Expeditionary learning schools

Expeditionary Learning Schools are models of comprehensive school reform based on the educational ideas of German educator Kurt Hahn, the founder of Outward Bound. There are more than 150 Expeditionary Learning Schools in 30 US states and the District of Columbia. They are exemplified by project-based learning expeditions, where students engage in interdisciplinary, in-depth study of compelling topics, in groups and in their community, with assessment coming through cumulative products, public presentations, and portfolios. According to the ELS Web site students undertake tasks requiring perseverance, fitness, craftsmanship, imagination, self-discipline, and significant achievement.

According to the ELS Web site the following design principles serve as a moral and cultural foundation for each Expeditionary Learning School. They express the core values and educational philosophy of Expeditionary Learning.

The Primacy of Self-Discovery states that learning happens best with emotion, challenge and the requisite support. People discover their abilities, values, passions, and responsibilities in situations that offer adventure and the unexpected. The primary task of the teacher is to help students overcome their fears and discover they can do more than they thought they could.

The Having of Wonderful Ideas places emphasis on fostering curiosity about the world by creating learning situations that provide something important to think about, time to experiment, and time to make sense of what is observed.

The Responsibility for Learning argues that learning is both a personal process of discovery and a social activity. Therefore, every aspect of an Expeditionary Learning school encourages both children and adults to become increasingly responsible for directing their own personal and collective learning.

Empathy and Caring believes that learning is fostered best in communities where students' and teachers' ideas are respected and where there is mutual trust. Older students often mentor younger ones, and students feel physically and emotionally safe.

Success and Failure states the fact that all students need to be successful if they are to build the confidence and capacity to take risks and meet increasingly difficult challenges. But it is also important for students to learn from their failures, to persevere when things are hard, and to learn to turn disabilities into opportunities.

Collaboration and Competition positions Expeditionary Learning schools as integrating individual development and group development, so that the value of friendship, trust, and group action is clear. Students are encouraged to compete not against each other, but with their own personal best and with rigorous standards of excellence.

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