I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I understand. ~ Confucius, 450 BC
Background of the Experiential Learning Theory:
- Theory proposed by David Kolb who was influenced by the work of John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, and Jean Piaget. This theory encompasses characteristics of cognitive and behavioral theories of learning because according to the experiential learning model, experiences, which include cognition, environmental factors, and emotions, all influence the learning process.
- Later, Carl Rogers published his 1983 book, Freedom to Learn for the 80’s, which further developed experiential learning by explicitly breaking down the respective roles of the teacher and student in the experiential learning process.
- Rogers' experiential learning theory was part of the Humanistic education movement.
What is Experiential Learning?
- According to Kolb’s theory, experiential learning occurs when knowledge is created through the “transformation of experience, or “learning by doing.” Please see the "Key Terms" below to see the steps of the experiential learning cycle according to Kolb.
- Rogers distinguished between two types of learning: cognitive (meaningless) and experiential (significant).
~Experiential learning= applied knowledge. Example: learning how to repair a car.
- Experiential learning considers the wants and needs of the learner!
Key Terms:
The Experiential Learning Circle according to Kolb:
1). Concrete experience: Learner carries out a particular action and sees the effect of the action in the given situation.
2). Observation & experience: Learner continues reflecting about the effects in the particular situation so that if the same action was taken in the future, he/she could anticipate the consequences of the action.
3). Forming abstract concepts: The learner begins to see a connection between their actions and its effects over a variety of circumstances, generalizing their knowledge.
4). Testing in new situations: Learner can now apply their knowledge through action in a new circumstance (within the range of generalization).
** Kolb says that the learning cycle can really begin at any one of the four points, but it often begins with step 1, which involves a person carrying out a particular action and seeing the effect of the action in the given situation.
1). Concrete experience: Learner carries out a particular action and sees the effect of the action in the given situation.
2). Observation & experience: Learner continues reflecting about the effects in the particular situation so that if the same action was taken in the future, he/she could anticipate the consequences of the action.
3). Forming abstract concepts: The learner begins to see a connection between their actions and its effects over a variety of circumstances, generalizing their knowledge.
4). Testing in new situations: Learner can now apply their knowledge through action in a new circumstance (within the range of generalization).
** Kolb says that the learning cycle can really begin at any one of the four points, but it often begins with step 1, which involves a person carrying out a particular action and seeing the effect of the action in the given situation.
Experiential Learning in Action:
Experiential learning really is "learning by doing." Check out how this nervous canoer learns how to paddle down white water rapids, simply by trying it out!
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Experiential learning can also be used in relationship education courses in training facilitators. To see how the facilitators learned how to implement an activity they can use with their clients in discussing communication (both verbal and nonverbal), skip to 1:33 in the following video.
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Business training sessions are increasingly using experiential learning! This way, information learned in these sessions isn’t stored away in a filing cabinet and never used, but is remembered because participants have actually used the information and applied it to a business problem. We need to return to the way children learned in the sandbox—by experiencing and then evaluating! While the following video is a bit of a “sales pitch” to sign up for FrontierTrainings, the principles it talks about apply experiential learning to the business environment.
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Useful Weblinks:
Experiential learning: http://psychology.about.com/od/educationalpsychology/a/experiential-learning.htm
Kolb & experiential learning: http://infed.org/mobi/david-a-kolb-on-experiential-learning/
Psychologist/researcher’s website with many links to experiential learning: http://www.wilderdom.com/experiential/
Training “promotion” video with experiential learning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQiqHRwhioE
Summary of theory: http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/experiental-learning.html
Detailed description of theory: http://www.niu.edu/facdev/resources/guide/strategies/experiential_learning.pdf
History/breakdown of experiential learning: http://www.niu.edu/facdev/resources/guide/strategies/experiential_learning.pdf
Carl Rogers brief biography & theory: http://www.lifecircles-inc.com/Learningtheories/humanist/rogers.html
Carl Rogers: http://oprf.com/Rogers/
Research article: http://search.proquest.com.online.library.marist.edu/docview/916413488?pq-origsite=summon
Picture Citations: Experiential Learning Cycle
Experiential learning: http://psychology.about.com/od/educationalpsychology/a/experiential-learning.htm
Kolb & experiential learning: http://infed.org/mobi/david-a-kolb-on-experiential-learning/
Psychologist/researcher’s website with many links to experiential learning: http://www.wilderdom.com/experiential/
Training “promotion” video with experiential learning https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YQiqHRwhioE
Summary of theory: http://www.instructionaldesign.org/theories/experiental-learning.html
Detailed description of theory: http://www.niu.edu/facdev/resources/guide/strategies/experiential_learning.pdf
History/breakdown of experiential learning: http://www.niu.edu/facdev/resources/guide/strategies/experiential_learning.pdf
Carl Rogers brief biography & theory: http://www.lifecircles-inc.com/Learningtheories/humanist/rogers.html
Carl Rogers: http://oprf.com/Rogers/
Research article: http://search.proquest.com.online.library.marist.edu/docview/916413488?pq-origsite=summon
Picture Citations: Experiential Learning Cycle