Leadership in Leisure Services (AHSC 361) is the most experiential class offered to students majoring in Recreation and Leisure Studies at Concordia University in Montreal. One interactive feature of this required course is a multi-part assignment that deals with group facilitation, personal introspection, and evaluation. This "Assignment…

In a university context, peer assisted learning (PAL) refers to students supporting the learning of other students. While PAL is used extensively in health and medical sciences fields to enhance student learning, there are few examples of how it has been incorporated within recreation education contexts. The purpose of this study was to examine…

Steeped in a rich history of formal connections between institutions of higher education and the citizens and communities in which they are embedded, the importance of engaging education in the community has long been recognized for its myriad of benefits to all involved including increased funding for university research, more informed practice…

Creativity is a useful skill in the recreation profession, yet it is rarely treated as a fundamental skill in the preparation of undergraduate recreation majors. The purpose of this overview is to illustrate the need for creativity in the workforce and how best to nourish student creativity through undergraduate teaching. We review…

Although students in the broad field of leisure studies may pursue a variety of opportunities post-graduation, employment within local parks and recreation represents one potential career path. Unfortunately, the Great Recession disproportionately impacted local parks and recreation relative to competing public services. As such, this article…

In this paper, I argue that educators who embrace vulnerability in their teaching enhance their capacity to promote social justice. Vignettes from three of my course meetings with undergraduate Recreation and Leisure Service majors are presented, each of which illustrate different opportunities and pitfalls in vulnerable teaching. The first class…

The last day of a course is often viewed as awkward, abrupt, and even antithetical to a course's aims. More often than not, prime opportunities for reflection, reinforcement, reconciliation, and closure are typically subsumed to administrative tasks and end-of-course exhaustion. This paper summarizes the scant end-of-course literature, reviews the…

Diversity courses are integral to higher leisure education curricula and united by the following assumptions: (a) recreation programs involve encounters with "different" groups of people and (b) future professionals require a specialized set of knowledge and skills in order to manage those interactions. Although several scholars have…

The quality of undergraduate student writing is cause for concern among academics and industry professionals alike. Because writing apprehension is thought to be a contributing factor in the current deficit of undergraduate writing proficiency, the Writing Apprehension Test (WAT) was administered to parks, recreation, and tourism students to…

Success in the field of recreation management requires a variety of 21st-century skills including the abilities to solve complex problems, think creatively, and collaborate with peers. Research suggests that instructor contribution through active learning pedagogy, incorporation of technology, and maximization of classroom design can foster…

Navigating the roles and responsibilities of graduate work is a complex, and often confusing business of workflows, labor (emotional and physical), and moving in several different directions. As graduate students, we find solace and compassion in the words and (mostly) shared experiences of our colleagues, and challenges in the desires,…

A signature pedagogy for the recreation field is proposed through a review of the field's scholarship on teaching and learning. A signature pedagogy is identified as the, "defining characteristics that, when explicated, reveal the deepest beliefs and practices of professional apprenticeship." (Gurung, Chick, Haynie, 2009, p. xv). A…

Many recreation and leisure professionals are looking for opportunities to upgrade their skills and knowledge in the context of their work. For some professionals that involves returning to post-secondary education. Yet, most undergraduate degree programs are designed in formats for students who are assumed to have little prior professional…

Collaboration is commonly viewed as a valuable and necessary yet complex and challenging aspect of faculty life in the contemporary academy. The value of collaborative efforts is often tied to tangible, measurable outcomes as a principle marker of success (e.g., increased publications, larger grant awards, and closer conformity to defined…

Incorporating diversity within general education requirements has become the norm within higher education. In a world becoming more and more diverse, multicultural education can better prepare students as culturally competent citizens in a pluralistic world. This paper describes a research study based on a standardized diversity curriculum. This…