what is an experiential learning course

by Brandi Goldner 10 min read

Learning that is considered “experiential” contain all the following elements:

  • Reflection, critical analysis and synthesis.
  • Opportunities for students to take initiative, make decisions, and be accountable for the results.
  • Opportunities for students to engage intellectually, creatively, emotionally, socially, or physically.

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“Experiential [learning] is a philosophy and methodology in which educators purposefully engage with students in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, and clarify values” (Association for Experiential Education, para. 2).

Full Answer

What do we actually mean by experiential learning?

Experiential learning (ExL) is the process of learning through experience, and is more narrowly defined as "learning through reflection on doing". Hands-on learning can be a form of experiential learning, but does not necessarily involve students reflecting on their product. Experiential learning is distinct from rote or didactic learning, in which the learner plays a comparatively passive role.

Does experiential learning really make a difference?

It is at the heart of the reason why experiential learning is such an effective means of learning as opposed to classroom learning. I agree that some schools are trying now, school trips outside the country that is not just focused on more facts. Work experiences with different range of the work industries.

What is the main premise behind experiential learning?

It’s main premise is that people obtain about 70 percent of their knowledge from experiences related to their job (on-the-job), 20 percent from interacting with co-workers and managers (near-the-job), and 10 percent from formal education in a structured ways (off-the-job).

What are some examples of experiential learning?

The 12 Types of Experiential Learning

  • Apprenticeships. Apprenticeships provide students an opportunity to try out a job, usually with an experienced professional in the field to act as a mentor.
  • Clinical experiences. ...
  • Fellowships. ...
  • Field work. ...
  • Internships. ...
  • Practicums. ...
  • Service-learning. ...
  • Simulations and gaming/role-playing. ...
  • Student teaching. ...
  • Study abroad. ...

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What are examples of experiential learning?

Experiential learning examples.Going to the zoo to learn about animals through observation, instead of reading about them.Growing a garden to learn about photosynthesis instead of watching a movie about it.Hoping on a bicycle to try and learn to ride, instead of listening to your parent explain the concept.

What are three types of experiential learning?

Types of experiential learningApplied research project. ... Campus entrepreneurship/incubators. ... Case studies. ... Co-op. ... Field experience. ... Industry/community research projects. ... Interactive simulations. ... Internships.More items...•

What is experiential learning course why is it important?

Experiential education teaches students to examine their actions and their thought processes, and even their emotional responses. This internal reflection prepares students for the workplace and helps them make major life choices, improve their personal relationships, and address their emotional needs.

How do you teach experiential learning?

Making the Most of Experiential LearningMake it purposeful (meaningful).Provide opportunities for reflection.Include faculty involvement throughout the process.Students work should be evaluated.It should offer or simulate, as close as possible, a "real-world" context.More items...

How do you implement experiential learning in the classroom?

How to apply experiential learning in the classroomYou have an experience. For example, you teach a lesson.You reflect on the experience. You think about what went well, or not so well in the lesson.You critically analyse the experience. ... You plan future actions based on what you have learnt.

Who benefits most from experiential learning?

What are the benefits of experiential learning?Students can better grasp concepts. ... Students have the opportunity to be more creative. ... Students have the opportunity to reflect. ... Students' mistakes become valuable experiences. ... Teachers often observe improved attitudes toward learning.

What is experiential learning?

Background. Experiential learning is an engaged learning process whereby students “learn by doing” and by reflecting on the experience. Experiential learning activities can include, but are not limited to, hands-on laboratory experiments, internships, practicums, field exercises, study abroad, undergraduate research and studio performances.

How does experiential learning help in academic inquiry?

Well-planned, supervised and assessed experiential learning programs can stimulate academic inquiry by promoting interdisciplinary learning, civic engagement, career development, cultural awareness, leadership, and other professional and intellectual skills.

Why are experiences chosen?

Experiences are carefully chosen for their learning potential (i.e. whether they provide opportunities for students to practice and deepen emergent skills, encounter novel and unpredictable situations that support new learning, or learn from natural consequences, mistakes, and successes). Throughout the experiential learning process, ...

What is clinical education?

Clinical education – This is a more specifically defined internship experience in which students practice learned didactic and experiential skills, most frequently in health care and legal settings, under the supervision of a credentialed practitioner.

What is an internship?

Internships – A more broad term used to describe experience-based learning activities that often subsume other terms such as cooperative education, service-learning or field experiences . It is often a credit-bearing, free-standing activity in a student’s field of interest not connected to a theoretical course.

How to facilitate learning?

Pose problems, set boundaries, support learners, provide suitable resource, ensure physical and emotional safety, and facilitate the learning process. Recognize and encourage spontaneous opportunities for learning, engagement with challenging situations, experimentation (that does not jeopardize the wellbeing of others) and discovery of solutions.

What is the purpose of cooperative education?

The purpose of these programs is to build student’s career skills and knowledge.

Experiential Learning Explained

Alison Doyle is one of the nation’s foremost career experts and has counseled both students and corporations on hiring practices. She has given hundreds of interviews on the topic for outlets including The New York Times, BBC News, and LinkedIn. Alison founded CareerToolBelt.com and has been an expert in the field for more than 20 years.

Definitions and Examples of Experiential Learning

Experiential learning is a teaching method in which students learn by doing. Instead of learning the principles of new skills solely in a classroom setting, students develop new expertise by practicing in concrete scenarios.

How Do Experiential Learning Programs Work?

Experiential learning programs help students learn skills by applying them in the real world (or a controlled facsimile).

Types of Experiential Learning Programs

There are many types of formal experiential learning programs, including:

How To Find a Program

There are a variety of ways to find an experiential learning program including making use of the following:

What is the role of an instructor in experiential learning?

The role of the instructor in experiential learning is very different from most other pedagogies. First and foremost, the students are at the center of the learning and the instructor serves as a facilitator/mentor of the process, offering guidance on a limited basis. The instructor serves as an intellectual coach for collaborative student teams to maximize students' learning, skill development, and personal growth (Slavich & Zimbardo, 2012). In this role, the instructor should empower students to take ownership of their learning and their project. This is how experiential learning will become transformative and meaningful for the student.

What does it mean to be an active learner?

This will likely mean stepping outside of their comfort zone and taking on challenges and tasks where they are unsure or question their abilities. However, the students are not left on their own. The instructor is available as the mentor to offer guidance, support, and encouragement throughout the learning process. For students who are particularly ambivalent about experiential learning, the steps on sharing, reflecting, and processing will be particularly important.

What is Experiential Learning?

The main idea behind the phrase experiential learning is building upon what one knows to expand that knowledge into action. This means learning comes in part from what experiences and opportunities arise for a person. Put simply, experiential learning is the process of learning through hands-on experience.

Experiential Learning Methods

There are four criteria of experiential learning activities: the activity must be personally meaningful to the student, must provide opportunities for reflection and discussion, must involve a student's whole person, and must acknowledge previous knowledge.

What are the Benefits of Experiential Learning?

Experiential learning is one of the most beneficial types of learning because one gets out of an experience what one puts in. It allows people to better retain what is learned and teaches lessons that can be used for life.

What is the cycle of experiential learning?

The Cycle of Experiential Learning rounds out with planning and applying new learning about organic agriculture systems thinking to a future concrete experience. Abstract conceptualization completed in the previous discussion will contribute to the formulation of new questions and ways of examining a local organic agriculture system. Students will likely apply these ideas to ongoing organic agriculture systems thinking in the course. In this way prior reflective observation becomes the root of new questions and predicted results for the next learning experience in organic agriculture systems thinking.

What is concrete experience?

The concrete experience for this course was an organic scavenger hunt assignment that was to be completed in the first week of the course. Although the overt activity of was a guided scavenger hunt the learning experience focus was to begin to learn systems thinking in organic agriculture. This is important to identify, as it is the authentic learning goal of the experiential learning.

What is the final project of this course?

The final project of this course is the production of an organic systems map that explains the relationships between organic system stages (i.e., production, processing, distribution/marketing, consumption, and waste) and the dimensions of sustainability (ie. social, environmental, and economic).

What is experiential learning?

Experiential learning is designed to engage students' emotions as well as enhancing their knowledge and skills. Playing an active role in the learning process can lead to students experiencing greater gratification in learning.

Why is experiential learning important?

As the student interacts with the information, it becomes real to them. Experiential learning is one of the best ways to teach creative problem-solving. With real-world content, children learn that there are multiple solutions to challenges, and they are encouraged to seek their unique solution to hands-on tasks.

What is Think Global School?

For example, Think Global School is a four-year travelling high school that holds classes in a new country each term. Students can engage in experiential learning through activities such as international travel, cultural exchanges, museum tours, and project-based learning.

Why is it important for schools to integrate new learning techniques?

Now more than ever, it is crucial that schools integrate new learning techniques to help prepare children for the future workplace.

Who developed experiential learning theory?

Experiential learning theory was initially proposed by psychologist David Kolb who emphasised how experiences influence the learning process. Kolb defined experiential learning as "the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combinations of grasping and transforming the experience.".

What is a mistake in learning?

They discard the methods that don’t work, but the act of trying something and then abandoning it – ordinarily considered a “mistake” – becomes a valuable part of the learning process.

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Background

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Experiential learning is an engaged learning process whereby students “learn by doing” and by reflecting on the experience. Experiential learning activities can include, but are not limited to, hands-on laboratory experiments, internships, practicums, field exercises, study abroad, undergraduate research and studio perf…
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How Does It Work?

  • Kolb’s (1984) cycle of learning depicts the experiential learning process (see figure below). This process includes the integration of: 1. knowledge—the concepts, facts, and information acquired through formal learning and past experience; 2. activity—the application of knowledge to a “real world” setting; and 3. reflection—the analysis and synthesis of knowledge and activity to create …
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What Does Experiential Learning Look like?

  • Experiential learning has the following elements (Association for Experiential Education, 2007-2014): 1. Experiences are carefully chosen for their learning potential (i.e. whether they provide opportunities for students to practice and deepen emergent skills, encounter novel and unpredictable situations that support new learning, or learn from natural consequences, mistake…
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Research on Experiential Learning

  • Ambrose, S. A., Bridges, M. W., DiPietro, M., Lovett, M. C., & Norman, M. K. (2010). How learning works: 7 research-based principles for smart teaching. San Francisco, CA: Jossey- Bass. Association for Experiential Education. (2007-2014). Retrieved from http://www.aee.org/. Bass, R. (2012, March/April). Disrupting ourselves: The problem of learning in higher education. EDUCAU…
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Definitions and Examples of Experiential Learning

  • Experiential learning is a teaching method in which students learn by doing. Instead of learning the principles of new skills solely in a classroom setting, students develop new expertise by practicing in concrete scenarios. 1. Alternate name: Experiential education For example, high school chemistry students might head into the lab to make hard ca...
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How Do Experiential Learning Programs Work?

  • Experiential learning programs help students learn skills by applying them in the real world (or a controlled facsimile). Depending on the program, this might mean working as an apprentice alongside a master tradesman or craftsperson, completing an internship under the mentorship of experienced professionals, or performing research under the guidance of a tenured academic. A…
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Types of Experiential Learning Programs

  • There are many types of formal experiential learning programs, including: 1. Apprenticeships: An apprenticeshipoffers you the chance to learn an occupation from a skilled professional. You can find apprenticeships in jobs ranging from skilled trades to information technology and health care. 2. Campus employment: Campus jobsprovide students with resume-building work experience an…
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How to Find A Program

  • There are a variety of ways to find an experiential learning program including making use of the following: 1. High school guidance office:If you’re a high school student, your guidance office will be able to connect you with work opportunities and experiential learning programs. 2. College career services:Students and alumni can use their career services office to find internships, fello…
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