05 November 2009
Research
Wynn Shooter
Tim O'Connell, Ph.D. is an Associate Professor in the Department of Recreation and Leisure Studies at Brock University, St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada. Prior to working at Brock, Tim was an Associate Professor in the School of Outdoor Recreation, Parks and Tourism at Lakehead University, Thunder Bay, Ontario. Dr. O'Connell is currently on sabbatical as an Honorary Fellow in the Faculty of Education at the University of Tasmania. Tim is Co-Editor of the Journal of Experiential Education and recently co-authored a textbook titled, Group Dynamics in Recreation and Leisure: Creating Conscious Groups Through an Experiential Approach. He's served as a manuscript reviewer for the Canadian Journal of Environmental Education, and Journal of the Wilderness Education Association, and has reviewed workshops for the Association for Experiential Education International Conference. Dr. O'Connell's research interests include psychological sense of community, motivations to participate in outdoor recreation activities, journal writing, and gender/sexuality issues in recreation/leisure services provision. Tim is an avid mountain biker, cross country skier, sea kayaker, canoeist, and enjoys climbing rock, ice and big mountains. He lives in Ridgeville, Ontario with his partner, Dr. Mary Breunig, and their dog Ridge.
Faculty Seminar 1 - 2pm on November 18, in A3.30 Peninsula Campus
Sense of Community in Outdoor Education: Results from a Multifaceted Study
In many outdoor education settings, students develop strong feelings of attachment to their classmates, which has positive educational and social outcomes. This attachment has been referred to as psychological sense of community, and is comprised of perceptions of: membership, influence, integration and fulfilment of needs, and shared emotional connection. While positive sense of community is often a "natural" result of students learning together, little is known about how community is actually experienced by students, particularly those engaged in outdoor learning activities. This seminar will present the results of a multifaceted study which used surveys and focus groups to examine students' perceptions of community in an outdoor education setting. Findings suggest that curricular elements, level of challenge and instructors' involvement (among others) impacted feelings of community. Recommendations for creating positive community in outdoor education settings will be presented, as well as directions for future inquiry.
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