Ph.D. Candidate Receives Major Experiential Education Award
By Beth Potier, Media Relations
December 5, 2007
Carrie McGown, a Ph.D. candidate in outdoor education at UNH, was named Outstanding
Experiential Teacher of the Year by the Association of Experiential Education
(AEE) at that group’s annual international meeting in early November.
The award recognizes an individual who demonstrates an active passion for experiential
education principles and theories in teaching practice in a public or private
school system.
“From running a canoe touring company to paddling across Canada, Carrie
McGown has shaped her life to be about living, learning and teaching experientially,” said
Kirsten Kindt, membership services manager at AEE. Kindt notes that at Briercrest
College in Saskatchewan, where McGown has taught since 1999, she led students
to the Northwest Territories on a two-and-a-half month canoe expedition that
saw students bring a portable climbing wall to teach climbing in ten Aboriginal
communities. McGown, along with her best friend, also became the first women
to paddle across Canada – 5500 miles from ocean to ocean – in a
canoe expedition sponsored by the Royal Canadian Geographic Society.
“We’re very proud of Carrie and her accomplishments,” said
Michael Gass, professor and chairperson of kinesiology at UNH. “She is
obviously a special and extremely valuable professional. Her work and background
is indicative of the type of students we attract to our program here at UNH.”
McGown, a native of Parry Sound, Ontario, holds a B.A. in outdoor recreation
from Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario and an M.S. in experiential
education from Minnesota State University in Mankato. She has been enrolled
in the Ph.D. program at UNH since 2007; her focus is on the philosophy of education,
particularly as experiential education relates to faith. McGown lives in Barrington.
AEE, a nonprofit, professional membership association dedicated to experiential
education and the students, educators and practitioners who utilize its philosophy,
is the major professional organization for outdoor educators. McGown was chosen
from among 700 AEE members who identify themselves primarily as educators at
schools or colleges. UNH’s Gass received the Experiential Teacher award
in 1998, and in 2003, UNH’s outdoor education program received AEE’s
Organizational Member of the Year award.
To learn more about the outdoor education program at UNH, go to http://www.chhs.unh.edu/kin_oe/.
Home |
Archive |
Subscribe/Unsubscribe
Contact
