THE IMPORTANCE OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING FOR ADULT STUDENTS

The initial thoughts to learning came up with a well-known saying, “I hear, I forget; I see, I remember; I do, I understand,” by Confucius (551-479 BC). The learning shift is in involvement and transformations instead of in a regular classroom where the experience has both an inner and an outer world perspective. The exterior view is the connectivity to others and the place, while the inner world is the heart and mind. A significant development over the years within the educational system is experiential learning, which emphasizes students’ learning by doing and focusing on learning the experience. Some popular activities within experiential learning are lab experiments, work placements, community work, and field visits (Kolb,1984). “Experiential Learning” is now an integral part of many programs and can be seen as the upcoming form of optimal learning. Not only does it have a “learning by doing” approach, but it also uses problem-solving and critical reasoning within its approach. Other benefits of the process are that it connects the link between theory and practice by giving firsthand knowledge to students and has a long-lasting impact on the student’s minds compared to traditional education. Furthermore, this experience is also a great motivational tool for students since they are challenged within practical settings and rely on their skills to experiment and solve problems in the field (Holdings,2014).???

Amongst many scholars who have discussed experiential learning, the guiding principles of David Kolb are simple and valuable in the teaching of experience design. In the saying above, “doing” is a significant experience that can connect both the outer and inner world. The learning event needs to be authentic or accurate, such as the training of a pilot put through simulators for their flight training, where the environment and situation are created around the learning event, and the behavior shown by the person is reflected to get the true essence of an experiential learning experience (Beard,2010).?????

The concept of experiential learning has been vastly researched around the globe since 2000, when some scholars have measured the effectiveness of experiential learning compared to a traditional teaching method. From here, experiential learning is now a primarily accepted framework for innovation in learning-centric education and curriculum design. Students learn from their practical experiences; therefore, the experiential learning methodology has been increasing in higher education through game simulations, role plays, field visits, internships, and others, as it promotes the stimulation of the mind comprehensively (Bread,2010). This model strengthens the link between education, personal development, and work, where the result is the learning environment and supplements formal classroom education, and the reflection on this learning supports personal grooming and development.??

?

In the same way, the approach to experiential learning by David Kolb highlights how the learned experiences guide the knowledge achieved based on the application of these experiences (Kolb,1971). The approach of Experiential learning has since expanded into different aspects of the teaching activities, such as emphasis on experiments in laboratories, placement of students in organizations, and exposure visits followed by the exercise of reflective writing or discussions within groups to understand the experience. The approach revolves around the idea that the knowledge attained by people constantly evolves within the mind and is shaped and reshaped by experiences. However, to be more efficient with this knowledge, one should also spend some time thinking and reflecting on what they have learned and how this new learning will improve their performance in the future (Fry et al., 2009). As suggested by Kolb, this learning process results from a four-stage cycle in which the experience is the first step, followed by reflecting on it, then explaining what happened and coming up with an action plan to assess the result (Kolb,1983).??

?

One of the positive elements of this approach is that each student’s learning journey is their own; hence, students with diverse backgrounds also have the same benefit of taking advantage of their placement opportunity as any other student. London has quite diverse cultures and students from different educational backgrounds, which can make it difficult for them to learn at the same rate as students with an advanced educational experience. With experiential learning, the student decides the pace of knowledge, and supervision helps them to learn according to their understanding. Experiential learning is particularly true for adult students, who bring vast practical experience and can contribute more value to the classroom. Adult students often have extensive professional and life experiences that contribute to a rich learning environment, providing a context and relevance to the theoretical concepts. Their experiences in real-world problem-solving can enhance the depth and practicality of discussions and projects within the experiential learning context, and strategies should be developed incorporating experiential learning within curriculums.?

References?

Bread.C (2010).The experiential learning toolkit Blending Practice with concepts.Kogan Page Limited?

?

Fry. H., Ketteridge. S., Marshall.S., (2009). A Handbook for teaching in higher education: Enhancing academic practices. 3rd Edition.Chapter 2.?

?

Holdings.K (2014).8 reasons why experiential learning is the future of learning.https://elearningindustry.com/8-reasons-experiential-learning-future-learning?

?

Kolb, D. A. (1984).? Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.?

?

Kolb, D. A. (1971).Individual learning styles and the learning process. Working Paper #535-71, Sloan School of Management, Massachusetts Institute of Technology?

?

Kolb, D. (1983). Experiential learning.Pearson Education.?

?

About Najia?

Najia Rafiq is a dedicated educationist and entrepreneur with diverse experience in business management, education, and health program management, bringing a unique blend of practical expertise and scholarly acumen to her work. Her passion for teaching and real-world experience allows her to design engaging curricula and inspire students to excel. Najia’s academic journey includes an MSPM, MPH, and an MBA, and she holds several professional qualifications, including a PGCert in higher education and a Global Diversity and Inclusion certification. She believes in the power of education and inclusive leadership to create positive change.?