EXPERIENTAL LEARNING

INTRODUCTION
Experiential learning, also known as hands-on learning, values the experience of learning
over what is learnt, learners over teachers and real world of life & work over classroom
learning.
In the words of the Association for Experiential Education, ‘educators purposefully engage
with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge,
develop skills, clarify values, and develop people's capacity to contribute to their
communities’.
Mark the underlined words. Educators create opportunities for the sole purpose of learners
experiencing directly learning happening to them. Experiential Learning makes learners focus
their attention on the process of learning and are responsible for what they learn and how
much they learn.

NEP- 2020 & EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

NEP- 2020 has asked to make a paradigm shift from ‘what to learn’ to ‘how to learn’, from
less ‘content learning’ to more ‘process learning’, from rote learning to critical evaluation
and creativity. It further said to make education ‘more experiential, holistic, integrated,
discovery-oriented, learner-centered, discussion-based, flexible, and, surely, enjoyable’.

5 CARDINAL PRINCIPLES IN NEP-2020

1. CONCEPTUAL UNDERSTANDING (No rote learning or learning for exam)
2. CREATIVE & CRITICAL THINKING (encouraging decision making and innovation)
3. ETHICS, HUMAN & CONSTITUTIONAL VALUES (e.g., empathy, respect for others,
cleanliness, etiquette, courtesy, democratic spirit, spirit of service, scientific temper,
liberty, responsibility, pluralism, equality and justice)
4. LIFE SKILLS (e.g., cooperation, teamwork, communication, resilience)
5. REGULAR FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT FOR LEARNING (rather than the regular
summative assessment that encourages today’s ‘coaching culture’)
Which among them calls for experiential learning?

DAVID KOLB'S EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING MODEL

LEARNING STYLE
Learning styles are classified according to basic cognitive structure. Though by no means it’s
stated that learning style cannot be changed; learning style is contingent, apart from basic
cognitive structure, upon social environment, educational experience etc.
There are four distinct learning styles based on four stages of Experiential Learning Cycle
given earlier.

COGNITVE EMPHASIZES CHARACTER GOOD AT

STRUCTURE TRAIT

DIVERGING Innovative/ • Imaginative • Gathering info

imaginative
• Emotional • Brainstorming
approach
• Social • Team work

ASSIMILATING Analytical approach • Analytical • Exploring

 • Logical • Assimilating

CONVERGING Experimental • Experimental • Problem solving

approach
• Practical

• Technical

ACCOMMODATING Trial and error • Passive • Imitating

method
• Work on gut instinct

LEARNER ATTRIBUTES
According to Kolb, a genuine learning experience requires the learner to have these four
abilities.
 The learner must be willing to be actively involved in the experience;
 The learner must be able to reflect on the experience;
 The learner must possess and use analytical skills to conceptualize the experience
 The learner must possess decision making and problem-solving skills in order to use the
new ideas gained from the experience.

SOME TOOLS OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

 CONVERSATION
 ROLE PLAY
 FIELD TRIPS/ EDUCATIONAL EXCURSIONS
 STORY TELLING
 WRITING JOURNALS
 GAMES
 FILMS
CONVERSATION:
• Handled creatively, this is one immersive experience for the learner.
• Speaking up helps students clarify and solidify their thoughts.
• Student conversation can elicit new ideas (not previously mentioned or thought of.)
• It also helps build respect for other's opinions.
• Doing it properly is an intellectual challenge. (Agree?)
ROLE PLAY
• It offers the most immersive experience.
• The learner puts his/her shoes in another character.
• The learner reflects upon similarities and differences between him/herself & the role,
character’s response and his/her response in similar situations.
• It offers an excellent opportunity to transcend one’s own time and situation, one’s
strengths & limitations.
FIELD TRIPS/ EDUCATIONAL EXCURSIONS:
• It offers direct, and unmediated learning experience.
• Reading about
 animals & their behaviour and GETTING TO SEE THEM IN ZOO
 the beauty of a monument and SEEING IT FACE TO FACE,
 slums and VISITING ONE IN THE NEIGHBOURHOOD
STORY TELLING:
• The oldest tool known to man for teaching-learning.
• It is a craft, perfected through practice.
• Adjusting one’s reactions to the various strands of the narrative, making one’s own
meaning of the situation, plot & character through reflection and analysis helps build
up vital cognitive skills.
• NEP-2020 explicitly asks it to be carried out in classrooms.
WRITING JOURNALS:
• Quite effective for language classes.
• Two types: "personal" and "text-related"
• Students find meaning in their own thoughts as well as in concepts learned in class.
• It enhances self-awareness and student interest.
• It promotes understanding and in-depth knowledge of scholastic concepts
GAMES:
• Another tool for immersive learning.
• An excellent activity to develop CCT skills.
 • NEP-2020 asks it to be extensively promoted and practiced.
• The industry is worth over 100 billion dollars. (Name it.)
METHODS OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING
1. Active learning– All participants in the group must engage actively in working together
toward the stated objectives.
2. Place-based learning – The process of using local community and environment as a
starting point to teach concepts in language, arts, mathematics, social studies, science,
and other subjects across the curriculum.
3. Problem-based learning– Provides a structure for discovery that helps students
internalize learning and leads to greater comprehension.
4. Project-based learning– An instructional method that uses projects as the central focus
of instruction in a variety of disciplines.
5. Service learning– Providing meaningful service to a community agency or
organization, simultaneously gaining new skills, knowledge and understanding as an
integrated aspect of an academic program.
6. Simulation-based learning– A combination of active, problem, project, and place-
based learning. Participants are placed in a simulated environment and given objectives
requiring constant attention and care.
7. Vocation-based learning- learning for an occupation/trade.