Residential week enhances learning experience

UCLan Outdoors students enjoy a range of activities designed to underpin their academic studies.

Through our link up with the Plas y Brenin, the National Mountain Sports Centre in North Wales, these activities provide practical, coaching and leadership skills which are designed to develop highly employable outdoor practitioners.

Jack Ricketts was one of a group of students who recently completed their second residential week at Plas y Brenin. Canoeing sessions were the focus of the trip, with the students having the opportunity to develop personal and technical skills such as perfecting different canoeing strokes. The group were also able to apply their academic learning in a real world environment.

Jack commented: "While these residential weeks are extremely fun and physically demanding, the hardest part is integrating the theory learned in lectures to the decision making processes and methods of teaching used by the instructors.

"The emphasis was placed on problem-based teaching. While the instructors gave us tasks to do without much explanation, we had to come up with a solution to solve the problem. An example of this was performing rescues.

"The instructors chose a safe spot for us to practise with little consequence in case anything went wrong, and as we progressed they changed one of three things - the environment, the individual or the task.

"As each of these things changed the other two became increasingly difficult and more problems were encountered. This is an example of the theory developed by Newell and Simon in their 1972 book 'Human Problem Solving', and is used by outdoor instructors on a daily basis."

To find out more about our partnership with Plas y Brenin please click here.

Comments

1st year applied work at Plas y Brenin

1 st year applied work at Plas y Brenin During their first year on the BAHons Outdoor Adventure Leadership course , students spent 5 weeks at Plas y Brenin the National Mountain Centre, in North Wales. The focus of the first week was to consider the core competencies used when operating in the outdoors, and in that first week we kayaked, spent time in a canoe, rock climbed and had a day on a mountain. Over the subsequent four weeks, each group spent one week focusing on each of these adventure sports. Staying in the centre, the students also made good use of the climbing wall and rolling pool in the evenings, as well as attending talks from the staff at Plas y Brenin. Here are some of the thoughts from 1 st year students about their experiences at Plas y Brenin: “The environment was incredible as it allowed so many options” “The instructors that work with us are really good… they have a high level of experience” “Plas y Brenin allowed me to have an outlook i...

Frontier Education Programme

The Frontier Education Programme aims to facilitate personal development and promote learning in the outdoors. Members of the SSTO Outdoor team deliver the programme for UCLan in a number of locations, including Snowdonia National Park, North Wales. The programme is primarily a chance for students to get to know others on their course and develop a course identity. It provides them with the opportunity to experience and really understand the value of team work and supporting their peers to achieve a goal. This helps with future group tasks or assignments, whilst also assisting each other with the challenges faced on their course. Students can explore ‘Team roles’, to understand what their preferred roles are and those of their fellow team members. Students also develop key employability skills including communication, decision making, problem-solving and leadership skills. Activities include canoeing, gorge waking, climbing and abseiling. Sports Coaching and Development unde...

Outdoor Image module inspires students

A group of UCLan Outdoor students staged an exhibition of work from their final year 'Outdoor Image' module. The event provided undergraduates with the opportunity to display and share their completed portfolios, final artworks and supporting chapters which showcased Pedagogies and Aesthetics in Outdoor Education. Sculptures, paintings and a range of multi-media items were on show, all of which expressed forms of critical artistic comment. The group explored topics including escapism and societal laziness, freedom and spirituality, and gender – perceptions of women in the outdoors. Module leader Dr Clive Palmer said the students had produced some thought-provoking art about engagement, perception and identity with the Outdoors. He commented: "Outdoor Image has been a tremendous success this year. The students relished opportunities to explain to other staff and students their philosophical ideas and what their comment to the world embodied in their tangible artis...

UCLan Outdoors Division

Search This Blog