Author

Anna Swarts

Term

Spring 2020

Capstone

Capstone Project

Degree Name

MAED: NSEE

Facilitator(s)

Trish Harvey

Content Expert

Sarah Castle

Abstract

Adventure recreation involves activities that are self-initiated, contain a degree of risk, and generally take place outdoors. Participation yields benefits in many areas of a person’s life. However, women are in the minority of participants as a result of a wide variety of constraints that range from the hidden curriculum in education, a lack of visibility, social conditioning, societal expectations, and more. The research question what are the key elements of a course that prepares and empowers women to plan and complete their own adventure trip? provided background for this curriculum project. This project consists of six workshops for adult self-identified women designed to provide them with the skills and confidence to embark on their own backpacking trips. Topics covered include trip planning and preparation, choosing and using gear, food and water, navigation, and basic wilderness first aid. The series concludes with a capstone trip in which skills are applied and topics such as Leave No Trace, decision making, risk management, leadership, and expedition behavior are discussed. Each workshop involves hands-on practice for developing skills and promoting self-efficacy as well as the opportunity to network with fellow participants. The workshops are designed such that they can be taken individually, in this way both cutting down on time and money constraints faced by women as well as providing them the empowerment of choice. However, extensions to combine the workshops into a complete course are also included. This project’s goals are to prepare and empower women to embark on their own adventure trip and to build an adventuring community.

Keywords

Adult Education, Curriculum, Environmental Studies, Adventure Education

dc_type

text

dc_publisher

DigitalCommons@Hamline

dc_format

application/pdf

dc_source

School of Education Student Capstone Projects

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Education Commons

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