Value-added learning opportunities

Active learning by definition requires that students share in the experience of learning. Outdoor education refines this focus to include authentic learning outside of school where the environment itself is also part of the inquiry. ISB’s Expedition trips and Week Without Wall Excursions take place in a variety of environments: Both rural and urban, local and international, familiar and even remote. During all trips, students and adults share in a wide range of learning experiences, which include skills-focused learning, problem-solving, team building and self-reliant activities, with of course the ‘residential experience’ being of special value.

The Expedition Trips (grades 6-10) purposefully align with the concept of Outdoor Education whereby participants follow an itinerary that includes adventurous activities on land and water and some with an environmental focus.  Each grade has a scaffolded level of challenge with the knowledge that such challenging outdoor experiences can powerfully impact upon a young person’s intellectual, physical, spiritual, social and moral development.  Research shows that by successfully facing up to such challenges (which outdoor activities provide) and overcoming fears and apprehensions along the way, young people are able to make major strides in confidence; and this has implications for all aspects of their development.