“For the things we have to learn before we can do them, we learn by doing them. We become builders by building.”
Aristotle, Nicomachean Ethics
What is Experiential Learning?
Students become more interested and passionate about learning when they can get involved with the material. Therefore, learning by doing is key when grasping a learning outcome (MTa Learning, 2018). We have all learned how to ride a bike, not entirely by being shown or told how, but by physically practising our technique on a bike. Students, teachers, and all learners implement experiential learning in all sorts of situations. Thinking back on some of my best learning experiences, they often involved hands-on action. For example, I learned how to play soccer by physically practicing. Though I had my soccer coaches, teammates and family verbally teach and help me understand how to play, it was only when I kicked the ball on my own I developed a true understanding of the game. Encountering learning tasks with either past or current hands-on education helps you be able to effectively retain and reflect on information.
Experience plus reflection equals learning.
John Dewey
Experiential learning does in fact align with my group’s chosen topic, “sociology’s perspective of health inequity and how it resulted in social murder” because:
- According to our assessment plan, we plan on using peer quizzes as a formative assessment and a unit test, group or individual project, and final exam as a summative assessment.
- Since we learn by doing, taking a test and interacting with other students through peer quizzes will help the learners grasp our topic and think about different perspectives to health inequity they may not have thought of on their own.
- Additionally, we will provide feedback for our students after each assessment so they are reassured when they are successful and can understand where they may have gone.
- Feedback is helpful because we learn from our experiences and with this guidance, we are making sure our students don’t make the same mistakes and can expand their comprehension of our topic.
Learning Pod Blog Links
Kyla’s blog:
Jialong’s blog:
Yixuan’s blog:
Community Contributions
This week I read and commented on blog posts written by Kate and Zhiwen.
References
Marmot, M., Friel, S., Bell, R., Houweling, T. A., Taylor, S., & Commission on Social Determinants of Health. (2008). Closing the gap in a generation: health equity through action on the social determinants of health. The lancet, 372(9650), 1661-1669.
MTa Learning. 2018. “What Is Experiential Learning?” Experiential Learning. Retrieved October 16, 2021 (https://www.experientiallearning.org/about-mta/what-is-experiential-learning/#a-definition).
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