Association of American Colleges and Universities, October 2000

Definition and Principles of Orienteering

Orienteering in Education

Orienteering is a sport in which orienteers use an accurate, detailed map and a compass to find points in the landscape.

Students need a "compass", an "accurate, detailed map" and must find specific "points in the landscape".

Students working their way through college by attending multiple institutions need an internalized sense of where they are going (their compasses) and reliable guides for paths to their destinations (advisors; comprehensive, up-to-date literature; career information). An accurate, detailed "map" of curricular elements of both general and specific importance to their educational growth could help them chart out a coherent experience. "Points in the landscape" such as required proficiencies and multiple assessments must be completed, often in a specific sequence.

When first learning about orienteering, children and novices may go through a carefully planned sequence of experiences such as a "string course", "white course" and then advancing courses designated by several different colors. In a string course, one follows a piece of yarn or string through the entire course, comparing points on the course with a map of that course. Map symbols are learned and map-reading skills are developed.

Students sometimes need specific remedial or developmental study as they begin college study. Orientation programs acquire added importance in such conditions. Orienteers know that early success is important for novices in their sport; educational psychologists tell us that early success is also important in learning. Planned challenges appropriate to the level of the learner should be part of a curriculum. As in orienteering, some educational experiences should have close supervision by experts so that no one gets lost. Gradually both the difficulty of the task and independence of the learner should be increased until an advanced level of skill is attained.

A standard orienteering course consists of a start, a series of control sites....numbered in the order they are to be visited, and a finish.

College learning should have intentional coherence with specific outcomes and significant objectives developing in sequence. An advisor familiar with a student's goals and having extremely good information about the intended field(s) of study should help in developing a personal plan capable of spanning several institutions.

To verify a visit, the orienteer uses a punch hanging next to the flag to mark his or her control card.

A student would have to plan carefully to pass all proficiencies and meet requirements for graduation or certification, whether they be local, state, national, or other. Each college may have unique requirements.

The route between "controls" is not specified, and is entirely up to the orienteer; this element of route choice and the ability to navigate through the forest are the essence of orienteering. Repeated experiences build expertise.

There may be many routes to a degree. There may also be many routes to developing competencies and these routes may vary by discipline. Previous learning, co-curricular experiences, and personal abilities should be inventoried and utilized in individual planning. Critical gaps in knowledge and skills should then be filled.

Most college students will not gain sufficient college "navigation" experience to go through the "forest" without the guidance of a knowledgeable advisor. Expert advising emerges as critical to the success of students as they map their way to a degree while attending multiple institutions. Routes that are too indirect (such as those that a novice might select) can cost a lot of time and money!

Other aspects of orienteering include early experiences in learning to read maps and interpret map symbols, learning about specialized equipment, and may include some map-making.

Pre-college information about colleges, degree programs, certifications, careers, and work will help to prepare students for their paths through post-secondary education. Learning to "read and interpret" information about schools and degree programs (including the vocabulary of advanced learning) would contribute to student independence. If students pursue certifications, they will need specialized information to ensure the applicability of the certification to their intended career. Advisors must stay up to date on changes in educational "terrain" and "equipment" in order to ensure continued, accurate advising.

Map-making can be part of orienteering, but is usually left to experts.

A desirable outcome of college study is for each student to be an expert in at least one area. Experts integrate knowledge from many sources to map out a course of action. They make critical decisions to create unique routes through the terrain in which they work. They learn to navigate over, around, or through novel and challenging obstacles. They become map makers for those with less knowledge and experience but realize that continued learning is vital to professional growth.

Orienteering information found at:

www.us.orienteering.org/Home.html and williams.edu:803/Biology/orienteering/.