Experiential Learning

The Learning Experience

Imagine for a moment a father and son sitting in the driveway of the family's home on the Fourth of July enjoying the fireworks being displayed. The son is only 4 years old, and the father is reluctant to allow his son to be near any of the fireworks. The father has purchased sparklers for the occasion and spends several minutes explaining to his son how dangerous the sparklers can be. The son stands passively listening to his father's instructions. The father feels that his explanation about the dangers of sparklers has been adequate. The feedback from the son, both verbal and nonverbal, indicates that the boy understands the lesson being taught. Feeling confident that his son understands, the father lights the sparkler and holds it up for his son to see. The son's eyes light up and a smile appears on his face. A few moments later, as the father squats, holding the sparkler, his gaze moves from his son to view the display of fireworks in the sky. Suddenly, his attention is torn from the sky as his son lets out a painful scream and begins frantically crying. The young boy has reached out and grabbed the hot end of the sparkler. The son's thumb and forefinger are burned. As the father shakes his head in disbelief, trying to soothe his son's pain, criticizing and doubting himself as a father, he wonders how he failed his son in teaching this lesson.

This entry disputes the assumption that the father failed his son in teaching this lesson. In fact, the father could not have taught the lesson better even if he had done the unthinkable: burn his son's hand purposely. Experiential learning is one of the three corners of the learning triangle (see Figure 1), which includes the teacher, the student, and the experience. It is understood that authentic human learning occurs when all three elements of the triangle are working in conjunction. If one element is removed from the triangle, learning may occur, but it will not be as complete, deep, and authentic as possible.

Thinking back to the sparkler incident, the father spent considerable time explaining the dangers of touching it. The father took on the active role of “teacher” and the son took on the passive role of “student.” This active teacher–passive student relationship can be seen in many of our public schools today. The father felt that his instruction was complete because the son communicated that he understood, but the resulting burn illustrates that learning had not taken place. It was not until after the boy was burned, when he experienced the concept his father was attempting to teach, that any real learning had occurred.

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