AEE eNews Update June 2009
- AEE Annual International Conference
- Social Networking
- West Regional Conference
- AEE Awards
- Networking Happy Hour
- Results from Member Survey
- EE Books on Amazon
- CORE
- Carlene Bechen
- Katie Asmus
- Fulbright
- Leadership
- News
- Members
Vive L'Experience! Join us in Montreal!
Super Early Bird Online Registration is now open for the 37th Annual International AEE Conference which will take place October 29 - November 1, 2009, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
If you register before June 15, use the coupon code EEBAC2009 to receive $20.00 discount for super early bird registration (a total savings of $70.00).
There are a number of ways to get to the 37th Annual International AEE Conference in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, October 29 - November 1, 2009.
1) Fly into Montreal (Cost of flight from Atlanta, Georgia $378, approx 2.5 hours)
2) Fly into Boston, MA (Cost of flight from Atlanta $210, rental car $39/day, driving time approx 5.5 hours)
3) Fly into Syracuse, NY (Cost of flight $240, cost of rental car $33/day, driving time approx 4 hours)
4) Fly into Burlington, VT (Cost of Flight $319, cost of rental car $32, driving time approx 2 hours)
On June 1, 2009, the U.S. government will implement the full requirements of the land and sea phase of WHTI. The proposed rules require most U.S. citizens entering the United States at sea or land ports of entry to have a passport, passport card, or other travel document approved by the Department of Homeland Security. For more information please go to www.GetYouHome.gov
AEE Networking
Since last summer, we have accumulated over 1,000 friends, fans and members on Facebook and almost 200 connections on LinkedIn, and now we have joined the Twitter revolution! follow our tweets by going to our twitter page! Join us in these social networking adventures!
West Regional Conference Summary
By Hunter Merritt , Co-Chair, ASI Peak Adventures
WOW! Kurt Hoge and Deanna Erickson, our co-conveners this year, put in countless hours making this a wonderful conference! We are grateful to Kurt for stepping up to convene again in 2010! Deanna, we wish you the best as you pursue your graduate degree!
Many thanks to these wonderful keynote presenters, and to all the workshop presenters as well including Tony Alvarez (opening address), Jeff Richardson (playnote), Anne Marie Tipton (Saturday keynote), and Lisa Heft (Sunday Open Space).
Thank YOU for choosing to invest a portion of your personal budget supporting our region, and by investing your time
in a weekend with us! We hope to see you on our Facebook Group page, and in person at upcoming events!
Welcome, Stephanie Sibille, as the new Secretary! and Kris Salisbury, as a new Member-At-Large!
Thank you all, please keep in touch.
AEE Awards Nominations Deadline is July 1, 2009
By Elaine M. Hatala, Ph.D., C.T.R.S.,
AEE Awards recognize individuals and organizations for their contributions to experiential education and their service to AEE.
2008 Awards Recipients:
The Michael Stratton Practitioner of the Year Award~ Gary Stauffer
Outstanding Experiential Teacher of the Year Award ~ Mary Breunig
Karl Rohnke Creativity Award ~ Chris Cavert
Servant Leader Awards ~ Dennis Call, Jude Hirsch, Sandy Newes
Organizational Member of the Year Award ~ Santa Fe Mountain Center
The AEE awards rely on nominations from the AEE membership to recognize these special people and organizations that contribute so much to AEE and experiential education.
IF you KNOW…
- a practitioner who has demonstrated consistently high levels of performance in workingdirectly with students or clients;
- a teacher who demonstrates an active passion for experiential education principles;
- a creative individual who has designed, created and/or produced experiential educationresources;
- individuals who provide servant leadership to AEE and its members (up to three awards are given per year);
- an organization that maintains innovative and outstanding programming at consistently high standards and demonstrates consistent commitment to and support for the work of AEE…
Then NOMINATE an individual or organization for an award!
Remember our international members and organizations!
Please consult the AEE website for detailed information regarding each award and the easy process of making a nomination. The awards information is located in the About AEE drop down menu. You can also contact Elaine Hatala or Rob Rubendall if you have any questions regarding the nomination process.
Looking forward to hearing from you and seeing you at the awards celebration at the annual conference in November!
AEE Networking Happy Hour
AEE hosted a Networking Happy Hour on Tuesday, May 19, 2009, in Boulder, Colorado and had over 30 people attend. It was a great event and we hope to host more events like this in other areas. Let us know if you are interested in hosting one and we can support your effort. AEE will host another one on the Colorado Front Range in August or September. View more photos on facebook .
Useful Resources from the AEE Members Survey
Thanks to those of you that filled out the member survey. Your opinions help us meet your professional needs and serve our mission. The idea for monthly updates came out of last year’s survey. This year’s survey contained the following question.
“What is the best data you have come across that verifies the effectiveness of experiential education? Summarize and/or state the source publication.”
The resulting list of resources that may be seen on our website.
Call to Write Reviews!
Have you read many experiential education related books? Do you have information that might be helpful to people deciding whether to purchase a book?
Here is a link to our "storefront " on amazon with all the books we are selling on there.Also note the "search inside the book" functionality is up on amazon for the promise of wilderness therapy! Check it out here.
CORE
AEE's Council On Research and Evaluation: Trying to connect the triangle of programs - research - funding.
Check out the CORE website for specific grant opportunities to help fund research and evaluation:
•The van der Smissen Research Endowment Fund
•A list of foundations and funding sources that hold potential for Experiential Programming and Evaluation
•National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) Funding Opportunities for Research on Experiential Approaches To Health
•ACCT research grant offered for research projects "of relevance to the challenge course industry
Program Research and Evaluation Survey
Member Profile: Carlene Bechen , 6th grade teacher, Toki Middle School, Madison, Wisconsin
Carlene Bechen teaches in a full-inclusion regular/special education classroom serving a high density of low income, special needs students in a part of town notorious for gang activity. Not many people want to teach in this type of a school setting due to the number of behavior difficulties, suspensions, expulsions, and calls to police. But Carlene has found a way to make a strong impact on her students’ lives.
“It is in providing opportunities to be active and interact with relevant curriculum that I am able to see positive, lasting changes in my students,” said Carlene.
Carlene has been honing these skills for many years. Back in the mid-to-late ‘80s, “cooperative learning” was the buzz word, and full inclusion was not widely practiced. Teaching special education students with only traditional, formal educational training was difficult.
Improvements happened in 1987 when Carlene met Laurie Frank . She came into Carlene’s classroom for one hour per week and taught team building skills. These encounters revolutionized Carlene’s teaching skills and changed the way she parented as well. Through experiential education methods, and specifically Laurie’s focus on receiving input from the students themselves, Carlene saw measurable improvements in her students’ learning. Carlene enhanced her curriculum by asking students to communicate what they wanted to learn, what they were willing to bring to the group, and how they pledged to support one another as they grew together.
From Journey Toward the Caring Classroom by Laurie S. Frank
“We would be laughed out of the teaching profession if we suggested that instead of teaching literacy every day in school, we would substitute with one “reading day…We do this all the time, however, with skills like cooperation and conflict resolution.”
“Imagine, instead, a classroom where students and teachers are partners in learning…This is a classroom where it is safe to make mistakes, and learn from those mistakes. In this classroom, learning is not seen as smooth and simple. It is regarded as messy, sometimes loud, and often the result of a struggle…In this place, learning is considered an act of risk taking, and the community of learners supports each individual who takes the necessary risk to learn.”
Ten years later Carlene earned her masters in EE with a cohort of other teachers from Madison, WI through Radford University in Virginia with Gary Nussbaum.
Said Carlene, “We never ARRIVE; everything is always a process. Patience is a big part of that process and key to its success. I cannot wish things to be further along than they are. I have to expect setbacks. I must help my students understand that they have a lot to gain and lose and, most importantly, they have a lot of input into what is possible.”
Carlene starts every year by facilitating her students as they come up with a “full value contract.” This requires that they define what is fair through various initiatives. Everything is not equal. Through simulation and discussion, students realize that fully valuing one another means treating other people how they want to be treated.
Throughout the school year there are basic things to teach, but how a teacher teaches is not necessarily prescribed by the district or school. Carlene uses activities such as a low ropes field trip at beginning of year to begin building a community. She facilitates a community circle at the beginning and end of every week to help students identify problems and make observations about themselves and the class. These initiatives and the subsequent processing help move the group toward better communication, trust, and problem-solving.
Students are even given the choice as to how they will be graded. Kids evaluate themselves, including their level of involvement and they are required to not only get feedback, but to give it constructively as well. It is encouraging to Carlene to witness students grow more trustworthy and trusting.
Said Carlene, "One of my coworkers, Wanda Beyer, at Queens College in Kingtown, Ontario did her thesis on the feelings of belonging and success of special education students in the regular ed classroom. She focused her research on community building and adventure activities that enhanced student feelings of belonging, success, and willingness to take risks."
You can check out the abstract of Wanda Beyer's thesis at this following website.
Resources for Teachers from Carlene Bechen
“There are a variety of books that offer curriculum and ideas. The three I use most often are Journey toward the Caring Classroom and Adventure Education for the Classroom Community by Laurie Frank and Adventure in the Classroom by Mary Henton. Laurie's books are very user friendly with cross-referenced indexes that make it easy to find good activities to fit a variety of purposes. Mary's book is an oldy, but goody that deserves to read and re-read throughout the process of creating classroom community through adventure. I found myself loaning out my copies so often that I bought extras just for that purpose and ALWAYS give my student teachers a copy of Journey toward the Caring Classroom to keep as part of their own professional library.
Resources for gaining approval and improving outcomes in the classroom with experiential education methods by Carlene Bechen
“My best recommendation for getting approval is to invite administrators be a part of the process - participating in community circle activities, helping to generate the Full Value Contract, encouraging students to take on challenges, setting goals with staff and students and supporting each to reach those goals. Once administrators are on board, the culture of the school can begin to change. As students feel more empowered and accountable, most make good decisions. A school culture built on mutual respect and valuing one another is a very positive place.”
An example of an approach to education by Carlene Bechen
"A learning disabled student in my class had a history of shutting down and even becoming violent when faced with tasks that were difficult for him. In past years, he often worked 1:1 with an adult, sometimes in a separate setting than his peers. Early in the school year, he was reluctant and often sat outside the group during community circles and frequently did not join initiatives. He was intrigued, however; and observed what was going on carefully. He began making comments - sometimes sarcastic, sometimes helpful - about how the group could solve the initiative. On occasion, I would ask him to share his idea. Over time, the group began to depend on his observations and they would ask him what he thought they should do. Eventually he joined the initiatives from the start. As his confidence in these 'game-playing' situations increased, so did his confidence to ask his classmates for assistance and support with academic tasks rather than always depending on an adult. A pivotal experience for the whole group was our overnight caving and camping trip in January. This student proved to be a very able cook, something many of the more academically able students had little experience with. He beamed with pride as he was made head chef for dinner and communicated to the rest of the class the groups' plan for getting everyone fed."
An example of a lesson that accomplishes a goal by Carlene Bechen
"Middle school students struggle with listening to others' ideas and for the past several years, I have started the year with a book report project that requires students to create three gifts for one of the characters in the story, explaining the reasoning behind each. Following this project, I tell students that they will be required to complete a book report each month; however, I want them to have input into what they do. As a class, they can choose to read all the same genre of book and then do any type book report they want OR they can read any book they like and all complete the same type book report. Next we generate a list of genres and a list of book reports. Then I turn it over to them.
Their task - as defined by me - is to each think about which choice they would prefer and WHY. Voting is not an option. During the course of the decision-making process, I ask occasional questions, but mostly I feign indifference and pretend to be doing other things. This discussion usually takes two class periods. Students commonly begin by trying to talk louder than their classmates, but eventually use a talking-stick to denote the speaker. The discussion can sometimes become contentious, but rarely do I need to step in. By the time the decision is made, students have asked those who have said little what they want or if the idea that is forming is okay with them. I consider it successful when they say, "Okay Ms. Bechen, this is what we want to do." We then process the process they went through to reach the decision. It is very empowering for them and lets them know that I trust their judgment on matters concerning their education."
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Member Profile: Katie Asmus, MA, LPC, BMP, Namaste Healing Arts, May 27, 2009
Meeting with Katie Asmus, Namaste Healing Arts, gives a person a sense of grounding. She has a warm and confident presence and so it seemed natural to start our interview by asking, “How did you come to be where you are in life?”
“A change happened when I was 19 years old and I decided to pursue whatever I was most passionate about in each moment
and worry less about what degree I was pursuing. I thought that whatever I most wanted to do in life, I probably hadn’t even heard of yet - so I spent my energy on whatever made the most sense at the time. I trusted that doing so would open opportunities up for me. Over time, this proved true.”
Now Katie does only what she really loves and she is making a living at it. Katie teaches wilderness therapy and has her own adventure therapy practice, Namaste Healing Arts , based in Boulder, Colorado.
Neither Katie’s practice, nor her career path has been “traditional.” She did not get her first car until she was 29 years old and that was a conscious decision she made for herself. “My parents were actually very traditional, but they were supportive of their kids finding their own way. They told us, ‘You can make whatever it is you want to do work out…but you have to support yourself.’”
At the University of Dayton in Ohio, Katie majored in physical education for the first two years and then she became a general studies major and took classes in meditation, dance, yoga, camping, and fine arts. She took a challenge course her freshman year and was leading challenge courses by sophomore year.
Upon graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in physical education, Katie wanted to pursue a Master’s Degree and knew that she needed to find a purpose to do that. Research led her to the Naropa Somatic Psychology program and that is when all of her greatest passions and experiences merged and her career began to click. While she was writing her MA thesis working with trauma in the wilderness, she started an internship in wilderness and was then in a position to teach at the inception of the MA Wilderness Therapy program at Naropa (the program is seven years old now).
All of this validated the epiphany she had when she was 19 years old.
Katie taught at Naropa for many years and acted as the assistant director for four years. She began collaborating with other EE professionals to offer new women’s courses, workshops, classes and group activities - something she still loves to do. She simultaneously worked for organizations leading wilderness trips such as The Women’s Wilderness Institute and Outward Bound. Thus she began building what ultimately became her practice.
Katie’s work includes individual therapy clients, life coaching, and courses for groups. Her clients come to her mostly through contacts she has made and word of mouth. They are victims of domestic violence, those in mourning, and people seeking healthier relationships with themselves and others.
“My work is my creative expression in the world and I channel it to my clients via three central themes; 1) People, 2) Nature, and 3) Personal Growth.”
Katie has found that by encouraging clients to build a relationship with nature, they are more relaxed and they tend to open up easier. She is then better able to create a community of women that encourage each other to be successful - socially, physically, and emotionally - which builds their confidence to bring about change in their lives. “This awakens something in them. I often hear, “I can’t go back to doing things like I did.” I feel like I have done my work when they make a commitment to themselves to do something different.”
A Sampling of Katie’s Tools of the Trade
1) Rock Climbing
Katie uses the conscious choice model when utilizing rock climbing so that participants are taught to listen to their own inner wisdom - no matter how far their decision takes them in the climbing experience. Leaders tend to push people past their perceived limits, but this is not always a good practice. Sometimes this sends a message that “you cannot trust your own self messages.” Katie really looks at choice and debriefs around this.
2) Medicine Walk
In this exercise, Katie has clients identify an object in nature by paying attention to what they are drawn to. She asks her clients to sit it with it and ponder, “What attributes does the object have to help you learn how to deal with your problem?” The answers are within the individual. As they access their own wisdom, something physiological opens in them. Our brains think in metaphor. Nature is a mirror.
3) Ceremonies
The ceremonies Katie facilitates may be defined as intentional acts done with consciousness to support a bigger purpose in one’s life. Common themes include letting go, stepping up, claiming or reclaiming a part of ones self. Again, Katie uses the natural world to address the issue; examples include burning leaves, throwing rocks, etc. The keys are 1) Conscious intention, 2) Speaking intent, and 3) Doing something that personalizes the commitment.
This is a good exercise when dealing with grief because natural objects one can be nonjudgmental and give voice to what thoughts and emotions are still there.
Many of her clients, due to experiences of trauma or sexual assault, have a hard time expressing anger and grief. Often they are able to do so in the wilderness by speaking to a tree, or yelling under water. It supports people’s inner wisdom. Katie gets all the information she needs from them and then she just supports that.
Teaching is a big passion of Kate’s. It forces her to articulate what she is doing and then she understands the procedures and outcomes better. She really enjoys training for educators, therapists and coaches. Mentoring is one of the best ways to ramp up.
Katie’s first AEE conference was in about 1996 in Spokane. She was working for the American Youth Foundation (AYF) at the time. AYF won the Kurt Hahn award by Bob MacArthur. She used to get the Jobs Clearinghouse when it was a one page folded paper, then a booklet, and then a website.
She moved to Boulder in 1997 and used to borrow books from the AEE library all the time. She has been to 9 conferences and really enjoys presenting. “I love AEE.” It is the main place where the people that do what she does come together to share and bring different perspectives. It is the one professional conference that she goes to every year.
Katie feels that the AEE local event here in Boulder in May was helpful. She has a networking group in town and would like to have us each put each other on the radar. Katie feels that there are many young people that want to break into the field, but they do not know how, and networking is often the best way.
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Fulbright Scholar Program
From Katherine Matheson, Program Associate for Outreach and Communications, Council for International Exchange of Scholars, (202) 686- 7866
Fulbright Scholar Program for US Faculty and Professionals for 2010-2011 is open The Fulbright Scholar Program offers 78 grants in lecturing, research or combined lecturing/research awards in education, including 5 Fulbright Distinguished Chairs, the African Regional Research Program, and the Middle East and North Africa Regional Research Program. Even better, faculty and professionals in education also can apply for one of the 144 “All Discipline” awards open to all fields.
The application deadline is August 1, 2009. U.S. citizenship is required. For a full listing of all Fulbright programs and other eligibility requirements, please visit our website at Error! Hyperlink reference not valid.> or send a request for materials to scholars@cies.iie.org . For a detailed listing of Fulbright opportunities in education, please consult our website.
Council of Regional Chairs (CRC)
By Paul Shirilla, Chair of the CRC ; Univeristy of Wisconsin, River Falls
After a successful season of regional conferences, the CRC has welcomed several new regional chairs to the council. We would like to thank past chairs for their years of service to the organization and appreciate new members stepping up to lead. At this time of transition, we have also begun the process of reexamining the role and function of AEE regions. Through the leadership of Paul, Michelle, and the rest of the AEE staff, we are in the process of revamping the way regions conduct business to be more consistent, efficient, and financially responsible. We know that regions are a vital part of the organization and are excited about this process to improve. Energetic discussions have already yielded immediate improvements as well as goals being set for next year's regional conferences based on member feedback. As always, we encourage members to contact their regional leaders about their needs and ideas for the organization as we go through the process of improving the regions.
Have a great summer everyone.
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OFAs
By JoAnna Allen, Teacher
Last call is going out to OFAs who might wish to be hosted at Bill Coperthwaite’s place in Bucks Harbor ME between August 7-14. Give JoAnna Allen a call, 410-823-7246, or email her. She needs to hear by June 15.
AEE's Annual Election for Board of Directors
The AEE Board of Directors is responsible for charting the course of the association and constituents are elected by AEE members like you.
Two candidates are running for Treasurer-Elect
Four candidates are running for one Group Leadership Council - Sponsored position
Poll runs from May 15 to July 15, 2009.
Please take a moment to read the candidate statements available from the Member Pages to help you identify the best candidates for AEE leadership. Full position descriptions are available in the Volunteer Handbook on line.
Then cast your vote from the link on this page of our website .
One vote per Full-Time Student, Individual, Family, Organizational, Institutional or Accredited Membership.
Please vote now. Polls close on July 15, 2009.
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Preferred Partner: Outdoor Prolink
Outdoor Prolink now has 42 different Scarpa styles on their site, from mountaineering boots, to approach and trail running shoes to rock shoes. Here’s one of their backpacking/light mountaineering boots, the Escape GTX. MSRP is $269, pro price with OutdoorProlink.com it’s $162.75
Group gear purchases available on OutdoorProlink.com
For those of you who are looking for an efficient and cost effective way to get group gear, feel free to send an email to the folks at Outdoor Prolink and let them know what you need. They can get you great pricing and easy processing.
Send your requests to info@outdoorprolink.com with information about what you need and which brands you’re looking at.
Log in for more information .
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LEAPware
LEAPware, LLC has decided to do what they do best and offer cutting- edge solutions to the experiential education industry in the form of an online software program, The LEAPware: Course Manager. This program is an online system empowering course directors to easily manage all aspects of their course, including facilitators, groups, programs, equipment, elements and locations, inspections and maintenance, accreditation, inventory management and supplier records. Have a look at: www.leapCM.com
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Stratus Insurance Services, Inc.
By Cameron Allen, Stratus Insurance Services , Inc., allen@stratusins.com, (801) 216-8253
INLAND MARINE INSURANCE
Why would an Experiential Education professional ever need “Inland Marine” insurance? I think the term is actually an oxy-moron, because something is either “Inland” or its “Marine,” right? So why would this coverage be so important for you?
Standard property policies are written to insure property that are in the same place, and essentially same condition, over time, like buildings and personal property. Inland Marine (IM) coverage usually involves risks that are unique in nature and change frequently. Its main use today is to protect high risk, mobile items that are not covered by your plain vanilla commercial property policies.
So from where did the “Inland Marine” moniker originate? It is said that Lloyd's of London carried what was known as "marine" insurance on all the cargo of incoming and outgoing ships for British ports. The legend holds that a couple of members of the firm, while sitting in a pub, were discussing how they could continue to insure the cargo after it reached port and was shipped over land to their ultimate destinations, thus hopefully doubling their business. One of them noted that "marine" insurance wouldn't quite suffice for this new wrinkle, whereupon his drinking buddy suggested "inland marine" as being a more accurate label. And there a new class of coverage was born! With an odd name like that you know alcohol was going to be involved.
But as a practical matter, the most important thing to remember about inland marine insurance is that it covers property in transit or mobile property, whereas standard property insurance normally covers items located within 100 feet of a specific physical address. These are the small, but potentially costly, parts of insurance you need to know when purchasing or renewing your insurance policy.
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06/01/2009
Forty six states agree to joint education guidelines
Tanya Snyder, Free Speech Radio News
More news
New and Renewing Members
