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Philosophy of Education

Experience God's Presence

Become a servant leader

Make lifelong friends

Push beyond your limits

Thrive in the wild

hy do you call our leaders instructors not guides? Because a guide only leads you where you need to go while an instructor teaches you what you need to know. This means that you not only get to go to awesome places on a SROM course but you also learn many of the necessary skills to go to wonderful places on your own. At SROM, we take seriously teaching the hard skills of backpacking, rock climbing and mountaineering so you can thrive in the wild and beyond. Continue reading to hear more about our philosophy of education.

Truly we are fearfully and wonderfully made (Psalm 139.14). What is more amazing is how God relates to us from an intimate knowledge of how we function and interact with our environment. Nowhere is this more fascinating than in how he teaches us and how we learn. We were created to learn. No one has to tell a baby to learn to crawl or walk, they are naturally motivated to do so. Inherent in us is a God-designed process of learning, growing, and developing. This development process has peaks and valleys as we advance from one level of understanding to another. At SROM, our philosophy of education is to come alongside this process and facilitate learning experiences that change people’s lives.

SROM’s pedagogy is informed by research on the science of learning and experiential education philosophy described by great thinkers like Kurt Hahn, Lev Vygotsky, and Kurt W. Fischer, as well as the discipleship practices modeled by Jesus. Our role as instructors is to facilitate learning experiences with great intentionality and address barriers to learning so that the student can learn more and go deeper in their conceptual understanding of truths. A teachable moment is a gift that should be stewarded with the same passion as any other limited resource.

 

making cinnamon rolls in the wilderness
Learning about rock anchors

“All education then becomes discipleship and mentorship.”

Through nine years of applying cognitive research to learning, SROM has developed a unique model of experiential education. We have continually sought God’s way of teaching and how to best meet students where they are. Our goal is not to impart information, but to facilitate values transference and life transformation. We want to facilitate real, impactful experiences. We want change and development to be intentional, not accidental. With that goal in mind, all education then becomes discipleship and mentorship.

The pursuit of God’s way of teaching has led SROM to be on the cutting edge of experiential education theory and practice. Our method of education includes using the wilderness as our classroom, seeing education as discipleship, utilizing learning research for effective teaching practices, and drawing on the image of Christ that lives in every believer. We have seen the Holy Spirit work through each of these aspects and believe that when they all come together; it can create a powerful and life-changing experience.

person standing watching the sunset on a rock