Models of Learning: Experiential Learning
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Overview
Experiential learning is "a process by which the experience of the learner is reflected upon, and from this emerge new insights or learnings" (Tony Saddington), and is founded on the assumption that, in order to learn from their experiences, humans need to review those experiences and imbue them with personal meaning. It is mainly associated with the work of David Kolb, in particular his learning cycle, in which learners progress through four key activities (or elements):
- Concrete experience
- Reflective observation on that experience
- Abstract conceptualisation: synthesising and assimilating that experience into their existing understandings, revising existing concepts and/or developing new ones
- Active experimentation: applying (testing) the new or revised conceptualisations to a new (similar) experience
Experiential learning, therefore, places the focus on active learning through individual or collaborative exploration and discussion. The teacher's role becomes that of a facilitator, supervisor or partner in dialogue, rather than a guide or instructor. Moreover, as learners gain in confidence, they may take increasing responsibility for directing their own learning experiences, both individually and collectively.
Although experiential learning underpins learning designs in adult education, informal education and lifelong learning, it can also be relevant in higher education (see the paper by Begg et al. in the Examples section). Moreover, it need not be restricted to concrete (i.e. directly lived) experience: indirect experience acquired through discussion or computer-based games and simulations can equally lead to productive reflection and new insights.
Kolb also developed an inventory of learning styles based on the four elements of the cycle: for a brief overview, see the "Infed" paper listed in Further information.
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Guidelines for planning an exercise in experiential learning
- Decide on the intended learning outcomes and assessment criteria (if relevant).
- Choose an appropriate experience, issue or ill-structured problem (i.e. one without a single "correct" solution or a pre-defined path to its solution).
- Design or choose a learning environment that supports exploration.
- Decide how you will interact with the students in order to support their process of discovery.
- Think how you will promote reflection and the integration of ideas.
- Think how you will coach and model appropriate thinking and communication skills in the students.
- Find or produce any learning resources that the students will need: e.g. cases, examples.
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Generic sequence of activities
In this template, we have collapsed reflection and conceptualisation into a single component of the lesson. We also assume that the teacher retains responsibility for structuring the learning experience, scaffolding students' access to the learning environment and resources, and assessing the resultant learning.
Although the most common starting point of an experiential learning session is the concrete experience, it is perfectly possible to start at other elements in the cycle, according to requirement or preference.
+ denotes activities which take place concurrently.
| 1. Orientation | ||
| Teacher: | Present issue or problem. | |
| Teacher & students: | Elicit, acknowledge and challenge students' conceptions of the issue or problem; e.g. through discussion or questions. | |
| Teacher: | Provide examples, cases and other resources. | |
| Students: | Review resources |
| 2. The (concrete) experience | ||
| + | Students: | Use resources to investigate, explore, experiment, discuss etc. (depending on the nature of the experience). |
| + | Teacher: | Facilitate discussion, debate and collaboration (if a collaborative learning experience). |
| 3. Reflection & abstract conceptualisation | ||
| Teacher: | Prompt for analysis and reflection. | |
| Students: | Examine the experience: i.e. assess, analyse, interpret, draw conclusions, make new connections, synthesise general underlying principles and assimilate into existing knowledge, concept structures, system of beliefs etc. | |
| Teacher: | Elicit students' new conception of issue or solution of problem. |
| 4. Planning further investigation | ||
| + | Students: | Decide on nature of investigation; plan how they will apply their new concepts and understandings to a new experience or problem situation. |
| + | Teacher: | Support planning; e.g. through reviewing protocols devised by students, providing access to any new resources required. |
| Repeat steps 2-4 as required. |
| 5. Assessment i.e. students' final state of understanding | ||
| Teacher: | Describe/explain the assessment activity | |
| Students: | Carry out the assessment activity; e.g. presentation, essay, report, assignment, record of process capture (e.g. records of participation in activities, logs or journals of work in progress). | |
| Teacher: | Provide feedback. |
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Examples and case studies
Technology, including the growth in games for learning, has considerably expanded the potential for experiential learning in recent years. You may find the following articles in the August 2007 issue of Innovate, an online journal produced by Nova Southeastern University in the USA, useful sources of inspiration. (Subscription to the journal is free and gives you access to back issues as well.)
- Riedel et al.: Continuous, Interactive, and Online: A Framework for Experiential Learning with Working Adults. This article describes a model of experiential learning for adults taking online courses that interweave learning with their experience as professionals in education, management, healthcare, engineering and similar subjects.
- Begg et al.: Transforming Professional Healthcare Narratives into Structured Game-Informed-Learning Activities. The authors report on the use of simulations to help medical students at Edinburgh University gain clinical experience through interacting with "virtual" patients.
We are still researching examples and case studies for this topic, especially from adult learning and work-based learning. If you would like to contribute any (whether from your own teaching or from other sources), please contact us.
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Further information
The short introductory article by Tony Saddington quoted above can be found on the Website of the International Consortium for Experiential Learning. The overview of Kolb's ideas (including the learning cycle and learning styles inventory) is on the Website of infed.org, a US-based set of resources for teachers in informal education.
Dr Roger Greenaway, a consultant and trainer in experiential learning, maintains a comprehensive list of articles on experiential learning, including critical reviews of Kolb's cycle, on his Website.
Finally, you might also like to visit the Website of Experience Based Learning Systems, Inc., a company set up by David and Alice Kolb to further the practice of, and research into, experiential learning.
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