All posts by Jacinta O'Mealley

I am a fourth year Physical Education and Outdoor Education student at Federation University Australia. From a young age I developed a love for the outdoors and exploring new places. The Singapore trip presents a unique opportunity, one that I will be sure to take advantage of, learning, developing and exploring the many things that Singapore has to offer.
Evaluation

Lifelong Leaders and Learners…

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The challenge of leadership is to be strong, but not rude; be kind, but not weak; be bold, but not bully; be thoughtful, but not lazy; be humble, but not timid; be proud, but not arrogant; have humour, but without folly.
Hello, how are you today? That’s good, I’m well to ~ Jim Rohn ~

Facilitation is an art; there is not doubt about that. It is unique to each individual and is something that changes and flows with the situation you are in…or at least that’s the general idea.

When I sit back and look at the 22 other outdoor edders that I went to Singapore with, I can see the differences in their facilitation styles – each is unique in it’s own way. So what happens when you combine each of these unique styles into groups? Chaos? Harmony? Compromise? Based on experiences in Singapore…all of these things.

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Evaluation

Outdoor Education In Singapore….How Is It Looking So Far?

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Outdoor education….in Singapore?

I must admit that Singapore was not the first place that came to my mind when my university lecturers were talking about the possibility of an international outdoor education trip. With Singapore being such a small and urbanised country, I was puzzled as I thought about what outdoor education would look like, and the ways in which it would be conducted.

As much as this was puzzling in the weeks leading up to the trip, it was also intriguing and I was eager to learn and discover just how Singapore had included in outdoor education into their mainly urban society, and, after spending just 2 weeks in this wonderful country, I now know the answer to that question…

So what does outdoor education actually look like in Singapore?

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Reflections

Sharing Ideas and Knowledge…The Heart of Outdoor Education

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As a collective, the Federation University groups’ views and perceptions about outdoor education – it’s context and its value – are basically on the same wavelength. Going through four years of a university degree and being surrounded by a group of like minded people has not only furthered my knowledge and understanding of OE, but I also feel that it may have caused me to become narrow minded, in the sense of believing that everyone who is involved in outdoor education, regardless of where they are in the world, followed the same beliefs that I did.

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Reflections

Who I Am…

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I have it inside, I know that I do, all that I am is gonna break through.
‘Who I am’
~ Natasha Bedingfield ~

There are many areas of learning that are encompassed within Outdoor Education, but the one area that I think is the least obvious is the learning about oneself. I feel that this is one of the most influential learning areas that Outdoor Education explores as it contributes to making us who we are.

Challenges, struggles, achievement and excitement are all part of being an outdoor edder. These experiences occur on a regular basis throughout the activities that we do and are instrumental in building and establishing ones’ sense of self. Singapore has been no different for me, there have been struggles with the heat, challenges in maintaining emotions and morale, achievement in completing a challenge ropes course for the first time and excitement at flying across a tree top canopy on a zip line.

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Reflections

Natural Wonder…

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Nature…what is it, and what do we mean when we use the term nature or natural environment? The context and meaning of these words is no doubt different to each person you meet and each country you visit.

My mind automatically invisages a natural environment as being expansive, wild and practically untouched – nature in it’s rawest form – of which I am so used to back home within Australia. Prior to coming to Singapore, despite having done some research, and chatting with folks who had been to Singapore before, it had never crossed my mind how such a small and urban country would be able to incorporate and value the minimal nature that they had.

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Reflections

The Ups, The Downs, The Hard Work and Refined Planning…Did It All Pay Off?

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Facilitating a group of your peers was never going to be an easy task, especially when you are in another country and visiting a place in which you have never been before. Nevertheless, this was the challenge that we faced today as we facilitated the groups’ exploration of the Green Corridor and Bukit Timah Nature Reserve.

The key of persistence opens all doors locked by resistance…       ~ John Di Lemme ~

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First impressions

Innovation and Vision…

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Singapore…..wow! What an amazing place. There is so much to see and be done, but so little time to do it…

Upon arrival it was quickly evident that this was a country where innovation and vision are at the forefront of the society. Not only in terms of the engineering and structural design of the buildings, but also in the way the country has embraced and incorporated nature within the largely urban society.

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