Three research abstracts dealt with program outcomes and the factors that affect them. Morgan (2008) dealt with the potential influence of sensation-seeking personality traits on perceived risk and perceived competence in adventure experiences. Two abstracts by Bobilya, Akey, and Mitchell, Jr. (2008) and Austin, Martin, Mittelstaedt, Schanning,…

The literature on facilitation describes the skills, methods, models and theories of facilitation but gives less coverage to the assumptions and philosophies that underpin the processes by which facilitators develop. This paper reviews the literature on facilitation and provides a typology, which classifies the different approaches to facilitator…

Principles of brain-based learning, including pattern and meaning making, parallel processing, and the role of stress and threat, are explained, along with their connections to longstanding practices of experiential education. The Brain Compatible Approach is one avenue for clarifying to mainstream educators how and why experiential methods are…

A benefits-based management approach will enable outdoor adventure therapy programs for male adolescent offenders to be built around desired outcomes such as building connections to community, enhancing self-esteem, and establishing intergenerational relationships. Outdoor programs must maintain informal environments, involve participants in…

Based on the literature and recent research, an integrated, consistent definition of wilderness therapy is presented to differentiate it from other outdoor adventure programs and guide program design and research efforts. Trends in the outdoor industry are explored that suggest that wilderness therapy programs are searching for recognition by…

More methodologically sound research in adventure therapy is needed if the field is to claim empirically-based efficacy as a treatment modality. Some considerations for conducting outcome studies in adventure therapy relate to standardization, multiple domain assessment, regression techniques, objective assessment of participant change, client and…

More people are participating in adventure programs than ever before. Consequently, the natural resources that support these activities are being compromised, resulting in greater restrictions on land and water use, and implementation of user fees. Trends towards artificial adventure environments, certification and accreditation, litigation and…

To advance social justice research in the field of outdoor experiential education, we must recognize the truth-distorting role of social privilege in program management and delivery, staff training, and the experience of participants. We must diversify the researchers, settings, situations, and methodologies that are used in conducting social…

Most experiential educators acknowledge the centrality of the learner in experiences they facilitate, indicating a constructivist epistemological vision. Yet participant experiences are lost in research using an outcome-focused, objectivist epistemology. Employing a constructivist epistemology in research embraces a broader range of approaches,…

Adventure education research struggles to measure components of the field's larger, complex processes and outcomes. Because valid measures provide the foundation of quantitative research, finding, assessing, and utilizing good measures of the outcomes and processes of adventure education are necessary. Describes measurement techniques, validity,…

A conceptual analysis of spirituality reveals "the sacred" to be fundamental to understanding spirituality, discusses the two notions of broad and specific spirituality, considers modes of human consciousness and functioning that make spiritual experience possible, and alerts experiential educators of the implications of venturing into spiritual…

Disability simulation offers a promising intervention when used in conjunction with other learning methods. Issues discussed include orientation activities that increase awareness and provide a context for examining personal values and biases, ethical and safety concerns, the role of the facilitator, and areas of inquiry specific to disabilities…

Explores reasons for the general lack of acceptance of experiential approaches to education. Compares experiential and mainstream education with regard to foundations, goals, ideas about knowledge and learning, organization of students, classroom communication, teaching methods, resources, setting, and evaluation strategies. Suggests that…

Explores the wilderness expedition from an anthropological perspective as a personal rite of passage involving rituals created by the group, an intense sense of community, strengthened individual identity, and connection to the natural environment. Includes participants' descriptions of the revelations they experienced and of the expedition as a…

Experiential learning generally, and service learning specifically, can teach citizenship skills necessary to a democracy, unify the curriculum, better serve at-risk students, and accommodate different learning styles. Gives arguments and criteria for integrating service learning into mainstream education and examples of programs utilizing service…