Learning does occur at camp, but what kind of learning? And do what participants learn
at camp transfer to other parts of a young persons’ life after the camp experience? This
evaluation research study was designed to compare what a camp program anticipates as
its outcomes to what outcomes it actually achieves. It set up an outcome evaluation that
sought to understand what program staff at Camp Giving Tree anticipate are the
developmental outcomes for students attending a 3-day, 2-night School-Camp
Partnership Program (SCPP) as compared with teachers’ perspectives on their students’
developmental outcome achievements as a result of their participation in the SCPP. This
study found that camp staff and teachers perceived that at camp, student learning was
connected to four main themes: (1) positive risk taking, (2) social competencies and
comforts, (3) engagement with creative thinking (4) strength of character. One month
after camp however, teachers observed that hardly any transfer seemed occurred in their
students’ behaviour at school. Even though hardly any transfer was reported, teachers
believed that camp gave their students hope and optimism for their future and that if
school was more like camp, their students would be able to learn more. The discussion
focuses on three main themes: (1) on the concept of transfer as it relates to program
structure and the prediction of behaviour change (2) positive risk taking related to the
concepts of positive psychology and optimism and (3) the idea that learning can be more
enjoyable if it includes reflection, if it promotes creative thinking and if the learning
environment is highly social. This study’s conclusions suggest opportunities in: future
research design and future youth programming opportunities (especially related to ongoing
support after a single recreation experience). Finally, this study urges people,
programs and institutions directly involved with youth development to take on more of a
deliberate role in supporting transfer from one experience to another for young people.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:WATERLOO/oai:uwspace.uwaterloo.ca:10012/5910 |
| Date | 29 April 2011 |
| Creators | Feldberg, Hannah-Ruth |
| Source Sets | University of Waterloo Electronic Theses Repository |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis or Dissertation |
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