A Passion for Knowledge: An Introduction to Expeditionary Learning

When I taught zoology and environmental science, my colleagues and I worked hard to create multifaceted learning experiences because we saw that the kids who truly mastered a subject and developed a greater passion for learning were those who had the opportunity to learn with their mind, heart, and hands.

Today, we have proof from discoveries in the neural-cognitive sciences that the brain learns better when the heart (that is, our emotions) and our hands are actively engaged in the learning. This is the simple brilliance of the expeditionary-learning approach: creating standards-based learning adventures and community-service activities that lead to a deep understanding of a given subject as well as the development of moral character.

For those of you who may not have heard about expeditionary learning, it is a school-improvement concept that builds on the work of Kurt Hahn, founder of Outward Bound [1], as well as other educational leaders including John Dewey, Ted Sizer, Howard Gardner, and Debbie Meier. The resulting nonprofit group, Expeditionary Learning [2], partners with individual schools and/or school districts to implement and assess the best curriculum and practices.

Expeditionary learning’s research-based design, combined with its solid teacher-development component, has led to higher student achievement, increased teacher satisfaction, and a more positive culture in those schools that have embraced the expeditionary-learning philosophy as the core foundation of curriculum and instruction.

The number of schools taking hold of expeditionary learning is growing, as discussed in Edutopia’s recent article "River Journeys and Life Without Bathing: Immersive Education [3]."

The short video clip below will introduce you to some of the key ideas of expeditionary learning, and in my upcoming posts I’ll provide from other schools examples that engage the mind, heart, and hands of students.

Please share your thoughts about this program and the video clip.