The Theory of Experiential Learning

Discuss about the Impact Of Experiential Learning On Developing People.

The aim of this essay is to analyze the relation of the experiential learning with human resource and adult learning. It is a method of learning introduced and discussed in various dimension. It is a significant area of concurrent research. The style is progressive, radical and humanist. The concept has presence of an educator to guide the proper utilization of the informal knowledge in simplistic understanding of complex situation. It has a serious impact on human resource development and adult education.  For better and deep understanding of business dynamics as well as interpersonal relationships, it has helped greatly. This method give scope for safe environment for learning, engages the employees to their works, produces verifiable changes in mindsets by bridging the gap between theory and practice. This model supports self-learning process, which has given birth of some arguments among the educationists (Knowles, Holton and Swanson 2014). The essay critically analyses the theory of experiential learning, its cyclical nature, the contrasting views of the scholars regarding this theory, its impact on adult learning and human resource development and it is effects in future learning process.

Experiential learning is a comprehensive learning process in which a learner makes practical and effective use of his experiences to construct knowledge. It is referred more commonly as “learning by doing”. The learning here takes place as the learners learn through direct reflection and involvement by comparing their own experiences with the learning. This method increases their motivation and material detainment. The four- stage model of David Kolb regarding experiential learning is a basic presentation of this approach. The essay discusses Kolb’s extensive method of the building the model of the concerned learning.

The theory of experiential learning states that the essence of adult learning is to make sense of life experiences. The adults can learn best when they learn from action and involvement. Involvement together with experiences offers the best education instead of blindly memorizing numbers as well as definitions. David A. Kolb describes the cyclical essence of experiential learning. It takes place in four stages such as:

Concrete Experience: Adults can learn best if the learning process exceeds the chalk-and-talk routine. By encouraging simulations or physical actions, the experiential learning evokes emotional responses that are stronger and realistic therefore reveals cause-effect relationships, creates powerful experiences, which they do not forget easily.

The Four-Stage Model of Experiential Learning

Reflection and Observation: In experiential learning, the adults gain knowledge and obtain insight by engaging themselves and reflecting their own practical. Therefore, it not only creates scope for experience based coaching but also provides opportunity to motivate reflection (Baker Robinson and Kolb 2012). The learning creates scope for visualizing the actions then analyzing the procedures.

Abstract concept formation: The actual goal of experiential learning is to assure that the learner is capable of decoding abstract concepts of their reflections, generalizing the ideas, and perceiving the pertinence to reality. This type of learning designs estimations to motivate the learners to practice analytical thinking abilities so that they can contrive concepts as well as procedures.

Active Experimentation: The hands-on tasks as role-playing, internships, and others let the learners register the learning therefore they truly learn by actions. Active experimentations in new situations guide to form concrete experiences.

In recent times, business grows faster therefore needs to incorporate the innovation and experiential learning in its workplace. experiential learning is an action based education system and the business world advocates this learning model suggesting that the employees learn 70% work through informal experience, 20% through connectivity and the rest from the organization’s training methods. Therefore, most of the organizations employ this purposefully designed learning style to increase skill and proficiency development. This accelerates human resource growth and keeps pace with the business (Chan 2012). This process helps to identify the most required aspects in real world. It creates valuable opportunities to acquire knowledge for the future. The adult learners get the knowledge of real life professionalism by transforming their ideas in to action. This learning can be beneficial for both the groups of visual learners as well as the people learn easily from actions. Experiential learning can replace external learning in terms of associated expenses. From the organizational point of view, the employees get motivated easily when they can find the relevance of the learning model with their real life experiences and get the opportunity to give feedback (Houge Mackenzie, Son and Hollenhorst 2014). The experiential learning model has been proved more efficient than other learning methods. As in this style, the employees work actively and at the same time learn from the action, reduce the time of learning. For example in many institutions, trainee engineers are given opportunity to master through on job experience and mentorship. In this learning process, the learners face challenges of queer situations and practice to navigate. On order to maximize learning, the style has created scope and acknowledged differences to build experiences (Kolb 2014). They work in a designed development, which accelerate the ability in decision-making and understand the business requirement (Bevan and Kipka 2012). Experiential theory has a great impact on business games as it welcomes new ideas and concepts, gives opportunity to apply and ask feedback of the actions. As the business has been visualizing drastic changes over time, the traditional theories need to be revised and Kolb’s experiential learning theory helps the mentors or executives to adopt new techno-centric methods in accelerating performance and reflection (Kolb and Kolb 2012).

Experiential learning has gained popularity in adult learning as it celebrates interconnection between people’s real-life experience and learning process. With the outcome of increased new skills and ideas, this model helps the educators to keep on motivating and rewarding for implementation of real life experience into work. Educationist John Dewey has justified that the individuals transform themselves by creating new knowledge and performing different roles. Experiential learning has a social and democratic nature that emphasizes in internal development and process. Instead of dysfunctional experiences that prevent growth, the individuals must select those experiences helping in building continuity and interaction (Passarelli and Kolb 2012). Through continuity, Dewey tries to identify the ability to connect the new experiences with the already known one. Interaction refers to the ability to be interactive with the work environment and examining the impact of knowledge in that situation. Usually mentors in adult education help them to link dissimilarities with the known. The principles of this style of learning help the adults to improve socio-economic life by teaching the requirements to resolve an issue when the problems arise from uncertainty and shifting situational dimensions (Sandlin, Wright and Clark 2013). This theory maintains the concept of constant learning process where the learners continue to pursue knowledge actively and get opportunity to learn from complex situations. The Experiential learning style often assists the adults to understand perplexing new situations. For example, an employee when joins a new organization acquires important socio-political as well as cultural norms of that organization (Warren 2014).

The scholars, who work in the educational ground and various effective learning processes, have disagreed with the experiential learning theory of David Kolb. Roger argues that experiential learning style excludes targets, purposes, decision-making and intentions. This procedure is solely based on the learners rating themselves instead of rating the preferred learning style. It only strengthens the individual learner instead of relating others. John Heron thinks the style is narrow and needs more development. The critique finds that the part concerning concrete experience is not explained properly therefore, leaves a vast scope for more experiment. It needs to be more elaborated and defined (Merriam and MacKeracher 2013).  The model is more concerned about reflective scrutiny, experimentation and conceptualization. Other critics find the concept of Kolb is very much ill defined and needs interpretations. The idea that the theorist has explains seem to be a blend of various theories that has not been amalgamated logically. .From philosophical point of view, the style is invalid and too restricted. There is no place for imagination and intuition therefore the persons from different gender, socio-economy, age finds it difficult to relate (Schenck and Cruickshank 2015). According to Loyness, the application of this theory has never been convincing and it does not demonstrate the transfer of process of learning from one setting to the other. The simple linear structure of the model is not always acceptable by the adult learners who work random. The cyclical model gives the impression that the levels are equal with time and emphasis. Wilson and Beard support the theory of experiential learning terming it as extremely influential from the management perspective. In management education, the theory is free from any problem and has a far-reaching impact on human resource development and adult learning. From management perspective, social interactions of an individual are very much important for self-development and action. Kolb’s style locates itself in the tradition of cognitive psychology related to language use, perception and problem solving but merely explains anything therefore alienates people from cultural, social and historical aspects of reasoning and action.

Therefore, from the above analysis it may be concluded that experiential style of learning facilitates the employee’s application of informal knowledge into meaningful activity. It is all about empowering a learner by valuing his personal, practical and informal experiences. It is a radical tradition that focuses on personal development, increases the ability to accept challenging situations and solve them by connecting them with personal experiences. 

References:

Baker, M.A., Robinson, J.S. and Kolb, D.A., 2012. Aligning Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory with a Comprehensive Agricultural Education Model. Journal of Agricultural Education, 53(4).

Bevan, D. and Kipka, C., 2012. Experiential learning and management education. Journal of Management Development, 31(3), pp.193-197.

Chan, C.K.Y., 2012. Exploring an experiential learning project through Kolb’s Learning Theory using a qualitative research method. European Journal of Engineering Education, 37(4), pp.405-415.

Houge Mackenzie, S., Son, J.S. and Hollenhorst, S., 2014. Unifying psychology and experiential education: Toward an integrated understanding of why it works. Journal of Experiential Education, 37(1), pp.75-88.

Knowles, M.S., Holton III, E.F. and Swanson, R.A., 2014. The adult learner: The definitive classic in adult education and human resource development. Routledge.

Kolb, A.Y. and Kolb, D.A., 2012. Experiential learning theory. In Encyclopedia of the Sciences of Learning (pp. 1215-1219). Springer US.

Kolb, D.A., 2014. Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. FT press.

Merriam, S. and MacKeracher, D., 2013. The new update on adult learning theory. New Directions for Adult and Continuing Education. Instructor.

Passarelli, A.M. and Kolb, D.A., 2012. Using experiential learning theory to promote student learning and development in programs of education abroad. Student learning abroad: What our students are learning, what they’re not, and what we can do about it, pp.137-161.

Sandlin, J.A., Wright, R.R. and Clark, C., 2013. Reexamining theories of adult learning and adult development through the lenses of public pedagogy. Adult Education Quarterly, 63(1), pp.3-23.

Schenck, J. and Cruickshank, J., 2015. Evolving Kolb: Experiential education in the age of neuroscience. Journal of Experiential Education, 38(1), pp.73-95.

Warren, K., Roberts, N.S., Breunig, M. and Alvarez, M.A.T.G., 2014. Social justice in outdoor experiential education: A state of knowledge review. Journal of Experiential Education, 37(1), pp.89-103.