Non-formal education: Scouting, schooling and teacher training

At a recent camp, primary-school-age Scouts were cooking just one piece of bacon on that part of the pan, which was directly over the stove flame. Since that procedure would be too slow to cook breakfast for 16 campers, this lead to a discussion of the conduction of heat throughout a metal pan, as well as conduction and radiation of heat through thin pieces of bacon. The happy ending is that multiple pieces of bacon were cooked simultaneously, in several layers, using the entire pan, and all got a hot breakfast quickly. The Scouting Movement is a non-formal educational organisation, which is defined by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) to have organised educational activity outside the established formal system, that is intended to deliver a defined set of learning objectives to an identifiable group of learners. In another example, participants on a caving trip had discussions of the dissolution of calcium carbonate, and the change in concentration as water evaporated, leading to saturation, precipitation, and the formation of stalactites and stalagmites. There are many other examples of science and chemistry education in this non-formal educational setting. The use of GPS units for geocaching is a de facto lesson on Cartesian coordinates. Lighting campfires is an opportunity to learn about the three essential features for combustion: fuel, air (oxidant) and heat. The use of a hillbilly hot water service illustrates convection, as hotter water rises to the outlet at the top of the system. Setting the guy ropes on a tent is an application of rope tension and force vectors. Although the Movement seeks primarily to train youth to be better citizens, the above examples illustrate why more than half of American Scouts believe that Scouting has improved their performance in science, reading, and mathematics. Scouting is an established part of the curriculum or co-curriculum in many countries in Asia, the Pacific and Africa. In Canada, the Schools and Scouting Program continues to complement curriculum requirements in science, physical education, fine arts, social studies and environmental and outdoor education. The Catholic Regional College Sydenham in the western suburbs of Melbourne hosts a Venturer Scout Unit for 14-to-17 year olds. The Venturers can even use their normal Scouting activities to complete the requirements of a vocational education and training (VET) Certificate II in Business, which can count directly towards the year-12 Victorian Certificate of Education (VCE) and the Victorian Certificate of Applied Learning (VCAL). With additional work, Venturers can also complete Certificate II in Outdoor Recreation. Hazel Glen College is a new P-12 government school as part of the Doreen South Education Precinct located at Doreen 30km north of Melbourne. The Precinct will also include a P-12 Catholic College and an Early Learning Centre, and when at full capacity will cater for up to 4,300 students. The Primary School opened in early 2014, and the Secondary School is currently under construction and will open in 2015. A new Scout Multipurpose Facility is being built within the College with joint funding from Scouts Victoria and the Victorian Department of Transport Planning and Local Infrastructure (DTPLI) through a Growth Area Infrastructure Grant, auspiced by DTPLI on behalf of Whittlesea City Council. The Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development (DEECD) are providing the land. Scouts Victoria will manage the Facility, which will be used for school and community purposes during the day, including the Out-Of-School-Hours Care, and as a purpose-built Scout Hall in the evenings. The Facility will be available for Scout and community use over the weekends and School Holiday periods. Scouting can also help train future teachers. Adult volunteer Scouting leaders plan and run a mixture of recreational and educational activities for youth, interact with parents, manage budgets and resources, all skills that future teachers need to acquire. In the Quality Teacher Program, a new program started by Scouts Victoria with the support of the state government, education students become scout leaders. In addition to their teaching specialties, these teachers-of-the-future would gain additional qualifications and experience, valued by the education sector. Budding early-childhood and primary teachers would work with 6-to-10-year-old Joey Scouts or Cub Scouts. Secondary teachers would work with 10-to-17-year-old Scouts or Venturer Scouts. Venturer-leader teachers would be planning and delivering accredited VCE and VCAL learning for at least 80 hours per year as part of the Scouting program, in addition to their scheduled teaching rounds in schools. Education is not confined to a school, TAFE or university classroom; learning occurs all around us, in a variety of educational settings. Educators and future teachers must be prepared to recognise and utilise opportunities as they arise.