UWCSEA WHITE PAPER 4 May 2022 LEARNING IN NATURE: connecting learning to life through outdoor education
“When we learn how to kayak, that’s not what outdoor education is about. That’s the foundation that supports us to get to ‘How do I become resilient? How do I support my team members? How do I get close and connected to the natural world?’ It’s a vehicle to get to all of those other things.”
Chris Newman, Head of Outdoor Education, UWCSEA East
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Beluntu, a UWC South East Asia (UWCSEA) off-site facility in the jungles of Johore, Malaysia, opened in 1975 as an alternate learning environment for students. Groups came out for visits travelling by bus, boat, land rover and foot. Time at Beluntu, with its beach walks, boating expeditions through mangrove forests and orienteering in the dense jungle, became an integral part of the UWCSEA experience for the next decade, as departments from Drama to Maths, and Biology to English made regular visits to the site.
Beluntu may not have looked like much, with its small collection of simple thatched-roof buildings, but it was a purpose-built facility with the ethos of Outdoor Education and the UWC Movement at its heart: a place that allowed students to experience the natural world and take on the experiential challenges that build resilience, collaboration and leadership.
Although forced to close in 1984, the spirit of Beluntu has endured. The Outdoor Education programme remains central to a UWCSEA education, and the College now runs one of the most extensive programmes of any school in Singapore. This activity is supported by an articulated written Outdoor Education curriculum which spans Kindergarten to Grade 12; the first of its kind in the world.
Connecting through resilience UWCSEA Learning Programme
Following the belief of Kurt Hahn, the founder of the UWC Movement, that “expeditions can greatly contribute towards building strength of character”, learning is taken well beyond the four walls of the classroom at UWCSEA. Outdoor Education is woven into the education of all students regardless of their year level, as one of the five inter-linked elements of the UWCSEA Learning Programme, together with Academics, Activities, Personal and Social Education and Service. “Expeditions can greatly character.”strengthtowardscontributebuildingof Kurt Hahn Founder, UWC Movement
Extracted from UWCSEA Guiding Statements 2021
UWCSEA Profile Extracted from UWCSEA Guiding Statements 2021
LONGITUDINAL STUDY
More recently, UWCSEA has sought to better understand the impact of the Outdoor Education programme on students through a longitudinal research partnership with Oregon State University–Cascades. A seven-year study that began in the 2013/2014 school year has helped the College to evaluate the outcomes from its Outdoor Education programme, providing clear evidence of the benefits and positive impact of the programme on overall student education, on individual student wellbeing and on their development of a number of the Qualities and Skills identified in the UWCSEA Profile.
Conducted by Oregon State University–Cascades faculty researchers Dr Michael Gassner, an outdoor education specialist, and Dr Christopher Wolsko, an educational and eco-psychologist, the study has successfully explored the benefits from this learning approach through multiple cohorts of students. The researchers have collected results from hundreds of interviews and surveys of Middle and High School students, including two groups who have participated from Grade 6 through Grade 12. This data explores both the incremental and longitudinal effects on the students. The findings so far affirm the transformational impact that a well-structured Outdoor Education programme can have on children. The study’s findings are now being used to help other educational organisations incorporate more intentional Outdoor Education into their own curriculums. Measuring impact
“Over time you see this big boost of feeling connected to the otherwellbeing,psychologicalseewellbeing.predictsenvironmentnaturalthatastudent’sWeincreasesiningrit,andconstructs.”
Dr Christopher Wolsko Associate Psychology,Professor,Oregon University–CascadesState
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UWCSEA White Paper 4 | 3 INITIAL INSIGHTS
The data collected is invaluable for its ability not just to measure outcomes in the longer term, but is being used to adjust and adapt the Outdoor Education programme to better respond to changing environments and the needs of current students. An evening activity on the Grade 6 Tioman expedition, for example, was modified in response to data which showed it was pushing students further than intended beyond their comfort zone. The Grade 8 Chiang Mai expedition, one of UWCSEA’s flagship trips, was also adapted following analysis of student feedback and trip observations by the researchers. In response to evaluation work from the research, the 10-day trip is now a ‘continuous journey’ rather than a trip split into two very different halves.
RESPONSIVE PROGRAMME DEVELOPMENT
“A key component of our research design is that it’s longitudinal, so over time you see this big boost of feeling connected to the natural environment that predicts a student’s wellbeing at the baseline for the next year, and two years later, controlling from the previous two years,” says Dr Wolsko of the findings. “We see increases from pre- to post-expedition in all of the elements of the learner profile of the students in psychological wellbeing, in grit, and other constructs.”
“The Oregon State University–Cascades study shows that UWCSEA is delivering all of these profile Qualities and Skills, right the way through the Outdoor Education programme,” says Oliver Sampson, Head of Outdoor Education at UWCSEA Dover. It has also helped the College adapt to the impacts of the Covid-19 pandemic. Although not all aspects of the programme have been able to be replicated within the restrictions, the data and analysis provided guidance on how to restructure the programme so that it delivers similar outcomes through Singapore expeditions and campus-based activities that can accommodate the unique requirements of a pandemic, like social distancing.
2. What do students perceive Outdoor Education contributes to their overall learning?
RESEARCH DESIGN By following cohorts of students as they progressed through the Outdoor Education programme, the study has explored four main questions:
1. Does Outdoor Education make a difference in a student’s Academic performance and personal lives?
4. Which expeditions instil what Qualities and Skills from the UWCSEA Profile?
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UWCSEA Longitudinal Outdoor Education Study
3. What are the specific knowledge, Skills, and Qualities that graduates of UWCSEA leave with that may be attributed to the Outdoor Education programme?
The UWCSEA–Oregon State University–Cascades study is unique in many ways. Designed to understand the impact of UWCSEA’s Outdoor Education programme, the study aimed to answer questions around the effect on student wellbeing by examining the impacts, both immediately after a particular expedition of experience and in the longer term.
Over the past two years, a student’s capacity for becoming a self-manager was the one profile trait that maintained a consistently positive and unique relationship with higher overall Academic achievement “It’s not so much about the individual activities and is much more about a journey, and sticking with that journeyleadsphysically.emotionallysocially,andAndthattoresilience.”
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Through student surveys and in-depth interviews, the study measures what students learn through Outdoor Education, whether it has an impact on their personal wellbeing and Academic performance, how the students value the experiences, and the specific Skills, knowledge and Qualities that graduates of UWCSEA leave with that have been enhanced by their participation in the Outdoor Education programme over Duringtime.the research period, the researchers also conducted field observations by accompanying the Outdoor Education expedition programme trips with students and staff.
KEY
• Students from the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 cohorts who were measured for cultivation of resilience demonstrated a higher measurement of personal grit at the beginning of the 2019/2020 school year
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• Development of the UWCSEA Profile on an expedition in the 2018/2019 school year correlated with higher psychological wellbeing at baseline in the 2019/2020 school year
In open-ended reflections, many students commented on building tremendous self-confidence after meeting the substantial challenges of their expeditions. Topline findings from the most recent study in the 2021/2022 school year also illustrate the connection between the skills and lessons learned through Outdoor Education and an increase in psychological wellbeing.
FINDINGS
For example, students who attended an outdoor expedition in the 2017/2018 and 2018/2019 school years that were focused on a connection to nature reported higher wellbeing at the beginning of the 2019/2020 school year. The study also demonstrates a clear link between outdoor education and growth of several of the Qualities (and Skills) of the UWCSEA Profile, with students who develop more of the UWCSEA Profile reporting higher psychological wellbeing, as well as higher Academic achievement, as measured by International Schools Assessment (ISA) scores.
The UWCSEA Profile, as well as other psychological characteristics such as psychological wellbeing and connectedness to nature, continued to increase from pre- to post-expedition
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Dr Michael Gassner Program Coordinator, Tourism, Recreation and Adventure Leadership, Oregon State University–Cascades
“It’s not so much about the individual activities and is much more about a journey. And sticking with that journey - socially, emotionally and physically. And that leads to resilience, and that’s a result that is coming towards the top consistently, since we started this study,” says OtherGassner.keyfindings include:
UWC Founder Kurt Hahn was convinced that putting two young people from opposite sides of a cultural divide together onboard a small boat, perhaps in a northeasterly gale, would result in better interpersonal understanding and trust as they necessarily found ways to work together in order meet the challenges of bringing the boat, and all in it, to safety.
1. Travel 2. Navigation 3. Camp craft 4. Personal and group safety
INTENTIONAL LEARNING LINKS
Through the process of K–12 curriculum articulation, the College identified four areas of learning, called Standards, that underpin the College’s written Outdoor Education curriculum. These overarching Standards inform the grade-level Conceptual Understandings (things students should know and be able to do) and in turn inform Benchmarks (age-appropriate goals for demonstrating attainment) for each year level. Demonstration of these Benchmarks are used to assess an individual students’ learning.
The Outdoor Education curriculum outlines a gradual learning process that presents more complex Conceptual Understandings and provides more challenging experiences as students’ maturity and understanding grows. The four curriculum Standards are:
2. Healthy Relationships - building community and supporting wellbeing
The original reflection tool, used by the Outdoor Education team to align the learning goals of Outdoor Education trips more closely with the Mission and curriculum Standards, is now used by teachers and curriculum leaders to “When students are on a hike through the jungle in Tioman, Malaysia, and they see rubber tapping, the hike leaders can talk about the rubber industry. They can talk about the science of oframificationsuses.thatthetheyvulcanisation,cantalkaboutcarbonflowofmoleculeanditsIthasmassiveintermslearning.”
It is not hard to see the mirror to the UWC Mission in the above belief, and Outdoor Education has been a feature of the UWC experience since the movement’s inception. The urban setting of Singapore has required careful evolution of the programme over the past 50 years, and increasing levels of educational rigour have been applied as adjustments have been made.
3. Connectedness to Nature
Designing intentional learning
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Within the Expedition Skills Standard for example, there are four discrete Strands that students work towards in age-appropriate ways:
Grade-level Benchmarks are then attached to Conceptual Understanding linked to each of these Strands. These provide a framework for the expected learning outcomes, by grade.
AREAS OF LEARNING
4. Expedition Skills - developing skills for life
1. Personal Identity - discovery of self and others
Following the articulation project, the Heads of Outdoor Education worked with curriculum leaders to develop a planning and evaluation framework for outdoor experiences as a way to build capacity in Outdoor Education across the College.
Cameron Hunter Middle School Principal UWCSEA Dover
“When students are on a hike through the jungle in Tioman, Malaysia, and they see rubber tapping, the hike leaders can talk about the rubber industry,” explains Cameron Hunter, Middle School Principal at UWCSEA Dover.
Extracted from UWCSEA Guiding Statements 2021 UWCSEA Mission CompetenciesCONNECTING TO MISSION COMPETENCIES The Outdoor Education curriculum Standards are interwoven throughout the five UWCSEA CommunityDevelopment,Peacebuilding,InterculturalLiteracies,Competencies—EssentialMissionInterpersonalandUnderstanding,SustainableandSelfandWellbeing.
UWCSEA White Paper 4 | 7 guide planning of outdoor learning experiences across Kindergarten to Grade 12. In guiding teachers to identify and strengthen links with other elements of UWCSEA’s Learning Programme (Academics, Activities, Personal and Social Education and Service), staff planning trips are asked to self evaluate the proposed learning experience or trip against these criteria: • Adventure • Collaborative learning • Connection with place • Creativity • Environmental stewardship • Excitement in discovery • Exploration with the senses • Immersion in nature • Transdisciplinary learning • Learning by doing • Personal challenge • Problem solving • Self reflection So that learning is appropriately balanced, the overall student experience of the Learning Programme across time is also considered as part of the reflection process. TRANSDISCIPLINARY LEARNING FOR LIFE
“They can talk about the science of vulcanisation, they can talk about the carbon flow of that molecule and its uses. And humanities teachers can talk about the business and economic flows from rubber trade, and the history of colonisation. It has massive ramifications in terms of learning.”
Developmentally appropriate challenges for each age group are applied and the Outdoor Education programme encourages problem solving and risk negotiation, which are important to the development of the UWCSEA Profile. Learning occurs year-round through intentional links to subjects like Humanities or Science that develop interrelated skills in these areas. This holistic approach provides students with consistent opportunities to develop linkages and transfer their learning between experiential Outdoor Education and many other subjects, so the learning becomes both transdisciplinary.
“When we learn how to kayak, that’s not what outdoor education is about,” says Chris Newman, Head of Outdoor Education at East Campus. “That’s the foundation that supports us to get to the struggles with ‘how do I become resilient? How do I support my team members? How do I connect to the natural world?’ Activities in Outdoor Education are the vehicle to get to all of those other things.”
Deliberate development of in-demand qualities such as resilience, self-management and collaboration have become the hallmarks of adventure programmes around the world and are increasingly important for graduates to demonstrate.
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A foundation for personal growth Extended overnight expeditions such as those that require hiking through the jungles of Malaysia, rafting in rivers in Thailand or trekking high passes in Nepal are a cornerstone of the programme and are designed to expand an individual’s learning outside of their traditional comfort zones. These compulsory trips facilitate intense periods of intercultural and outdoor learning, allowing students to face new challenges in unfamiliar environments. Students’ opportunities for learning and growth increase as they progress through the grade levels.
“There was so much emotional and technical development during our trips to Tioman and Chiang Mai,” says Adam Mertens ’12, who also worked with the UWCSEA Outdoor Education team during a gap year after graduation. Mertens, who is now part of a non-profit organisation that offers immersive environmental learning programmes in the Canadian Rockies, continues, “I think those skills that come with outdoor education are really a conduit for learning bigger ideas like resiliency and collaboration.”
UNLOCKING LEARNING
By creating experiences in the outdoors, UWCSEA strives to develop a set of personal Qualities and Skills that are sought after in schools, universities and modern workplaces.
“I think those skills that come with outdoor education are really a conduit for learning bigger ideas like resiliency and collaboration.”
These experiences can be times of profound self-discovery, selfexpression and satisfaction that accelerate a student’s personal and social development. Grade-level Benchmarks attached to each Conceptual Understanding provide a framework for the expected outcome of each learning stage.
Adam Mertens ’12 Environmental Educator, The Howl Experience
Oliver Sampson Head of Education,OutdoorUWCSEA Dover
A framework for success
“It’s about risk tolerance and getting a fine balance. It’s being able to take risks, having the student understand how to manage and look after themselves and still take risks. That’s a massive part of what we’re doing. And we’re doing it in a world that’s really, really risk averse,” adds Sampson.
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“It’s important that what they’re learning supports the learner Profile and that it supports the UWCSEA Mission. And Outdoor Education supports it in so many different ways, with sustainability being a key element of that,” says Newman. “The evidence is there, you need to do Outdoor Education, it’s a vital part of education.”
By funding the Outdoor Education Department internally and not outsourcing its staffing for individual trips and expeditions, UWCSEA provides a safe and familiar network of trusted adults for students as they are asked to progress through an increasing level of challenge. In turn, this supports them to focus fully on their learning and to develop Mission Competencies. Importantly, the College is also able to make continual well-informed adjustments in order to develop the Outdoor Education programme so as to deliver the best learning outcomes for students.
Just as teamwork and collaboration is one focus of outdoor learning, UWCSEA’s diverse team of Outdoor Education professionals work across both campuses to develop and implement the curriculum at the College. As a vital part of the education journey, each campus has an Outdoor Education Department, with the experienced Heads of Outdoor Education supported by a team of Outdoor Education specialists. This provides the College with greater control over the learning outcomes, and a depth of thinking and intention not as readily available from programmes run by a series of third party providers.
“It’s a fine balance. It’s having the student understand how to manage and look after themselves and still take risks.”
Together with curriculum leaders, the Outdoor Education teams incorporate findings from the longitudinal study and the best available external approaches to develop a curriculum that supports overall wellbeing. Having dedicated Outdoor Education Departments enables the College to articulate the learning each part of the curriculum is designed to deliver and the Qualities and Skills of the UWCSEA Profile that are progressively grown from Kindergarten to Grade 12.
“What’s important looking at education going forwards is that we start connecting students to real experiences,” says Sampson. “In Outdoor Education, we’re actually getting out and doing it, and we’re living the learner Profile, developing the Qualities and Skills.”
For instance, Outdoor Education Department Heads Newman and Sampson collaborated with the campus sustainability leads in the development of an Overseas Trip Sustainability Assessment Toolkit, which gauges the depth of learning and helps to align learning experiences on trips more closely with the College’s Mission.
Data also supports greater cross-integration with more traditional Academic subjects, with strong evidence that interdisciplinary learning from the Outdoor Education programme can be increased. If the activity is sailing, for example, it can incorporate learning about physics and motion through the pulleys and levers. Or if there is a Humanities Unit of Inquiry, the topic under investigation can relate back to the planned expedition for that year. The ultimate goal is to increase the positive outcomes that are already evident from the programme, as well as share the results of the research with other schools in Singapore and internationally, so that they can have an evidence-based approach to developing their own Outdoor Education programmes.
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While the checklist was originally developed to guide the Outdoor Education experiences across K–11 using the Outdoor Education curriculum Standards (refer to page 6), further development of the tool proved necessary during the ‘hyper-local’ phase of the Department’s response to Covid-19, informing the creation of campus and Singapore-based itineraries for students in Grades 1 to 11.
Into the future, UWCSEA will continue to draw on the results from the Oregon State University-Cascades study to further refine the Outdoor Education Post-pandemic,programme.theCollege will inevitably bring back the residential aspect of the programme; long experience and the research results indicate that multi-day, overnight experiences are vital for optimal development of the grit and resilience aspects of the learning. A decisionmaking process that factors sustainability into trip design as well as the educational takeaways will be an increasingly important part of Outdoor Education in the future. The result will be a more mindful balance between heading off on far-flung overseas expeditions and the learning that is available to students from similar experiences conducted in Singapore, or closer to home.
The original Outdoor Education-specific checklist was adjusted in order to extend its applicability beyond the expedition programme, and all trip planners are asked to self evaluate their proposed itinerary against the similar criteria.
Adam Mertens ’12 Environmental Educator, The Howl Experience
APPLYING A LENS OF SUSTAINABILITY
“We have this challenge in society where we often see ourselves as separate from the natural world, but we’re really just another piece of this whole puzzle. Outdoor Education helps connect us to natural spaces, and build the concepts of stewardship and reciprocity.”
GREATER THAN THE SUM OF ITS PARTS
Fine tuning for the future
When Beluntu was first built by students and staff 47 years ago, its concept was simple: provide a space where students could learn from and in the outdoors, interact with each other and build skills in the natural world. The experience of UWCSEA students may have looked quite different then from what happens now, but the spirit Beluntu—of connection to nature, of resilience, collaboration and leadership—remains the same.
“It’s important that what they’re learning supports the learner profile and that it supports the UWCSEA Mission. And Outdoor Education supports it in so many different ways. The evidence is there, you need to do Outdoor Education, it’s a vital part of education.”
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Chris Newman Head of Education,OutdoorUWCSEA East
Dover Campus 1207 Dover Road, Singapore 139654 T +65 6774 2653 | E uwcsea@uwcsea.edu.sg East Campus 1 Tampines Street 73, Singapore 528704 T +65 6305 5353 | E uwcsea@uwcsea.edu.sgOOTP-2122 Scan the QR code to read more about the UWCSEA Outdoor Education programme. Scan the QR code to read all the UWCSEA White Papers.