Why do we work in Experiential Education?
For several decades now, the public has begun to acknowledge the importance of experiential education. Public schools have been rushing to include elements in their curriculums that are more experiential, such as field trips and internships, grants are being written to bring students to ropes courses and other outdoor events and credits are being awarded for study abroad and community service programs. What is experiential education and why is this movement happening?

Including experience as an important component of education was first suggested by John Dewey in his 1938 classic treatise on education: Experience and Education. In this work John Dewey touted this form of learning as an essential component of education that truly educates. The power of experiential education, he asserted, lay in its ability to provide opportunities for students to engage in authentic experiences, such as a visit to a logging site or completing an apprenticeship at a local homeless shelter, and reflect upon them in terms of their values. Through this process, students become more aware of who they are and have the chance to align their behavior and choices with their values. Consequently, he saw that experiential education provided an opportunity to examine one’s role within a community, whether it be the classroom, family or larger community.

The Association for Experiential Education has formalized a definition of experiential education as, “a process through which a learner constructs knowledge, skill and value from direct experiences.” Basically, it is learning by doing in which a student learns about themselves through a process of direct experience. Through such experiences, students can learn mathematics, science, social and technology skills, and civics, among many other disciplines (Knapp, 1996). More importantly, however, students can develop key skills and qualities such as responsibility, healthy decision making and self esteem through this type of self-referenced learning.

Outdoor education is a specific form of experiential education that usually takes place outdoors, often in wilderness areas, and aims to teach community living skills and build self-confidence through activities that include a certain amount of stress or risk—such as rock climbing, ropes courses, and other carefully planned activities. Perhaps the best known organization practicing outdoor education is Outward Bound. A meta-analysis of 96 studies published between 1968 and 1994 concludes that Outward Bound programs stimulate the development of interpersonal competencies, enhance leadership skills, and have positive effects on adolescents' senses of empowerment, self-control, independence, self-understanding, assertiveness, and decision-making skills (Hattie, Marsh, Neill, & Richards, 1997). These are important findings as they attest that programs that include elements of outdoor education help today’s youth exactly where they are struggling most.

For these reasons, Passages Northwest chose to use outdoor education as one of the primary foundations of the medium for its mission. No other educational methodology has been shown to support self esteem development and self awareness like outdoor education. It also provides an important opportunity for girls to be physically active, supportive of their peers and creative. In a world filled with television, teen magazines and violence, this seems to be a rare opportunity.

Dewey, J. (1938). Experience and education. New York: Macmillan.

Hattie, J., Marsh, H., Neill, J., & Richards, G. (1997). Adventure education and Outward Bound: Out-of-class experiences that make a lasting difference. Review of Educational Research, 67(1), 43-87.

Knapp, C. L. (1996). Just beyond the classroom: Community adventures for interdisciplinary learning. Charleston, WV: ERIC Clearinghouse on Rural Education and Small Schools. (ERIC Document Reproduction Service No. ED 388 485)