Experiential Learning

Learning from experience is available to everyone: regardless of age, gender, social class, intelligence and many other personal attributes.  All that needs to happen in order for experiential learning to take place is a time to reflect, whether that be as an individual or as part of a group, facilitated by a leader or driven by the individual.  Although it is a natural, accessible means of learning this does not mean that it is always effective or consistent (Beard & Wilson, 2006) – for example a lack of time, awareness and facilitators.  However, it is suggested that the main strength of experiential learning is that it provides an underlying philosophy which takes individual learning, education, training and development theories and creates a powerful tool.

I am a firm believer that in order for experiential learning to be effective (indeed, take place at all) reflection is absolutely vital.  I believe that opportunities for reflection can help learners to study and form their beliefs, opinions, values, judgements and practices related to a given experience.  Moon (1999) suggests that reflection helps the learner to gain a deeper understanding and use it to shape their future actions.  This ties in well with Kolb’s (1984) learning cycle.

In my role as a development tutor for ‘at risk’ young people I constantly refer to this PLAN>DO>REVIEW>APPLY cycle with my clients, especially following team building activities.  It works very well with all activities and a lot of the time it is very evident that the young people understand the processes involved and the reasons behind the theory.  They often get very involved in discussions in the review at the end and it makes it possible for us, as facilitators, to relate what they have achieved during the activity to soft skills which they have used such as communication, leadership and teamwork.

I am constantly trying to think of new and interesting ways to facilitate reviews at the end of sessions in order to get the best possible outcomes.  However, I also often find myself asking the question “Should I be facilitating this review or should I be letting the young people self-review in more informal way without facilitation?”.  It all relates back to James’ (1980) article “Can the mountains speak for themselves?”.  This study looks at the differences between facilitated and non-facilitated reviewing but I personally find it very difficult to come to a conclusion.

Beard, C & Wilson, J (2006) Experiential Learning: a best practice handbook for educators and trainers Kogan Page Ltd

James, T (1980) Can the mountains speak for themselves? Scisco Conscientia, 3

Kolb, D (1984) Experiential Learning Experience as a Source of Learning and Development Prentice Hall

Moon, J (1999) Reflection in Learning and Professional Development Kogan Page Ltd