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E ducation for Curriculum Alternative Education, Not Alternative Location by Anna-Marie Mills and Kevin O’Dwyer Silvercreek Outdoor Education Centre has return to their community school, integrate been operating since 1982 under the auspices into the world of work, or successfully of the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District School transition to a post-secondary institution. Board through a lease agreement with the Credit Valley Conservation Authority. The Most students in ABLE earn the following 1400-acre property captures the Niagara credits: Peer and Leadership Support (GPP Escarpment within the Credit Valley watershed 3O); Fitness and Recreation Leadership (PLF and provides a multitude of outdoor 4C); Church and Christ (HRE 4O); and experiences. Historically, the Silvercreek Learning Strategies (GLS 4O). Some students Outdoor Education Centre has delivered will earn a credit in Entrepreneurial Studies outdoor experiences that extend and augment (BDI 3C) through a blended mode of delivery; curricular opportunities for over 30,000 they combine the completion of an students in Grades 4 to 12. Independent Learning Course with practical experience in running the breakfast club, class Recently, the Dufferin-Peel Catholic District store and other fundraisers. Above and beyond School Board has expanded these curriculum- this credit package, students have access to based outdoor experiences by establishing a other Independent Learning Courses. satellite classroom from Archbishop Oscar Romero Secondary School to deliver credit As an experiential learning program, ABLE programming using the outdoor environment uses various vehicles of delivery (low ropes, at Silvercreek Outdoor Education Centre. With high ropes, wilderness experiences, initiative a pre-existing low ropes course, a recently tasks, breakfast club, food bank and soup installed high ropes course, and access to the kitchen experiences) to present students with Bruce Trail and Niagara Escarpment less than deliberately designed learning experiences and 30 minutes from urban Brampton and challenges. Each student has an opportunity to Mississauga, Ontario, the location just north develop a reservoir of skills through their of Georgetown is ideal. experiences. Based on the work of Barry Bennett in Beyond Monet, students complete The Adventure Based Learning Experience various assessment tools. The teachers use (ABLE) program is designed for students who observation, assessment and facilitation to require a non-traditional approach to learning extract data and assist students in the process with varied program delivery options or need of self and group analysis, goal setting, a flexible learning landscape. While these language deconstruction, peer feedback and senior students have earned between 17 and peer mentoring. From these experiences 20 secondary school credits, the regular students recognize the skills that may secondary setting has not led to continued contribute to credit attainment. Whether the academic or personal success. Entering its experience is in Algonquin Park or in a science S second year, this unique experiential learning lab, students use these methodologies to Y program provides students from Mississauga acquire knowledge and apply it. They learn to A W and Brampton the opportunity to “learn from use various assessment tools in the midst of H doing” in an outdoor education environment experience, written assignments, video T A while earning high school credits towards an journals and verbal presentations. P Ontario Secondary School Diploma. The primary focus is on preparing students to 12 Education for Curriculum The program also makes use of experiences storming phase. Kara relied on her pre-existing that focus on leadership, communication, pattern of conflict avoidance to placate any team building and co-operative learning. As a and all perceived sources of disagreement. result, the ABLE program operates within a Each event designed to illicit and provide theory of group development that is based on opportunities to resolve potential differences Tuckman’s (1965) familiar cycle of forming, was quickly managed by Kara to placate the storming, norming and transforming. source of conflict with altruisms such as “Can’t we just get along?” or “I thought we One approach to understanding how the ABLE were together on this.” Her pattern of program works is to recount a student’s managing conflict in her life was now evident journey through this experiential learning in the classroom. Unrecognized by Kara was environment. All the names have been the fact that other students were generating changed to protect students’ identities and pressure through verbal and non-verbal some elements have been altered to provide a conflict that reinforced her willingness to more composite example of a student avoid conflict to the extent that she would experience. modify her own behaviour to provide relief from criticism. Kara’s Path Being walked all over is a major problem in Students are referred to the ABLE program by my life. It started in high school. I was made guidance counsellors or administrators. fun of in Grade 9 because I wasn’t totally Assessing whether a student’s profile meshes skinny like the other girls. A guy name with the program criteria occurs through a Akeem use to call me all sorts of names, my review of credit counsel summaries and his or (student) agenda got ripped up in the her Ontario Student Record (OSR). After smoker’s area at school — it was so determining an initial match, the student is embarrassing. Those incidents have created offered an interview. The principal receives a bottled feelings like was there something recommendation following the interview. wrong with me. Why do they have it out for me? Kara’s first interview was abbreviated — she – Kara was unprepared to be self-reflective and was pre-occupied with the slow pace of her watch. Her self-esteem was fed by her genuine caring Although positive and extroverted, it was but was also her trap. She would clearly a veneer. Five months later, with a cast accommodate individuals’ conflict to the on her foot, Kara’s second interview revealed point and frequency that she could not another semester mired by a behaviour pattern recognize what she personally stood for and that left her frustrated and unable to achieve was willing to engage in high risk ventures in her academic potential. This interview exposed order to “help” someone. a more grounded candidate who self- identified a need for substantive change. Kara Then a boy named Ron came into my life. entered the program stalled at 23 credits, He didn’t compliment me, he didn’t have a focused on graduating. She was a genuinely job and he lived at his friend’s house. What caring person and willing to extend herself to a man, hey, well maybe I can fix him. S Y “help” others, however this help was often at a Maybe those were signs to say goodbye but, A W cost to herself. no, I wanted to help and that is what I tried H to do. Wrong again and again. T A In the forming stage of the class, the students P bonded to the extent that peer pressure . . . [W]e argued, he pushed me, I prevented them from moving into the punched him and he turned around and 13 Education for Curriculum pushed me down the stairs. . . . I had to I believe that the goal of this trip be different and look what different got (Algonquin) was to embed in our minds me — six weeks in a cast and a foot that that not only can we accomplish over still hurts today. difficult situations but also a strategy on how – Kara to do so, especially with other individuals different from ourselves. . . . This trip put She was being manipulated by people in her me in the most difficult, negative mindset life and now in the class. Kara’s desire to be and through the most physical torture I have liked resulted in appeasement. A further issue ever been in, and even though my mind existed because the class as an entity did not was expressing negative thoughts and want to “storm.” This behaviour stifled further feelings, my mouth was so trained it filtered development and kept Kara in the cycle of and edited my negative thoughts into appeasing others. Both Kara and another positive and well expressed communicated student in the class were offered the issues. This made cold hard facts sound like opportunity to alter the behaviour of creating warm soft criticism and that has helped me obstacles to interference. Kara accepted the as a person. challenge. – ABLE student, 2007 Kara’s breakthrough moment was realized deep in Algonquin Park. With no place to The depth of these experiences goes well hide, run to, or avoid others, she was forced to beyond credit attainment and initiates a deal with issues stemming from class. Later, process of lifelong learning. the class would identify the significant value of Kara’s contribution. At that same time she Reference did not give in to the pattern of lowering her own standards to accommodate and be Tuckman, B.W. (1965). Developmental accepted. She earned respect. sequence in small groups. Psychological Bulletin, 63, 384–399. (Reprinted in Group For me to succeed I need to set boundaries Facilitation: A Research and Applications and limits to what will make me happy and Journal, 3, Spring 2001, 66–81. Retrieved 2 not what I will tolerate. It is the only way I October 2007 from http:// will grow into dealing with problems and dennislearningcenter.osu.edu/references/ actions I have made, whether right or GROUP%20DEV%20ARTICLE.doc) wrong. People know now that I have set some boundaries and so do my friends, but I will have to re-evaluate my personal Anna-Marie Mills is a 14-year teacher with contract every once in a while. extensive trekking experience in Nepal, Vietnam, – Kara Cambodia, Laos, Thailand, Indonesia, Malaysia and India. After teaching in Japan for three years, Kara achieved six credits in the span of a Anna-Marie became involved in adventure-based semester in ABLE and is currently in her first education while pursuing her interests of canoeing year of college, living in residence. and backpacking. S Beyond the government’s focus on Kevin O’Dwyer is a 26-year veteran in the Y A accountability, assessment and standardized teaching field, all within the Dufferin-Peel W testing, some of the more significant student Catholic District School Board with qualifications H T success has yet to find a “strand.” Fortunately, in Phys-Ed and Geography and an emphasis on A P both ABLE students and teachers value the World Issues. Kevin brings to the classroom human face in education. extensive counselling experience he developed 14 during his 11-year commitment to union work.