Outdoor and Experiential Learning (Top-up)

You have a passion for the outdoors and a desire to share it with others. Studying our outdoor and experiential learning top-up course will enable you to consolidate your knowledge and experience in outdoor education whilst enjoying great facilities at our Lake District campus.

This course is designed for you if you have a foundation degree or Higher National Diploma (HND) in outdoor education, or similar. And it's perfect if you haven’t got a firm career path in mind.

Course Overview
If you’re an adventure-lover seeking a career in the outdoors, and have completed a related foundation degree or HND, then what better place to study outdoor and experiential learning than within 912 square miles of the iconic Lake District National Park – a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

From your unrivalled base in Ambleside, you’ll have more than 150 lofty peaks, 16 lakes and an abundance of rivers – quite literally a classroom on your doorstep.

And you’ll use it often, because we don’t separate practical experience from academic knowledge – it is integral to it – so you’ll always back up your theoretical knowledge with real-life scenarios.

On this course you will...

• Be able to work with a range of groups in order to further develop your facilitation skills.

• Be able to undertake a personal research project on a subject of your choice which will help you in your future career aspirations.

• Have access to a range of outdoor equipment that you can utilise in your free time to further develop your technical skills.

• Be part of a larger community of students and share some modules which will help with your networking and opportunity to make the most of your time in Cumbria.

What you will learn

If you have a foundation degree or HND in outdoor adventure or a related subject, you may be wondering how you can put your knowledge towards starting a career. That’s where our top-up course in Outdoor and Experiential Learning comes in. We’ll help you focus towards using your skills to get a job, underpinning theoretical concepts with a practical element to show you how Outdoor and Experiential Learning can be applied in a vocational setting. You’ll gain creative skills, confidence and the interpersonal skills needed to be a highly desired employee.

Year One

All of our modules are designed to give you the knowledge and skills you need to work in the outdoors as an educator.

Additionally, many of the attributes gained through our programme are also essential to a wide variety of career pathways, broadening your horizons and enhancing your employability.

You will examine the traditions, training and expectations of the UK's iconic outdoor education practices, from adventure activities to environmental sciences and have the opportunity to study international perspectives from a variety of regions of the world.

The dissertation process gives you the flexibility to choose and research an area you are interested in and you will be allocated a supervisor who has an in-depth understanding of your chosen topic.

• Outdoor Experiential Education: Theory and Practice

• Outdoor Education Contexts

• Bridging the Gap: Research Skills

• Dissertation

Optional Modules

• International Applications of Outdoor Education

• Leadership in Complex Skill Environments

• Therapeutic Experiences in the Outdoors

• Participant Coaching in Outdoor Activities

A variety of teaching and learning methods are employed throughout the programme to ensure the acquisition and development of appropriate concepts, knowledge and skills. They reflect the diversity of professional outdoor and experiential learning delivery methods. These include traditional methods such as practical coaching, lectures and seminars as well as more experiential methods such as problem-based learning and debates. Throughout the degree students will be expected to be actively involved in their learning and will be given activities that encourage ‘deep’ rather than ‘surface’ learning.

Digital technologies are harnessed in the assessments of modules with students being encouraged to use presentation software packages such as Powerpoint/PREZI, as well as other Microsoft Office products. In addition to this, students are encouraged to use digital technologies (Blogs, Podcasts etc) in some Portfolio assessments such as in HSOO6013 Outdoor Education Contexts where students are asked to create an outdoor learning experience for others.