AW Expectations Talks
From WildWiki
There are a variety of ways that "expectations" get established on course. These talks should happen in the first 72 hours and, in general, involve SEVERAL separate discussions. The more you invest in these, the better your group will norm and perform later in your course.
Return to AW Gen'l Curriculum
- Expectations/Safety Talk
This should happen very early in the course- basically, give your group an opporunity to discuss their hopes and fears for the experience and what they hope to get out of the program AS INDIVIDUALS. You can do this anonomously if you want by having them write them down and then you as the instructor read them off to the group. AFTER you here from them, it is your turn as instructors to go over the expectations you have of the course. This is a good time to go over the syllabus and other important behavioral expectations not covered in the safety talk.
The safety talk is a no nonesense, straight forward discussion of the hazards and risks associated with the activities you will be doing. You should do this while going over the waivers and releases. Set a serious but not overly dramatic tone. This talk should be done ON-CAMPUS to give students the best opportunity to discern whether this course is for them BEFORE we leave campus. Be sure to go into DETAIL about all the hazards of the trip- do not sugar-coat anything but also be sure to explain that we take great efforts to minimize the risks that we can. This is also the time to go over key "no negotiation" rules like drugs/alcohol, smoking, etc. This must be done prior to leaving campus so that students can leave such "paraphenalia" behind in a sealed envelope. Strongly emphasize that any infraction, once on course, is considered an "airport infraction" meaning we will put them on a plane as fast as possible to go home- no if's, and's, or but's.
- Group Goals & Expectations
This talk takes what was discussed for each individual and brings it back into focus for the group as a whole. It should happen early but not too early- give some time for the group to experience living together some (maybe a few days). This talk is often referred to as the full-value contract talk or the expedition behavior talk.
