Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand.
~Chinese Proverb
Experiential education “learning by doing” is a philosophy that informs many methodologies in which our Utah youth wilderness camps for boys and girls purposefully engage with each student in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop one’s capacity to contribute positively within their communities.
Within our wilderness camps for teens and youth we teach experiential education by calling on our collective learning experiences from professional schooling and training, and from life as well.
The principles of Aspiro‘s experiential Learning practices are:
- Experiential learning occurs when carefully chosen experiences are supported by reflection, critical analysis and synthesis.
- Experiences are structured to require the student to take initiative, make decisions and be accountable for results.
- Throughout the experiential learning process, each student is actively engaged in posing questions, investigating, experimenting, being curious, solving problems, assuming responsibility, being creative, and constructing meaning.
- Students are engaged intellectually, emotionally, socially, soulfully and/or physically. This involvement produces a perception that the learning task is authentic.
- The results of the learning are personal and form the basis for future experience and learning.
- Relationships are developed and nurtured: student to self, student to others and student to the world at large.
- We (Asprio Guides, clinicians etc.) and student may experience success, failure, adventure, and uncertainty, because the outcomes of experience cannot totally be predicted.
- Opportunities are nurtured for students and guides to explore and examine their own values.
- Aspiro Guides primary roles include setting suitable experiences, posing problems, setting boundaries, supporting students, insuring physical and emotional safety, and facilitating the learning process.
- The Aspiro Guide recognizes and encourages spontaneous opportunities for learning.
- Aspiro Guides strive to be aware of their biases, judgments and pre-conceptions, and how these influence the student.
- The design of the learning experience includes the possibility to learn from natural consequences, mistakes and successes.
Unlike a wilderness boot camp, at Aspiro we thoroughly provide a loving, caring atmosphere for your adolescent to thrive in.
The staff just seem to always believe in me, even when I don’t believe in myself”
- C.D. student
“Today was just awesome! it was better than any high I’ve ever been on. I feel great!” - K.S. Student
