A Second Dive in Adventure Learning

Abstract

The preceding chapters in the book Venturing Beyond the Classroom amply demonstrate both how much the authors' first tryout with adventure learning inspired others to think and write about the topic, and how much rueful head-shaking it inspired - among the authors, as well. Fortunately, a second chance to get it right came within weeks. As Press and Honeyman discuss, adventure learning is not out of the woods just yet, but it is improving.

The second opportunity to try out adventure learning presented itself when several of the organizers of the Istanbul conference were invited to teach an ADR module at the University of Deusto in Bilbao, Spain, as part of the European Master in Transnational Trade Law and Finance (EMTTLF), an EU-supported Erasmus Mundus program.

This article includes an explanation of the adventure learning assignment, what worked and did not work (clarity of assignment, group formation, design of the exercise, negotiation theory reinforced, timing of the exercise, insufficient conflict in the exercise, importance of an effective debrief, clarity of goals), and suggestions for future improvement.

Keywords: Adventure learning, arbitration, mediation, negotiation, ADR, alternative dispute resolution, heuristics, biases, EMTTLF, Bilbao, Deusto, assignment, exercise

JEL Classification: J52, K, K19, K4, K41, K49