If you haven’t heard of experiential learning before, it’s the idea that learning is a product of experience. If it sounds like something that you might be interested in, we have a whole article that explores how to apply experiential learning in the classroom and beyond.
We can only gain experience from interacting and engaging with the world and people around us. This learning theory comes from David Kolb’s experiential learning cycle, and considers the role of all our experiences in learning, from emotions and cognition, to our environment.
Kolb’s 1984 theory suggests that there are four main stages in the learning cycle:
Concrete experience. This is when the learner has a new experience, such as riding a bike for the first time.
Reflective observation. After the concrete experience, the learner must reflect on their actions and watch others perform that action.
Abstract conceptualisation. The next step involves the learner making sense of their reflections and making a plan for going forward. They might come up with next steps and seek insight from experts.
Active experimentation. During the final stage, the learner will consider their reflections and previous lessons and then retry the original experience to see if any progress has been made. This will lead to a new concrete experience, and so the cycle restarts.
Experiential learning is a great teaching method because it encourages creativity, helps students learn from mistakes, fosters reflective thinking, and prepares students for future experiences. It can be effective for several subjects, especially during science experiments, sports coaching, and group projects.
Some simple ways to encourage experiential learning in your classroom include encouraging students to assess themselves regularly and reflect on what they’ve learnt. As a teacher, you might want to record yourself teaching or keep feedback journals so that you can reflect on previous lessons.
You can learn more about reflective practices in our open step by the British Council or delve into learning from experience in our open step by the University of South Wales.
