Experiential Learning Definitions and Models

The term experiential learning (EL) commonly refers to active, action-based learning. That is, the individual learns through reflection on individual experiences and activities. EL may occur as the natural result of an individual experience such as learning more about playing football by playing a game of pick-up football, especially with oversized opponents.

Another usage of the term refers to engaging in activities and experiences planned by an adult or more knowable other. These may occur inside or outside the classroom and are typically designed for the individual learner. For example, children might cut a pumpkin open, dissect the seeds, and examine the pulp rather than read about it, or the children might engage in [Page 220]pretend play as they shop in a grocery store. The focus is thus on individual learning through hands-on experiences. Many refer to this as learning by doing because the focus is on the construction of knowledge by the individual.

EL contrasts sharply with traditional instruction. Traditional or didactic instruction (DI) used by teachers emanates from the Socratic method and uses oral discourse to inform a group of learners. The teacher or instructor stands in front of the class, and the learner/children listen or respond. DI involves more discussion by the instructor and less participation by the students. Most American schools rely on the didactic lecture-style instruction as the major instructional strategy with large and small groups even though scholarship supports the effectiveness of EL over lecture.

The value of EL for learning was initially recognized by John Dewey during the early part of the 20th century. Dewey, father of American education and the progressive approach in education, was among the first scholars to discuss the traditional versus experience based approach to instruction. He believed that children learn by doing and encouraged students to engage in carpentry, gardening, sewing, and cooking. He referred to these activities as experience-based activities and believed that these served as the foundation for experience-based learning. In school settings, these are typically referred to as concrete experiences and can occur through play.

Another supporter of EL, Carl Rogers, a noted psychologist in humanism, was among the first to use the term experiential learning. For humanists, all instruction could be divided into two areas, traditional and meaningless or experiential and relevant. Because humanist theory dominated the educational world in the 1960s and 1970s, this view of the world was popular in education. The model views the individual's desire to learn as the most powerful force in education and considers lecture-based instruction as meaningless.

David Knob applied the theories of Dewey and Rogers and others to adult learning and developed Experiential Learning Theory (ELT). Knob defined EL as “the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transforming experience.” He and Roger Fry were the first to develop a learning cycle based on EL. Their basic model used four stages: (1) concrete experiences; (2) observations and reflections; (3) formation of abstract concepts and generalizations; and (4) testing implications of concrete in new situations. The first stage is what most view as EL and requires the learner to be actively involved in a real, meaningful activity such as play with balloons as a way to demonstrate a state of matter. The first stage provides an opportunity for using concrete materials. This can involve real materials and real experiences.

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