Educviii: Experiential Education

Our accomplished guests today are leading the charge of introducing the masses to the wonders of nature, starting with out school children. Up first, we welcome Maurie Lung - Executive Director of Life Adventures Counseling, LLC, and President of the Board of Directors for the International Association for Experiential Education, and Laurie Frank, an International educational consultant working with educators at all levels to explore, learn, and practice experiential education in the classroom setting.

Educviii: Experiential Education Part Two

During the second half of our program, Ms. Lung is joined by Anita R. Tucker, who is Associate Professor at the University of New Hampshire in the Department of Social Work, and co-founder of the dual degree MSW/MS program in adventure therapy.

The Association For Experiential Education

The Association for Experiential Education (AEE) is a nonprofit, professional membership association dedicated to experiential education and the students, educators, and practitioners who utilize its philosophy.

Maurie Lung

First enamored with AEE in the early 90’s, I quickly became involved both regionally and nationally with AEE because of the people with whom I found a genuine community and a keen wisdom. Currently, I am the Founder and Director of Life Adventures Counseling & Consulting, LLC, in St. Petersburg, FL. I am actively involved in providing direct service as well as supervising therapeutic experiences using adventure. Our diverse clientele range in age from 3 years to 92 years! Not only am I the primary administrator, I also supervise interns, facilitate international training, and provide consultation regarding evaluation and curriculum development. I bring this same passion and energy to help facilitate AEE’s aspirations toward a more viable, dynamic, and relevant association.

Life Adventures Counceling and Consulting

Laurie Frank

Laurie Frank is a former public school teacher who has worked in the adventure and experiential education arenas for over 30 years. She began her career as a special education teacher in emotional disabilities, working with students of all ages. Her path diverged upon the discovery of adventure education and experiential methodologies. The need to develop a sense of community within the school setting was apparent, and the adventure philosophy seemed the perfect vehicle to achieve that goal.

More About Laurie

Anita R. Tucker

Anita R. Tucker, Ph.D., is involved in multiple research projects investigating the effectiveness of adventure and wilderness therapy programs. As one of the researchers that works closely with the National Association for Therapeutic Schools and Programs (NATSAP)’s Practice Research Network (PRN), she is part of an ongoing study on the outcomes of youth who participate in NATSAP’s therapeutic boarding schools, wilderness programs and residential treatment centers with a specific interest in wilderness therapy. In addition, Dr. Tucker is involved in various research projects looking at the effectiveness of adventure therapy in a community based setting with a variety of populations including adults, children with trauma histories and urban youth. Dr. Tucker is currently 1 of 7 research scientists for the Outdoor Behavioral Healthcare Research Cooperative (OBHRC) with the aim of building an empirical base for adventure and wilderness therapy. She is actively involved with the Association for Experiential Education and serves as the Chair for AEE’s Council of Regional Chairs, Vice Chair for AEE’s Therapeutic Adventure Professional Group (TAPG), and is an active member of AEE’s Council on Research and Evaluation (CORE).

More About Dr. Tucker