Expeditions with a Real Difference....
....equipping you to make sense of the unknown

Today's world is very different from that of past generations. The future appears more uncertain than ever. A career is no longer guaranteed 'for life'. Increasingly, to be successful, we must shape our own future.

Individuals entering this future need to be equipped to be able to position themselves to make the most of developmental opportunities, to take responsibility for their future. By so doing they will then be positioned to reap the potential rewards & excitement.

An expedition, involving adventurous activities, brings with it a substantial, tangible sense of uncertainty, of unknowns. Using this journey as a metaphor; learning can readily transfer from the expedition context through to life.

Concept

Utilising the real metaphor of an adventurous outdoor journey students will undertake a series of training events, culminating in a self designed, self managed expedition.

These expeditions are very much designed as Learning Journeys. Through the staged training events students are led through a journey of team development as well as a personal learning. This will involve facilitated team challenges, outdoor activity skills training, reviewing and feedback.

Fundamentally the staged approach will encourage students to take increasing responsibility for the outcomes with Beyond Adventure moving from a position of leading & driving the programme to one of providing safety cover and facilitating reviews.

During the programme students will build & publish a website at www.learningjourney.info. This will be regularly updated (including live updates from the main expedition) throughout the programme.

Outcomes

On a programme such as this it is difficult to measure specific outcomes; learning, in some cases, may take some time to emerge.

However the programme will present students with substantial opportunities to:

• understand & develop negotiation skills
  
• gain an understanding of team roles
  
• choose team roles
  
• develop the skills to inhabit these roles
  
• deal with uncertainty
  
• understand development opportunities
  
• achieve personal goals
  
• develop skills
  
  

Tools Used

The overall programme is firmly rooted in an Experiential Learning model as developed by David Kolb et al. Throughout the programme various models will be introduced to help explain the concepts being taught. Chief amongst these will be Comfort/ Stretch/ Panic, Conscious Competency and a Personal/ Team Development model based on navigating in the outdoors.

Provisional Programme

Intro Expedition
Introduction to teams, expeditioning & a range of outdoor journey activities - a combination of walking, open canoeing & sea kayaking.

Training Day
Team development exercises, negotiation exercises, learning styles, understanding difference, decision making regarding the form of the main expedition.

Training Expedition (2 nights out)
Team roles negotiation, expedition planning, skills training.

Main Expedition Chosen from options below
Approximately 10 days spent undertaking a self contained outdoor journey examining taking responsibility, support structures, team roles, inhabiting roles and personal skill development.

Wrap Up Weekend
Review, action plans and goal setting, presentations, outdoor activity event (possibly involving those invited to the presentations)

Expedition Options

• Open canoe Chamachaune River in Quebec
  
• Sea kayak up the west coast of Scotland
  
• Open canoe expedition to the lakes & rivers of Sweden
  
• Backpack the Pyrenean High Level Route
  
• Open canoe Nahanni River in Canada's North West territories
  
• Sea kayak the maine coast
  
• Backpack & open canoe in the interior of Iceland
  
  
  

Interested ? Please contact Beyond Adventure.