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Experiential Education and Learning by Experience
Thomas E. Smith, Clifford E. Knapp, Jayson Seaman, and Steve Pace
In this chapter we provide a short history of the development of the field of experiential education and explain how it evolved in the United States into a broad and diverse profession. We then examine the meaning of the term and highlight some of the problems and issues facing experiential educators today. We hope that the contributing authors will help experiential educators spread the philosophy and methods of the field and take on a greater role in mainstream educational circles. We also hope that this book will help to propel the reader beyond the peripheral and beyond the philosophies of Dewey and Hahn.
Although there are many precedents in other geographical places, the contemporary approach to experiential education (EE) in America coincides with the beginnings of the adventure education movement in the 1970s when the Outward Bound schools, the National Outdoor Leadership schools, and Project Adventure were founded in the United States. These educational alternatives to traditional ways of teaching and learning reinforced the messages of earlier educators about the value of direct experience. These educators believed that students would learn certain concepts, skills, and values better if they occasionally moved away from their desks and books and were provided more opportunities for challenging small group experiences outside the classroom. This only made sense when learning through experience was the most effective and efficient way to meet particular objectives. A variety of challenging outdoor activities were collectively described as adventure education and later as experiential/challenge education. For example, ropes and team challenge courses, short- and long-term camping expeditions, rappelling, backpacking, rock climbing, canoeing, skiing, spelunking, initiative problems, environmental awareness activities, and community service learning gained in popularity as ways to develop individual self-concepts, group communication skills, and teamwork.
The last quarter of the 20th century saw rapid development of these adventure alternatives in schools and other educational institutions. As leaders of this movement recognized the positive impact of challenging group experiences on the psychological, social, and spiritual development of the participants, some educators and other helping professional noticed the parallels between adventure education and the emerging human potential movement. When counselors and therapists began to explore the potential of these outdoor strategies, programs of wilderness therapy, adventure-based counseling, and outdoor personal and group growth developed. The use of these adventure activities in teambuilding and leadership development attracted corporate human resource leaders and the movement expanded to the business world. By the turn of the 21st century, the scope and diversity of experiential education had broadened and professionals in the field continued to examine experiential theory and practice. Luckner and Nadler made this same point when describing experiential learning:
Some critics of this developing field of experiential education have charged that the field is experience rich and theory poor. They accused EE leaders of adopting the Nike slogan âjust do it,â without thinking about the reasons for doing it. In the beginning some practitioners were guilty of leading adventure activities with a minimal understanding of the underlying objectives and purposes. In a new and emerging field, this leadership limitation can be easily understood, but not accepted. One explanation for this disconnect between theory and practice is that the Journal of Experiential Education was begun about 30 years ago and philosophical topics did not appear frequently enough in the early years of publication. This criticism can be countered by clarifying EE theory and bringing more consistency and congruency to EE practice. Understanding the link between educational theory and practice is important because sound theory provides the basis for valid practice.
The original theoretical base for the practice of EE was considered to be derived in part from John Deweyâs educational philosophy. When Dewey established his Chicago laboratory school in 1896, he wanted his teachers âto provide children with experiences (cultivating a garden, for example, or a visit to a farm) that would lead to the gradual differentiation of the school subjectsâ (Tanner, 1997, p. 45). David Kolbâs experiential learning cycle was also used extensively to explain how people learned: through experiencing, reflecting, generalizing, and applying the knowledge gained (Luckner & Nadler, 1992, p. 6).
As EE leaders seek to define the field and clarify the theoretical foundations for the field, they need to consider several issues and questions. We offer the following questions and brief discussion of some of these issues to stimulate the thoughts of EE professionals.
Is it the process of individual and group reflection which makes an event in oneâs life become a memorable and useful experience? In their book, 12 Brain/Mind Learning Principles in Action (2005), Caine, Caine, McClintic, and Klimek describe global experiences as âphysiologically rich beginning events that evoke an impression of the âwholeâ subject to be explored and engage the students in several simultaneous waysâ (p. 127). These experiences are intended to stimulate interest, result in questions about the topic, and link it to the studentsâ lives. They could include stories, simulations, ethical dilemmas, projects, artifacts, art, music, or poetry. When these types of events are reflected upon, they usually are more meaningful, understanding is expanded, and later applications are more clearly considered. In other words, when students undergo a careful process of reflection, an event in life is often transformed into a meaningful and memorable experience that can be applied more easily to similar situations in the future.
Should there be a distinction made among âexperiential learning,â âexperiential education,â and âschoolingâ? Learning is the personal, self-regulated acquisition of knowledge (concepts, skills, attitudes, values, and habits of mind) through a variety of ways and under different conditions. Learning occurs as a result of individual and group experiences provided by both formal institutions, such as schools, and through informal life situations occurring from birth until death. Bruner (1966) defined learning as the acquisition of the knowledge of results in a problem-solving situation when and where it can be âused for self correction.â He believed that effective âinstruction increases the appropriate timing and placing of corrective knowledgeâ (p. 50). For example, if a camper pitches a tent on a slope and rainwater washes underneath the shelter and wets the inside, the next time that tent is pitched he or she will search for a more level place if the lesson has been taught properly and learned well. Achieving an education can be viewed as the sum total of knowledge gained, usually resulting from formal instruction. Schooling is achieved through formal institutions established by most societies to pass on knowledge deemed important for living comfortably and productively in a particular culture. The term âexperiential learningâ may be redundant, for many believe that all learning is the result of lived experience in combination with personal reflection. Saying that someone quit school and received their education from life experience means that they had a different set of experiences than those provided by schools. Experience with books, lectures, and other mediated instruction will always be important parts of learning, but many other strategies for stimulating learning can result in lasting knowledge. Christian Itin (1999) suggests that distinguishing between learning and education is important because using the terms interchangeably makes meaningful discussion more difficult.
Is there a significant difference between learning through experience inside the classroom or outside the classroom? The similarities and differences of learning inside or outside the classroom and the school building must be acknowledged. Historically, EE was most often associated with outdoor learning, and many still consider the outdoor classroom as an important educational setting. When practitioners in the humanistic education movement who had their roots in the human potential movement of the 1960s, â70s, and â80s became involved with the EE movement, they pointed out that meaningful experiential activities could also be facilitated in the classroom. Perhaps distinguishing between the outside classroom and the inside classroom is less relevant now because experiential learning occurs in both places
Does experiential learning always have to involve active, whole-body participation? Human experience can be received either actively or passively. In some life events the individual is more passive-receptive (as in reading a book or listening to a lecture), and at other times a person is more active-interactive (as in planting a tree or climbing over a wall). Some educational activities demand whole body movement and the need for mind/body coordination (as in hiking a forest trail or rappelling down a rock cliff). Some educators now use the term âactive learningâ to describe this kinesthetic, hands-on/minds-on way of attaining knowledge. Gibbons and Hopkins (1980) suggested that dis...
