Experience-based learning: how pupils learn better

The Importance of Experiential Learning

• Humans are learning species and their survival depends on their ability to react and adapt to situations.

• Schools serve a purpose beyond mere knowledge acquisition, including developing social, emotional, and cultural skills.

• Schools should also teach students how to contribute to society, a concept that comes from the school environment.

The Need for Reform in Schools

• Current schools lack quality, with infrastructure, poorly trained teachers, and outdated curriculum.

• There is a vast urban-rural divide and unequal access to resources.

• Schools are stuck in a loop of exams, where the value-add is minimal.

• There is a need to reimagine the present approach to teaching, learning, and testing.

The Role of Experiential Learning

• Experiential learning is a more wholesome approach to teaching and learning, focusing on the “how” of learning or the process rather than the outcome.

• Experiential learning is a continuous, lifelong process of knowledge construction, deconstruction, and reconstruction.

The Experiential Learning Theory (ELT)

• The current education system remains exam-centric, focusing on providing information and cultivating lower-order thinking skills.

• Students must move beyond these basic skills to critical thinking and problem-solving.

• Experiential learning makes students active and involved learners rather than passive recipients of information.

Stages of Experiential Learning

• The experiential learning cycle is cyclical, progressing cyclically as the student learns and re-learns.

• The stages of the experiential learning cycle are concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, and active experimentation.

Implementing the Model

• Experiential learning can be implemented through a wide range of methods, including doing experiments related to a specific topic, teamwork, interactive games, group discussions, role-playing, arts and crafts, real-world immersions through outdoor learning and field trips, and integrating technology and having simulations.

• The ‘flipped classroom’ is an example of an experiential learning setup, where students explore a topic at home and solve the problem together with the teacher and the whole class.

Critiques and Challenges

• Experiential learning can isolate the student process from the classroom context.

• It can also be a logistical nightmare, particularly in the Indian context due to the size and diversity of students.