Review Sheet for Social & Emotional Growth Through Adventure Education

Review Sheet for Social & Emotional Growth Through Adventure Education

❖Adventure Education should be:

➢Significant: It has meaning and relevance for participants

➢Challenging: It involves new experiences encouraging creative, “out of the box”

Thinking

❖Supportive: It emphasizes teamwork to develop trust and healthy risk-taking

❖Fun: It capitalizes on the inherent joy of learning while laughing.

❖The foundational concepts of Adventure Education that we will use are

➢Challenge by Choice

➢The full Value Contract

➢The Experiential Learning Cycle

❖Full Value Contract-Group behavioral norms everyone agrees to follow and work on throughout the class.

➢Be Here: developing the skills to:

■Be physically present

■Be physically ready to participate in the fitness program

■Be focused

■Be on time

■Be connected to the people and activities that occur in the classroom and school

➢Let Go and Move On

■Make mistakes and see them as learning opportunities

■Use challenges as motivators rather than deterrents

■Be aware of when you are not letting go of something

■Understand the benefits of Letting Go and Moving On

■Asking for help-accept the reality of a situation and, with support, transition to new ground

➢Be honest

■Identify the actual behavior/events that just happened

■Acknowledge why a particular activity is not safe or appropriate

■Use the ABCDEs of problem solving to resolve conflict

■Be aware of feelings

■Express feeling appropriately

■Understand the connection between honesty and a safe environment

■Acknowledge strengths and weaknesses

■Give and receive feedback

➢Set Goals

■Set goals using STAR Goals

■Assess progress/change goals when needed

■Understand the benefits of goal setting

■Make goals public

■Give and receive feedback about progress

■Understand the connection between Challenge by Choice and goal setting; Challenge by Choice helps you to get out of your comfort zone and into your stretch zone-goals should be put into your stretch zone

➢Be Safe

■Be physically safe

■Be emotionally safe

■Evaluate/assess safety of environment-inside and outside of the fitness class

■Be responsible for your actions

■Make commitments to yourself and to the class

■Honor confidentiality when appropriate

■Give and receive feedback-understand the connection between safe environment and taking the risk to give and/or receive feedback

❖Challenge By Choice (CBC)

➢Offers Participants:

■Provides both teacher and student with tool to assist students in making sound choices.

■Helps students see that they have the right and ability to choose their level of challenge

■Assess what is and isn’t an appropriate level of challenge, how to make positive decisions for life.

■Respect for their individual ideas and choices

➢Means:

■Participants always have the right to choose how to participate and at a level that feels comfortable to them

■Participants are asked to add value to the experience at all times

■Participants are asked to respect and value the decisions of all group members

■Participants have the opportunity to say “no” to a challenge that may push them beyond their growth zones into an area of panic. In making healthy choices participants are supported and not peer-pressured into action.

❖Experiential Learning Cycle (ELC)

➢Do the activity

➢What happened in the activity?

➢So, what can we learn from what occurred?

➢Now what can we do with this information? or How can we apply what we’ve learned to other areas of our lives?

❖Goal Setting

➢STAR Goals

■S-Specific-Set one goal at a time

■T-Trackable-Measurable in time and quantity

■A-Achievable-Accomplishable or reasonable with one’s given strengths and abilities

■R-Relevant-Addresses behavior that makes a positive difference in one’s overall performance

❖Adventure Wave

➢The adventure wave has three components

■Briefing the experience (Introduction/Framing)

■Doing the Experience

■Debriefing of the experience

❖Stages of Group Development

➢Forming-Representative of the beginning of the group’s existence, this stage involves identifying the purpose of the group, exploring how individuals “fit” into the group and their dependence on the group or the group leader to understand what is expected

➢Storming-Similar to the “terrible twos”, this stage can often involve conflict as members of the group question what is happening, challenge the authority of the leader and assert their opinions and ideas. It typically involves resistance to the rules or the influence of other group members

➢Norming- This stage is when group members have tested the water and find the group to be trustworthy as a safe environment for sharing their angers, sadnesses, fears, joys and other emotions. this sense of togetherness or cohesion allows for acceptance of others and respect of different views. The group becomes a place to try out new behaviors.

➢Performing-At this point the group can perform its tasks effectively and efficiently. Group members can work with the present issues instead of being caught up with testing each other’s commitment or only confronting one another’s behavior. This stage is referred to as the working stage and is usually where the group will remain until it reaches the final stage of Separation.

➢Separation-This stage is the point at which the group ends. At least it is the end of the group as it has been defined for this time. Individuals in the group may come back together at another time but then the group forming process would begin again. Separation is important to acknowledge so that appropriate time is given for group members to have closure.

❖Social and Emotional Learning (SEL)-the process of developing fundamental social and emotional competencies in children. Promoting student strengths and preventing problems such as violence, drug use, or dropping out.

➢Self-Awareness-Knowing what we are feeling in the moment; having a realistic assessment of our own abilities and a well-grounded sense of self-confidence

➢Social Awareness-Understanding what others are feeling; being able to take their perspective; appreciating and interacting positively with diverse groups

➢Self-Management-handling our emotions so they facilitate rather than interfere with the task at hand; being conscientious and delaying gratification to pursue goals; persevering in the face of setbacks and frustrations

➢Relationship Skills-handling emotions in relationships effectively; establishing and maintaining healthy and rewarding relationships based on cooperation, resistance to inappropriate social pressure, negotiating solutions to conflict, and seeking help when needed.

➢Responsible Decision Making-making decisions based on an accurate consideration of all relevant factors and the likely consequences of alternative courses of actions, respecting others and taking responsibility for one’s decisions.

❖The Adventure Education Motto is: Play Hard, Play Fair, Play Safe

❖The Formula followed is this:

➢No Trust-No Beginning: Trust is a necessity to being successful

➢No Fun-No Return: If you don't have fun, you won't continue

➢No Challenge-No Continuation: If everything was easy, you would feel as successful when completing a task. There will be stress and challenge in the activities.

❖The being we made creates our behavioral guidelines for the class

❖Project Adventure consists of:

➢Ice breakers: Provide opportunities for the group members to get to know each other and Begin to feel comfortable with each other.

➢Deinhibitizers: Provide activities and a forum wherein group participants are able to take Some risks as well as make improvements in commitment.

➢Communication: Provide an opportunity for group members to enhance their ability and skill to communicate thoughts, feelings, and behaviors more appropriately.

➢problem solving activities: An opportunity for group members to effectively communicate, co-operate,and compromise with each other through trial and error participation in a graduated series activities that range from simple to complex.

➢trust activities: An opportunity for group members to trust their physical and emotional safety with others by attempting to graduated series of activities that involve taking some physical and/or emotional risks.

➢climbing: The opportunity to attempt elements that take you off the ground.

➢Debriefing is used after each activity to help learn why the group behaved the way they did.

❖Through the Project Adventure Curriculum students will be able to:

➢ Demonstrate an understanding of movement concepts and the use of motor skills.

➢Demonstrate responsible personal and social behavior.

➢Demonstrate the ability to use effective interpersonal skills.

➢Demonstrate the ability to use the decision-making skills of appropriate goal setting, risk taking and problem solving.

➢ Understand that challenge, enjoyment,creativity, self-expression and social interaction are important, life-enhancing experiences and are found in Adventure activities.

➢Demonstrate an understanding of and respect for differences.

❖Star Goals:

➢Specific-one goal at a time

➢Trackable-Allows for monitoring of progress

➢Achievable-Realistic, but not too easy

➢Relevant-has direct significance to what you are trying to accomplish

❖GRABBSS Assessment for whether or not a group is ready to move on

➢Goals: How does this activity relate to the goals the group has set?

➢Readiness: Is the group emotionally and physically prepared and ready to do the activity?

➢Affect: Is the group at a stage where they can emotionally support each other?

➢Behavior: Will the group act appropriately for this activity?

➢Body: Is the group physically ready for this activity?

➢Setting: What kind of space is available to the group?

➢Stage: How has the group developed?

❖Debriefing

➢Reflect , analyze, describe, or discuss an experience after it is completed

➢Can help group resolve conflicts that are within the group, build positive perceptions of each other’s strengths and weaknesses, and help construct strategies for how to operate in the world outside the group experience.

❖The Assumption of Risk:

Adventure activities have to deal with both real and perceived risk. Real risk is the actual possibility of injury occurring. Perceived risk is the thought of the injury that could occur. The following is a table based on Perceived Risk vs Injury Frequency and Severity (real risk). (The Guide for Challenge Course Operations; Bob Ryan; 2005)

General Perception of Risk / Actual Frequency of Injury / Actual Potential Severity of Injury
Warm up games* and activities / Low / Moderate* / Low
Low Challenge Course Activities / Moderate / Low / Low to Moderate
High Challenge Course Activities / High / Very Low / Moderate to High

*Warm-up games actually have a low frequency of injury if compared to sports and other activities. However, when compared to other challenge course activities (e.g., low or high elements) games have the highest frequency of injury.

SHAPE America's National Standards define what a student should know and be able to do as result of a quality physical education program. States and local school districts across the country use the National Standards to develop or revise existing standards, frameworks and curricula.

❖Physical Education

➢Standard 1 - The physically literate individual demonstrates competency in a variety of motor skills and movement patterns.

➢Standard 2 - The physically literate individual applies knowledge of concepts, principles, strategies and tactics related to movement and performance.

➢Standard 3 - The physically literate individual demonstrates the knowledge and skills to achieve and maintain a health-enhancing level of physical activity and fitness.

➢Standard 4 - The physically literate individual exhibits responsible personal and social behavior that respects self and others.

➢Standard 5 - The physically literate individual recognizes the value of physical activity for health, enjoyment, challenge, self-expression and/or social interaction.

NYS Standards

❖Physical Education

➢Standard 1 - Personal Health and Fitness-Students will have the necessary knowledge and skills to establish and maintain physical fitness, participate in physical activity, and maintain personal health.

➢Standard 2 - A Safe and Healthy Environment-Students will acquire the knowledge and ability necessary to create and maintain a safe and healthy environment.

➢Standard 3 - Resource Management-Students will understand and be able to manage their personal and community resources.