Technical Skills for Adventure Programming: A Curriculum Guide

If you're looking for a book that will improve your knowledge and technical instruction skills in land, water, and snow and ice sports and activities, this is it! Technical Skills for Adventure Programming: A Curriculum Guide is an all-in-one resource, based on current methods, that will guide you in becoming a skilled adventure instructor in the classroom and in the field.

This book includes

-comprehensive units with lesson plans for 12 popular outdoor adventure activities;

-7 to 15 progressive, pedagogically sound lesson plans for each unit, featuring foundational teaching methods, experiential learning activities, and assessment strategies for adventure technical skills;

-a CD-ROM with printable lesson plans and supporting materials for each unit that make it easy to print only what you will need in the field; and

-an overview of the teaching process as it relates to adventure-based activities, including discussions of adventure education theory, learning styles, experiential learning and teaching, and outdoor teaching tips and considerations.

Edited by nationally known outdoor adventure educators, this book allows you to tap into the knowledge and expertise of skilled instructors who present progressive technical skills for these activities:

-Backpacking

-Canoeing

-Caving

-Ice climbing

-Mountain biking

-Mountaineering

-Nordic skiing

-Rafting

-Rock climbing

-Sea kayaking

-Snowshoeing

-Whitewater kayaking

Throughout the guide, the expert instructors share insights, best practices, and field-tested lesson plans that help you teach essential skills to new outdoor and adventure enthusiasts. Lesson plans include a topic overview, equipment information, basic skill instruction, Leave No Trace practices, and safety considerations. You'll also find outcomes and assessment protocols for each lesson as well as information on modifying some of the activities to include people with disabilities. The format of the lessons provides you with the flexibility to select and use the plans and assessment strategies appropriate for your group's ages, ability levels, time constraints, and settings.

Both a classroom and field-friendly guide, Technical Skills for Adventure Programming: A Curriculum Guide supports common practices and standards of the Wilderness Education Association, Outward Bound, Leave No Trace, the American Mountain Guide Association, the American Canoe Association, and the National Association for Sport and Physical Education. And it will prepare those with experience to confidently teach a dozen popular land-based, water-based, and winter activities.

Mark Wagstaff, EdD, is an associate professor at Radford University in Radford, Virginia. Dr. Wagstaff has taught outdoor leadership and adventure education courses in the college setting since 1995 and has been a professional river guide since 1981. In addition to being an Outward Bound instructor, he has been a Wilderness Education Association (WEA) instructor since 1990 and has led outdoor adventures in Costa Rica, Ecuador, and Nepal.

Dr. Wagstaff is a master instructor trainer for Leave No Trace and is an instructor and member of the WEA, the American Canoeing Association, and the Association for Experiential Education. He has coauthored two other titles in the field of outdoor leadership. When he's not instructing or writing about outdoor adventures, he's taking part in them: He enjoys whitewater canoeing and kayaking, rock climbing, and traveling abroad in his leisure time.

Aram Attarian, PhD, is an associate professor in the department of parks, recreation, and tourism management at North Carolina State University at Raleigh. His teaching focuses on adventure recreation, outdoor leadership, and park and recreation facility and site management. His enthusiasm for teaching has earned him five teaching awards. Dr. Attarian's research interests center on outdoor leadership, adventure programming, and the impact of rock climbing on the environment. Recently he was named director of the State Park Leadership School, which emphasizes the training and development of future state park managers.

Dr. Attarian has spent over 30 years in the field of adventure education and outdoor leadership, where he has worked with a variety of populations and settings, including adjudicated youth, college and university programs, businesses, and camps. His most significant contributions have been with the North Carolina Outward Bound School, where he worked as an instructor, climber, and course director since 1978. He currently serves on the school's board of directors where he chairs the safety committee.