|
Visitors: 502531
|
Home  Home The Adventurous Journey
|
The Adventurous Journey |
|
|
|
Since the start of VEDC, Adventure Training has played an important role in the personal development of its students. To date we have conducted 4 packages, allowing our students to take part in activities such as Rock Climbing, Scuba Diving, Mountain Biking and Kayaking.
The next package starting on 2nd November 2008 however, will be different.
Instead of the focus being on individual activities, this time the students will be conducting the Adventurous Journey section of the International Award for Young People (IAYP).
Aim:
The aim of the Adventurous Journey is to encourage a spirit of adventure and discovery.
 Ethos:
It seeks to provide students with a unique, challenging and memorable experience.
The journey is undertaken in a small team in an unfamiliar environment, requiring determination, physical effort, perseverance and cooperation to complete.
The key elements of this section are teamwork in planning and execution, against the background of the real challenges posed by an unfamiliar environment.
Benefits:
The Adventurous Journey draws out the following key benefits:
• Working as part of a team
• Understanding group dynamics
• Enhancing leadership skills
• Improving organisational ability and attention to detail
• Learning to make real decisions and accept real consequences
• Achievement and satisfaction by overcoming challenges
• Developing self-reliance
• Experiencing and appreciating the outdoors
• Gaining knowledge and skills to journey safely
• Exercising creativity by choosing their own journey
• Improving their research and presentation skills
• Enjoyment.
Types of Adventurous Journey:
There are three types of journey which the students can choose to undertake:
1. A Sea Kayak expedition along the coast of
RAK with an overnight camp on the beach.
2. A Camel Trek into the mountains of RAK with overnight camp.
3. A Mountain Bike expedition through Wadi Bih, and camping high in the mountains.
All journeys have a purpose, which will be developed and modified during the period of training and preparation. This is intended to ensure that students develop a connection to the journeying area, observing relevant facts and feelings, relating to their surroundings.
Requirements:
The following requirements need to be achieved during the journey.
Award
|
Days
|
Nights
|
Min Hrs of Purposeful Effort
|
Min Hrs of Purposeful effort per Day
|
BRONZE
|
2
|
1
|
12
|
6
|
SILVER
|
3
|
2
|
21
|
7
|
GOLD
|
4
|
3
|
32
|
8
|
- All Adventurous Journeys need to have a clearly defined purpose
- Students need to have the skills to undertake their journey, so will usually need to undergo relevant training
- Students need to undertake a practice journey to ensure they can be self-reliant and safe in their chosen environment.
- On the qualifying journey, the team should comprise between four and seven young people, operating independently of others but all involved in its planning.
- All journeys should be supervised and assessed by experienced adults.
- The journey can be on land or water; by a participant’s own efforts, (foot, cycle, paddle, oar etc); by animal,(horse, donkey, camel etc); or by other non-motorised assistance (sail etc.)
- Accommodation should be in portable tents or simple self-catering accommodation such as hostels, huts or similar shelter.
- The environment chosen must be unfamiliar to the students. A natural and remote environment provides the appropriate conditions for the group to be self-reliant and independent.
- On completion, students will present a report to their assessor. This report can be written, photographic, verbal, a video diary or by other imaginative means.
- In an exploration, at least one third of the minimum hours of planned effort should be spent on journeying.
- The distance covered will depend on the speed of the team, as established in the practice journeys. Dense vegetation, very steep ground, or challenging terrain will reduce what could reasonably be accomplished in the minimum hours.
- Purposeful effort means time spent towards accomplishing the purpose of the journey. Time associated with sleeping, cooking and eating is in addition to this time.
The Process:
Initial Briefing
|
Sets expectations and outlines the nature of an Adventurous Journey
|
Preparation and Training
|
Ensures students learn the necessary skills to safely journey in an unfamiliar environment
|
Practice Journeys
|
At least one and as many as required to prepare the team for their independent journey
|
Qualifying Journey and Debrief
|
Independent team journey, with a debrief led by the assessor immediately after completion
|
Review and Presentation
|
Students report on their purpose and journey
|
Initial Briefing:
Initially the team is briefed by their Award Leader on the concept of an Adventurous Journey. The team will then agree the purpose, environment and mode of travel.
Preparation and Training:
Training will be required, unless they are already highly skilled in the necessary techniques. This training is given by a suitably qualified and/or experienced adult (the Instructor). After training, the Instructor should be satisfied that the team is technically able to carry out the qualifying journey in a self-reliant manner.
It is worth emphasising that the Adventurous Journey contains an element of risk. It is important that this risk is properly managed to reduce the likelihood of an accident occurring or decrease its consequences. The safety of young people is a priority.
Necessary skills include:
• Understanding of the Adventurous Journey
• First aid and emergency procedures
• Necessary equipment and how to use it
• Route planning
• Navigation
• Camp craft, including food and cooking
• Team building and leadership training
• Technical skills in the mode of travel
• Observation and recording skills.
Practice Journeys:
Students will undertake a practice journey to ensure that they can complete their qualifying journey safely.
Practice journeys take place in a similar environment, use a similar mode of travel and reflect the purpose of the qualifying journey but take a different route to the qualifying journey.
Qualifying Journey:
For the qualifying journey, the team is required to be self-sufficient and independent. In normal circumstances this will mean being unaccompanied on the journey.
The qualifying journey will be assessed by a suitably experienced person (the Assessor). The Assessor will be a different person to the instructor, as it will be better for the team’s sense of achievement if the Assessor is independent of the group.
The Assessor will be looking to ensure that the minimum time requirements have been met; that students have shown determination and effort and have worked as a team, sharing the responsibility for planning and execution; and the purpose of the journey has been achieved.
The Assessor will also make contact with the group at least once a day to ensure the group is working according to plan and is safe. Once the entire journey is completed the Assessor will meet with the team and debrief.
Supervision:
All journeys (practice and qualifying) will be supervised by a suitably qualified and/or experienced adult (the Supervisor). The Supervisor is responsible for the group’s safety while on the journey, they are familiar with the Award and must be satisfied that the students are properly trained and equipped to undertake the journey. The Supervisor and Instructor may be the same person and will make contact with the group at least once each day.
Review and Presentation:
After the debrief, all team members should work together on producing their report. All team members should have input into the report which can be in any format, such as written, photographic, verbal, or a video diary and should tell the story of their preparation for, and execution of, the qualifying journey. This will also provide a permanent record for their personal recollection.
Completing the Record Book
At the end of the week, the team will present this report to their assessor who then signs the record books of all students, adding positive comments.
There is no such thing as failure in the Award – if a participant has not successfully completed their journey, the Record Book will be left blank and the participant
encouraged to complete another qualifying journey.
Between 2nd November 2008 and 19th March 2009, VEDC has organised a package which will give 463 students the opportunity to complete their Adventurous Journey section of the International Award for Young People.
The IAYP is a great programme for the development of young people and the VEDC is proud to be able to offer this truly International Award to its students.
Article By:
Paul Carne
Personal Development Subject Coordinator
VEDC International Award Leader
Vocational Education Development Centre
IAT-VEDC
This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
|
|
Last Updated ( Monday, 02 March 2009 )
|
|
Industry Partners
|
