Teaching and Learning Center

Contents

Experience
Analyze
Reflect
Learn

What is experiential learning?

Experiential learning assumes a focus on an active learning process whereby students learn through action, analysis, and reflection. They learn by experiencing as close to real-world applications of the intended material as is reasonable; they incorporate planned reflective activities and use their newly gained thoughts to improve their capabilities and finalize their knowledge. The theory argues that everyone learns in different ways and it is necessary to create and practice a set of learning principles and practices that account for these variations.

Experiential learning activities can include but are not limited to, hands-on lab experiments, internships, field exercises or trips, undergraduate research, and public performances or showcases. Beyond that, learning activities can be as simple as anything that will put students in the position to experience their education in an active way, rather than to simply write an essay or be lectured. Projects which ask students to visit and experience relevant places (like libraries, events, etc.), projects which require students to conduct interviews, or to contact and work with local or even campus organizations, all of these and more constitute a push to adding active experience to the classroom.

Experiential Learning involves:

  1. Reflection, critical analysis, and synthesis of reflection and action, treated as important and done within the flow of individual projects.

  2. Opportunities for students driven initiatives, decision-making, and accountability

  3. Learning experiences that include the possibility to learn from consequences and activity, mistakes, and successes.

  4. Room for students to engage intellectually, creatively, and socially with their campus or surrounding environments. 

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Understanding Our Students 

It’s important to understand how our students learn! In order to do that we must understand how these different learning theories impact the education of our learners. We have such a wide variety of student at CCNY. People coming from across the world, from different boroughs, with different ethnicities and languages and experiences. We think about these types of diversity often but what about the diversity of thought, or the diversity of learning? We should seek to create pedagogical practices that account for the diversity of learning in the same ways we combat other flavors of diversity in our community. 

 

Experiential Learning Theory can help you connect with your students more effectively, by creating assignments and coursework that take into account the varied types of learners you have!”

 

Learn more about the experiential learning theory and how we can use it to help our students succeed! 

The theory

Kolb’s experiential learning theory

David Kolb is best known for his work on the experiential learning theory, published in 1984. The experiential learning theory works in four stages—concrete learning, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. For our purposes, we will push this to 6 stages (explained later). These are those 4 plus, two new stages, Activity and Repetition. During Concrete Learning and Reflective Observation the learner undergoes an active learning experience. During Abstract Conceptualization and Active Experimentation, the learner transforms and analyzes that experience in regards to the relevant assignment, project or learning goals. 

 

These cycles are not in any forced order or measure of importance. Every learner is different and will feel more comfortable in different parts of the cycle. Some learners are more proficient in process that highlight Reflective Observation, while others will feel more at home during Active Experimentation. Kolb went on to explain that learners will have their own preferences for how they enter the cycle of experiential learning, and that these preferences boil down to a learning cycle.

 

The idea is to usher students through a learning process that better captures all students’ wide ranges of learning styles. 

Experiential Learning Types (Learning Styles)

 
The experiential learning cycle rests on the idea that each person has specific types of learning tendencies, and is therefore more accustomed to and advantaged by certain learning styles over others. It then becomes important for teachers to be familiar with these styles and tendencies in order to better understand their diverse student body. There is diversity not only in ethnicities, and culture (or language and background) but also in learning styles. Often those styles are affected by other diversities, as well as past learning experiences. These styles are also not exclusive of one another. A person might lean more in one direction but that does not mean they can only learn in one way. These styles should not be treated as exhaustive rules but guidelines for thought and planning.
 

The four general learning styles are:

Diverging: The diverging learning style is full of learners who look at things with a unique perspective. They want to watch instead of do, and they also have a strong capacity to imagine. These learners usually prefer to work in groups, have broad interests in cultures and people, and more. They usually focus on concrete learning and reflective observation, wanting to observe and see the situation before diving in. 

Assimilating: This learning style involves learners getting clear information. These learners prefer concepts and abstracts to people, and explore using analytic models. These learners focus on abstract conceptualization and reflective observation in the experiential learning style.

Converging: Converging learners solve problems. They apply what they’ve learned to practical issues, and prefer technical tasks. They are also known to experiment with new ideas, and their learning focuses on abstract conceptualization and active experimentation.

Accommodating: These learners prefer practicality. They enjoy new challenges and use intuition to help solve problems. These learners utilize concrete learning and active experimentation when they learn.

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Kolb’s (1984) cycle 

Kolb’s (1984) cycle of learning explains the concepts within the experiential learning process (watch the video for a hypothetical example). This process refers to a student’s steps towards concrete learning and understanding of concepts. We should think of it in this way: assignments, curriculum, and projects (etc.) should push students to be involved in these below steps (even if not always in this exact order). This is to capture concrete knowledge and also to incorporate aspects of the learning styles unique to each student:

  • Concrete learning—the concepts, facts, and information acquired through formal learning and past experience;
  • Activity—the application of knowledge to a “real world” setting; an active experience and application of what the learner is being taught.
  • Reflective observation-the analysis and synthesis of knowledge and activity to create new knowledge
  • Abstract conceptualization-the student forms news ideas out of their reflective exercises. They investigate those ideas and discuss them, making them concrete and possible for future utilization.
  • Active experimentation-Where the learning applies the new ideas generated by the first 4 steps in the learning process. They modify their ways of thinking and improve upon their 
  • Repeat-Learning is cyclical. 

Experience?

Play Video

What does experience actually mean? Not every professor can setup an internship and a work study is not relevant to every course or teacher. So what do we really mean by “active learning?” In this video we’ll provide a couple brief examples of “active learning” or “experiential” activities that could spruce up otherwise typical assignments or projects.

Reflection!

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Often, reflection and reflective activities are mistreated. They are either ignored or done as a formality at the end of projects or assignments. The students complete their work, then there is a 1 page reflection due the next day or week. After that we move to the next assignment. Experiential Learning asks us to think of reflection as part of the process, rather than the end of a process.

What-Is-Experiential-Education-Infographic-960x2041
(click to zoom) aee.org & elearninginfographics.com

According to the Association for Experiential Education

  • Experiential learning occurs when carefully chosen experiences are supported by reflection, critical analysis, and synthesis.
  • Experiences are structured to require the learner to take initiative, make decisions and be accountable for results.
  • Throughout the experiential learning process, the learner2 is actively engaged in posing questions, investigating, experimenting, being curious, solving problems, assuming responsibility, being creative, and constructing meaning.
  • Learners are engaged intellectually, emotionally, socially, soulfully and/or physically. This involvement produces a perception that the learning task is authentic.
  • The results of the learning are personal and form the basis for future experience and learning.
  • Relationships are developed and nurtured: learner to self, learner to others and learner to the world at large.
  • The educator3 and learner may experience success, failure, adventure, risk-taking and uncertainty, because the outcomes of experience cannot totally be predicted.
  • Opportunities are nurtured for learners and educators to explore and examine their own values.
  • The educator’s primary roles include setting suitable experiences, posing problems, setting boundaries, supporting learners, insuring physical and emotional safety, and facilitating the learning process.
  • The educator recognizes and encourages spontaneous opportunities for learning.
  • Educators strive to be aware of their biases, judgments and pre-conceptions, and how these influence the learner.
  • The design of the learning experience includes the possibility to learn from natural consequences, mistakes and successes.

About Experiential Learning

Experiential learning has the following elements (Association for Experiential Education, 2007-2014):

  • Experiences are carefully chosen for their learning potential (i.e. whether they provide opportunities for students to practice and deepen emergent skills, encounter novel and unpredictable situations that support new learning, or learn from natural consequences, mistakes, and successes).
  • Throughout the experiential learning process, the learner is actively engaged in posing questions, investigating, experimenting, being curious, solving problems, assuming responsibility, being creative, and constructing meaning, and is challenged to take initiative, make decisions and be accountable for results.
  • Reflection on learning during and after one’s experiences is an integral component of the learning process. This reflection leads to analysis, critical thinking, and synthesis (Schon, 1983; Boud, Cohen, & Walker, 1993).
  • Learners are engaged intellectually, emotionally, socially, and/or physically, which produces a perception that the learning task is authentic.
  • Relationships are developed and nurtured: learner to self, learner to others, and learner to the world at large.

There are many benefits of experiential learning for educators and students, including: 

  • Opportunity to immediately apply knowledge. Experiential learning can allow students to immediately apply things they are learning to real-world experiences. This helps them retain the information better.
  • Promotion of teamwork. Experiential learning often involves working in a team, so learning in this setting allows students to practice teamwork.
  • Improved motivation. Students are more motivated and excited about learning in experiential settings. Experiments are exciting and fun for students, and they will be passionate about learning.
  • Opportunity for reflection. Students using the experiential model are able to spend time reflecting about what they are experiencing and learning. This is valuable as they are able to better retain information when they can think about what’s happening to them.
  • Real world practice. Students can greatly benefit from learning that helps them prepare for the real world. Experiential learning is focused on using real situations to help students learn, so they are then better prepared for their future.

CUNY’S WORKING DEFINITION OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING

Cuny has its own definitions of Experiential Learning activities. As shown above, Experiential Learning can take a variety of forms. What is shown below is only a snippet of that variety and only from this working definition. These further examples, as well as those shown in the videos and writing above, should help provide you with a wealth of thought-provoking material, as you decide on how you might incorporate Experiential Learning opportunities into your course. Remember that active Experiential Learning can be as grand as these below examples or as simple as active work within the classroom, trips, events, or any other creative applications.

At CUNY, experiential and applied learning opportunities should be a transformational component of the undergraduate experience. Educational research indicates that high-impact practices that take ideas and concepts beyond the classroom can increase rates of student retention and student engagement, and can be beneficial in shaping their longer-term personal development as critical and creative thinkers. These practices, known at CUNY as Experiential Learning Opportunities (ELO), take many different forms, all of which allow “learners to have direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop individual capacity to contribute to their communities.”(Association for Experiential Education)

Below are CUNY’s categorical definitions of ELO, which are necessarily broad, given the distinct priorities and strengths of its various colleges and the wide spectrum of students they serve.

  • Formal Internship – paid: Academic programs integrating classroom learning and productive work experience in a field related to a student’s academic and career goals. Formal internships provide students with learning experiences integrating theory and practice. As an academic program, it serves as a partnership among students, education institutions, and employers. Includes remuneration.
  • Formal Internship – unpaid: Academic programs integrating classroom learning and productive work experience in a field related to a student’s academic and career goals. Formal internships provide students with learning experiences integrating theory and practice. As an academic program, it serves as a partnership among students, education institutions, and employers. Does not include remuneration.
  • Independent Internship – paid: An independent internship is a form of ELO that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Independent internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths, give employers the opportunity to guide, and evaluate talent. Includes remuneration. Could be college- or university-sponsored.
  • Independent Internship – unpaid: An independent internship is a form of ELO that integrates knowledge and theory learned in the classroom with practical application and skills development in a professional setting. Independent internships give students the opportunity to gain valuable applied experience and make connections in professional fields they are considering for career paths, give employers the opportunity to guide, and evaluate talent. Does not include remuneration. Could be college- or university-sponsored.
  • Co-operative Education – paid: Formally recognized as an academic program integrating classroom learning and productive paid work experiences in a field related to a student’s academic and career goals. Co-op provides students with progressive learning experiences integrating theory and practice and serves as a partnership among students, educational institutions, and employers. This type of education is directly tied to a career and is always paid.
  • Service Learning/Community Service: Ongoing and sustained volunteerism, service learning, and/or community service performed by students to enrich the learning experience and strengthen communities. This may include structured projects (days of service), smaller group projects, fund-raising events, or individual volunteerism, which is acknowledged by the campus.
  • Clinical Preparation/Practicum: Practicum describes instruction in a supervised clinical/medical, social work or school (student teacher) setting where students have an opportunity to apply the theoretical knowledge they have acquired.
  • Research/Field Study: Mentored, self-directed work that enables students to make an original, intellectual, or creative contribution to the discipline by exploring an issue of interest to them and communicating the results to others. The projects have inquiry, design, investigation, discovery and application.
  • Campus- or University-Based Work and/or Leadership: Productive work experience that serves the campus community by supporting the academic success of other students, the governance of campus life and student affairs through leadership, or campus operations through specialized skills acquired through formal training and in a paraprofessional capacity.
  • Civic Engagement: A teaching and learning focus on educating students as citizens. Classes or programs include meaningful civic education and activities for social good. Classes and projects have components of reflection and engagement.
  • International Applied Learning Opportunities: Experiential learning opportunities for matriculated students while abroad, including internships, cooperative education, service learning/community service, clinical preparation/practicum, research/field study, campus- or university-based work and/or leadership, and civic engagement opportunities.

Experiential Activities & Syllabi

Caitlin Geoghan

Community Focused Feature Article & Media Recreation​

Stephanie Rose

Campus PSA Group Creations

Resources

  • Association for Experiential Education. AEE. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.aee.org/

  • 2020 ELO symposium. The City University of New York. (n.d.). Retrieved January 18, 2023, from https://www.cuny.edu/academics/current initiatives/experiential-learning/2020-elo-symposium/

  • Experiential learning. Experiential Learning | Center for Teaching & Learning. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.bu.edu/ctl/guides/experiential-learning/

     
  1. Learning Styles and Learning Spaces…. Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education
  2. Adventure-based experiential learning components essential for teaching social skills…. a systematic review by Amy L. Roth.
  3. Learning Style Theory….Less Than Meets the Eye
  4. AN EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING-TEACHING MODEL IN RECREATION STUDIES…REFLECTIONS ON IMPLEMENTATION.
  5. Assessing the Effectiveness of Experiential Learning in a Student-Run Free Clinic
  6. An application of a modified experiential learning model for a higher education course…evidence of increased outcomes
  7. Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory…A Framework for Assessing Person-Job Interaction
  1. Experiential Learning Theory and the Learning Style Inventory…A Reply to Freedman and Stumpf
  2. How to assess…Student preferences for methods to assess experiential learning…A best-worst scaling approach
  3. People-Powered Research and Experiential Learning… Unravelling Hidden Biodiversity.
  4. Personalizing Teaching through Experiential Learning
  5. The effect of an experiential learning program on motivations and activity involvement among dementia supporters in Japan
  6. The Impact of Experiential Learning on Student Teachers
  7. The Relationship of Kolb Learning Styles, Online Learning Behaviors, and Learning Outcomes
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tlc@ccny.cuny.edu