The Nuts and Bolts of Adventure-based Learning: From Brief to Debrief and Beyond

Abstract

Adventure-based learning (ABL) is a term used to describe a curriculum model that uses experiential activities to help students practice and develop social or life skills (Cosgriff, 2000; Dyson & Suther-land, 2014). This type of curriculum can be used within K-12 physical education (PE) to promote the development and eventual transfer of intraperson-al and interpersonal relationship skills (IIRS) for students (Cosgriff, 2000; Dyson, 1995; Sutherland & Stuhr, 2014). Some of the key features associat-ed with ABL are the experiential-cooperative physi-cal activities, the emphasis placed on developing IIRS, and the implementation of a reflective session (i.e., debrief). This paper will provide K-12 physical educators with basic principles and pragmatic methods/examples on how to implement ABL with-in PE. The authors cover two elements: (a) philoso-phy associated with ABL and (b) template for de-signing ABL content.