And just like that, CFE is over! These past three weeks flew by; I wish I had more time to spend at Outward Bound. It was definitely hard saying goodbye for now. I hope to get involved with them again in the near future.

This week was busy in the office. There were expeditions coming back at the beginning of the week and expeditions going out at the end. As a result, I was able to observe and be involved in the “wrap-up” and “prep” for these expedition programs. There were many parts of these processes that I knew nothing about, so it was a great learning experience to say the least. I think what stood out the most to me was the attention paid to detail. There were about 4-5 individuals involved in the process and the degree of review was amazing. For example, in the prep for the outgoing 2-day expedition, the team involved developed a 48-hour plan. They spent two days doing this. I was fortunate enough to be able to listen in on many of their conversations and be involved in their planning. What I got to see was a group of individuals working together as a cooperative team. They offered ideas, comments, and criticisms in an extremely constructive and positive manner. Similar to the topic of working as a team, is a part of the wrap and prep, called “pairing” and “de-pairing” conversations. At the prep for an expedition, the instructors involved engage in a pairing conversation. In this conversation, the individuals discuss anything about themselves as a person, their ideas or their thoughts that they believe would be valuable for the other instructors to know in order to provide the best expedition possible. They may discuss their strengths, weaknesses, interests and areas of the expedition they are really passionate about. In the wrap process, instructors have a de-pairing conversation. This is sort of relates to the closure or reflection portion we as teachers engage in. In this, instructors discuss the expedition – what worked, what did not work and how the next expedition could be improved. In a sense, these conversations serve to start and end the instructors off together in a positive way.

I see this as a great process for the school environment as well. Teachers as colleagues in the school or the teacher and students could engage in these types of conversations. As a teacher, I would want to have these kinds of conversations regularly throughout the year in the form of “check-ins.” I see this as being very similar to something I did during my practicum, class meetings. During these meetings, the class – as a whole – discussed pertinent topics, suggestions, and/or issues. We then addressed what was brought up by taking turns and offering insights. I believe this really helps nurture a sense of community in the classroom. In a sense, students come to realize that the class is not just a place to learn math or science – instead, it is like another home, another family where they can feel safe to discuss other life circumstances. And, I truly believe that once this is established, students are more comfortable in the classroom, which enhances their academic learning.

I would like to experiment further with this and change it up a bit. The class meeting was done as a whole. I would like to try check-ins with individual students as well. One of my number one priorities as a teacher is meet the needs of each of my students. I feel a regular check-in with each student would really help foster this. Even the check-in itself could be varied; it might even depend on the student. For example, some might want to have a face-to-face check-in, but others might want to write out a letter to me. The possibilities are endless but I believe there would be a great benefit for both the students and teacher.

I also had the chance to sit in on another meeting this week between Outward Bound and another outdoor education instructor. We discussed the new curriculum and how it will help teachers incorporate experiential and outdoor education into their classes. I learned something extremely valuable. Teachers do not have to feel like they are on their own in trying to provide outdoor education. Instead, what Outward Bound wishes to communicate through their teacher development program is that teachers can make use of many community resources to provide outdoor education. And, as a new teacher, this was great to hear. Because I would love to be able to provide my students enriching, experiential experiences and I feel I would be so much more comfortable doing so with the support of an organization like Outward Bound. This touches into the concept of being a “life-long learner.” Sometimes you do not have to do everything on your own to learn, it can be a collaborative effort – this will definitely help make the process easier, and may even be a more inspiring learning experience for a teacher..

It has been a great three weeks at Outward Bound; I feel there really are not words sufficient to describe my experience. I’m very thankful and consider myself fortunate to have had this experience!