Fostering environmental action through outdoor education.

In this paper I review my own teaching effectiveness specifically relating to a postgraduate university course. Whilst the theoretical material promotes action there is no formal requirement for students to undertake any leaving me to wonder if my teaching has had any effect beyond the limitations of the course. I conducted a small-scale enquiry involving a recent cohort to explore this. An organising framework of single-, double- and triple-loop learning is introduced to distinguish between shallow and deep learning based on the differing degrees of intensity in the way that students reported their learning experiences and actions. The reflexivity shown by students who are wrestling with concepts of self and agency is consistent with what has been termed ‘inquiry as stance’. I have learnt that agency lies not just in the actions of students but the way in which they approach, internalise and externalise their own teaching and learning.