Trauma-Informed Adventure Therapy

    Bobbi Beale

  This workshop is intended to inform participants about the current understanding of trauma, how individuals are affected by trauma & how Adventure Therapy can be applied to the treatment of trauma in a group setting. Recent brain research related to trauma & an overview of several commonly used evidence-based models for trauma treatment will be presented. Participants will engage in identifying & teaching experiential activities that can be used for the implementation of Trauma-Informed Adventure Therapy. 

Framing Emotional- Social Safety: A Critical Analysis

     Dr. Elaine Hatala, Cyndi Kline

  Research demonstrates that moral intentions to provide emotional-social safety for groups may not actually manifest in a group’s culture. In this workshop we will explore how leaders & learners can get lost in the interplay between power & knowledge within a culture & examine how our personal, institutional or workplace agendas dictate emotional-social safety. Begin to critically assess how you & your workplace frame policy & decision-making related to emotional safety. 

Play Your Way into Literacy

      Lisa Safran

  Play Your Way into Literacy utilizes improvisational theatre techniques to build student literacy. This workshop is hands-on & interactive. Participants will be lead in various improvisation activities & shown how each activity can build a specific literacy skill. 

Universal Programming – Make All of Your Activities Inclusive

      Peter Fidgett

  Experiential programs traditionally have been the preserve of the fit & able-bodied. Participants with disabilities have been ignored or relegated into token roles, deprived of the opportunity to discover & learn. This workshop will allow participants to experience a range of easily adapted activities & develop a knowledge & confidence to adapt their own activities & programs to make them more meaningful for all. Sharing of your own ideas & experiences is encouraged. 

Which Way is Up…

      Alyson Procopio, Steve Mensinger

  This workshop is designed for all who want to learn more about engaging activities designed on & around a climbing wall. Don’t have a climbing wall, no problem. We will be facilitating activities off the wall, as well, in order to teach team building, leadership & communication skills. The activities will include icebreakers & problem solving activities that can lead be done in a variety of settings. This presentation will be hands-on & challenging for those who are up to it. 

RU in the Dark

      Radford University’s Adventure Based Learning Experience - Ashley Suntheimer, Ryan Rehfeldt, Steven Baranski

  RU ABLE presents group activities, ice breakers & games that have been adapted for little to no light programs or night play. Our adapted games will help to expand your choices of places & times to provide them by allowing you to play at night if you choose… outside. We will challenge you to try our Night Play! 

Experiencing Streams

      Keith Williams

  Streams are some of our most imperiled ecosystems on the planet, if we are to preserve our freshwater ecosystems & the biodiversity they contain, we need to view them on their terms, from beneath the surface. When we do, incredibly diverse ecosystems are revealed. This presentation introduces participants to the wonders of streams from beneath the surface & inspires people to get to know their stream from a different perspective. 
 
Belaying Techniques Revisited

      Dan Caston

  Just about every adventure program has something that is belayed & as a result, belaying is an essential skill that many times is taken for granted. But, what happens when the system fails? This workshop will evaluate common belay practices & common points of error which result in near misses or worst case drops resulting in accidents. We’ll discuss the value of the back-up belayer & introduce simple additions to the system that can make the difference between a near miss & a trip to the ER. 

Mind the Gap: Experiential Education for Sustainability, not Less Unsustainability

      Dr. Paul Morgan

  Do you suspect that even the most successful school greening activities are sufficient to help catalyze the change required by our planetary environmental emergency? See, hear, experience & discuss how an innovative program prepares participants to mind this gap by cultivating a big-picture perspective, emphasizing real change over symbolism & promoting experiential education for personal & cultural transformation. 

Creating a Successful Study Abroad

      Jasmine Goodnow

  Colleges & schools often use study abroad courses to provide an experiential component to their curriculum. However, creating & leading a study abroad can be an intimidating & overwhelming venture. Thus, this workshop will provide tools to successfully design, set-up & lead a study abroad. Participants will have the opportunity to begin planning their own study abroad, share their ideas & concerns, collect feedback, network & collaborate. 

Teaching on the Fringe: Why Experiential Education will Never Be Mainstream

      Daniel Diddlemeyer

  Until recent history, education has operated freely, shaping & forming to student needs. Within the past century, regulations & culture have bound education to operate in response to common denominators & expediency. As concerned educators, we are witnessing a new age of crisis for our students. This workshop aims to synthesize ideas from multiple disciplines to adjust to our pedagogical & practical direction to improve the future of education, as well as it will best help students. 

Watch Your Mouth

      Sue White, Melissa Deveney, Jillian Szczepaniak-Gillece

  In life, have you ever wanted to press the rewind button? Can’t think of a positive spin for a challenging moment? As facilitators we are challenged with the task of remaining positive & inspiring others. At this workshop you will learn new ways to phrase old sayings & use those positive “buzz words” while participating in experiential activities. Come play while being mindful to “watch your mouth”. 

Focus Your Locus

      Justin McGlamery, Mike Gessford

  This workshop demonstrates active & reflective activities that help illustrate the abilities of the focused collective mind as well as how we can bring the group back to a state of elevated focus. Participants will engage in a discussion about recent brain-based research regarding mirror neurons & the benefit effects of play & reflection, as it relates to focus & group process. Understanding how the collective power of the group can be harnessed & how that understanding can bring groups back to previous levels of performance & beyond will become a useful tool for facilitators as they sequence programming. 

Bulls-eye: How the Comfort Zone Model Works & How to Work It Better

      Dr. Todd Miner

  Bulls-eye or Bull _____? The comfort zone model is extensively used by adventure & experiential practitioners. Anecdotally we find it is a very helpful model. However, does the research support it? What are the theoretical roots? How can research help us improve its use? What are its weaknesses? Learn about the theories & research that support as well as question its effectiveness. Join an interactive discussion on how the model can best help our students & participants. 
 
 
 

Going Ga Ga for Global Games

      Rich Keegan

  Trim your sails & set a course to circumnavigate the world. This workshop will allow you to play many different games from around the globe & experience Diversity Training in a very different way. You will travel countries such as China & Israel to play different kinds of dodge ball. You’ll also be playing tag from Pakistan & India. If the weather is favorable participants will experience the exciting challenge of Afghan kite fighting. Depending on the wind & currents other games from countries such as Yemen, Ghana & Thailand will be explored. These global games can be a fun & engaging new way to teach world cultures & diversity to any group.  

How Can It Be Experiential Education When There are No Ropes: Experiential Education in Corporate America       

       Alexandra Walker

  Ever wander what ‘experiential education’ looks like in a board room, in a video conference or in a corporate training session? There’s a model many companies are following: The 70-20-10 illustrating just how much is learned through doing & not in the classroom. Through a mixture of lecture & participant interaction we’ll define the core of ‘experiential education’ & explore key philosophies & tools used in one company. There’s little something for everyone – whether you are getting your questions answered or helping to share your perspective on the matter – either way , you’ll get a chance to pick something up & co-create in this session. 

An Introduction To Inclusive Activities & Their Application with a Range of Physical, Mental & Social Challenges

      Shawn Beliveau, Madeline Constantine

  This workshop will be an interactive introduction to a range of inclusive & adaptive activities which are particularly effective with special populations. It will also provide a base understanding for how to adapt these games to specific individuals & situations. Three main topics will be discussed, physical disabilities, mental disabilities & a few types of diversity which can often lead to discrimination. 

Should We Surf or Deep Dive? Ideas of How to Assess How “Deep” Your Facilitation of Processing Should Go

      D. Maurie Lung

  “We’re supposed to talk about leadership & they just want to talk about lunch.” Sound familiar? Sometimes we want to deep sea dive, but our participants haven’t even put on snorkels to look below the surface! Part of the art of facilitation is balancing processing “the moment” while also guiding towards goals. This workshop will be jam packed with activities to be used in a variety of settings. Come ready for a full mind & body experience.

 

Keepin’ It Splendidly Simple

      Radford University Adventure Based Learning Experience – Ashley Suntheimer, Elizabeth Franklin, Lauren Trawick, Briana Graziani

  When there is no way to bring all those props needed for a program you are traveling to, just “KISS” it. Learn a few games, initiatives & debriefing methods that call for just one prop each with just as much effectiveness as multi-prop activities. Be prepared for some interactive learning. Closed toed shoes, an open mind & a positive attitude are required for participation in this session.  

Global Education & Experiential Education

      Paul Limoges

  AEE’s executive director will explore with the attendees specific programs of global education that he has been involved with during his career with organizations such as Up with People & Heifer International. The workshop will engage the attendees in a way that they will be able to share information regarding their thoughts & values on EE. This is a timely workshop for AEE as we do not have many global education organizations & programs within our membership.  

Building a healthy Caring Community of Learners & Leaders

      Phyllis L. Brown

  An overview of building a healthy school culture/climate through Appreciative Inquiry-Appreciative Leadership will be offered during this workshop. AI is a powerful approach for energizing the positive change in an organization’s human, ecological & economic functioning. Its assumption is simple: every organization has something that works right – things that give life to it when it is vital, effective & successful. Begin to explore a process of change & transition through Appreciative Inquiry & Appreciative Leadership. 
 
 

The Manager’s Response to Field Instructor Burnout in Adventure Therapy Programs

      Chris Nafziger

  Research has shown that it is the manager’s responsibility for instituting education, supervision & appropriate action steps within the adventure program. What practical steps can be taken to identify the early signs of employee burnout & reverse the process? How can we prepare our staff for the unique stresses related to life in the field? This will be a time of discussion & idea generation. 

Cash, Clout & Counsel: A Different Kind of Advisory Board

      Dr. Todd Miner

  The 3Cs model of advisory boards offers a different, & in these challenging economic times, very needed kind of board. Learn how to get assistance in terms of fund raising, political muscle & business savvy. What are the advantages & the disadvantages of either starting or modifying a board? Using Cornell Outdoor Education’s board – which helped raise millions of dollars – as a model, learn how to start, “feed” & benefit from a 3C board. 

Round Table Discussion on Working with Inner City Youth & Troubled Teens

      Jack Fosbenner

  Here is an opportunity for those who work with inner city youth / troubled teens to share their ideas & their skills with other like professionals. Questions like “appropriate group size, staff to participant ratio, cultural differences, economic differences & dealing with uncooperative or disruptive participants” are some of the topics for discussion. How does this all impact your program? 

Uncommon Portable Initiatives

      Chuck Constantine

  Object retrieval, marble tubes, magic carpet & diminishing square getting old & tired? Then, Uncommon Portable Initiatives will restock your toolbox & add some easily constructed, inexpensive initiatives to your program. As a facilitator or a challenge course facility, adding fresh new challenging initiatives should always be key. Utilizing new activities helps keep staff as well as student/clients wanting more. These great ‘junk initiatives’  are easily constructed & are very inexpensive or even free by utilizing junk materials around your facility.

  

Make It & Play It – The Wind Wand

       Al Rock

  The construction & playing of a musical instrument isn’t reserved for highly skilled craftsmen & musicians. It can be experienced by anyone who wishes to create their own sound making device. Now, we need to consider if the sound of the wind is musical or just noise? This workshop will give folks the opportunity to make a wind wand (which combines the sound of the didgeridoo & the bullroarer) of their very own & create their first sounds & rhythms from the instrument & themselves.