Question+6


 * 6. Evaluation Criterion:** Building upon existing evidence and successful practices, the project will promote student and/or teacher learning in a new and original way.

Explain, within 300-400 words for tier 1 or 600-700 words for tiers 2 and 3, how your project meets this criterion. *

· The adventure center is an innovative project within Atlantic Canada on a number of fronts. The fact that the district would be sharing a central facility is novel to the province. This shared facility definitely changes the logistics and capabilities of the teacher trying to put together a quality life changing program. · The focus on the softskills is new and different to many of the programs around the province. The courses tend to be technical and skill based. Although those skills will still need to be included the nuances of the activities will specifically address the softer, more fuzzy and more valuable lessons. Tradition indicates that some of these lessons happen by happenstance or serendipity and not by deliberate planning. · The requirement to participate in a formal research project is also different for our students and teachers. We have a tendancy to do our own thing, trying to be responsible and good stewards of the valuable student resources placed in our shoulders. However, we generally do not have the opportunity or infrastructure to participate in a program that will evaluate our practices. · The integration of a curriculum and WKCF that finds a passion in students and leads to citizenship and employment with links to NBCC and growing NB economy is unique to the traditional courses of sciences and arts. ·In the past, the number of adventures provided to students have been limited by availablility, transportation and cost. This project helps to eliminate these obstacles so that students have continuous access. According to the literature, (W.Ward, A. Yoshino, //J of Experimental Education//, 2007, Vol 29, No3, pp 369-372), students who have access to these challenge courses only once or twice do not obtain much of the possible learning experience. A common practice is to allow the students a limited number of exposures to challenges, usually once. Therefore those courses have a tendency to be easy enough that the participants experience success and therefore have positive reports. They never get a chance to practice their technical skills and do not get a chance to develop their character. When students who are given consistent access to the challenges, then students get multiple chances to practice and re-practice their technical skills. No one would consider only a two day unit for Basketball and expect any kind of real learning. More importantly, students do not experience just the “WOW Factor” as it is commonly known. Instead students are presented with a series of ever increasingly difficult challenges where everyone will experience failure. Experiencing failure is important to building character, tenacity, goal setting and self-confidence. However, with failure, we need to provide opportunities for them to re-visit the challenge. It is in this revisiting that growth and finally success is achieved. This is a lesson that is not specifically addresses in our school system and yet is a reality of the world in which the students live. It is precisely this revisiting that is not currently available.

· This project will provide the safe infrastructure where students can experience “Failure Leading to Success”(Quantum Learning), and their activities are effectively related to their daily lives so as to encourage a change positive change in their person. Adolescents are looking for risk and challenge. It has been suggested that teen rebellion can indeed be eliminated if adults are there to guide them through artificial adventures practice for life’s adventures with some component of risk. If they are not presented with such opportunities, they will often find their own, most of the time without guides. Alcohol, drugs, sex, gaming, gambling, backyard athletics are all examples. Adventure has a tendancy to attract a traditionally under serviced client who may not already have avenues to express their creativity, and autonomy and experience adventure.