Experential Learning

What Experiential Learning Is?				could.
Tell me, and I will forget.				Many scientific theories are available so far about
Show me, and I may remember.				experiential learning. David Kolb describes learning
Involve me, and I will understand.				as a four-step process. He identifies the steps as
By: Chinese philosopher Confucius				(1) watching and (2) thinking (mind), (3) feeling
Experience refers to the nature of the events				(emotion), and (4) doing (muscle). Kolb wrote that
someone or something has undergone. Experience				learners have immediate concrete experiences
is what is happening to us all the time - as we				that allow us to reflect on new experience from
long we exist. Experiential learning can be a highly				different perspectives. From these reflective
effective educational method. Experiential Learning				observations, we engage in abstract
is the process of making meaning from direct				conceptualization, creating generalizations or
experience. Experiential learning requires no				principles that integrate our observations into
teacher and relates solely to the meaning making				sound theories. Finally, we use these
process of the individual from direct experience. It				generalizations or theories as guides to further
is an inherent process that occurs naturally. An				action. Active experimentation allows us to test
example of experiential learning is going to the				what we learn in new and more complex
zoo and learning through observation and				situations.
interaction with the zoo environment, as opposed				How Experiential Learning Is Effective?
to reading about animals from a book. Thus, one				Experience is not what happens to a man; it is
makes discoveries and experiments with				what a man does with what happens to him. By
knowledge firsthand, instead of hearing or reading				Aldous Huxley
about others' experiences.				To be an effective learners we must-
How Experiential Learning Takes Place?				(1) perceive information,
Experiential learning requires qualities such as				(2) reflect on how it will impact some aspect of
self-initiative and self-evaluation. For experiential				our life,
learning to be truly effective, it should employ the				(3) compare how it fits into our own experiences,
whole learning wheel, from goal setting, to				and
experimenting and observing, to reviewing, and				(4) think about how this information offers new
finally action planning. This complete process allows				ways for us to act.
one to learn new skills, new attitudes or even				Learning requires more than seeing, hearing,
entirely new ways of thinking.				moving, or touching to learn. We integrate what
We take in information through our sense yet we				we sense and think with what we feel and how
ultimately learn by doing. First, we watch and				we behave.
listen to others. Then we try doing things on our				Active learning results in longer-term recall,
own. This sparks our interest and generates our				synthesis, and problem-solving skills than learning
motivation to self-discover. Think back on learning				by hearing, reading, or watching. Western
to ride a bicycle, use a computer, dance, or sing.				education needs to move from a learning-by-telling
We took an action, saw the consequences of				model and even learning-by-observing (as in the
that action, and chose either to continue, or to				case-method) to a learning-by-doing model. We
take a new and different action. What allowed us				must move from passivity to activity. We must
to master the new skill was our active				learn to extrapolate from our experiences and
participation in the event and our reflection on				see how to apply what we've done to new
what we attained. Experience and reflection				instances.
taught more than any manual or lecture ever

Rr Bicycle

Experential Learning