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Experiential learning
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Wed, 03/18/2009 - 11:44
This comes at the core of learner autonomy, and it means having students actually learn by doing. After the task comes the debriefing stage where the teacher explains why the task was given and its underlying message or goal. Is this how you teach? Do you have any activites or tasks which could be used as examples of this learning style? Let me begin by sharing what I do to introduce the concept of critical thinking or seeing more than one side to an issue. I first have my students play the game "Thinking Hats" or caps as some call it. Then, we discuss how any topic or issue has more than one side to it, and that we need to consider all other sides, so to speak put on their own thinking hats.
Please share any experiential learning tasks you use with your own students and mention the goal or message being taught. Rania
Fri, 03/20/2009 - 08:56
#2
Dear Diana and Rania,
This is a great question! Experimental to me suggests setting out on a voyage of discovery, having a sort of route map with some objectives but lots of bits unchartered, and not really knowing where you'll get to. Experiential is similar but probably focuses more on the process of working out how to find a route that will achieve some of the objectives and get you to an interesting place.
These words come from experiment and experience and I thnk any researcher would tell you that these concepts are intimately linked.
Olwyn
Fri, 03/20/2009 - 22:14
#3
My understanding of experiental learning provides students opportunities to explore, for example, when students work in design of a project, and feedback provided by the teacher...
Sirin
Sat, 03/21/2009 - 15:25
#4
Hi all,
I think that 'experiential' is doing things to learn and a couple of years ago I set in place an 'experiments' task with our lower language ability students as a way to give them a reason for writing, as well as a way to help them maintain their 'science' knowledge. All our students had attained high science marks in their secondary schools, but were unable to cope with the language of the Sciences texts used in our Foundation program. As an English teacher, I don't have the expertise to conduct, or oversee, real scientific experiments, but can put some simple tasks in place. These proved to be both useful and motivating to students and they were, eventually, able to create short reports by the end of the semester. At that time I created a blog in order to get their comments. This is available at http://foundationone.pbwiki.com/ I was able to repeat this the following year, but, unfortunately, the courses at this level were later discontinued.
Phil
Sun, 03/22/2009 - 10:29
#5
Experiential learning briefly means learning by doing. It is a process of self discovery on the part of the students. Another example would be having our students do a timed teasure hunt activity in groups. Then, at the end in the debriefing session intoduce to them the concept of time-management skills and teaching them target language expressions that deal with time. Rania
Fri, 03/27/2009 - 23:06
#6
I suggest Free Hugs activity for experiental learning :))
Sirin
Sun, 03/29/2009 - 11:17
#7
At universities worldwide experiential learning is the basis for weak-long induction programs for all freshmen students. This is a means to allow students to make a smooth transition from high-school life to the bigger picture of academia. Themes tackled include: social diversity, plagiarism, civic engagement, liberal education, critical thinking, and time-management & study skills. Also in schools, even early on in primary schools more and more teachers are opting for experiential leaning as a means toward concrete and relevant learning.
As aristotle says, "the things we have to learn before we do them, we learn by doing them." Hence, the experiential learning cycle is created as follows: a) experince, b) reflection on activity, c) theory, and d) application. Dale's cone of learning simply states that 10% of what students learn they read, 50% of what they learn they hear and see, but 90% of what they learn and remember is a result of what they do and experience.
An article in the review of educational research examined reviews from ninety six experiential programs around the world. It concluded that overall students who participated in these programs made superior gains in academic related skills compared to students in traditional classrooms. Rania
Dear Rania,
Just an idle thought as I happened on this thread.
What is "experiential"? It is presumably something other than "experimental"?
Diana
OM ELT-Management