Study to test how military-style adventure programme improves attainment
Derren Hayes
Friday, October 12, 2018
More than 2,000 Year 9 pupils are to take part in a study to test how a military-based character education programme improves behaviour and attainment at school.
The Adventure Learning Trial, funded by the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF), will see 2,300 13- and 14-year-olds engage in one of two adventure learning programmes run by character education organisation Commando Joe's and charity Outward Bound.
Pupils in the Commando Joe's group will take part in challenging activities delivered by military veterans over five consecutive days.
Pupils will respond to an imagined nationwide blackout by supporting one another to implement an emergency response: belaying equipment, setting up shelters and rescuing injured people.
Delivered in schools, the course will combine physical activity with the use of metacognitive skills and instructor-facilitated reflection sessions to try to improve attainment, behaviour and team-work skills.
Pupils in the Outward Bound group will go on an intensive five-day residential in North Wales, the Lake District or Scotland. They'll take part in challenging, adventurous activities such as rock climbing and gorge scrambling.
Trained outdoor learning instructors will deliver the course in collaboration with teachers from the pupils' schools.
Learning strategies such as growth mindset theory, goal setting and feedback will be used by instructors during the course with the aim of boosting attainment in the classroom and skills like resilience and motivation.
The trial will be evaluated by Sheffield Hallam University. Researchers will assess what impact both of the programmes have on the pupils' outcomes in self-regulation and maths, relationships in school and behaviour in the classroom.
Evidence gathered for the EEF's teaching and learning toolkit shows participating in adventure learning programmes produces academic gains of up to an additional four months, but less is known about why they have a beneficial impact.
Kevan Collins, chief executive of the EEF, said: "The evidence is clear that adventure learning programmes can have a positive impact on academic outcomes, as well as other skills like resilience and motivation. But we know less about why this is.
"It might be that pupils develop skills like perseverance and resilience through adventure learning that have a knock-on impact on academic outcomes, or it might be that these programmes help boost engagement in lessons.
"This trial will help develop our understanding and provide valuable and relevant evidence for schools and teachers to use in their decision making."
