Whangarei Girls’ High School Whangarei Girls’ High School

Level 3 Outdoor Education

3OED
Course Description

The Year 13 Outdoor Education course is an engaging and challenging program designed to develop students’ personal and social capabilities through outdoor experiences, aligned with Level 8 of the New Zealand Curriculum. The course emphasises self-awareness, leadership, teamwork, and responsible decision-making in a range of outdoor contexts.

Students will participate in activities such as sea kayaking, multi-day camping expeditions, mountain biking and the planning and execution of successful outdoor events. These experiences foster quality relationships, build resilience, and deepen understanding of self and others—key strands of the Health and Physical Education learning area.

By planning and reflecting on their experiences, students engage with the achievement objective to "plan, implement, and critically evaluate strategies to meet their own and others’ needs in a range of contexts." The course also provides opportunities for students to demonstrate leadership, manage risk, and contribute to group goals, helping them become confident, connected, and actively involved lifelong learners.

Through this program, students will not only gain practical outdoor skills but also develop critical competencies that prepare them for life beyond school.

This course involves 2 1-day trips, a 3-day overnight sea kayaking/camping expedition, a 4-day overnight tramping/camping expedition, and a 2-day overnight mountain biking trip across the year. By selecting Outdoor Education, it is expected that students will participate in all of these out of school events. The 15 credit Unit Standard offered in this course requires students to plan for, attend and actively participate, and evaluate all planned events.

L3 Outdoor Education offers 27 unit standard credits.

Learning Opportunities

In this course you will need to:

Develop these skills:Explore this content:
  • Critical thinking and Safety management - Challenge assumptions around safety in the outdoors, identify and develop plans to manage risks and hazards that impact our physical and emotional safety, analyse safety management plans in a range of outdoor contexts.
  • Investigate safety management issues for a range of outdoor activities to encourage safe and meaningful participation.
  • Leadership and Planning - demonstrate leadership and effective team roles, planning and organising your own outdoor journeys, allocate team roles and develop a deeper understanding of styles of leadership to use for outdoor activities. Evaluate participation in trips.
  • Plan for, participate in and evaluate participation in multi-day sea kayaking, tramping and mountain biking expeditions.
  • Self management - develop strategies to manage self through challenging outdoor contexts.  Devise strategies to successfully meet outdoor activity goals. This includes, personal responsibility, organisation, setting goals, seeking knowledge and motivation.
  • Place based investigations to connect students with the environments we explore during the programme.
  • Movement and technical skills in a range of contexts - demonstrate technical skills in sea kayaking, tramping, mountain biking and rock climbing.
  • Learn technical skills in a range of challenging outdoor activities that enable students to develop the skills required for life-long participation in a range of outdoor activities.


Other information: 

L3 Outdoor Education offers 27 unit standard credits



Year Levels/Departments:

Outdoor Education, Seniors




			
					
					Resources Required
										
$120 school contribution cost to cover accommodation and travel expenses. 

Exercise clothes, laptop (BYOD)

1 Set of thermals. Talk to your teacher before purchasing

1 Pair of sturdy shoes - Talk to your teacher before purchasing

All specialist safety equipment will be provided for each activity