introduction to the 2008 nols leadership educator notebook

• Provide final course evaluations. Have students discuss theircompetence in each of the seven NOLS Leadership Skills.• Conduct a “Taking Leadership From Here” discussion which includesways to serve the environment, tools and plans for furtherleadership growth, etc. (see “Transference” article)By the end of Phase IV each student will have had at least twomore opportunities to lead, and at least one of those experiencesshould be co-leading with another student. Students may have ledtheir own independent expedition. They may have planned and coledmultiple days of the course. They have a leadership action planto take with them after the course.Petzoldt said, “When teaching on an expedition as we do atNOLS, we cannot cover one subject all at once, since, initially, wemust teach the most important things necessary for that first dayof walking, camping, cooking and conservation. The next day wemight cover the same subjects again and add new knowledge andtechniques. We do this until the end of the course five weeks later.Then and only then will the student have all of the knowledge andskills he actually needed the first day. That is why we say to our studentsthat when they finish their courses, they are ready to start onan expedition.” (Petzoldt, as cited by Bachert, 1987, p. 62)TEACHING LEADERSHIPEXPERIENTIALLYLearning occurs through discovery and experimentation, andchanges in cognition develop as a result of reflection on experience.Unlike more traditional, content-focused approaches, the fundamentalgoal of experiential education is not just to teach studentswhat to learn, but also how to learn through their own experiences.Experiential style requires a shift in the way we conceptualizeteaching and learning. Most students and many instructors are usedto a traditional view of education where the teacher is an expertwhose job is to disseminate factual information and the learner is astudent whose job is to regurgitate the “right” answer.Experiential learning is collaborative, and social interactions playa significant role in the development of cognition. Dialogue anddiscussion are vital avenues to learning. An experiential approachpresents information through group tasks and discussions with peersand instructors. When students work in this manner, they have theopportunity to frequently voice their ideas and receive feedbackfrom their peers and instructors.This engages higher cognitive functions including reasoning,comprehension and critical thinking. Students in experiential programscontinue to build on their collaboration and communicationskills by taking an increasingly active role in designing and implementingexperiential projects, and structuring their learning time.Through the process of creating and maintaining the expeditioncommunity, we teach students the skills to become leaders in theirown communities beyond the course. On NOLS expeditions, it isprecisely our goal to create just this type of organized, self-consciouscommunity that respects the needs and opinions of all while workingto find creative, cooperative solutions to problems.A NOLS expedition readily lends itself to collaborative learning,but can be further enhanced through creative teaching methods.When contemplating a lesson plan, consider whether a lecture isnecessary. Could this class be taught as a discussion on the trail, asa student class, or as a group assignment? Perhaps each instructorIntroduction 8could teach an individual or a small group one aspect of the class,and students could then collaborate to learn all of the skills? Perhapsa quick lecture is necessary to introduce students to a skill or concept?Always keep in mind that actual learning occurs on the trailor during planned activities, when students work together to applywhat you have introduced to them.PrinciplesInstruction should be student-centered, emphasizing the processby which knowledge construction occurs. Students thus becomeaware of the factors that influence their own thinking and learning,and they can then go about constructing new knowledge in a criticaland intentional manner in the future. Active processing of learningexperiences is vital to helping students take charge of their ownlearning and develop personal meaning from experience.There is no way we could teach students every skill that wouldprepare them for every eventuality in a wilderness setting, much lessthe rest of their lives. However, when we help them understand howthey gained skills and knowledge on their NOLS course and whenwe give them ample opportunities to practice applying these skillsin different contexts, we are preparing them to lead and learn farbeyond the course. We teach this when we help students learn togive and receive feedback, self-evaluate, resolve conflicts effectively,plan and teach classes, participate in discussions, evaluate hazards,plan and lead an expedition, etc.Petzoldt said, “There are many ways of teaching judgment alongwith technique. The simplest way, the way everybody can understand,even without experience, is the method of telling them whyyou are teaching them any certain thing. Try to relate what you areteaching them with what you are going to teach them or what theyhave been taught. It’s just not the bare technique that is essential butthe relation of that technique to other things they are going to do.”(Bachert, 1987, p. 68)Complex Problems, Multiple SolutionsExperiential teaching provides students with complex problemsthat have many possible solutions. These problems should be carefullychosen based on your students’ skill and experience, and theymust be appropriately coached. We want students to feel challenged,but also have access to help when they need it so that they feel incontrol of their own learning. Achieving this fine balance of allowingstudents to struggle a bit and eventually succeed (or not!), versusstepping in when the challenge becomes too great, is the essence ofserendipitous teaching.Remember that an important part of being an experiential educatoris being a learner yourself. Let students know what you’re tryingto do. Sometimes simply giving them the option to ask for helpwhen they feel they need it is enough to give them sense of control.TransferenceA learning environment that presents only isolated pieces of informationseemingly unrelated to the students’ past experience isperceived as meaningless to the brain. But when the same conceptsare presented from the perspective of, “Here are some tools essentialto this situation,” the brain gets it. Students get it. They eagerlybuild skills and knowledge that complex, real-world problem solvingrequires.Problems presented to students should be authentic—that is,they should be real. They should also be relevant—similar to situationsthat students will encounter in the world beyond the course.2008 NOLS Leadership Educator Notebook