Outward Bound’s Commitment to Growth
March 3-7 is SEL Week, and we’re all about shining a spotlight on the incredible work happening behind the scenes at Outward Bound to support the social-emotional growth of young people. At Outward Bound, we’re constantly leveling up our courses and the student experience, and a huge part of that is thanks to the Learning and Evaluation team. This crew is dedicated to making sure we’re always improving and pushing the envelope when it comes to our impact on students.
Since 2017, this team, who leads the Outward Bound Professional Learning Lab (the Lab), has been working closely with Partnerships for Education and Resilience (PEAR), diving into data to understand what’s working and where we can do better. Their work is guided by the Domains of Thriving framework, which focuses on helping our students grow emotionally, socially, and academically.
In this blog, we’re giving you a peek behind the curtain at the amazing progress the Learning and Evaluation team has made in 2024, what’s still in the works, and what’s coming up next. Get ready to hear all about how this team is making a real impact through data, collaboration, and building stronger connections.
Let’s introduce you to the crew making it all happen
- Katie Dalbey, Director of Learning & Evaluation: Katie leads the whole team and drives the strategy for program quality, learning and evaluation across the organization.
- Tyler Fish, Learning and Evaluation Manager: Tyler’s on the ground every day, making sure our program staff have access to evidence-informed training and support. .
- Sara Gibb, Curriculum Specialist: Sara leverages the strengths of our regional Schools as she designs resources to drive outcomes-focused curriculum alignment across the network.
- Mylo Choy-Sutton, Data and Evaluation Specialist: Mylo is a data wizard, turning numbers into insights to show our programs’ impact, while helping Schools level up their data collection game!
What’s it all about?
The Lab is here to help Outward Bound’s Regional Schools connect, collaborate, and grow. They’re all about creating a space where staff from every part of the organization – whether you’re in program instruction, fundraising, or marketing – can come together, swap ideas, and learn from one another. This connectivity isn’t just about making things run smoothly; it’s about strengthening the entire Outward Bound experience and keeping everyone focused on one big goal: improving the student journey. By analyzing data, promoting learning, and supporting professional growth, the team helps everyone stay on top of what’s working and how to keep getting better. All of this means a richer, more impactful experience for students.
Impactful projects and big wins
In 2024, the Learning and Evaluation team not only continues to be the go-to hub for professional growth and connection for program staff across the network, but also made a significant impact on the student experience. By focusing on training resources, leveraging data insights, and sharing best practices, they helped improve the student journey while continuing to foster internal development and collaboration across the organization.
Network achievements
- Facilitated two network-wide convenings to support program quality, impact, and alignment
- Collaborated with PEAR to develop a new survey and participants in educator programs
- Led the network’s engagement with Listen4Good to build capacity for gathering, interpreting, and responding to student experience feedback
Outward Bound USA’s Learning and Evaluation Group Convening, Spring 2024 | Philadelphia Outward Bound School
Student experience wins
On multi-day programs:
On one-day programs:
With a range of projects currently in the works, the Learning and Evaluation team has no plans of slowing down. As they look toward 2025 and beyond, they’re gearing up for newly aligned curriculum to roll out and expanded training opportunities designed to take things to the next level. The future is looking bright, and the team is ready to continue driving progress and innovation. Here’s a look into what’s coming up:
- Alignment of national program models to support consistent, outcomes-focused experiences across the network
- New training resources on the Theory of Change, outcomes-focused course design, and national program models
- An updated Outward Bound Outcomes Survey that continues to assess key social-emotional skills and adds measures of environmental responsibility and relationship with technology.
- Launching the accompanying adult survey network wide to help us understand our impact on educators and their perspective on their students’ growth
Continued focus on Social Emotional Learning
The Learning and Evaluation team is doubling down on social and emotional skills, continuing to advocate for their value. SEL isn’t just a buzzword—it’s a powerful way to build resilience, confidence, and strong relationships, which are essential both in the outdoors and in life. In the coming year, the team will integrate its Domains of Thriving framework even more into course designs, focusing on activities and lessons that foster empathy, self-awareness, and teamwork. They’re also embedding SEL into Outward Bound’s culture by offering staff training and tools to ensure everyone—from instructors to administrators—can create a positive, supportive environment. By continually gathering feedback and using data to refine these initiatives, the team is making sure that SEL continues to be a key part of the Outward Bound experience.
