An Update from Outward Bound USA’s Professional Learning Lab:
Progress, Successes, and What’s Ahead

Just like our students, Outward Bound in the US is committed to challenging ourselves as an organization. We seek to continuously improve the quality of our courses and the student experience. The Professional Learning Lab, part of the Learning and Evaluation Department, serves as this vital hub for collaboration, networking, and professional development across our Regional School system. “The Lab” encourages our crew, from Program & Instructional staff to Fundraising and Communications teams, to exchange ideas, strengthen their understanding of the work happening across our Schools, and collectively work toward our shared goal of improving and understanding the Outward Bound student experience.

Since its launch in 2017, the Lab, in partnership with the NOAM Institute and PEAR: Partnerships in Education and Resilience, has made significant strides in leading the Outward Bound national network in collecting, analyzing, and interpreting data related to program delivery and student outcomes, guided by our network-wide social-emotional framework for codifying Outward Bound’s unique approach called the Domains of Thriving. By leveraging data, fostering community, and ensuring connectivity, the Lab’s success can be attributed to its comprehensive approach.

In this blog, we talk with Katie Dalbey, Director of Learning and Evaluation, about the Lab’s progress, highlights from 2023, and get a glimpse into what’s ahead for the Learning and Evaluation Department at Outward Bound USA.

“Relationship building. Collaborative spirit. The motivation. It’s all there,” said Katie, referring to the overwhelming eagerness of our network in support of Lab’s work. It certainly was in 2023! Here’s a look back at just a few of the highlights from last year:

• More than 6,000 students, across 9 of the 10 Outward Bound Schools, completed the Outward Bound Outcomes Survey (OBOS), the highest quantity yet. The OBOS measures student-reported change across 12 key areas including: Perseverance, Teamwork, Responsibility, Self-Regulation, Learning Interest, and more.
• The Lab partnered with New York Life Foundation to develop two unique training modules for the Outward Bound system, ‘Creating the Supportive Environment’ and ‘Responding to Emotional Disregulation,’ in response to heightened levels of emotional distress being reported by young people, nationally.
• In April 2023, the Lab hosted the Outward Bound of the Americas Symposium alongside the Colorado Outward Bound School in conjunction with OBUSA’s National Trainers’ Conference. The Symposium brought together more than 70 Outward Bound staff from across the national network and around the world.
• Outward Bound USA launched its work with Listen4Good, ‘an independent capacity-building program that trains organizations to listen and respond to their clients through an equity-informed feedback program.’ This 18-month long commitment is a testament to Outward Bound USA’s dedication to the individual student experience on course with us.
• The 2023 Lab Retreat: In November, a group of 30 Outward Bound staff members, from Philadelphia to San Francisco, joined us at the Hurricane Island Outward Bound School basecamp in Maine for a 4-day collaborative retreat to dive into student experience, data, and takeaways.

By the numbers. For our Outward Bound Schools.

Data collected from 2023 Outward Bound Student Outcomes Survey

Being able to see an overview of our students’ experiences through data captured by our Outward Bound Outcomes Survey is a critical piece of our puzzle. It provides us with valuable insights that can help us better understand their needs and identify patterns across our system. But, it’s not just a numbers game.

The thing I hope people understand about our data collection is that we’re gathering it because we want to understand the growth that our students are experiencing, and then be able to learn from that, and use the information to strengthen our student experience,” said Katie. “The student outcomes data is one piece of the puzzle, and we encourage program leadership to pair it with other quantitative and qualitative data. The outcomes data serves as a tool for communicating impact and improving the student experience.

While Katie is proud of the momentous work that she and her team member, Tyler Fish, Learning and Evaluation Manager, have been able to accomplish through the Lab so far, she credits its success to our Regional Schools, whose staff are equally eager to enhance the student experience. After all, our School staff are the heartbeat of our educational programs; they are the guides, mentors, and supporters who shape the experiences and outcomes for our students.

“The Lab exists for our Schools. We couldn’t do our work without them! We hear all the time how beneficial opportunities to work with the Lab are,” Katie shared. “From professional development to community connection, we all have so much to learn from one another. Sure, there’s 10 Regional Schools, but no one needs to feel alone when they have peers who are experiencing similar successes and challenges. We want everyone to be learning with and from one another.”

That is exactly what the Learning Lab provides: A space for collaboration and knowledge sharing.

The 2023 Learning Lab Retreat, Group Photo (Provided by: Philadelphia Outward Bound School)

Collaboration across Schools is important because at the end of the day, all of our Schools have common goals for what we want our students to get out of an Outward Bound experience,” says 2023 Learning Lab Retreat attendee, Whitney Setser, Associate Director of Student Services at the North Carolina Outward Bound School. “We as a system benefit greatly from the collaborative learning that the Lab Retreat provides to us across the system. In fact, that’s my favorite part about working with others across the OB system — I love having the chance to chat about similar challenges and to celebrate the successes together. I have so much to learn from others and always welcome ways I can improve the student experience.

What’s ahead for the Lab

While the Lab has made significant strides in program improvement and student experience data capture, networking and community building, and resource sharing, the work is just getting started! Here’s a look into what’s ahead in 2024:

• System-wide Theory of Change development: Building off Outward Bound’s Domains of Thriving, the Lab, Regional Schools, and partners, are working diligently to develop Outward Bound’s very own unique Theory of Change as a means of more accurately describing and showcasing our work and the impact it has on our students.

“The Theory of Change is the first step toward curriculum alignment. We’re seeing so much excitement and enthusiasm from our Regional Schools,” said Katie. “I credit the Schools’ participation for the work we’re able to do. Their collaboration, relationship building, and commitment allows us all to have a better understanding of the similarities and differences between Schools. This has helped us get to the point where we’re ready to lean into being more consistent in sharing what we do, and showcasing the student experience.”

• Curriculum alignment and collaboration: In support of the Theory of Change development, the Lab will be working alongside our Schools and PEAR to refresh our tools, such as our Outward Bound Outcomes Survey, to ensure that they engage and capture a reflective scope of students and their experiences.
• The Learning and Evaluation Department is growing! This year, the Learning and Evaluation team will become a crew of 4, welcoming two new roles: Curriculum Specialist and Data and Evaluation Specialist. With these new team members, this department will be able to expand its findings, deepen its relationships with our Schools, and paint a clearer student experience story.
• Groups program model development: Spring 2024: This April, Outward Bound USA will be kicking off a 5-year project in support of our Strategic Plan to develop the evidence-base for a multi-day group program model to support students in the transition from middle school to high school.

We’re learning from one another: our Regional Schools, our students, and our data. By leveraging the influence and expertise of our crew combined with national quantitative and qualitative data from our participants, we strive to ensure a more coherent and equitable experience for every student, staff member, and community we serve, from Baltimore, Maryland to Portland, Oregon.

“I love that I get to work throughout the cycle that supports the student experience. Our students’ experiences and our programming are so powerful. And, it’s exciting to be able to be part of helping to make them even better, clearer, and more consistent,” shared Katie. “We’re doing such impactful work for young people, and I don’t think we celebrate ourselves enough in that way. Being able to do work that is supporting the student experience while also being able to tell the story of that experience, that’s what I love doing.”