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that students claimed to have increased their enjoyment and learning and more
importantly that they liked to challenge themselves in physical education. The O&AA
subject content of the professional development programme (PDP) was
planned to
challenge the children appropriately throughout the unit of work and activities and
challenges which were perceived and experienced by the facilitator as fun, were
included.
Many outdoor and adventure programmes take place off site at various types of
centres accessible
to the school, and these experiences are facilitated by centre
employed leaders. However, in regard to school based programmes, Beedie (2000)
reports that, the educational potential of internally led activities, (facilitated by the
students’
usual teacher, rather than being contracted out to an external agency or
outdoor education centre) is likely to be greater due to issues of continuity, the
likelihood of transfer to other school – based activities and endeavours. He goes on to
claim that ‘programmes can be delivered that require very little
technical equipment and
do not need wilderness locations to implement’ (p. 20). The study school availed of
adventure centre facilities on occasion in the form of school tours for sixth class (Year
8) children. These trips have been arranged for fun in the past and learning outcomes
have not been a focus. Teachers, following the professional
development programme,
should in the future be able to select appropriate learning activities when trips to these
facilities are planned, without negating fun or enjoyment.
Resourcing for outdoor and adventure activities is more challenging than for
other strands for the teacher as the initial preparation of materials
and equipment can be
lengthy (Hopper et al., 2000). Burrus-Bammel and Bammel (1990) reported that
teachers indicated that the greatest barriers to outdoor education instruction are lack of
teaching resources, and misgivings about their level of competence. However, once
resources are prepared they can be re-used, used by colleagues and used in other
curricular areas. The children should be taught to set up
equipment which encourages
them to work together and reduce organisational time allowing more activity time in a
lesson. Hopper and colleagues (2000) also point out that some of this equipment is
‘unorthodox’ and so all children should be taught how to use it within the outdoor and
adventure context. Furthermore, they stress the importance of
boundaries for trails and
courses in order to ensure all children are safe. All of these aspects highlighted by
Hopper and colleagues (2000) were considered in the programme design and contents,
with many aspects outlined in the curriculum (Government of Ireland, 1999b;
80
Government of Ireland, 1999c) and resource materials (Primary Schools' Sports
Initiative, 2006) as outlined
in detail in chapter five, the development of the professional
development programme.
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