Background/Purpose
Adventure-based Learning (ABL) is the purposeful use of activities in sequence to improve personal and social development of participants (Cosgriff, 2000). Despite the popularity of ABL, it has often been assigned a low level of importance by physical education teachers (Collier & Herbert, 2000). The purpose of this study was to explore the transformation of two in-service physical education teachers as they facilitated an instructional unit of ABL.
Method
This qualitative case study was conducted through the lens of Transformative Learning Theory. Two middle school (grades 6-8) physical education teachers from a large urban school district participated in the study. The teachers were trained by the researcher in ABL and the facilitation of a 10-day instructional unit. Teachers were directly observed facilitating two ABL classes per day for the 10-day instructional unit. Data were collected through direct observation of ABL facilitation, video recorded lessons, field notes, semi-structured individual interviews, and analysis of related documents.
Analysis/Results
Analysis occurred through open and axial coding (Corbin & Strauss, 2008) of interviews, field notes and critical incidents/ vignettes, and teacher training sessions. Trustworthiness was established through researcher journaling, triangulation (e.g., multiple data sources), and peer debrief. Two primary themes emerged in the study: (1) Identity through ABL and (2) Growth and Progress.
Conclusions
The findings of this study suggest: (a) further training and support of in-service teachers prior to facilitating ABL, (b) development of more in-depth content knowledge in ABL, and (c) an identification of effective and ineffective ABL pedagogies through critical self-reflection.
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