EnEd 3309: Outdoor Leadership
Spring Term, 2010
&
3310: Outdoor Leadership Field Experience
May Term, 2010
3 credits

"Perhaps some of the most important learning that I will take away with me are the people skills. Not only are these skills relevant to managing groups in an outdoor setting, but they are equally relevant to dealing with people in everyday situations. Indeed, group management skills was an area that I needed to (and did) learn about; especially in regard to a younger audience. It became clear to me that without the proper skills to manage a group, the activities and outcomes can lose all meaning."
(Anna Schmidt, 2003, Internship Synopsis paper)

Ken's Home Overview: Assignments Discussion Expectations Budget Equipment List List of Species & Landforms Grades Trip Photos

Course Syllabus     EnEd 3309 & 3310 Class meeting time: We will meet tuesdays 9-11:30 am in SpHC 9A - Beginning March 23. Class meeting dates: Unit I (3/23, 3/30); Unit II (4/6, 4/13,20); Unit III (4/27, 5/4); Pack-out (MANDATORY - ALL): May 14 - 9 am-1 pm. May 17-25: Trip (Depart at 5 am) Course Fee: $273.19 (includes all expenses) - paid with tuition. Class meeting location: SpHC 9A Assignments: Unit I; Unit II ; Unit III; Pack-Out - May 14 May 17-25: Trip (EnEd 3310) Instructors: Dr. Ken Gilbertson, Dr. Paula Pedersen, Phone 726-6258 (Ken); 726-7860 (Paula) Email: kgilbert@d.umn.edu; ppederse@d.umn.edu Course web url:  http://www.d.umn.edu/~kgilbert/Rec 3310/ Course Description This course is designed to teach three primary components of leadership: Group behavior, Hard skills (based on camp craft & field natural history promoting sense of place), and logistical aspects of leadership. We will use an outdoor setting, the North Dakota Badlands - South Unit (Teddy Roosevelt Nat'l Monument) as the classroom for most of this course. The course uses the prairie setting in a week-long learning intensive as the best opportunity to teach leadership skills. We will focus on a more humanistic approach to leadership which is based more on psychological aspects of group development, communications skills, and interpersonal awareness. While you need to be physically fit and able to hike challenging terrain (8-9 miles/day), no prior camping skills are required for this course. Outcomes of this Course: From this course, you will be able to: * Describe what attributes make an effective leader. * Explain what different kinds of leadership styles are best used under certain conditions. * Identify what style of leadership most often describes yourself. * Identify and describe group development stages. * Describe various theories of leadership practice and explain pros and cons of each. * Describe & Demonstrate leadership responsibilities related to administrative and management tasks. * Demonstrate leadership skills including camp craft instruction, navigation, natural history interpretation, group development & cohesiveness, and group facilitation skills. Course Requirements: 1) Complete reading assignments 2) Take part in class discussions 3) Complete a final examination. 4) Demonstrate appropriate leadership skills in the field. 5) Present 2 brief topics on the trail: a. Natural/cultural history based (1 item ea. of the 5's listed below - see the "list of species".) b. Safety based 6) The "5's": Identify five of each of the following: a. Trees & shrubs b. Plants (flowers, grasses, non-vascular plants) c. Animals (mammals, reptiles, invertebrates) d. Birds e. Geology (soils, rocks, geomorphology) 7) Demonstrate competency in back-country skills Note: IF YOU HAVE ANY SPECIAL NEEDS, BE THEY HEALTH OR LEARNING RELATED, PLEASE CONTACT EITHER PAULA OR KEN SO THAT YOU CAN BE APPROPRIATELY ACCOMMODATED. Grading:  Assignment Points Grade Scale Presentations: Safety + Interp. 15 ea. 90% A Written Exam: 65 80% B Soft Skills: Interpersonal communication; Facilitation; Conflict resolution 25 70% C Participation: Attendance; preparation; judgement; active involvement 25     "5's": Plants; Animals; Geology; Birds; Trees 25 (1 pt ea.)     Hard Skills: Navigation; Camp Skills; Cooking; Menu; Travel Skills 25     Total 195 pts.       Text Materials: **Priest, S., & Gass, M.(2005). Effective leadership in adventure programming, 2nd. Ed.. Human Kinetics. Champagne, IL **Hunt, J. (1990). Ethical issues in experiential education. The Association for Experiential Education. Boulder, CO. Note: Both texts will be used this quarter, in addition to a few other sources. We are requiring only the ** texts. Please understand that, although not all of the text will be directly used this term, it is still to your benefit to read the entire book. Also, in efforts to help reduce textbook costs in this course we will draw upon other materials, which we will share with you, yet will not require the purchase of these materials. Course Content: EnEd 3309 (1 cr): Unit #1: Expectations: Planning and logistics (We will establish responsibilities for the trip so that everyone can have a hand in the trip plans); Individual assignments for on-trail presentations (interpretive lessons and risk management) Unit #2: Theories, styles, & attributes of effective leadership; Group dynamics; Group cohesiveness; Ethical issues. Unit #3: Administrative details; Final preparations. EnEd 3310 (2 cr): On-Trail: May 17-25, 2010. Schedule: May 14 : Pack-out. (Approximately 3-4 hours of time committment) You must be in attendance for the entire time of pack-out. May 17: Depart from SpHC (Concrete Arch) at 5 am. Arrive at Teddy Roosevelt N.P. around 4 pm. Get permits; Orient to park at visitor center; Fill water containers; Set up camp; Distribute food & water into caches. May 18: Set out food/water caches; Drop off groups; Beginning skills; adjust to "place". This is a long hard day - 8+ miles. May 19: Group travel alone, meet instructors at lunch spot, travel alone to camp site (5 mile day) May 20: Group travel alone. May 21: Short day of navigation; 3 hour solo; camp set-up May 22: 1/2 day of day hiking; Instructor-student conference; group closure with both groups coming together. Final Written Exam. May 23-24: Hike to group determined site. Group determined activities and route with camp at the Little Missouri River for Final wrap-up and preparation for departure. May 25: Up at 4:00 am (Minnesota Time); Pick up caches; Depart the Badlands; Arrive on campus around 6 pm. Expectations: You will need to be in moderate physical condition for this trip. The ND Badlands are exciting in that you can travel anywhere you want. Still, the terrain poses many ups and downs and is very arid and hot. So, this will be a physically challenging trip. In addition, there are some hazards: Heat, cacti, Ticks, Bison, and Prairie Rattle Snakes. While we have never had any problems from any of these, the potential for injury from any of them is real. THERE WILL BE NO TOLERANCE FOR ANY BEHAVIOR THAT IS UNSAFE TOWARD THESE ITEMS. Each day we will hold debriefing sessions where we discuss plans for the day, how the day has gone, what dynamics occurred, problem solving skills, and interpersonal strengths & limitations. You should expect to share in group discussions. As such, the intent of this trip is leadership education. While it is a fun and enjoyable trip, it is a learning experience first. Finally, in order to make this trip run as smoothly as possible so that we can cover course material in an optimal manner (having minimal "lecture" time), it is imperative that you prepare for the trip both physically AND cognitively. That is,please do the assigned readings before we leave so that we can simply refer to them along the trail. This course will conclude with a written final examination.