Learning transfer and prosocial behavior (PSB) are critical components of many outdoor education programs for adolescents. This study examined the effects of a theoretically grounded treatment curriculum designed to foster the transfer of learning of general and contextual PSB (also called expedition behavior) among adolescents enrolled on 14-day backpacking courses with the National Outdoor Leadership School. Results suggest that the treatment curriculum increased proximal learning of PSB more than courses that featured the traditional curriculum. Qualitative results suggested that students learned PSB primarily as a result of its relevance to the expedition environment, that it is most useful when working with or understanding others, and that it can be applied to multiple contexts post-course, including with family, at school, and with sport teams. Implications for designing a curriculum that fosters transfer and for developing PSB in participants are considered.
BaldwinT. T.FordJ. K. (1988). Transfer of training: A review and directions for future research. Personnel Psychology, 41(1), 63-105.
2.
BolandH.HeintzmanP. (2009). The perceived impact of a university outdoor education program on students’ environmental behaviors. In WattsC. E.FisherC. L. (Eds.), Proceedings of the 2009 Northeastern recreation research symposium (pp. 31-35). Bolton Landing, NY: United States Forest Service.
3.
BriefA. P.MotowidloS. J. (1986). Prosocial organizational behaviors. Academy of Management Review, 11, 710-725.
4.
BrownM. (2010). Transfer: Outdoor adventure education’s Achilles Heel? Changing participation as a viable option. Australian Journal of Outdoor Education, 14(1), 13-22.
5.
CarloG.CrockettL. J.RandallB. A.RoeschS. C. (2007). A latent growth curve analysis of prosocial behavior among rural adolescents. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 17, 301-324.
6.
CarloG.FabesR. A.LaibleD.KupanoffK. (1999). Early adolescence and prosocial/moral behavior II: The role of social and contextual influences. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19, 133-147.
7.
CarloG.HausmannA.ChristiansenS.RandallB. (2003). Cognitive and behavioral correlates of a measure of prosocial tendencies of adolescents. Journal of Early Adolescence, 23, 107-134.
8.
CarloG.RandallB. A. (2002). The development of a measure of prosocial behavior for late adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 31(1), 31-44.
9.
CarraherD.W.SchliemannA.D. (2002). The transfer dilemma. The Journal of the Learning Sciences, 11(1) 1-24.
10.
DansereauD. F.CollinsK. W.McDonaldB. A.HolleyC. D.GarlandJ. C.DiekhoffG.EvansS. H. (1979). Development and evaluation of a learning strategy program. Journal of Educational Psychology, 71(1), 64-73.
11.
DettermanD. (1993). The case for the prosecution: Transfer as an epiphenomenon. In DettermanD.SternbergR. (Eds.), Transfer on trial (pp. 1-24). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
12.
DeweyJ. (1938). Experience and education. New York, NY: Macmillan.
13.
EisenbergN.FabesR. A. (1998). Prosocial development. In DamonW. (Series Ed.), EisenbergN. (Vol. Ed.), Handbook of child psychology: Vol. 3. Social, emotional, and personality development (pp. 701-778). New York NJ: Wiley.
14.
EngleR. A. (2006). Framing interactions to foster generative learning: A situative explanation of transfer in a community of learners classroom. Journal of the Learning Sciences, 15, 451-498.
15.
FabesR. A.CarloG.KupanoffK.LaibleD. (1999). Early adolescence and prosocial/moral behavior I: The role of individual processes. Journal of Early Adolescence, 19(1), 5-16.
16.
FoxonM. D. (1997). The influence of motivation to transfer, action planning, and manager support on the transfer process. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 10, 42-63.
17.
GassM. A. (1985). Programming the transfer of learning in adventure education. In KraftR.SakofsM. (Eds.), The theory of experiential education (2nd ed., pp. 166-172). Boulder, CO: Association for Experiential Education.
18.
GassM. A. (1999). Transfer of learning in adventure education. In MilesJ. C.PriestS. (Eds.), Adventure education (pp.199-208). State College, PA: Venture.
19.
GassM. A.GarveyD.SugarmanD. (2003). The long-term effects of a first-year student wilderness orientation program. Journal of Experiential Education, 26, 34-40.
20.
GassM. A.PriestS. (2006). The effectiveness of metaphoric facilitation styles in corporate adventure training (CAT) programs. Journal of Experiential Education, 29(1), 78-94.
21.
GickM. L.HolyoakK. J. (1983). Schema induction and analogical transfer. Cognitive Psychology, 15(1), 1-38.
GreenoJ. G.SmithD. R.MooreJ. L. (1993). Transfer of situated learning. In DettermanD. K.SternbergR. J. (Eds.), Transfer on trial: Intelligence, cognition, and instruction (pp. 99-167). Norwood, NJ: Ablex.
25.
HammittJ. P.FreimundW.WatsonA.BrodR.MonzC. (1996). Responsible environmental behavior: Metaphoric transference of minimum-impact ideology. Paper presented at the Coalition for Education in the Outdoors Research Symposium Proceedings, Bradford Woods, IN.
26.
HattieJ.MarshH. W.NeillJ. T.RichardsG. E. (1997). Adventure education and Outward Bound: Out-of-class experiences that make a lasting difference. Review of Educational Research, 67(1), 43-67.
27.
HendersonK. A. (2006). Dimensions of choice: Qualitative approaches to parks, recreation, tourism, sport, and leisure research. State College, PA: Venture.
28.
HolmanT.McAvoyL. (2004). Transferring benefits of participation in an integrated wilderness adventure program to daily life. Journal of Experiential Education, 27, 322-325.
29.
HoltonE. F.BatesR. A.RuonaW. (2000). The development of a generalized learning transfer system inventory. Human Resource Development Quarterly, 11, 333-360.
30.
JamesW. (1988). William James: Writings 1902-1910: The varieties of religious experience/pragmatism/a pluralistic universe/the meaning of truth/some problems of philosophy/essays. New York, NY: Library of America.
31.
JostadJ.PaisleyK.GookinJ. (2012). Wilderness-based semester learning: Understanding the NOLS experience. Journal of Outdoor Recreation, Education, and Leadership, 4(1), 16-26.
KolbD. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice Hall.
34.
LebermanS. I.MartinA. J. (2004). Enhancing transfer of learning through post-course reflection. Journal of Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning, 4, 173-184.
35.
LucknerJ. L.NadlerR. S. (1997). Processing the experience: Strategies to enhance and generalize learning. Dubuque, IA: Kendall/Hunt.
36.
MazzeS. (2006). Beyond wilderness: Outdoor education and the transfer of environmental ethics (Unpublished master’s thesis). University of Oregon, Eugene.
37.
McKenzieM. (2003). Beyond the “Outward Bound process:” Rethinking student learning. Journal of Experiential Education, 26(1), 8-23.
38.
MillerS. (2001). Transferring the benefits from wilderness to the home environment. Pathways: The Ontario Journal of Outdoor Education, 13(2), 26-30.
39.
MizeJ.LaddG. W.PriceJ. M. (1985). Promoting positive peer relations with young children: Rationales and strategies. Child Care Quarterly, 14, 221-237.
40.
MorinL.LathamG. P. (2000). The effect of mental practice and goal setting on the transfer of training intervention on supervisors’ self-efficacy and communication skills: An exploratory study. Applied Psychology: An International Review, 49, 566-579.
41.
PaisleyK.FurmanN.SibthorpJ.GookinJ. (2008). Student learning in outdoor education: A case study from the National Outdoor Leadership School. Journal of Experiential Education, 30, 201-222.
42.
PennerL. A.DovidioJ. F.PiliavinJ. A.SchroederD. A. (2005). Prosocial behavior: Multilevel perspectives. Annual Review of Psychology, 56, 365-392.
43.
PetzoldtP. (1984). The new wilderness handbook. New York, NY: Norton.
44.
SibthorpJ.FurmanN.PaisleyK.GookinJ.SchumannS. (2011). Mechanisms of learning transfer in adventure education: Qualitative results from the NOLS transfer survey. Journal of Experiential Education, 34, 109-118.
45.
SibthorpJ.PaisleyK.FurmanN.GookinJ. (2008). Long-term impacts attributed to participation in adventure education: Preliminary findings from NOLS. Research in Outdoor Education, 9, 86-102.
46.
SibthorpJ.PaisleyK.GookinJ. (2007). Exploring participant development through adventure-based recreation programming: A model from the National Outdoor Leadership School. Leisure Sciences, 29(1), 1-18.
47.
SibthorpR. J.PaisleyK.GookinJ.WardP. (2007). Addressing response-shift bias: Retrospective pretests in recreation research and evaluation. Journal of Leisure Research, 39, 295-315.
48.
SolomonD.WatsonM.BattistichV.SchapsE.TuckP.SolomonJ.RitcheyW. (1985). A program to promote interpersonal consideration and cooperation in children. In SlavinR.SharanS.KaganS.Hertz-LazarowitzR.WebbC.SchmuckR. (Eds.), Learning to cooperate, cooperating to learn (pp. 371-402). New York, NY: Plenum.
49.
TwengeJ. M.BaumeisterR. F.DeWallC. N.CiaroccoN. J.BartelsJ. M. (2007). Social exclusion decreases prosocial behavior. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92, 56-66.
50.
WalshV.GolinsG. (1975). The exploration of the outward bound process. Denver, CO: Colorado Outward Bound School.
51.
WehmeyerM. L.PalmerS.AgranM.MithaugD.MartinJ. (2000). Promoting causal agency: The self-determined learning model of instruction. Exceptional Children, 66, 439-453.
52.
WexleyK. N.BaldwinT. T. (1986). Posttraining strategies for facilitating transfer: An empirical exploration. The Academy of Management Journal, 29, 503-520.
