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Communication and Culture
faculty logoExperiential Learning
Our faculty values learning that is relevant to society, learning which has practical applications in political, social and workplace life. At the same time, through a university education, students are not merely training themselves for careers; they are learning to become lifelong learners and valuable citizens.
Society, government and business appreciate the key role of a University in producing graduates who have the ability to reason deeply and think critically--graduates who are willing and able to assume leadership roles in business and society.In experiential learning, the process of relating theory to practice provides students with the real-world experiences that society and business increasingly demand of graduates.
At the same time this process facilitates a deeper understanding of fundamentals and naturally encourages the application of ideas to unexplored areas; this is one aspect of critical thinking.
What is experimential learning?
Experiential learning provides students with the opportunity to integrate abstract, conceptual knowledge into concrete applications, leading to broader, more enduring learning outcomes.
It may include, but is not limited to
- Workplace learning -- i.e. co-op, internships
- Client-based projects -- within credit courses or thesis projects, students also work with a business client to provide them with a service (i.e. design a communication product, conduct a research project, plan an event, etc.)
- Community Service Learning (CSL) -- Similar to client-based projects, these are course projects that involve students working to assist a nonprofit community organization or initiative as they build subject-area knowledge and skills.
- University Service -- if related to course goals, a class project could involve students participating in university committees, students' union activities, student club activities, course redesign, curriculum review, etc.
- Lab activities -- students do exercises, create documents, conduct experiments or do other hands-on activities under the guidance of instructors, i.e. in a computer lab
- Case Studies based on real experience, which involve students in problem-solving processes
- Field trips that involve students in structured observation, participation, discussion and reflection
- International Exchange programs
- Events co-organized by students in a course, in which students present their knowledge to the community
- Peer Mentoring -- As part of an official mentoring course or honours project, a student works with an instructor to enhance the learning experience of their peers by leading study groups, organizing essay workshops, facilitating online discussion, etc.
- Undergraduate Research -- as part of an honours thesis, research methods course, or research-intensive course, students experientially learn useful research skills and project management skills.
Experiential learning is not just having an "Experience" for credit -- it is "Experience + Learning." For an experience to be a valuable learning process, the student must have the opportunity for, and be guided towards "reflective observation" so that the relevance of the experience can be assessed and the experience can be placed into context.
Which of our courses and programs involve experiential learning?
Sometimes a particular type of experiential learning is associated with a field of study or a particular course. Sometimes it depends on the resources and teaching methods of an individual instructor -- for example, the instructor of one section of a multi-section course may use experienial learning while others do not. Sometimes the nature of a course makes it very easy or very difficulty to include experiential learning.
Course outlines sometimes provide information about experiential learning opportunities. However, they may exist without being noted on the course outline. Experiential learning may be an option within a particular assignment, for example. It may be an activity on a class schedule that is only provided when classes begin.We encourage students to take initiative and to suggest community resources. While taking a course, you may suggest an individual or class-wide experiential learning activity to your instructor. You may also suggest an idea to a program director, who may then consider it a possibility in future curriculum redesign.
The Adventure and Challenge of Experiential Learning
Experiential learning is rewarding often because of the very challenges it poses for students, instructors and any external partners or participants.
1. One challenge is the risk of failure and interpersonal tension that often occur when collaborating with other people and new environments. Students can learn a lot from experiencing difficult situations. Although conflict or task failure is never desirable, especially when an external client is involved, students should be encouraged to reflect on the causes of any failures or conflicts in light of the theories they have learned.
2. Another challenge is evaluation. Experiential learning is best approached by students and teachers as a process, not merely judged terms of outcomes. In this mode of learning, ideas are not fixed and immutable elements of thought that students repeat back to instructors; instead, knowledge is formed and re-formed through experience, observation and reflection. Experiential learning can be evaluated through a combination of instructors' observation of students, peer evaluation reports, client evaluation surveys, students' experiential journals, students' final reports, etc.
3. A third challenge is to cooperate with instructors as they shift their roles. In all of our courses, even those without experiential learning, we hope that students will not just passively "receive" knowledge. The knowledge that is most meaningful and lasting is that which you co-create as an active member of a learning community.
In experiential learning activities, your instructor is not supposed to function as a lecturer. Your instructor takes on the role of a coordinator, guide and coach. He or she carefully plans and guides the experience and helps you to place your experience in a larger context.
In general, the educator's role is to provide opportunities for experiential learning. She or he will
- explain how the experience relates to course-specific objectives
- allow students to gain the experience
- permit sufficient time or methods through which students can reflect upon the experience gained
- permit methods to distill the experience so that students are aware how their experiences fit into currently held views. How does theory relate to experience?
- permit methods to follow up the experience, so that students can apply the insights gained, perhaps through additional relevant experiences