Greetings Colleagues:

A year has passed since my last effort to get this started, and the 
September 15 deadline is again upon us; this year I am in a better 
position to see this through. Thanks for taking the time to read this 
email in its entirety. NOTE: if you're considering joining, please read 
the attached instructions carefully. If you'd like to play a larger 
role in organizing the SIG, please let me know.

I am spearheading an initiative to establish an Adventure Education and 
Expedition-Based Learning Special Interest Group (SIG) within the 
American Educational Research Association (www.aera.net).

AERA publishes several prominent educational research journals, takes 
an active role in educational policy, and hosts a valuable annual 
conference where thousands of researchers and practitioners convene to 
discuss current research findings, methods and applications. Presently, 
the field of adventure education has no organized representation within 
this important body. I believe that establishing an AERA SIG focused on 
adventure education and expedition-based learning will yield many 
benefits. Educators from around the world who are interested in 
research and practice in these areas are encouraged to become involved.

(1) What is a SIG, and what are the benefits of an AERA SIG?

According to the AERA SIG Handbook:

"Special Interest Groups (SIGs) provide a forum within AERA for the 
involvement of individuals drawn together by common interest in a field 
of study, teaching, and/or research. The goal of SIGs is to enhance the 
comprehensiveness and diversity of AERA by promoting new research or 
philosophies and mentoring novice educational researchers. Likewise, 
SIGs provide a platform for continuing, long-term research interests. 
The uniqueness of SIGs allows more members an active role in AERA.

AERA and the SIGs are mutually interdependent and supportive. SIGs 
provide an avenue for expanding AERA membership, enhancing 
communication, disseminating research, and giving new members 
opportunities for national exposure. AERA provides SIGs program time, 
publicity, scheduling, staff support, viability, and the prestige of 
AERA affiliation. AERA encourages SIGs to be vital and robust and 
supports this development as ultimately advantageous to all members and 
the Association."

In a time when new research methods proliferate, when "evidence-based 
practice" is closely tied to funding and institutional legitimacy, and 
when critical perspectives have given rise to new concerns about theory 
and practice, affiliation with AERA can provide a helpful platform for 
the dissemination of knowledge about adventure education and 
expedition-based learning. It can also inform outdoor and adventure 
educators of current trends in educational policy, research and 
practice. In my view, participation in these dialogues will assist the 
field in establishing a more robust profile in the broader educational 
arena. I strongly believe that such participation is a necessary part 
of the field's future. AEE's recent interest in research and evaluation 
underscores this point, and in fact could be a formal point of contact 
between the AERA SIG and AEE.

(2) Practically speaking, what is gained by establishing a SIG?

Depending on the number of members, SIGs are allotted a certain number 
of sessions at the AERA annual meeting. This means that, so long as the 
SIG has enough members to remain active (> 30), the SIG will be 
guaranteed a number of slots at the annual meeting as well as time for 
a SIG business meeting, where further topics can be discussed. This is 
both politically and practically advantageous. Politically, it 
immediately opens up space at the annual meeting for adventure 
education and expedition-based learning to be represented, giving 
authors a greater chance to present papers at this important conference 
and giving audience members the chance to learn about adventure 
education and expedition-based learning. Practically speaking, with no 
SIG, researchers interested in submitting papers must submit them for 
review to a potentially disinterested audience within the broader AERA 
membership, as no slots devoted to adventure education and 
expedition-based learning currently exist. "Sessions" can be used for 
paper presentations, poster presentations, or round table discussions.

Furthermore, participation in AERA is an important part of establishing 
oneself as an educational researcher. To this end, AERA has many 
helpful ways to orient doctoral students to the community of 
educational researchers, and the field of adventure education and 
expedition-based learning can use this mechanism--coupled, perhaps, 
with other mechanisms such as SEER--to provide important learning for 
its up-and-coming leaders. Student membership in AERA is very 
inexpensive (Cheaper than AEE, in fact) and likewise registration fees 
at the conference are exceedingly reasonable for students. In short, 
AERA has the organizational capacity and infrastructure to provide 
support for future leaders, and our SIG can tap into this broader 
resource pool.

AERA members also receive free access to important journals. And, SIGs 
can establish new research awards. Additionally, I see this as a chance 
to bring together international scholars who can exchange views 
face-to-face.

Finally, it opens an avenue for increased participation at the AERA 
annual meetings. These conferences afford exciting chances to see new 
research perspectives and methodologies, drawing on some of the most 
renowned researchers from around the world. I have benefited immensely 
from my attendance, and I hope a SIG focused on adventure education and 
expedition-based learning would attract more people to this lively 
conference.

In short, with the establishment of a SIG, the broader organizational 
capacity of AERA can be leveraged to support the expansion and growth 
of adventure education and expedition-based learning, along with the 
development of its researchers and practitioners.

(3) What needs to happen now, and how can I get involved?

I have attached three important items: the formal petition to AERA for 
the establishment of a SIG on Adventure Education and Expedition-based 
Learning; A detailed instruction sheet on how to get involved, 
including the costs; and the AERA SIG handbook (for your reference). 
This should answer most logistical questions. Please understand that 
the petition reflects my own thinking and should not be taken as the 
"final word" on the nature of the SIG, which can be determined when 
by-laws are written by the executive committee when it is established. 
Hopefully, though, it gets the ball rolling in an open-ended yet 
somewhat clear way. To make matters easier, allow me to express some of 
the next steps, in an abbreviated fashion.

(1) Since I am already an active member, I will act as the 
representative to AERA, completing the necessary paperwork and 
collecting the necessary information from prospective members. A 
minimum of 30 member signatures are needed for a petition to be 
accepted. Its success depends on YOU!

(2) Prospective members will need to JOIN AERA BEFORE SIGNING THE 
PETITION. If the petition is approved, UNH will cover all up-front 
expenses involved in starting the SIG ($150). AERA membership is 
$120/year, which I will not cover (sorry!). Anybody with a Master's 
degree, or who is enrolled in a doctoral program, can also join! If you 
are a doctoral student, you need a sponsor from your home university 
who is a member (FACULTY: Please join and forward to all your doctoral 
students). It is easy to become a member online at www.aera.net. (3) 
Prospective members will need to submit an electronic signature as per 
the attached instructions.

(4) PLEASE forward this call for members to ALL eligible researchers, 
practitioners and graduate students involved in adventure education and 
expedition-based learning, and instruct them to get in touch with me, 
just so I can collect their signatures and submit the petition to form 
a SIG in an organized fashion.

(5) I will submit the paperwork and signatures by SEPTEMBER 15. If we 
fail to get the required number (> 30) by that deadline, I will try 
again for the second, March 15 deadline.

(6) If approved, the SIG will need to elect executives and form bylaws. 
This sounds painful, but it does not have to be. I'll volunteer to lead 
this effort. At this point, members could convene at the 2008 Annual 
Meeting, held in NYC, and execute the necessary tasks, including 
planning for paper sessions at the 2009 meeting.

(7) Members would promote paper submissions for the 2009 meeting and 
act as reviewers.

Please give some thought to joining this SIG. As stated, we need at 
least 30 people to join. Please forward this email to any other people 
you think would be interested. I want to reiterate that this is an 
international invitation. Many researchers from around the world 
participate in the AERA annual meeting and play lead roles in other 
SIGs. I hope the membership in this SIG can represent many diverse 
perspectives.

If you have any interest in joining, or have any ideas about how to 
expand this invitation to others, PLEASE respond to this email and let 
me know. PLEASE also forward this email to anyone you think might be 
interested.

-- 
With regards,

Jayson Seaman, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Kinesiology Department
UNH NH Hall 205C
124 Main St.
Durham, NH 03824
603-862-1162

On the web: http://www.shhs.unh.edu/kin_oe/