AUSTRALIA’S LEADING RESOURCE FOR PHYSICAL, OUTDOOR AND HEALTH EDUCATION PROFESSIONALS
active education ISSUE 34, APR/MAY 2012 www.activeeducation.com.au Cover_AEM34.indd 1
How Physical Activity And The Great Outdoors Can Engage The Uninterested $8.95 (inc GST) ISSUE 34, APR/MAY 2012
ISSN 1836-9758
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By Margy Jones
How Physical Activity And The Great Outdoors Can Engage The Uninterested I
f there were a tonic for increasing motivation in students who are disengaged or unmotivated, there would be many teachers and parents who would pay a small fortune for it. This article looks at the forces that are at play when it comes to how physical activity and a connection with the natural environment can significantly increase the motivation levels of students. Disengagement usually refers to the inability of individuals to attract or hold attention as well as a lack of personal involvement with loose attachment or connections. Disengagement can be temporary and mild, acute or chronic. It is a spectrum with varying degrees of behaviour such as a lack of drive, ambition and energy, and there are many varied reasons as to why some students are more engaged than others. There is often so much going on in a student’s life, and for this reason it is important to understand what factors might be contributing to preventing them from participating. We often think of disengagement as being associated with a particular socioeconomic background, however, it is something that can be observed across the spectrum. For example, in selective schools, students are often disengaged because of the extreme competition they are faced with and the pressure that they feel. Disengagement from learning can be both passive and non-passive. Sometimes a student might be unable to articulate a problem that they, have and their behaviour may be the only way they know how to send a message to those around them that things are not right. Behavioural disclosure is vitally important and must be taken into consideration when looking at any child or young person’s circumstances. Whether disengagement is seen in apathy or defiance, it can be a frustrating process that takes additional time, energy and resources to deal with effectively. Another common assumption is that many students will appear uninterested as an act of defiance so it is really important to take a systemic approach and look beyond the student to his or her family. A lack of parental involvement in a student’s life can speak in volumes. Nature As A Tonic It can be challenging to capture the very essence of what it is about physical activity and a connection to nature that has such an impact on the motivation levels of children and young adults. There are so many active education
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forces at play when students are involved in physical activity and develop an affinity with the great outdoors. Some of these are:
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• The weather, and what it feels like to get outdoors in the sunshine or the rain • The amount of adrenaline and excitement that comes from ‘risk taking’ activities in a controlled environment • The chance to be with other students in a temporary community • The impact of taking in the beauty of Australia’s national parks and abundance of diverse environments • The chance to have an original adventure and discover new things.
referred to as ‘experiential education’ when students are using touch, smell, sounds, sight, and taste to learn, and it is a much more engaging learning experience than those that do not engage the senses. Secondly, it is about providing students with a holistic experience that also engages the mind and the body. Whether it is an on-site or off-site program, motivation through a connection with the outdoors can come from exposure to waterfalls, flowing rivers, chirping birds, forests, wildlife and sunsets over the mountain, which all help to open students’ eyes to the world around them and appreciate the breathtaking beauty of the natural world and their capacity to engage with it.
While these factors all play an important role in creating the overall experience, there are a couple of key contributing factors that increase motivation levels as a result of physical activity and a connection with nature. Firstly, physical activity and a connection to nature are very sensory experiences. It is
Manageable Steps The training and experience of the teachers taking the activities and the way that they go about achieving certain outcomes have a great influence on inspiring and motivating students. Strategies of manageable challenge levels, clear explanations and removal
of competition can yield great participatory outcomes. To manage the challenge levels, the activity guide can give students the opportunity to participate in non-confrontational stages that help them achieve success. For example, in an abseiling context, the instructors can work with students who are disengaged by getting them to put the harness on and stand at the top of an abseil drop, and then presenting them with the opportunity to take the next step. This is essentially breaking down the goal into smaller pieces that allow the students to succeed. Engaging students can sometimes be as simple as how an activity is explained to them. For instance, if students are told that they are going hiking, rock climbing, abseiling and paddling, it is most likely they will jump at the chance to be involved. But if they are told that the experience in question will make them want to work harder, improve their attendance and also increase their capacity to interact with their peers and the
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adults in their lives, they might not be keen to get involved. While the physical nature of any outdoor activity is a part of the program, physical fitness and physical skills are not the primary goals. They can be used as an effective medium for participants to recognise and understand their own weaknesses, strengths and resources, and subsequently find it in themselves to master the difficult and unfamiliar tasks with which they are faced. Freedom From Competition Removing any emphasis on competition removes an enormous amount of pressure. Overt competition is deemphasised and the focus is on competition within the individual and cooperation with group members to achieve greater personal goals. Also, holding debriefing sessions at the end of each activity holds the key to being able to transfer the lessons learnt in the outdoors back to the classroom. The great outdoors is where children commonly ‘find’ themselves, and the gym, sports oval and swimming pool cannot replicate the learning opportunities that a real outdoor experience offers. The advantage of experiential education is that because students are having such a great time, they are not aware of how much they are learning. This process also involves educating parents
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and other teachers to appreciate that just because children are outside in the sun without any books, it does not mean that the learning experience is any less valuable. On the contrary, experiential learning provides a more rounded and balanced education. As students engage with the experiences and the world around them, they can be observing geography, astronomy, physics and also participate in teamwork and problem solving activities through a range of educational strategies with which they would not identify with in the traditional classroom. Adding Value It is an interesting time for the outdoor recreation industry at the moment. People have known and understood the benefits of outdoor education for years, but the economic crisis has made many in the education sector question the value of outdoor education and why parents should be expected to invest in such programs. The result of this is that camps and service providers have been forced to articulate their outcomes more clearly and really focus on the reasons behind why they do what they do. One of the biggest challenges of the industry is how it can contribute more to a base of evidence so that people have a more thorough understanding of the profound impacts of physical activity and engagement with outdoor education.
One of the most significant benefits of outdoor education is that it allows the time for relationships to be built between students, and the peer support that is discovered by students in these challenging situations is extremely powerful. Often what can happen is that once a student has conquered their fear of an activity, their confidence becomes contagious. Even the most disengaged students find it hard to resist, and it provides an opportunity for them to break the cycles of behaviour that may have resulted in a lack of participation. When we feel better about ourselves we actually want to engage with the world around us, and this is true for children, teenagers and adults alike. Margy Jones has over a decade of experience working with children and teenagers and their families in both the government and non-government sectors. She is passionate about working with young people in an early intervention capacity and through the development of communities. Margy is currently employed as the Director of Community Programs at Youthworks Outdoors, where she manages the Adventure, Access and Resilience Programs. She can be contacted at margy.jones@youthworks.net.
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