Experiential Learning: Learning beyond the Curriculum

Why experiential learning?

As globalization brings economic and cultural disruption, youngsters must become more agile and entrepreneurial. Schools need to rethink on how and why their programs should establish the transformative power of taking learning beyond the classroom and engaging students in real-world experiences.

What is experiential learning?

A simple definition of experiential learning is learning by doing. Experiential learning grasps learners by their attention in an experience thereby, encouraging reflection about the experience. This develops new skills, new attitudes or new ways of thinking.

What does experiential learning look like?

Putting experiential learning into practice is not simple. The activity is not actually experiential, although it has the potential to be. Experiential learning involves more careful planning and a thorough understanding of the approach.

There are some important features that need to be present for a learning experience to be experiential. As a parent, you should be aware of this so that you can verify if your kid’s school is using best practice with this approach. These characteristics include:

1. Activities should be set up such that students have the previous skills and theoretical knowledge needed to investigate a situation with an open mind. This type of scaffolding is essential to ensure that students have the right tools to navigate an experiential learning activity.

2. Teachers must create a safe space for students to go on a journey of self-discovery. This takes wise planning to provide students with the freedom to explore without fearing the consequences.

3. Experiential learning activities are not linear and don’t always work out smoothly. Reflection is an imperative part of the learning process. So, students have the opportunity to understand what worked and what didn’t.

4. Students are the learners as well as the self-teachers in experiential learning. Therefore, activities need to have meaning and be relevant to children’s motivation. Students should be driven and fully focussed in the experience. And, the key to this is an emotional investment.

5. All experiential learning activities should possess a big perspective so that real-world connections can be made. Students should begin to understand the complex relationships between different subjects and across different aspects of life outside of school.

Increasingly, schools are required to adjust their approach towards teaching to adapt to the way students learn and what they require to be successful in the future. Experiential learning prepares students to be analytical and creative problem solvers. It also helps them to better internalize new knowledge and skills through real-world experience.