Can we integrate this type of learning in the online classroom? Or should we?
Experiential learning can be an effective method for helping students' integrate course material into their day-to-day lives. As Beckem and Watkins (2012) noted, experiential learning allows students to actualize the material in a real-world setting, thereby increasing the value and retention of the material. Experiential learning has the potential to help students view course material in a less esoteric manner, which can make said material less daunting and more applicable to a professional setting.
I have seen the value of experiential learning from a students' perspective as I was lucky enough (so I am told) to have grown up the Colorado Rockies - a playground for the natural sciences. My high school was located on a 50-acre campus that contained forests, meadows, two ponds, numerous massive rock outcroppings, and a creek. I fully remember going on brief "field trips" during my science classes to explore the campus environment to understand the world around us in a holistic and practice manner. Although I am not a Geologist, I can still remember the events that took place during the Mesozoic Period as well as how to distinguish between shale, limestone, granite, and the many virtues of gypsum. The only reason I can remember such things is that I learned them in a hands-on setting, on field trips, not from a textbook or a lecture. Though I am certainly not degrading the value of information learned through textbooks or lectures, I am merely advocating for including experiential learning in our teaching repertoire.
Kolb (1984) indicated that experiential learning consists of four elements: active experimentation (doing), concrete experience (experiencing), abstract conceptualization (thinking), and reflective observation (reflective) I believe that each one of these elements is an essential part of the critical thinking process - a process we try to teach our students. By moving beyond rote style learning or teaching to the test, I believe students can gain a better understanding of the material and instructors can increase their enjoyment of teaching.
The difficult question, however, can we implement experiential learning in an online setting? Should we require a service-learning component or some other activity that requires student to perform work offline? Can we be innovate and think of ways for student to have "virtual' hands-on experiences. Alternately, should we attempt to teach through experiential learning at all? Is this type of educational paradigm a god fit for the average online learner? Please share your thoughts, questions, and comments.
Thanks,
Eric
Reference:
Beckem II, J. M., & Watkins, M. (2012). Bringing life to learning: Immersive experiential learning simulations for online and blended courses. Journal of Asynchronous Learning Networks, 16(5), 61-70.
Kolb, D. A. 1984. Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice Hall
16 Comments
Hi Eric,
I thoroughly enjoyed your thoughts on experiential learning and teaching, and I feel it can and should be used in the virtual classroom as much as possible. Unique challenges exist in the online classroom for incorporating this into our curriculum and teaching strategies. I find the same challenges existing as I constantly strive to accommodate a wider variety of learning styles period for my students. You mentioned the possibility of including a service-learning component as part of the online student's requirements. I am a strong advocate of this type of component in degree programs such as nursing, education, counseling, etc. where students are required to do a practicum/student teaching/clinicals during their program as part of graduation requirements. Such skills need to be built before students enter their practicum (typically clinicals/student teaching occurs towards the end of a student's program), so they can gain the most out of that experience and be well prepared for the certification process. As a Psychology instructor, the challenges for me lie in the liberal arts. One concern I have is that a service learning component will be generalized across the board and become more of a hindrance to students rather than an enriching experience. I would hate to see student's required to spend a certain number of hours in a service learning experience merely because it is required, and less because it is applicable to their career goals and education. In addition, students at the Undergraduate level are still in need of basic professional skills such as reading, writing, and research. At the Master level, once they have strengthened these skills, perhaps the service learning component would be more enriching. All in all, "real world" experiences are extremely valuable to our student's education. I am still at a loss for how to best incorporate this, though. Any thoughts?
Hello Amanda:
Thank you for your thoughts about implementing a service-learning component into online education. I agree there are both upsides and downsides to the service-learning paradigm. Although there is the potential to provide a rich experience to students, there is also the issue that service learning will simply be another process students must endure. One thing I advocate is to allow students to choose their own service learning opportunity; it does not need to be discipline specific, as long as the experience adds value to their knowledge. Undergraduate students may lack the certain competencies relating to professional skills, but prompting them to think about their interests and putting them into real-world situations might help pique their interests toward a particular vocation. An emphasis on giving back and being of service should also be part of the program. Undergraduate students are often idealistic and providing them opportunities to actualize their idealism could help produce the next generation of leaders. Hence, I would encourage students to participate in volunteer activities and encourage them to incorporate the experience in their studies - within the discussion and if possible within their essays.
Thanks,
Eric
Hello Eric,
Appreciate your thoughts. Question: In this "incarnational" approach to empowering student learning outside of the classroom, how would you define (measure, qualify, determine, etc) success or mastery of content concepts?
Hello Andre:
Thank you for your response and your excellent question. Part of measuring success toward the "mastery of content concepts" outside of the classroom involves developing a metric based on the students' level of understand of the material. For instance, a student in a lower-level course would need to exhibit less understanding of concepts related to course concepts as compared a to student in a higher-level course. A lower-level student might be measured based on simply volunteering their time at an organization they find a connection with where as a student in a higher-level course might be expected to take a type of leadership position with said organization. Ultimately, I do not believe there is a codified measurement to judge student progress, but rather, we as faculty need to base progress on the individual students' ability. I hope this helps to provide some clarification.
Thanks,
Eric
Thanks Eric,
I ask because many times if the instructor is not careful, there is a "projection-effect" that can take place. Especially if there are expectations for the student.
Hello Andre:
You bring up a good point about the projection-effect taking place if the instructor places demands or expectations on the student concerning experiential learning activities. The incorporation of outside activities might best be included on a strictly volunteer basis. This allows the student to explore new opportunities without preset mandates, which can provide for a more holistic learning experience. We can also ask students to incorporate such experiences in their discussion posts and papers where applicable.
Thanks,
Eric
Hey Eric,
I appreciate your perspective. I also think the in "allowing the student to explore..." set the foundation for a true learning environment. Adding, as our students "grow" we can have access to the resources that our students gain: practice, concepts, understanding, etc. Ultimately, this gives us a true opportunity to be "with" our students in the learning process.
Thanks again Eric for your dialogue!
Dre'
Eric, thank you for your blog post on experiential learning in higher education. I found the blog during an internet search while I was wrapping up an undergraduate online course I taught this fall in customer service. I sent the students out into the community for various topics, i.e, observing customer service in retail, customer service with diverse communities, etc. I strive to give my online students real world application to their academics. I thought you might enjoy some of the comments by the students.
Student #1: The activity that was the most informative for me was my visit to Mesa State University's, Diversity Center. It was amazing to see and be told about all of the accommodations and options that were available for the students.
Student #2: I really wasn't surprised by anything in particular in the course. However, the experiential activities were extremely beneficial for me. I got to put myself in both positions (consumer, customer service person). It forced me to see both sides of the transaction and both perspectives.
Student #3: The one thing I admittedly moaned and groaned about ended up being my favorite activity in this class. Visiting the Accessibility Center at Auraria Campus was a really enlightening experience. I learned a lot about our disabled community and the tools that are out there to assist in being successful in the learning process. Confirmation that we live in such a technologically advanced world. I will probably reference in the future the last unit we covered regarding diversity. I learned some useful knowledge in providing customer service to people of different cultures and values.
Student #4: I liked the observation exercise as it forced me to really look at folks around me and how they are striving or not striving for customer service. As a manager, I aim to observe my employees and reward those who go out of their way in customer service and empower those who need some direction.
Hello Candace:
Thank you for sharing your student's reactions and thought about the experiential learning aspect of your course. I feel that students can best learn through doing (i.e. field research) as it makes the exoteric theorems and paradigms we cover in our classes more real. The key is then to ask students to relate their experience to the course material as this demands critical thinking, something we all strive for in our teaching endeavors - developing these connections is not a simple matter. As I mentioned in the blog post, the experience of experiential learning opportunities and the knowledge gained in the process has stayed with me far longer as the experiences were tangible, and gained through frontline research. I think this gives credence to qualitative research as we can move beyond examining data set toward understanding how phenomena effect people in their day-to-day lives. Prompting our online students to engage in real-world settings also removes many of the isolation and connectivity issues associated with online education.
Thanks,
Eric
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