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“Experiential education is a philosophy that informs many methodologies in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop people's capacity to contribute to their communities.”
(adapted from The Association for Experiential Education)
The History
Outdoor education has been a part of the Aspen School District since 1968, when the 8th grade first backpacked from Aspen to Marble. Through hard work and perseverance, the program has grown into multiple grade levels and activities, and is one of the most unique and amazing aspects of an Aspen School District education.
Kindergartners have their first overnight in the school at age five. 4th graders spend two nights in Denver and a week camping and exploring Mesa Verde National Park. By 6th grade, students are backcountry skiing to huts. In 7th grade, students float and camp a 25-mile stretch of the Colorado River. 8th grade brings the right of passage of a massive backpacking trek with a legendary solo night through the Elk Mountains to Base Camp in Marble, CO, where they learn about climbing and team building.
By the time a student has come to AHS for their freshman year, they have likely had a wealth of experience, knowledge, and self-awareness gained through the previous years of experiential education. The EXED program at AHS has a diverse set of courses students may choose to participate in. These courses range from 100+ mile bike rides, ocean surfing, backcountry travel, and urban experiences. While the breadth of courses may be diverse, they are all based on a foundational set of practices and beliefs. The five pillars of the EXED program are as follows: Academic, Physical, Emotional, Social, and Altruistic. Our EXED program was featured in a podcast out of Australia, and this interview goes more in-depth about our program philosophy and vision: Experiential Education Podcast- AHS EXED Program.
The 50th Anniversary Video of Aspen Middle School's 8th Grade ODE Course
Backpacking and Climbing in the Maroon Snowmass Wilderness
Tenets of Experiential Education:
Learners are engaged intellectually, emotionally, socially, soulfully and physically.
Experiences are structured to require the learner to take initiative, make decisions and be accountable for results.
The educator and learner will experience success, failure, adventure, risk-taking and uncertainty, because the outcomes of experience cannot totally be predicted.
The educator recognizes and encourages spontaneous opportunities for learning.
Experiential learning occurs when carefully chosen experiences are supported by risk mitigation, reflection, critical analysis and synthesis. (Higher order thinking skills)
Key Components of Experiential Education:
Skills and Safety: The educator will teach specific skills related to the course to the best of their knowledge. Integrated with these skills are safety awareness and protocols where students are closely supervised as they acquire the requisite skills to gain sound judgement.
Learning: The educator will instill an attitude of curiosity, experimentation, and participation with all students. EXED encourages creativity, contemplation, and collaboration with the group. Learning is done in a community of peers with the educator as the one facilitating the experience. Read more here- pg.5- B. Rogoff.
Self Confidence: The educator will enhance and expand the students’ self confidence through expanding students’ perceived limits, group collaboration, skills practice, reflection, and by meeting goals and experiencing failures.
Interpersonal Effectiveness: The educator will foster communication, cooperation, and a sense of whole group community. Honesty, tolerance, leadership, initiative, and individual responsibility are essential for successful group experiences.
You will notice many of these EXED objectives harmonize with the International Baccalaureate values and IB learner profile. This is powerful given EXED and IB are two of the most notable pedagogical drivers at our school. Aspen High School’s Leadership Team have crafted Design Principles which guide teachers and students in the ways we would like to see students develop and grow. Notice how these design principles emesh with the underlying philosophy and tenets of EXED.
Other Resources
The Benefits of Environmental Education for K-12 Students
An article detailing the findings of over 20 peer-reviewed studies on the impact of environmental education.
Learning Through Outdoor Experience
An article about the benefits of an outdoor experience, and ways to ensure the benefits remain after the experience.
AEE Experiential Education Resources - This collection of free resources can help any leader improve their practice! If you are interested in an AEE training, let Katherine know!
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