“Experiential LearningFor DCP Students”

The Good, the Bad, and The Ugly

Dr. Elaine AhumadaDean, College of Professional Studies

Four Important Questions

What does it mean to learn from experience?

What does it involve?

What is the role of an instructor?

Is it effective?

Experiential Learning for Adults means:

Informal (planned & intentional) and incidental (meaning making) learning

Self-directed learning Working knowledge Practical intelligence Situational learning

For adults it means particular theories and practices based onreflection on concrete experience (Michelson, 1996).

kinesthetic, conscious, and unconscious among subjects, texts and contexts

Theory of Experiential Learning

Constructivism(Piaget 1966; Von Glaserfeld 1984;

Vygotsky 1978; Wells 1995)cognitive reflection upon concrete

experience through: holistic experiences

critical reflection coaching /mentoring in the midst

assessing the experience

“Learning by Doing”

John Dewey (1938) Experience and Education :“Continuity” and “Interactions” are two main ingredients for success

Boud, Cohen, Walker (1993) “Engagement is key”

Reeve & Gallacher (1999)“Experience as a starting point for learning has the potential to erode traditional boundaries between knowledge and skills, vocational and academic learning and across disciplines”

What does it involve?

David Kolb (1984) provides one of the most useful descriptive models of the situative adult learning process

available (inspired by the work of Kurt Lewin)

Role of the Instructor

Orientations/Perspectives

Psychoanalytic-unconscious dimensions Situative – individual/community of practice Critical/cultural- social transformation Enactivist- human action, orgs, culture, nature

Criticisms Are instructors “managing” adults? What is an identifiable “concrete experience? Do instructors control the “desired” knowledge? Is there any agreement regarding definition of

“knowledge” and “learning”? What is the role of power and language? What are the conceptualizations of desired

learning outcomes? EL is neither neutral nor innocent “Not all experience educates”

Questions of Validity

Class discussion, reading, analysis, reflection

Educator assists in connecting the dots (expertise required)

Points to consider

Accredited learning for progression or

employment: APL, APEL, PLA, RPL Challenge higher and continuing education

schools and curriculum Focusing on social change Focusing on individual development Curriculum and instruction surveys Idea of knowledge by acquaintance vs. knowledge

about something

Questions/Comments

Thank you!

Elaine Ahumadaeahumada@calbaptist.edu