Experiential Learning in the Adult Environment

Experiential learning is a dynamic and integrative way to look at how learning can be achieved in today’s educational arena. While the traditional style of lecturing in the classroom is an efficient way to deliver the content of a course, nothing beats the actual hands-on (i.e. experiential learning) approach to ensure that learning has taken place. The University of Waterloo’s Centre for Teaching Excellence put it into context so well… “This kind of learning is probably what Benjamin Franklin had in mind in the eighteenth century when he wrote ‘Tell me and I forget, teach me and I remember, involve me and I will learn.’” Their website talks about the origin of experiential learning and how educational psychologists such as John Dewey, Carl Rogers, and David Kolb were key influences in the field. Dewey has been quoted as saying “Experience plus reflection equals learning.” And, the great Albert Einstein once said “Learning in experience. Everything else is just information.” Probably the most famous experiential learning model was developed by Kolb, in which he illustrates how learning is a process whereby knowledge is developed via a transformational experience (see Figure 1 below). Figure 1

Today, along with the University of Waterloo, many other colleges and universities within Canada and the United States are incorporating experiential learning into their curriculums. And why not….they now realize that this holistic approach to learning provides for a more “deeper” sense of learning - whereby the learners will be more readily able to transfer this knowledge they have learned from one context to another. What better way to engage your learners to apply the knowledge they have acquired (whether it be in the classroom or not) into real-world situations. Today, there are a multitude of associations that support experiential learning – and not just within the education sector. One such organization is the Association for Experiential Education that also supports experiential learning in the business and community environments as well. They have developed a set of principles that are being adapted within the University of Waterloo’s curriculum, as they have identified on their website.

One example of experiential learning on a larger scale in the educational sector is co-operative education (also known as co-op). Here, students combine classroom learning with paid practical and relevant work experience. The Faculty of Applied Science at the University of British Columbia is one such institution that engrains this type of learning into their curriculum. It is home to the largest engineering school and co-op program in Western Canada where 16,500 students have been placed in work terms since 1980. Much like the University of Waterloo (interestingly who were the first institution to offer co-operative education when it was introduced into Canada in 1957), they truly believe that this type of learning is one where both learners and educators are fully engaged in the content - and it is an ongoing process of a most meaningful journey.

References:

Association for Experiential Education http://www.aee.org/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=110:what-is-ee&catid=20:other&Itemid=260

Canadian Association for Co-operative Education - lists all post-secondary co-operative education programs of member institutions in Canada. http://www.cafce.ca/

University of British Columbia Engineering Co-perative Education http://www.coop.apsc.ubc.ca/

University of Waterloo. Centre for Teaching Excellence. https://uwaterloo.ca/centre-for-teaching-excellence/resources/integrative-learning/experiential-learning

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