What is experiential learning and how does it work?
FutureLearn,
Sept 09, 2021
As the subhead says, "we explore Kolb's theory of experiential learning, discuss its cyclical nature, and think about how to apply experiential learning in the classroom and beyond." This is "the idea that experiences are generated through our ongoing interactions and engagement with the world around us, and learning is an inevitable product of experience." Kolb in particular proposed a cycle consisting of active experimentation, concrete experience, reflective observation and abstract conceptualization. It is relevant (to me) that three of these four elements are cognitive, not experiential (that is, they are elements of planning, reflecting and theorizing) and that they are all intentional (that is, we make a specific effort to do them). My own take on experiential learning is that it is much less formal and intentional than described here. You can learn a ton by simply aimlessly exploring and taking it all in. But you won't necessarily learn specific and intended things; for that you need some sort of process, and Kolb's is as good as any, so long as we keep in mind that planning, reflecting and theorizing are things we bring to the experience, and not part of the experience itself.
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