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| Why
Experiential Learning? Experiential
learning is a key driver of everything we do, and is a distinct point of
difference in the marketplace. Experiential
learning fosters an environment of accelerated learning through
self-discovery and participation. Because your investment in training must
impact business outcomes, our priority is to ensure that the
principles taught are retained and applied on the
job. Experience
is a powerful teacher. On the job it can be costly to learn from our
mistakes, but in the classroom, this valuable learning methodology carries
far less risk. That’s
what makes experiential learning so effective! Our
experiential learning interventions/tools enables people to make
permanent, effective changes in their behaviour by understanding the wide
range of consequences of their choices and accepting responsibility for
them. Using
structured experiences designed to accurately reflect situations in the
workplace, participants learn by doing; and then further their
understanding by examining ways they could have been more effective.
Powerful
learning emerges in the debrief when their experiences are linked to their
real-world situations. People see, understand and experience how their own
behaviour can change to significantly and positively impact their
performance back on their job. Participants
receive maximum learning in less time through the use of theming, tactile
components, fun and relevant links to their personal/business
environment.
What is "Experiential Learning"? Why use "Experiential Learning"? What is "Experiential Leaning"?“Tell me and I
will forget, Show me and I
may remember, Involve me and I
will understand.” Confucius, 450 BC. Experiential Learning essentially
means to “learn by doing” and
it happens throughout our lives.
We learned to tie our shoes by practicing it over and over again;
we learn to drive a car by getting behind the wheel. Verbal instructions were also
provided but the only way to understand and retain these tasks is by
physically doing it.
Experiential learning is based on the
premise that people learn more effectively by “doing” than by listening to
a lecture or reading a book.
The "learn by doing” method consists of both interactive challenges
and problem solving activities with some degree of physical
involvement. High retention levels, long-lasting benefits and positive results are the
outcome. This method has
proven to be one of the most effective teaching tools for all ability
levels, from pre-school children to corporate
executives. The main objective of experiential
learning is to make the participants retain what they have experienced and
apply the learnings to their jobs or personal lives. Experiential learning challenges
participants to come up with their own solutions to problems, rather than
being shown what to do.
Why use "Experiential Learning"?1.
Increased Learning Retention Lecture
5% Reading
10% Audio
Visual
20% Demonstration
30% Discussion
Group
50% Practice By
Doing
75% Teaching
Others
90% (Dr. William Glasser) 2.
Timely Process Improvement David Kolb’s
description of the learning cycle has four related parts: concrete
experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization and active
experimentation. According to
Kolb, individual differences in these stages give rise to learning
styles. (David A. Kolb, Experiential Learning,
Prentice-Hall, 1984) 3.
Supports the Theory of Adult Learning ¨
Adults have a
tendency toward self-directed
learning. ¨
They value the
use of experience in the learning
process. ¨
They identify
learning needs based on work or life
problems. ¨
They need to
apply the learning to immediate
circumstances ¨
The most effective training format is a team/small-group
environment. (M.S. Knowles, The
Modern Practice of Adult Education, Cambridge Books,
1980) 4.
Allows for Varied Results and Individual Behavior
Change Education must
teach how to solve problems not what the solutions are because the
problems students face in their lives will unfold differently every time.
(John Dewey – American
Philosopher) Teachers should
guide students towards a recognition and utilization of their own
resources. (John Dewey – American Philosopher)
The most
powerful learning comes from direct experience. Indeed, we learn eating, crawling,
walking, and communicating through direct trial and error; through taking
an action and seeing the consequences of that action; then taking a new
and different action. (Senge, 1990) 5.
Provides a Safe, Non-Manipulative Learning
Environment Assuming an
equitable experience for all involved, participants own their behaviors
and, thus, own their results. 6.
If
done right, it’s FUN!
Experiential Resources.
Training
is the Answer…But What Was the Question? 20 Questions to Make sure Your
Training Really Works www.workforce.com TIP: The Theories – The database contains brief summaries of 50 major theories of learning and instruction. http://tip.psychology.org/theories.html The Theory of Experiential Learning and ESL – David Kolb http://www.aitech.ac.jp/~iteslj/Articles/Kelly-Experiential/ Experiential Learning Theories
- http://www.usd.edu/~knorum/learningpapers/experiential.html
Phillips, Jack J. "How Much Is the
Training Worth?" Training &
Development 50, no. 4 (April 1996): 20-24 http://www.astd.org/CMS/templates/index.html?template_id=1&articleid=11019
Phillips, Jack J. "Was it the
Training?" Training &
Development 50, no. 3 (March 1996): 28-32. http://www.astd.org/CMS/templates/index.html?template_id=1&articleid=11016
American Society for Training and
Development – www.astd.org
Founded in 1944, ASTD is the world's premier professional
association and leading resource on workplace learning and performance
issues. ASTD provides information, research, analysis and practical
information derived from its own research, the knowledge and experience of
its members, its conferences, expositions, seminars, publications and the
coalitions and partnerships it has built through research and policy work.
ASTD's membership includes more than 70,000 people, working in the field
of workplace performance in 100 countries worldwide.
The Society for Human Resource
Management (SHRM) – www.shrm.org is the
leading voice of the human resource profession. SHRM provides education
and information services, conferences and seminars, government and media
representation, online services and publications to more than 165,000
professional and student members throughout the world. The Society, the
world's largest human resource management association, is a founding
member of the North American Human Resource Management Association
(NAHRMA) and a founding member of the World Federation of Personnel
Management Associations (WFPMA). Ontario Society for Training and
Development – www.ostd.ca Established in
1946, the Ontario Society for Training & Development (OSTD) is a
not-for-profit membership association dedicated to the profession of
training, workplace learning and human resources development. With over 1500 current members,
OSTD is the largest association in Training
& Development Conferences American
Society for Training and Development – www.astd.org
Linkage Incorporated www.linkageinc.com Linkage, Inc. is
a leading provider of organizational development and corporate education
programs, products, and services. Organization Development Network – www.odnetwork.org The Organization
Development Network is a values-based community which supports its members
in their work in human organization and systems development, and offers
leadership and scholarship to the profession. Ontario Society for Training and
Development – www.ostd.ca
Magazines/Publications Selling
Power Magazine – www.sellingpower.com
Sales
and Marketing Management – www.salesandmarketing.com
Training
and Development – www.astd.org Fast
Company – www.fastcompany.com
Books
and Articles Al-Khayyat, R. M. & Elgamal, M.
A. (1997). A macro model of training and
development: Validation. Journal of European Industrial Training, 21(3),
87-101. Boud, D. et al (eds.) (1985) Reflection. Turning experience into
learning, Boud. D. and Miller,
N. (eds.) (1997) Working with Experience: animating
learning, Dewey, J. (1933) How We Think,
Fraser, W. (1995) Learning From Experience. Empowerment
or incorporation, Leicester: National Institute of Adult Continuing
Education. Examines APL / APEL and asks what is lost and gained in the
translation of private experience into the public sphere. Based on the
experience of various courses. Jarvis, P. (1987) Adult Learning in the
Social Context, Johnson, D. W. and Johnson, F.
P. (1996)
Joining Together: Group theory and group skills, 6e., Keeton, M. T. (ed.) (1976) Experiential
Learning, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Aging but still useful
collection. See, in particular, Coleman's contrasting of information
assimilation with experiential learning. Kirkpatrick, D. L. (1996). Evaluating training programs: The four
levels. Knowles, M. (1975). Self-Directed Learning. Knowles, M. (1980). The Modern Practice of Adult
Education, Kolb, D. A. (1984) Experiential Learning, Mezirow, J. (1991) Transformative Dimensions of Adult
Learning, San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. 247 + xix pages. Develops a
comprehensive theory of how adults learn by making meanings of their
experiences. Particular focus on perspective
transformation. Phillips, J. J. (1996a). ROI: The search for best
practices. Training and
Development, 50(2), 42-47.
First in a series of three articles about measureing the return on
investment in training.
Suggests that measuring ROI adds a fifth level to Kirkpatrick’s
four-leve evaluation model.
Provides an overview of 10 case studies submitted to ASTD for
inclusion in a publication, providing the setting (industry), target
group, program description, evaluation process, and results for each
example. Phillips, J. J. (1996b). Was it the training? Training and Development, 50(3),
28-32. Second part in the
series. Offers several ways
of isolating training’s effect on performance, including forecasting,
trend-line analysis, supervisor estimation, and customer
input. Phillips, J. J. (1996c). How much is the training
worth? Training and Development,
50(4), 20-24. Third in
the series. Shows how to
convert program results to monetary benefits bosses can understand. Provides five steps for converting
either hard or soft data to monetary values. Senge, Peter M. (1990). The Fifth Discipline – The Art &
Practice of the Learning Organization. Waldman, D. P. (1996). Interactive multimedia:
Measuring the ROI. Journal of
Interactive Instruction Development, 8(3), 18-20 Weil, S. Warner &
McGill, |
