Experiential reading : application of experiential/adventure-based methods to spark interest in reading in high school students
(Book - Regular Print)

Source: Masters Abstracts International, Volume: 48-03.

Adviser: Robert Tremblay.

Thesis (M.A.)--Prescott College, 2009.

This study examines the implementation of Adventure Education (AE) in a public high school English curriculum. The scope of this study is twofold: (1) for a school-wide perspective, Plattsburgh High School (PHS) in upstate New York, west of Lake Champlain, was surveyed to determine if and how reading literacy, use of the outdoors, technology (music, television, cell phones, etc.), and life skills were components in the educational experiences of its students; (2) on a more focused level, a case study using a special needs 8:1:1 program (8 students, 1 teacher, and 1 teacher assistant) was conducted to determine if an AE segment combined with a public high school education English course could identify trends, suggest concepts, and offer rich qualitative data to help improve the interest in reading of adolescent students. The data collected using Experiential Reading (ER), a new to PHS curriculum and specifically designed for his class by the author, indicated that students in PHS welcomed a change in how literacy is addressed and most students were interested in an outdoor component to their learning experience. Moreover, the research demonstrated that during the ER curriculum, students were more attentive, more participatory, and were more inclined to step beyond their comfort zones to experience new learning. The findings of this study are supported in the literature and research in the field of AE, suggesting that the ER curriculum has the potential to assist students with competency in reading in other public high schools.