Albert Einstein once said “Learning is experience. Everything else is just information.” Experiential learning is, as the name
suggests, learning from your experiences.
The role of the educator is changing and evolving when it comes to Experiential Learning. Educators are finding themselves as facilitators of reflection and encourage learners to discuss and reflect on their experiences. Educators are finding themselves as a catalyst and putting their students into role-playing situations where they have to solve a problem. Educators are also finding themselves serving as a mentor and an assessor of prior experiential learning.
These programs are set up to put students out in “real world” situations and give them experiences greater than the classroom can provide. For example, in my office last spring, we had the opportunity to have an intern. We had her sit with each person in our office and showed her each of our jobs. She had the opportunity to participate and learn different aspects of each function within the business office.
How do you feel about experiential learning? Did you participate in an Internship in your undergraduate work? Did it provide experiences for you greater than the classroom could provide?
Your question reminds me immediately of how I became a K-12 teacher in NC!
ReplyDeleteI personally experienced 4 separate practicum placements with the final being my student teaching placement. One of the placements was at a urban middle school in Guilford County, one at a rural elementary school in Guilford County, one at a rural elementary school in Thomasville Primary Schools, and my final placement was at a rural middle school placement in Randolph County. I now work in five schools, all located in rural Rowan County.
The one thing that all of these placements taught me is that "book work" and classroom learning in the university setting is only about half of the picture. Children are individuals -- and boy are they different!!! Some of these children had hearing aids, some cochlear implants, and some no amplification at all. Some could speak, others signed. Some had high levels of language and vocabulary, others could not communicate in clear, basic sentences. This level of experience only relates to the children. Imagine how much one learns about administration, law, and politics when becoming a teacher! PHEW!!!
For my adult learner analysis, I interviewed two fellow teachers. One teaches in a self-contained oral preschool classroom for children with hearing loss. The other is a high school Chemistry/Physical Science teacher and coach.
Interestingly enough, both interviewees had similar answers when asked how they prefer to learn. Both stated that they preferred informal learning, but both said repeatedly that they learned best by experience. They both referenced either their student teaching or their first year teaching as being highly educational because it allowed for trial and error and much hands-on experience. Both of them felt experiential learning was highly necessary for success in their future careers.
On experiential learning, I found the following video presentation on Youtube:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L8mtcFh2x04
The video presentation presents the following advantages on experiential learning:
-can develop leadership capabilities to significant level
-people and consequences are real
-activities leave a long-lasting impression for better recall later
-provides the motivation to learn by active contribution
In my personal experience, all of the above advantages are absolutely true!
How do you feel about your own personal experiences? Do you feel they were advantageous or not? Why?
Christie, what a great subject, experiential learning. It is one of my favorites. I, personally, learn better in an experiential way. My daughter went to Montessori and Evergreen (ELOB). She will tell you at 19 that experiential learning has been the key to her success as a budding adult. In Experiential learning, it is almost impossible to fail. You may not reach a particular goal or you might have limitations, but if asked, I bet you will be able to explain the ways that you tried. Experiential learning, I feel, is the ultimate way to learn. I still love to read and I can imagine a few things that I would like to read about that I may never want to experience, however, when it comes to retaining and critical thinking, experiencing a concept is amazing and effective.
ReplyDeleteI am currently in practicum at a local art charter school. As a budding counselor, this experience in invaluable. I have read many theories and techniques but what I am finding is the children need to experience their feelings rather than "talk" about them. So, my experience is twofold. I am getting experience in counseling AND I am implementing experiential learning with students. For example, I use puppets when trying to convey an idea such as compassion. This is a very abstract idea to children, but when they see it acted out with the puppets that begin to tell me "aha" stories of how they have experienced compassion in their own life. They also can identify new ways to show compassion in the future.
As long as there is no harm in experiencing a concept, I believe it is ideal for most learners!