Every child deserves to receive an education, whether it’s in a classroom setting or through online classes. However, it’s equally important to allow the little ones to learn in a way that respects and suits their individual requirements as well as differences. And, while the traditional models have mainly favoured ones that have a great memory, know that learning comprises a lot more than simply doing well in an exam.
So, what is experiential learning? It is a learning theory that offers an alternative to traditional learning methods. To help you gain a deeper understanding of it, here is a blog post with important things you should know about this model and how it can be applied to various areas of a student’s life.
Important Things to Know About Experiential Learning
In a nutshell, experiential learning means learning by doing. It allows the practitioners to acquire and develop new skills that can help them address real-world issues within a short span of time. Plus, it allows participants to experience years of different activities within days and in certain cases, even hours.
It’s Origin
As is suggested by the name, experiential learning is a term used to refer to a process where students learn through experience. Initially, it was a theory proposed by a psychologist named David Kolb who put great emphasis on how experiencing certain things can influence and enhance the learning process. He defined the process as one where knowledge is created by transforming different experiences. And, that knowledge is a result of a combination of transforming and grasping the experience and believed there are two ways in which this can be achieved:
- Abstract conceptualization
- Concrete experience
Plus, he also believed that there are two different ways in which experiences can be transformed:
- Reflective or active experimentation
- Reflective observation
In other words, when a student has a new experience or interprets a previous experience in a new way, they reflect on the problem retrospectively. This allows them to directly focus on their experience and on what it entails while using the prism of their comprehension and experience.
The Principles of Experiential Learning
Experiential learning is typically different from traditional educational theories such as implicit learning and behaviouralism. And, each of these theories has their own concepts on the best way to learn, the nature of what can be learned, the measure of success and what the goal of learning should be for different individuals. Here are the different theoretical perspectives that are seen in these theories:
- Learning is Primarily a Transactional Process
As the learner interacts with his or her environment, there is a transaction that takes place that results in the knowledge and experience to be applicable over a wide range of contexts. This is possible as knowledge is a result of testing theories and refining them to suit the situation being faced. So, when there are different situations where some commonalities exist, knowledge can contribute to the source of continual learning.
- Learning is Grounded in Experience
Testing, implementing, refining and evaluating various ideas by referring them exclusively to similar experiences cannot allow children to learn, even when done within a classroom. This is because experience needs to disrupt conventional expectations to hold any true value. Hence, it can be said that education involves altering and refining traditional ideas while also integrating new ones and only experience can guide one through the process.
This means, that the teachers, facilitators and instructors must pay attention to how they respond to the new ideas presented forward by students. This is because they will be the ones sculpting how students describe their experience and guide them with a discussion that helps them maximize the value of the overall experience.
Whether you are a teacher, parent or student, experiential learning can be extremely valuable and help you gain the idea that learning is a lifelong process and simply not something done within the confines of a classroom. And, that there is no requirement to stick to a traditional way of learning to develop both personally and professionally. It can help develop your abilities and skills and can enhance the excitement surrounding continued learning.
