourism" refers to the use of "discretionary time and income to travel out of the sphere of regular activity to assist others in need" (McGehee & Santos, 2005, p. 760). These experiences have been shown to raise consciousness and increase interest in activism (McGehee, 2002; Wearing, 2001) and to build pro-social…

There is an increasing interest in the field of experiential education to move beyond simply documenting the value of experiential education programs and, instead, develop more evidence-based models for experiential education practice (cf., Gass, 2005; Henderson, 2004). Due in part to the diversity of experiential education programs, participants,…

Outdoor education researchers have accumulated a notable cache of work documenting the outcomes of participation in outdoor education programs (e.g., Hattie, Marsh, Neill, & Richards, 1997; Kaplan & Talbot, 1983). While continuing this work remains an important task, some researchers are turning their attention toward understanding the process of…

Social skill development is emerging as an important issue for educators and practitioners in their work with adolescent youth. This presentation will use the results from two ongoing research projects to examine the relationship between adventure-based programming and social skill development in the lives of diverse youth. The first project is…

Research and evaluation are tools that can help validate experiential education practice and provide a better understanding of it. Defines types of research and evaluation and discusses the benefits of these activities. Reasons for conducting research include (1) gaining support and credibility; (2) program improvement; and (3) marketing. (KS)

Describes differences between research and practice of experiential education evaluation, noting that differences arise when evaluation is undertaken by and for persons outside the field. Notes five types of research strategies necessary to build a stronger research base in experiential education. (SB)

Reviews the literature related to experience-based training and development (EBTD) programs and physical safety. Discusses injury rates, cardiac arrest, and apparent and real risk for clients of different ages. Suggests that EBTD programs need a comprehensive documentation efforts to clarify and evaluate safety records. Contains 27 references. (SV)

Reviews alternatives to program evaluation. Suggested qualitative methods are interviews; participant observation; and journal analysis. Meaningful designs for evaluation are case studies; participatory and collaborative evaluation; and mixed methods. Uses for evaluation are utilization-focused evaluation; explicating and developing program…

Tells leaders how to design debriefing and processing sessions that allow outdoor education participants to integrate learning and achieve closure to experiences by setting aside time to reflect; asking proper questions; planning appropriate reflective activities; assessing collective and individual needs of group; and balancing variety,…

Maintaining that the judicial process is particularly effective as a form of program evaluation, this article details organizational procedures and lists the following advantages for use of the judicial process: issues are investigated in an open forum, the community can participate, and exciting opportunities for teaching and learning are…