Our Foundation is Adventure-Based Learning
At Roam Your Soul, we have built communities of caring experts and a space for women to cultivate their strengths using adventure-based learning strategies. Adventure-based activities are highly effective in supporting social-emotional learning, independence, self-understanding, relationship building, perseverance, leadership, and calculated decision-making (Orson, et al, 2020). This experience returns participants to their daily lives with new understanding, new abilities, and new perspective. We are experts in transformative experiences and community building.
Adventure-based learning has three key components that create opportunity for transformation and change: 1) connection to the world around you, nature, and the outdoors, 2) activities that guide you out of your comfort zone and into learning and transformational space both physically and mentally, and 3) experts trained in coaching you and helping you engage, connect, and experience.
Research has linked mental, physical, and spiritual health directly to your connection with nature. When was the last time you truly connected to nature? Using all five senses, can you close your eyes and remember the experience? The smell of dirt. The sound of leaves underfoot. The fresh air in your throat. The colors of flowers or grass or a pond. Simply taking a moment to take a deep breath in while noticing the natural world around you can significantly reduce stress and provide a mental and physical reset.
Utilizing natural elements and unfamiliar environments to create learning moments challenges you to listen to yourself mentally, emotionally and physically and most importantly challenges you to actualize self-efficacy (Orson, et al, 2020). Challenge activities involve mental and physical challenges requiring strong individual and team skills. Our facilitators guide the group through activities, with reflection time to discuss how the group worked together and what individuals are experiencing. Outdoor adventures consist of “low elements” and “high elements.” Low element activities take place at eye level. The goal is to recognize that you can see things from a new perspective right in front of you and start listening to your body, your mind, and your spirit. High element activities take place above you and usually are in incremental heights. The purpose of the high element activities is to push people out of their comfort zones to truly start transformational learning (DuFrene, et al, 1999).
Self-Efficacy: Your belief in your competency at a task, grounded in your expectations to perform that task. There are four main sources through which individuals build these efficacy expectations: performance accomplishments (successful experiences), vicarious experience (observing others similar to oneself succeed), verbal persuasion (being told one can succeed), and emotional/physiological arousal (emotional/physiological responses in a given situation that provide either positive or negative feedback to an individual)
Exploring your own self through mental and physical adventures with other women and being challenged to come out of your comfort zone pushes you to a self-transformation in a safe, supportive, and caring group. When women participate in outdoor recreation, they experience higher levels of self-esteem, self-trust, self-worth, assertiveness, self-sufficiency, independence, confidence, empowerment, and body image as well as a greater sense of community (Evans, et al, 2020). You’ll be changed. You’ll make changes. You’ll have new lifelong friends, bonded together in facing your inner self, recognizing your core strengths, and celebrating successes together.
Adventure-based experiences have a lasting impact on your daily life routines and behavior patterns. Your self-confidence will grow. You will feel more connected and engaged in community and will have a stronger ability to connect and build caring relationships with others. You’ll have a newfound sense of resilience and you’ll see life through a new perspective (Bobilya, et al, 2021).
Transformation begins when you commit to stepping outside of your comfort zone.
Come roam with us.
References:
Orson, C. N., McGovern, G., & Larson, R. W. (2020). How challenges and peers contribute to social-emotional learning in outdoor adventure education programs. Journal of Adolescence, 81, 7–18. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.adolescence.2020.02.014
Evans, K., Walters, K., & Anderson, D. (2020). The Case for Evidence-Based Outdoor Recreation Interventions for Girls: Helping Girls “Find Their Voice” in the Outdoors. Education Sciences, 10.
Norton, C. L., Tucker, A., Pelletier, A., VanKanegan, C., Bogs, K., & Foerster, E. (2020). Utilizing Outdoor Adventure Therapy to Increase Hope and Well-Being Among Women at a Homeless Shelter. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education & Leadership, 12(1), 87–101.
Bobilya, A. J., Faircloth, W. B., Lindley, B. R., Holman, T., & McAvoy, L. H. (2021). A Pre-Post Analysis of Participant Learning and Growth Using a New Outward Bound Outcomes Instrument. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education & Leadership, 13(3), 21–34.
Martin, A. J., & Leberman, S. I. (2005). Personal Learning or Prescribed Educational Outcomes: A Case Study of the Outward Bound Experience. Journal of Experiential Education, 28(1), 44–59. https://doi.org/10.1177/105382590502800106
DuFrene, D. D., Sharbrough, W., Clipson, T., & McCall, M. (1999). Bringing Outdoor Challenge Education Inside the Business Communication Classroom. Business Communication Quarterly, 62(3), 24–36. https://doi.org/10.1177/108056999906200303