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A Lesson in Disguise: Enhancing Training Through Experiential Learning Techniques
- By Debra Jennings
- Published 10/20/2008
- Health & Beauty
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Debra Jennings
Breakthrough Management Group International (BMGI) is an internationally-renowned consulting and training organization. For more about BMGI’s corporate onsite services, visit www.bmgi.com. For individual training, visit www.bmguniversity.com.
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In all of life, reading or hearing about something is never as powerful as experiencing it for yourself. How much better do you understand geography after you’ve traveled somewhere on your own? And do you think you could ever learn to ski simply by watching a video? Only when you are out on the slopes can you fully grasp the meaning of planting a pole or putting all of your weight on your uphill foot.
In its most simple form, this is the essence of experiential learning, or learning by doing. Back in the 5th century BC, Confucius recognized the effectiveness of experiential learning when he said "I hear, I know. I see, I remember. I do, I understand." Since then, many philosophers, psychologists, sociologists and educators have touted the merits of learning by experience.
If you're an instructor, shifting curriculum to be more learner-centered and less lecture-focused can have a significant impact on how much your students comprehend and retain. Below are a few ideas on how to incorporate experiential learning in your curriculum.
Go Beyond Basics
Lesson slides and manuals have their place in keeping lessons on track and helping students know what to expect from the course. However, an overdependence on such tools leads to the traditional “lecture/listen” method, a more tedious and less engaging approach to training. When you go beyond static lectures and reading from PowerPoint slides, you become an active facilitator of learning. As an alternative to slideshows and books, you can use a variety of activities including discussions, group exercises, student "teach backs,” case studies, simulations and daily openers and closers.
Use Your Whole Brain
Design your training to incorporate all four lobes of the brain (memory, hearing, vision and motor skills). The more places learning enters the brain, the better recall students have. This means combining exercises where learners use multiple
techniques, such as talking, asking questions, working in teams, listening, seeing, reading and recalling information. Through these varied activities, students create “muscle memory” that dramatically improves retention.
Mind the Gap
For learning to take place, information (or knowledge) must jump from one synapse in the brain to the next, across a gap called the “synaptic junction.” The wider this gap, the harder the jump. Many things impact the size of this gap: how much sleep someone had the night before, whether they are hungry or tense, if they feel fear, etc. As the instructor, you can narrow this gap by ensuring a comfortable and stress-free learning atmosphere where students feel at ease and ready to learn.
Acknowledge Learning Styles
Research has shown that people exhibit different learning preferences and aptitudes. Some people learn by doing, others by listening and reflecting; some display mathematical acuity, while others excel in language skills. Thus, an effective curriculum is one that incorporates activities to engage students in various ways. For example, you can do a simulation to appeal to spatial learners, then appeal to the more linguistically minded students with group discussions.
Watch and Learn
Observe student behavior to determine which concepts are taking hold and where there may be gaps. Daily exercises and “teach backs” can help you gauge how well your students understand the concepts, and give them the opportunity to talk about, share and demonstrate what they are learning. In the end, this translates to significantly better understanding, and ensures that the needs of all students are being addressed.
Results Matter
The proof is in the pudding. Experiential learning instructor Ginty Chalk believes that the true effectiveness of experiential learning can be seen once the students have changed their behavior. "We can all gain knowledge," she says, "but whether we use it to improve our skills or our job is the difference between merely gaining knowledge and actual learning.”
In its most simple form, this is the essence of experiential learning, or learning by doing. Back in the 5th century BC, Confucius recognized the effectiveness of experiential learning when he said "I hear, I know. I see, I remember. I do, I understand." Since then, many philosophers, psychologists, sociologists and educators have touted the merits of learning by experience.
If you're an instructor, shifting curriculum to be more learner-centered and less lecture-focused can have a significant impact on how much your students comprehend and retain. Below are a few ideas on how to incorporate experiential learning in your curriculum.
Go Beyond Basics
Lesson slides and manuals have their place in keeping lessons on track and helping students know what to expect from the course. However, an overdependence on such tools leads to the traditional “lecture/listen” method, a more tedious and less engaging approach to training. When you go beyond static lectures and reading from PowerPoint slides, you become an active facilitator of learning. As an alternative to slideshows and books, you can use a variety of activities including discussions, group exercises, student "teach backs,” case studies, simulations and daily openers and closers.
Use Your Whole Brain
Design your training to incorporate all four lobes of the brain (memory, hearing, vision and motor skills). The more places learning enters the brain, the better recall students have. This means combining exercises where learners use multiple
Mind the Gap
For learning to take place, information (or knowledge) must jump from one synapse in the brain to the next, across a gap called the “synaptic junction.” The wider this gap, the harder the jump. Many things impact the size of this gap: how much sleep someone had the night before, whether they are hungry or tense, if they feel fear, etc. As the instructor, you can narrow this gap by ensuring a comfortable and stress-free learning atmosphere where students feel at ease and ready to learn.
Acknowledge Learning Styles
Research has shown that people exhibit different learning preferences and aptitudes. Some people learn by doing, others by listening and reflecting; some display mathematical acuity, while others excel in language skills. Thus, an effective curriculum is one that incorporates activities to engage students in various ways. For example, you can do a simulation to appeal to spatial learners, then appeal to the more linguistically minded students with group discussions.
Watch and Learn
Observe student behavior to determine which concepts are taking hold and where there may be gaps. Daily exercises and “teach backs” can help you gauge how well your students understand the concepts, and give them the opportunity to talk about, share and demonstrate what they are learning. In the end, this translates to significantly better understanding, and ensures that the needs of all students are being addressed.
Results Matter
The proof is in the pudding. Experiential learning instructor Ginty Chalk believes that the true effectiveness of experiential learning can be seen once the students have changed their behavior. "We can all gain knowledge," she says, "but whether we use it to improve our skills or our job is the difference between merely gaining knowledge and actual learning.”