Carl Roger’s (1983) experiential learning approach lends itself to using the facilitative approach to teaching as he feels, human beings are naturally curious and will learn as they see the need for it. ‘Human existence is situated within time and emerges through it, and it has been argued elsewhere that learning is a process through which the human, as opposed to the biological, being grows and develops’ (Jarvis 1992, cited by Jarvis 2000, pp.65). This means that life is about experience and that we develop and mature through the experiences and what we learn from them. Since this is the central focus in learning from experience surely if this process is used consciously learning can be focused and enhanced.
Rogers (1983) identifies the following principles of experiential learning:
• Human beings have a natural potentiality to learn. Learning does not have to be stimulated, because it is a natural human drive.
• Significant learning occurs when the learner perceives the relevance of the subject matter. A person learns what he perceives to be necessary for the maintenance or enhancement of own self.
• Learning involves a change in self-organisation and self-perception.
• Learning that threatens self-perception is more easily perceived and assimilated when external threats are at a minimum.
• Learning occurs when self is not threatened and maximised in a threat-free atmosphere.
• Much significant learning is acquired by doing, that is, through experience. When the learner chooses the goals, helps to discover learning resources, formulates problems, decides courses of action, lives with the consequences of each of these choices, then significant learning occurs.
• Learning is facilitated when the learner participates responsibly in the learning process. Learning that involves the whole learner, feeling as well as intellect, is the most lasting and pervasive kind of learning.
• Self-initiated learning involves the whole person.
• Independence, creativity and self-reliance are all facilitated when self-criticism and self-evaluation are basic. Self-criticism is to be encouraged and self evaluation should be more important than evaluation by others.
• Much socially useful learning is learning the process of learning and retaining openness to experience, so that the process of change may be incorporated into the self. (cited by Jarvis 1992)
While Rogers (1983) provides a good understanding of how individuals can learn from experience it is not easy to see how it can help us understand learning within groups. Other theorists like Kolb and Fry (1975), Schon (1983), Boud et al (1985) Gibbs (1988), explain the process of learning from experience as cyclical in nature, which entails the learner to have an experience, evaluate and reflect on the experience, learn from it and then apply the learning by experimenting. The teacher’s role here will be to facilitate the learning by guiding, questioning, clarifying and providing resources. Nunes and McPherson (2007) opine that the learning activities must be authentic activities that are embedded in realistic and relevant contexts (situated learning); and learners must be provided with the opportunity to explore multiple perspectives on an issue, by carrying out varying activities to acquire a comprehensive view of a particular concept.
Figure 1- Learning through Experience
The explanation of the process of experiential learning provides me with a better understanding of how this can be applied to learning online within a group of students as well as by individual students in the group. Though learning may begin at any point in the cycle, generally it starts with an experience, which can occur as a result of an unplanned or planned learning opportunity. This stage is called, concrete experience by Kolb and Fry (1975) or simply as ‘do’ by Kirk (1987). The individual can be actively involved in the situation or the experience or can be an observer. This means that the individual can learn not only from own experience but also from that of others. This, I think, relates directly to learning from others within the group.
The next step is related to examining the experience minutely. This relates to Schon’s (1983) explanation of reflection, where the learner attends to the feelings and attitudes related to the experience as well as the actual components of the experience. Sense has to be made of this experience so that, conclusions can be drawn, as to what was done correctly, what could be improved or changed if a similar situation arose again. This stage is called, the reflective observation by Kolb and Fry (1975) or simply ‘review’ by Kirk (1987). This reflection can also be carried out collaboratively in a group. Gibbs (1988) and Schon (1983) in their reflective cycle describe this stage in greater detail along with the skills required to reflect appropriately. The importance of this concept makes it central to the process of experiential learning and so worthy of discussion in its own right later in this section.
The learner can formulate rules and conceptualise to allow learning to take place. This is the third stage of the cycle. The understanding gained from this experience allows the learner to clarify issues that lead to a positive or negative consequence of the actions under scrutiny. This leads to learning about ways of responding to situations that will lead to more positive consequences. Kolb and Fry (1975) call this the abstract conceptualisation stage while Kirk (1987) calls it simply ‘learn’ which again can be achieved individually or by collaboration and scaffolding within a group.
The last stage in the cycle relates to trying out this new learning by using the rules and concepts in another situation also called active experimentation by Kolb and Fry (1975) or simply ‘apply’ by Kirk (1987). Since we have already stated that the process of learning according to this theory is cyclical in nature, this new experience will become a starting point for the next cycle of learning.
Experiential learning is also discussed in some depth by Jarvis (2000) as he feels it lends itself to the learner centred approach to education. I firmly believe that experiential learning and reflection are also central to learner centred approach in learning online. The emphasis on learning in the workplace through work experience has also become important in education today. When people act in a taken for granted manner, almost unconscious manner, it is still a result of prior experiences rather than just intuitive response. However, if this kind of action is not possible as their prior experience does not equip them to deal with the situation, then they have to stop and think, or plan or learn something new. Herein lies the learning from experience. This process of stopping and thinking and defining the problem is essential to learning through experience. This form of learning has become increasingly popular within facilitation of learning in the workplace. Learners’ gain theoretical understanding within the classroom but the linking of theory to practice comes from the workplace experience, by working through the experiential learning cycle. Thus learning by this process can address all the three domains – cognitive, psychomotor skills and affective, suggested by Bloom (Brockbank and McGill (1999).
Read about the Experiential Learning theory that was proposed by Kolb in 1984 and the critiques by other authors.
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