BSc (Hons) Outdoor and Adventure Education

Understanding Participant Performance in Adventure Sport

This module will give you an understanding of the skilled performance of typical adventure sports and the physical environmental characteristics that influence performance. You will also study key safety principles and current best practices.

Understanding Participant Performance in Sport

This module will give you an understanding of the skilled performance of key sports and their social and performance-based context. You will also learn key safety principles and sport-specific frameworks for assessing performance.

Investigating Sport, Exercise and Coaching

This module will provide you with the research skills necessary to support your learning within sport and exercise. It will introduce you to the philosophies that underpin different types of research, and you will learn basic techniques of qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis.

Anatomy and Physiology

This module introduces you to the fundamental concepts of anatomy and human physiology, focusing on their application to human movement and performance in sport and physical activity.

You will explore the structure and function of key body systems, including the musculoskeletal, neurological, cardiovascular, and respiratory systems, and understand how they influence physical performance.

Specific attention is given to energy metabolism, examining how the body utilises energy during exercise across different intensities. This module also covers qualitative movement analysis and data collection for evaluating performance.

Practical sessions will allow you to apply anatomical and physiological concepts in real-world contexts, enhancing your understanding of how these systems interact during physical activity.

Sport and Exercise Psychology in Action

This module will help you understand how psychological principles can improve physical activity participation, well-being, and performance. You will study a range of cognitive and behavioural psychological factors in the context of sport and exercise.

You will also investigate a range of key issues related to physical activity, exercise, sport performance, and well-being and learn strategies to build psychological attributes and improve performance in sport and exercise.

Professional Skills

The Professional Skills module is designed to support your transition to university study and help you develop key academic, personal and professional skills in your area of study.

Throughout the module, you will enhance your communication skills, digital literacy and academic skills to ensure you have the tools to succeed at university and beyond. Emphasis will be placed on developing skills relevant to your future career, including interpersonal skills, problem-solving and self-reflection.

The module includes the creation of a portfolio to track your progress, demonstrating how you’ve developed skills that are transferrable to your graduate career.

Adventures in Education 2 (Developing Pedagogy)

This module builds on the key principles developed in year one and centres on the planning, delivery, evaluation and justification of teaching and/or facilitation methods applied to small group, micro-teaching contexts in outdoor and adventure education.

Applied Meteorology

Many students can organise outdoor and adventure activities in simple contexts but few have the ability to do so in light of complex environmental factors.

This module aims to provide you with a basic knowledge of the earth’s atmosphere, the principles underlying its behaviour and the effects of weather on adventure environments.

There is also the opportunity to develop your pedagogical decision-making process in outdoor and adventure environments.

Applied Techniques for Performance Enhancement in the Adventure Environment

This module explores the role of applied sports science in the enhancement of performance as well as in quality delivery within the adventure environment.

You will examine the use of analysis and assessment tools to provide an introduction to mental skills training and development within participation and performance environments, and consider the implications for coaches and leaders to enhance performance and experience within the outdoors.

Diving

Explore the complex interaction between the hyperbaric aquatic environment and the physiological coping mechanisms of the human. Environmental issues will be discussed, as will medical emergencies and progression opportunities in diving. This module will also provide you with the opportunity to gain the SSI Open Water Dive award.

Forest Schools Principles and Practices

A forest school is a journey of self-discovery and awareness in the outdoors in which participants are given the freedom to explore their surroundings, themselves and others through their curiosity and imagination.

The approach is heralded by some as inspirational but described by others as re-branding of old ideas giving questionable impact.

This module explores principles that underpin the forest school approach and reflects on evidence for its effectiveness.

Management Issues in Adventure Education and Outdoor Learning

This module examines the legislation and logistics that govern the management of adventure providers, facilitative centres and environment agencies. Through your studies you will generate an understanding of the operational environment that you will find yourself working and participating in.

Outdoor Environments 1

This module aims to introduce physical and biological processes that have shaped environments in the past and continue to affect them in the present.

Through this, you will examine the broad environmental context of outdoor and adventure activities for your own personal benefit and to provide awareness and excitement you will share with other participants.

Outdoor Environments 2 – Asking and Answering Environmental Questions

This week of fieldwork provides you with experience of unknown environments and provides an opportunity for you to develop problem-solving skills through short, intensive practical investigations of the unfamiliar.

The culmination of the fieldwork will be a short independent research project, which you will devise and undertake in the field.

Subsequently, you will work in small teams to propose and plan a more significant overseas research project.

Research & Enquiry in Outdoor and Adventure Education

This module aims to raise and explore research methods and issues within adventure education and introduces you to the notion of research paradigms.

You will consider a range of traditions and gain a solid foundation of research design. You will also develop your critical awareness of a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods and data analysis techniques.

The Outdoor Experience: Emotions and Wellbeing

The aim of the module is for you to explore the experience of being in the outdoors from an emotional and wellbeing perspective.

The restorative and therapeutic benefits of immersive experience will be examined and these will include creative activities, understanding of place and connectedness to the environment and others.

Adventure Education Experience (A)

The placement experience will enable you to observe and be involved in work in areas of outdoors, adventure, and/or education. This will provide the opportunity to consider the varying approaches adopted by different providers. It will provide you with the opportunity to reflect upon that provision and/or provide access to further improvement in personal performance. The placement can be anywhere in the world that you choose. Previous students have worked in Norway, Sri Lanka and China.

Adventure Education Experience (B)

The placement experience will enable you to observe and be involved in work in areas of outdoors, adventure, and/or education. This will provide the opportunity to consider the varying approaches adopted by different providers. It will provide you with the opportunity to reflect upon that provision and/or provide access to further improvement in personal performance. The placement can be anywhere in the world that you choose. Previous students have worked in Norway, Sri Lanka and China.

Adventures in Coaching

You will explore current issues within the coaching process and consider their application within specific adventure sport activities. You will examine the practical scientific assessment tools to identify performer needs.

Adventures in Education 3 (Advanced Pedagogical Skills)

This module asks you to go beyond the traditional pedagogical strategies as directed by organisations that fellow teachers, coaches and facilitators would employ in delivering outdoor and adventure education.

You will challenge conventional wisdom and critically appraise the basis for your teaching approach. The long-term aim is for you to have a critical edge over competitors in your ability to reflect on your teaching, coaching and facilitation practices throughout your professional careers.

Dissertation – Adventure Education

This module aims to be the major element of your independent research enquiry. It is designed to extend your intellectual capacity by encouraging you to find and explore your own area of interest assisted by supervision from a tutor.

This module is based on the conviction that outdoor and adventure facilitators need to be highly effective in communicating with a range of professional agencies and be able to integrate and apply research to their professional practice as appropriate.

Environments 3: Interpreting the Environment to Others

This module builds on the strong foundations of learning you will have amassed, as you draw together aspects of environmental science and environmental education in the broadest sense so that you are comfortable with both in a professional context. An aim is to use outdoor and adventure environments as contexts in which you deliver effective environmental education to a variety of client groups.

Research Methods for Outdoor and Adventure Education

This module aims to raise and explore research methods and issues within adventure education and introduces you to the notion of research paradigms. You will consider a range of traditions and gain a solid foundation of research design. You will also develop your critical awareness of a variety of qualitative and quantitative research methods and data analysis techniques.

Sport and Exercise in Extreme Environments

This module aims to examine the physiological challenge of performing in extreme and hostile environments and to examine how the human can exercise, maintain homeostasis and survive.

It will explore the theoretical limits of human performance, looking to identify mechanisms of physiological acclimatisation and adaptation.

You will consider how this may be used to increase sporting performance and maximise safety e.g. competitions such as the Everest Marathon and Marathon Des Sables.

Wilderness

This module will approach the broad theme of wilderness from a number of perspectives and will challenge you to draw these together to construct your own transdisciplinary understanding.