The Amazing Power of Camp

The Amazing Power of Camp: How Camp Experiences Offer Unique and Innovative Programming for Children

I decided to write about how effective camp can be as a positive intervention for children this month for the newsletter due to being inspired by my recent attendance of the Spring Leadership Conference put on by the American Camp Association.  This year I attended several presentations discussing the theory and research regarding camps rightful place as a positive intervention for children including how camps have the distinctive ability to teach skills in a powerfully different way than various school and community programs.  While this topic is near and dear to my heart given my position as the director of a therapeutic camp, I wanted to share with our readers some of the things that make camp experiences a unique and wonderful way to powerfully influence the lives of children.
 
At this conference, author and trainer, Michael Brandwein presented information regarding the unique power of camp.  He makes several points including:
1.Camp leads the way in using the best methods to help children learn and grow by using experiential learning activities since children learn more from hands-on discovery, noting how camps have focused on this type of learning for 150 years.
2. Camp communities remove the typical pressures from school and support children in a positive atmosphere that cherishes effort and persistence.  Camp provides recognition when children try their best even when they don't have success right away, creating a less pressured environment where children can learn what positive things to say and do when they make mistakes.
3. Camp has distinctive value in preparing children for future success by creating opportunities for children to build new relationships and practice in cooperation and compromise.
4. Camp offers an unequaled variety of opportunities to develop well-rounded children by providing a vast array of different activities through the day.
5. Camp combats youth isolation by offering positive and accepting communities that can be an oasis of personal safety where demeaning comments and disrespectful behavior are not tolerated and children are taught responsible and positive ways to resolve conflicts.[1]    
 
While I agree with all of Michael Brandwein's points, the focus on experiential learning is paramount to me and I see experiential learning as a key tenant of all the 5 points he raises.  I first became excited about experiential learning theory and its use as a treatment intervention in graduate school.  In my work with youth offenders I saw this type of intervention as a powerful way to positively impact youth, which then led to this becoming a main focus of my own research and therapeutic interventions.  In a nutshell, experiential learning programs focus on "learning through doing...a process through which individuals construct knowledge, acquire skills, and enhance values from direct experience".[2]   Active learning strategies are potentially powerful, as some research suggests that people only retain 25% of what they see and hear, while retaining 80% of what they experience and practice.[3]   Researchers have provided evidence that experiential activities that build trust, cooperation, and communication skills can increase self-esteem, alter locus of control, reduce asocial behavior and improve problem-solving abilities.[4]  I have found in my work with children with attention and learning difficulties that these hands-on learning opportunities can be even more important since these types of approaches can be more successfully accessed by children who might struggle academically.

At the conference I also had the opportunity to hear, Scott Brody, Vice President of the American Camp Association, speak about "How what we teach at camp has never been more relevant."  This talk was exciting since Scott Brody presented compelling research further detailing the unique role that camps can play in teaching the necessary skills children need in the future.  He cited information created by the Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), the nation's leading organization promoting 21st century learning opportunities for all students, representing a broad coalition of education, business, nonprofit, and foundation partners who developed a list of needed skills for the 21st Century Skills.  P21's goal is to fuse the 3Rs (reading, writing, and arithmetic) with the 4Cs (applied skills in critical thinking and problem solving, communication, collaboration and creativity) since this group has determined that these are the most critical skills to help children to be successful in the 21st century.[5]  
 
Scott Brody also presented findings from a large study conducted by the American Camp Association with over 7600 campers (aged 10-18) from just over 80 ACA-Accredited camps to determine the degree to which developmental supports and opportunities were reported/received by those campers.  Parents, camp staff, and children reported significant growth in: Self-esteem, Peer relationships, Independence, Adventure and exploration, Leadership, Environmental awareness, Friendship skills, Values, Decision-Making, Social comfort, and Spirituality.  In addition, he noted how these results demonstrated that: "Camps, more than schools and most after-school and community-based experiences, provide positive developmental environments for youth, especially in providing supportive relationships with adults and peers, and in skill building."[6]

Furthermore, Scott Brody presented an analysis of 213 studies involving more than 270,000 students from kindergarten through high school, which found that programs that enhance social and emotional development accelerate school achievement as much as interventions targeted at academic subjects.[7] Scott Brody postulates that given the research regarding the positive benefits at camp, camp is more relevant than ever before in teaching children the skills of the future and can lead the way in providing growth opportunities for children helping them to develop the needed skills for the 21st century.  He noted that camps can help children develop leadership, healthy physical activities, and academic achievement by "preparing children for learning; engaging them experientially, and encouraging them to think critically."[8]


Being trained as a true scientist-practitioner in a social science field I can tell you that it is always exciting when the positive gains you are witnessing in children's growth is then also validated through the research.  I truly believe that it is an amazing time to be a camp director since I feel that I have access to such an incredible vehicle to positively impact the lives of children with special needs in our community and help them to develop the skills they need to be successful at camp, school, home, and in their futures.


[1] From Training Terrific Staff Volume Two (Brandwein, 2008) Chapter 18  Copywrite 2005, '08 by Michael Brandwein/All Rights Reserved/847-940-9820/mail@michaelbrandwein.com facebook.com/michaelbrandweinspeaker
[2] Association of Experiential Education, 1995; as cited in Luckner, J.L., & Nadler, R.S. (1997). Processing the experience: Strategies to enhance and generalize learning (2nd ed.). United States: Kendall/Hunt Publishing., p. 3.
[3]Brady, 1989; as cited in Luckner, J.L., & Nadler, R.S. (1997). Processing the experience: Strategies to enhance and generalize learning (2nd ed.). United States: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.
[4]Colan, 1986; Ewert, 1989; Luckner, 1989; Rawson & McIntosh, 1991; Rudolph, 1991; Smith et al., 1992; Stich & Senior, 1984; Wichmann, 1991; as cited in Luckner, J.L., & Nadler, R.S. (1997). Processing the experience: Strategies to enhance and generalize learning (2nd ed.). United States: Kendall/Hunt Publishing.
[5]presentation at the Spring Leadership Conference on April 19, 2012 by Scott Brody titled "How what we teach at camp has never been more relevant." Presentation is available at www.kenwood-evergreen.com.
 [6]Inspirations:Developmental Supports and Opportunities of Youths' Experiences at Camp, 2006, American Camp Association, www.ACAcamps.org/research as cited in a presentation at the Spring Leadership Conference on April 19, 2012 by Scott Brody titled "How what we teach at camp has never been more relevant." Presentation is available at www.kenwood-evergreen.com.
[7] http://synapse.princeton.edu/brained/child-self-control/exercise_academics_meta_Singh.pdf as cited in a presentation at the Spring Leadership Conference on April 19, 2012 by Scott Brody titled "How what we teach at camp has never been more relevant." Presentation is available at www.kenwood-evergreen.com.
[8]Presentation at the Spring Leadership Conference on April 19, 2012 by Scott Brody titled "How what we teach at camp has never been more relevant." Presentation is available at www.kenwood-evergreen.com.
The Amazing Power of Camp: How Camp Experiences