Experiential Learning

What is experiential learning?

Experiential learning is an educational approach built around active involvement, reflection, and personal meaning-making. Rather than positioning students as passive recipients of information, it invites them to engage directly with the world—solving problems, working collaboratively, and drawing conclusions from their own experiences.

This learner-centered model places doing and reflecting at the core of the learning process. Whether it’s through building a prototype, participating in a role-play, or contributing to a community project, the emphasis is on exploration with purpose. Learners immerse themselves in an activity, encounter real challenges, and then pause to consider what the experience revealed—about the content, the context, and themselves.

Unlike more traditional methods that often prioritise explanation before action, experiential learning begins with a lived moment and works outward. It allows learners to connect abstract concepts with tangible encounters, bridging theory and practice in a way that feels relevant and immediate.

It’s also remarkably versatile. A science lesson might involve designing a water filtration system. A history unit might ask students to simulate a town hall debate. Even a simple outdoor maths task can become an experiential moment when learners estimate distances and then test them physically. These aren’t just activities—they’re opportunities to think critically, collaborate meaningfully, and see learning in motion.

As Benjamin Franklin once put it, “Tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn.” Experiential learning honours that principle. It’s not a supplement to learning; it’s a powerful route into deeper understanding—where participation leads to ownership, and reflection turns experience into insight.

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What are the stages of Kolb's Experiential Learning Model?

In 1974, David Kolb created his Experiential Learning Cycle. Kolb's four-stage Experiential Learning Theory model perceives education as an integrated process. All of these four stages are mutually supportive as David Kolb's Philosophy Of Education demonstrates that effective learning is cyclic involving experience, reflection, critical thinking process and action.

According to David Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory learning is a process in which knowledge is developed through the modification of experience. Kolb's Experiential Learning Model has four stages:

Concrete Experience (CE): To feel

Reflective Observation (RO): To watch

Abstract Conceptualization (AC): To think

Active Experimentation (AE): To do

The above four steps or stages, of learning frequently move in the form of a cycle that starts with a learner having a concrete experience and finishes with their active experimentation on learning.

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What does experiential learning looks like in the classroom?

Experiential learning doesn't rely on the idea that each student has a fixed learning style -visual, auditory, kinaesthetic, or otherwise. In fact, the research now tells us that the popular learning styles theory is, at best, a simplification. People don’t learn better because content matches a preferred style; they learn better when they engage with ideas in varied and meaningful ways.

In the classroom, this means offering a rich blend of experiences—ones that allow students to interact, reflect, experiment, and revisit ideas from different angles. A hands-on science activity, a class debate, a role-play in history, or even a well-framed discussion around a controversial text—these all create space for learners to explore and build understanding through the experience, not just after it.

While lectures and instruction still have their place, they become more impactful when they’re part of a wider cycle—what David Kolb called the learning cycle: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, and active experimentation. In this view, a teacher’s explanation might be the start of an abstract idea, but it becomes meaningful when students use it, test it, or model it for themselves.

John Dewey also argued that the classroom shouldn’t be a sealed-off space but a miniature version of real life. So when learners collaborate on a group project, reflect on a field visit, or even build a model to represent their thinking—they’re not just completing tasks. They’re participating in learning that feels purposeful and connected to the wider world.

Whether it’s a student coding a simple game, building a structure to explore forces, or journaling about a personal experience, what matters most is how the experience is structured—how it invites thinking, and how it supports students in drawing meaning from what they’ve done.

In short, experiential learning in the classroom isn’t about catering to preferences. It’s about creating opportunities for deep, active engagement - where students learn not just by receiving knowledge, but by grappling with it, applying it, and shaping it into something of their own.

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The steps of the Experiential Learning Process

Unlike the outdated notion of fixed learning styles, experiential learning offers a flexible and reflective structure that supports meaningful engagement. Rather than tailoring content to a supposed preference, this approach focuses on how students actively interact with ideas—through doing, sharing, analysing, and applying. Each phase invites deeper involvement with the content, their peers, and their own thought processes.

Below are the key stages of experiential learning, adapted from David Kolb’s model, and shaped for classroom use:

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Experiencing/Exploring “Doing”

This is where learning begins—with direct, hands-on involvement. Learners take part in a meaningful task or challenge, often with minimal teacher direction. Activities might include building a prototype, delivering a presentation, role-playing a character, solving a real-world problem, or engaging with a game-based scenario.

The emphasis here isn’t just on the task itself, but on the experience of participation. It’s about giving students something concrete to wrestle with, observe, and reflect on later. This stage sets the foundation for insight—not by frontloading explanation, but by immersing learners in a challenge worth thinking about.

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Sharing/Reflecting “What Happened?”

After the experience, learners are invited to reflect and share. In small groups or as a whole class, they talk through what they noticed, what stood out, and how they felt during the activity. This reflection isn’t limited to outcomes—it includes observations, reactions, and even moments of uncertainty.

By speaking and listening, students begin to make sense of their experience, connecting it with previous learning and surfacing different perspectives. This stage values the emotional and social dimensions of learning, encouraging learners to slow down and notice what actually happened.

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Processing/Analyzing “What's Important?”

Learners will communicate, evaluate and reflect upon their learning experience. Explaining and evaluating their concrete learning experience enable learners to connect their learning to future academic experiences.

Learners will talk about the process of their learning experience, and how issues, problems and themes arose as an outcome of the learning process. Learners will share how particular issues or problems were dealt with and how to identify recurring topics.Next comes a deeper layer of thinking. Learners are encouraged to look for patterns, themes, and problems that emerged. What skills were used? What challenges came up? How did decisions affect the outcome? Here, they begin to connect their lived experience to broader academic ideas.

This phase often involves critical questioning, drawing comparisons, and surfacing key insights. It's also a moment where learners evaluate the learning process itself—thinking about how they approached the task, what strategies they used, and how they might approach it differently next time.

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Generalizing “So What?”

At this point, learners step back even further to ask: What does this tell us? What broader ideas or principles can we draw from this? This stage moves beyond the immediate experience to find transferable insights.

They might recognise a pattern of teamwork that helped their group succeed, a strategy for managing frustration during problem-solving, or a recurring theme that connects this activity to something they’ve seen before in another subject. It’s about recognising significance beyond the task.

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Application “Now What?”

The final stage is about putting new understanding to use. Learners consider how what they’ve learned could apply to future situations—both in and beyond the classroom. They think about how their new skills, strategies, or ideas might help them in a different context or project.

This is also where ownership becomes key. The teacher’s role is to support learners in making the transfer from this experience to the next, while giving enough space for students to identify their own goals, questions, or next steps. Application cements learning—not as a memory, but as a usable tool.

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What is the instructor's Role in Experiential Learning?

In experiential learning, the teacher steps back from the traditional role of “knowledge provider” and instead becomes a facilitator of thinking and doing. This doesn’t mean doing less—it means doing something different: creating the conditions for learners to explore, reflect, and apply ideas meaningfully.

The process may require a shift in mindset, as well as some professional development to feel confident in designing and guiding experiential learning opportunities. When done well, it builds autonomy, curiosity, and deep engagement.

Here are 10 key ways educators support experiential learning:

1. Adopt a less teacher-centred role
   Allow learners to take the lead in shaping their learning experience. Step back where appropriate, and trust that deeper understanding often comes from student-led exploration.
2. Facilitate, don’t dominate
   Create a positive, non-controlling environment where students feel safe to take risks, try things out, and learn from mistakes without fear of failure.
3. Recognise and tap into intrinsic motivation
   Design learning experiences that learners find genuinely interesting or personally meaningful. Engagement rises when learners see value in what they’re doing.
4. Clarify the purpose of the activity
   Help students understand why they’re doing what they’re doing. A clear, shared goal supports focus and reflection.
5. Model openness and reflection
   Where appropriate, share your own experiences, challenges, and takeaways. This helps normalise the learning process and builds relational trust.
6. Connect course content to practical experiences
   Make sure that the experiential activities clearly link to wider curriculum goals. Be explicit about what learners should be noticing, practising, or reflecting on.
7. Provide relevant resources and support
   Offer tools, materials, or guiding questions that help students succeed—but don’t rush in to solve the problems for them.
8. Clarify roles and expectations
   Be clear about what your role is and what students are expected to do. Clarity helps learners take ownership without confusion.
9. Encourage experimentation and independence
   Let students explore solutions on their own terms. The aim is not always efficiency, but growth through trying, adapting, and learning from setbacks.
10. Balance nurture and challenge
    Maintain a learning environment that is both supportive and rigorous. Encouragement and expectations go hand in hand.

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This reframing helps create a classroom culture where students feel ownership of their learning—and where the teacher’s guidance is purposeful, responsive, and quietly powerful.

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What are the roles of the students in Experiential Learning?

In experiential learning, students are not passive recipients of information—they are active participants in the learning journey. Their role is to engage directly with tasks, reflect meaningfully on their experiences, and take increasing responsibility for their progress.

While the teacher provides structure and guidance, students are encouraged to think independently, collaborate with peers, and respond creatively to challenges. It’s a shift from compliance to ownership.

Here are 8 key roles students take on during experiential learning:

1. Engage personally with the learning experience
   Students choose to invest in the task. This personal involvement—emotional, cognitive, and sometimes physical—is at the heart of experiential learning.
2. Explore real-world, practical problems
   Learners immerse themselves in activities that are socially relevant or grounded in everyday challenges. They apply what they know and adapt as new insights emerge.
3. Maintain freedom with responsibility
   While students are given space to explore, that freedom is linked to meaningful engagement. They stay focused on the experience and the thinking it demands.
4. Navigate complexity and challenge
   Experiential learning often places students in unfamiliar or demanding situations. They learn by grappling with problems, testing out ideas, and developing resilience.
5. Reflect and self-assess
   Students are encouraged to evaluate their own progress—asking what worked, what didn’t, and why. Self-assessment becomes part of the learning, not just the evaluation.
6. Collaborate and share thinking
   Rather than relying on the teacher for answers, students engage with one another—sharing ideas, offering feedback, and co-constructing understanding.
7. Develop independence over time
   With support, learners build the confidence to make decisions, follow their curiosity, and manage their learning with greater autonomy.
8. Stay open to change
   Perhaps most importantly, students are asked to stay reflective, adaptable, and open to shifting perspectives. Learning becomes a process of transformation, not just task completion.

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Incorporating Experiential Learning across Your Curriculum

Incorporating experiential learning in subjects that may not naturally lend themselves to this type of learning can be a creative and engaging process. Here are seven ideas across primary and secondary schools:

1. Mathematics: Use real-world scenarios to teach abstract concepts. For instance, students can learn about fractions by baking a cake or planning a budget for a school event.
2. Languages: Create immersive language experiences. Students can write and perform a play in the language they're learning or engage in a virtual exchange with students from a country where the language is spoken.
3. History: Organize a historical reenactment or create a museum exhibit. This allows students to delve into historical events and figures in a hands-on way.
4. Science: Implement citizen science projects. Students can contribute to real scientific research, such as observing wildlife or monitoring local weather patterns.
5. Computer Science: Encourage students to develop their own apps or games. This not only teaches coding but also problem-solving and design thinking.
6. Literature: Host a book club where students can discuss themes and characters, or write and perform a scene from the book.
7. Geography: Use virtual reality to explore different locations. Students can 'visit' the places they're studying, enhancing their understanding of the world.

These methods can help students connect their learning to real-world contexts, enhancing their understanding and retention of the material. They also foster skills such as problem-solving, creativity, and collaboration, which are valuable in any subject area.

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Further Reading on Experiential Learning

Here are five key studies on the efficacy of experiential learning and its implications for helping children. These studies collectively highlight the positive impact of experiential learning, including project-based and cooperative education approaches, on both teacher and student outcomes across various educational settings.

1. The Impact of Project-Based and Experiential Learning Integration on Pre-Service Teacher Achievement in Evaluation and Assessment by Apantee Poonputta (2023): This study aimed to explore the effectiveness of integrating project-based learning (PBL) and experiential learning in fostering the evaluation and assessment skills of pre-service teachers. The integration of PBL and experiential learning yielded positive outcomes, enhancing the evaluation and assessment skills of pre-service teachers.
2. Experiential Education through Project Based Learning by Douladeli Efstratia (2014): Experiential learning, particularly through PBL, is crucial for connecting students' experiences with school life and provoking serious thinking as students acquire new knowledge. Despite some negative implications related to PBL, the method leverages the advantages of modern teaching techniques.
3. Influence of a cooperative early field experience on preservice elementary teachers' science self‐efficacy by J. Cannon, Lawrence C. Scharmann (1996): This study investigates the influence of a cooperative early field experience on preservice elementary teachers' science self-efficacy. Cooperative learning groups were formed to plan and teach a cooperative elementary science lesson in a local public school, which had a positive influence on the subjects' science teaching self-efficacy.
4. Implementing Cooperative Learning, Teacher Collaboration and Teachers’ Sense of Efficacy in Heterogeneous Junior High Schools by H. Shachar, Haddas Shmuelevitz (1997): This research assesses the effects of cooperative learning methods on teachers’ sense of efficacy. Teachers who implemented cooperative learning most frequently also expressed a higher level of efficacy in promoting the learning of students.
5. Road to collaboration: Experiential learning theory as a framework for environmental education program development by Christine Moseley et al. (2020): This study evaluates an existing environmental education program involving a partnership between formal and nonformal educators. It supports the use of an outdoor field trip as an effective teaching strategy in positively changing students’ beliefs about the environment and proposes Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory as a framework for designing, implementing, and assessing effective outdoor field trips.

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