'
The things we have to learn before we do them, we learn by doing them. - Aristotle
Experiential Learning...is as old as time itself.
learning how to hunt through hunting....
learning how to make fire by making fire…
But in the modern era, it is attributed first to the work of Kurt Lewin, a theorist in social psychology. Lewin’s work in the 1940’s focused on how substantive learning best occurs when experience, action and reflection interplay (Connor, 1997)
In the 1960’s, David Kolb and Roger Fry, both professors of Organizational Behavior, built on this concept (Smith, 1996) and created a representation of the experiential learning circle:
The 4-H model (Head, Hands, Heart, Health) takes the circle and relates in to youth education in simple and profound terms (Diem, 2005)
In other words, experiential learning leads learners to:
Step 1. Experience the new activity by doing it
Step 2. Share the results and observations of, and reactions to, the activity
Step 3. Process the activity by analyzing and reflecting on it
Step 4. Generalize the experience of the activity to the real world
Step 5. Apply what was learned to other situations or settings
Lather. Rinse. Repeat.
Experiential education,
then, is a philosophy and methodology in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection
in order to increase knowledge, develop skills and clarify values (Association for Experiential Education, 2008).
For more information about experiential learning:
Watch http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kv2Oag7UmXA
Hear http://www.podcastdirectory.com/podshows/iphone.php?sid=874426
Read http://www.infed.org/biblio/b-explrn.htm
Join http://www.aee.org/customer/pages.php?pageid=28
Experience http://www.extension.iastate.edu/learningandliving/main/ex_experiential.htm
"Tell me, and I will forget. Show me, and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand."
Confucius
References:
Association for Experiential Educaiton, (2008). What is Experiential Education?. Retrieved May 5, 2008, from Association for Experiential Education Web site:
Conner, ML (1997). Learning From Experience. Retrieved May 3, 2008, from Ageless Learner Web site: http://agelesslearner.com/intros/experiential.html
Diem, KG (August 2005). The Learn-by-Doing Approach of 4-H. Retrieved May 3,2008, from Science Discovery Series Web site:
Smith, M David A. Kolb on Experiential Learning. (1996). In The Encyclopedia of Informal Education Web. London: Infed.org. Retrieved May 3, 2008, from
Comments (0)
You don't have permission to comment on this page.