Backcountry Classroom: Lesson Plans for Teaching in the Wilderness

In 1992 the first edition of The Backcountry Classroom leapt into Wilderness Educators backpacks and was welcomed with open arms and praise. Paul Petzoldt commented that the book was "invaluable for confirming one's own expertise as well as discovering voids." The second edition of the same work is no exception. This new edition of the The Backcountry Classroom has more than doubled in size and is packed with wisdom from Jack Drury, Bruce Bonney, Dene Berman, and Mark Wagstaff: four of the leading Educators in this field. During their tenure, each has developed a system of teaching, as well as knowledge and skill sets that they passed on to the rest of the growing field. The Backcountry Classroom serves as a resource guide for all who want to live well in the backcountry. Its layout makes it easy to navigate with its outline layout. Its outlines make it easy to navigate and each knowledge set is accompanied by teaching strategies. Quickly any student or teacher can access the information that is needed to teach a lesson on a specific skill, approach a problem or simply double check that all the pieces of a lesson are covered. As a recent graduate from an Outdoor Education program, I have found that most of the books that we used in our classroom were heavily based in theory, history, and the more philosophical aspects of outdoor programming. What made the The Backcountry Classroom unique to our library is that the book also has some very practical concepts for students. Those new to the program and others that have been in the outdoors for years can come together under a common language and have a reference for all of the elements that make up an outdoor trip. In talking with other students in my program, they agreed. Pedro Mauras, a junior at Gordon College in Wenham, MA said, "I love and still use it practically in everyday circumstances." One of the great advantages of putting things like "Backpack Packing" and "Trip Planning" and "Weather" down into words and outlines is that across the many programs that we work with in this expanding field there is a common language that we can all use. As people move from program to program, and come from different instruction backgrounds, we find in this and other texts the beginnings of a consistent terminology. The Backcountry Classroom not only covers technical skills, but also it gives outlines and models for teaching and facilitation. No matter how great the information, educators that cannot convey that information to their students in an effective manner will not succeed in growing their students. One of the big additions to the second edition is the chapter on SPEC learning and teaching. This Student Centered, Problem-based, Experiential and Collaborative method gives us a model by which to truly meet the needs of the students we work with from a holistic vantage point. As educators in the backcountry we find ourselves in the unique position of living with our students, for a few days, weeks

The second edition of The Backcountry Classroom was a tremendous undertaking and we think you will like the results. There are eight additional chapters; Collaboration, Crisis Management, Groups: Orienting and Monitoring, Interpretation of the Natural and Cultural Environments, Knots, GPS, Rock Climbing: Leadership considerations for Top Roping, and Travel Technique: Canoeing and Sea Kayaking. There are also over 75 new tables and illustrations. We have been conducting workshops focusing on the 2nd edition of the book throughout the country and the feedback has been overwhelmingly positive. The chapter that has generated the most excitement is the Teaching and Learning chapter. Here, we engage in an extended discussion of our current thinking about the characteristics of high quality teaching and the role that teachers play as architects of high powered learning experiences - both in and out of doors. In this chapter we also introduce you to S.P.E.C. (Student-Centered, Problem-based, Experiential, and Collaborative) the short-hand acronym we use to remind us of the fundamental attributes of our approach. Throughout this book, you'll see that we've appended "challenges" to various lessons that we hope will serve as useful models to those who want to try out some aspect of our SPEC methodology. The only negative feedback we have received is that the book is too damn big! We accept responsibility for that and actually have a few suggestions if you want to take the book into the field. I have taken a copy to my local printer and had him trim the binding off and trim the sides making sure that he didn't trim the page numbers or graphics. It did two things. It has made the entire book lighter and smaller but more importantly in my mind it allows me to take just the chapters I want out into the field. This allows me to lighten my pack even more. He also put holes in the book so I can put it in a binder if I want or use loose-rings to hold the book/chapters together. I'm sure you can do the same thing at little or no cost if you plan on taking the book into the field. If you do take the book in the field please share what creative steps you take to make it lighter. If you purchase a copy please feel to contact me and let me know what you like and don't like about the book. By the way, here is what some of the experts have said about the book: "The book continues to be the industry standard for outdoor leadership." C. Ben Woodard, Assistant Manager of Outfitter Services, L.L. Bean Outdoor Discovery Schools "The ultimate book on how to safely organize and lead expeditions in the field." Dr. William Forgey, wilderness medicine expert and author