Abstract:
To inquire into the rationale, methods, and perceived outcomes of placed-based experiential learning we used an ethnographic framework of visual and narrative inquiry of our outdoor education teacher education work. We adapted photo elicidation to develop our own method of layered analysis of a series of photographs selected from our archives, 1991 to the present. The photographs depicted teacher education students in a range of camp related activities from building bivouacs to kitchen duties. Barthes (1981) suggests that photographs are polysemic, meaning they are open, not pluralistic or arbitrary, and when viewed are capable of generating multiple meanings. We believed that the multiple meanings we might attach to our photographic analysis could provide rich data for reflection. We responded to each photo from a personal and professional perspective through observation of the picture itself, introspection, recall, discussion and narrative inquiry to reflect on our practice, and examine the educative focus underpinning what the photo represented. In this presentation we highlight our method and portray a vivid visual depiction of learning experiences in situ to show; outcomes of the method; what we do in outdoor education teacher education; and why we think it is important. Barthes, R. (1981). Camera lucida; reflections on photography. New York, NY: Hill and Wang