19 Facts About Experiential learning

Experiential learning is the process of learning through experience, and is more narrowly defined as "learning through reflection on doing".

Hands-on learning can be a form of experiential learning, but does not necessarily involve students reflecting on their product.

Experiential learning is distinct from rote or didactic learning, in which the learner plays a comparatively passive role.

Experiential learning is often used synonymously with the term "experiential education", but while experiential education is a broader philosophy of education, experiential learning considers the individual learning process.

Experiential learning entails a hands-on approach to learning that moves away from just the teacher at the front of the room imparting and transferring their knowledge to students.

Experiential learning focuses on the learning process for the individual.

One example of experiential learning is going to the zoo and learning through observation and interaction with the zoo environment, as opposed to reading about animals from a book.

Likewise, in business school, internship, and job-shadowing, opportunities in a student's field of interest can provide valuable experiential learning which contributes significantly to the student's overall understanding of the real-world environment.

Experiential learning can occur without a teacher and relates solely to the meaning-making process of the individual's direct experience.

Experiential learning requires self-initiative, an "intention to learn" and an "active phase of learning".

Kolb's cycle of experiential learning can be used as a framework for considering the different stages involved.

Rather, what is vital in experiential learning is that the individual is encouraged to directly involve themselves in the experience, and then to reflect on their experiences using analytic skills, in order that they gain a better understanding of the new knowledge and retain the information for a longer time.

Dewey wrote that "successive portions of reflective thought grow out of one another and support one another", creating a scaffold for further Experiential learning, and allowing for further experiences and reflection.

Rather, the mechanism of experiential learning is the learner's reflection on experiences using analytic skills.

Experiential learning is supported in different school organizational models and learning environments.

Kolb positions four learning styles, Diverger, Assimilator, Accommodator and Converger, atop the Experiential Learning Model, using the four experiential learning stages to carve out "four quadrants", one for each learning style.

Robert Loo undertook a meta-analysis of 8 studies which revealed that Kolb's Experiential learning styles were not equally distributed among business majors in the sample.

Experiential business learning is the process of learning and developing business skills through the medium of shared experience.

Experiential learning is most easily compared with academic learning, the process of acquiring information through the study of a subject without the necessity for direct experience.