Disruptive Experiences as Tools for Teacher Education: Unearthing the Potential of Experiential Education

Background: This study examines the role of a weeklong experiential residency program on teachers’ beliefs about self and practice. Purpose: The goal of two separate intensive experiences was to help teachers generate new insight about the place of students, the teacher, and the school that extended beyond a surface-level understanding of experiential education. Methodology/Approach: Through a qualitative approach, the research team used field notes, course documents, participant reflections, researcher journals, and follow-up interviews to analyze the impact of participants’ immersion in either of the experiential outdoor residencies. Findings/Conclusions: The unpredictable nature of the physical and social environment of the experiential week helped teachers to see the central role of community in the learning process. Furthermore, teacher responses to the experience defied simple categorization along a prior theoretical construct. Teachers indicated a growing confidence in their ability to seek out and overcome challenges across multiple domains. Implications: These teachers were challenged to integrate multiple social and emotional aspects of self into their learning, while envisioning the same for their own students. Their experiences and reflections support an expanded role for immersive experiences outside of the traditional classroom in teacher education.