Experiential education is a philosophy anchored on the process of instilling or imparting knowledge and know-how by a teacher to a student based on content and the learning environment. It involves the teachers engaging in an unswerving experience and keen meditation to help the learners grasp the intended knowledge. The term is used to describe (educational) progressivism which is basically pivoted on the idea that human beings are, like most animals, social, and as such learn best when exposed to the real environment and physically interact with the learning object or subject and with other of their nature(in this case; other students) (Rothman, 1995).
Dewey’s views on the experiential form of education rested on the difference between students based on their experiences and their genetic orientations. This makes each of them unique and hence requires varied learning procedures to ensure their mastery of the syllabus contents. This therefore calls for an education system that accommodates and caters for these differences born by learners. He as such proposed for the learning of the human experiences and how they acquired these experiences which he called the theory of experience. This will give the best method upon which to impact the desired knowledge to the students. Dewey insists that education needs have a structure and an order which should be anchored upon experience (Gutek, 2004).
He goes ahead to appreciate that unlike most animals which are normally born with pre-wired instincts, human beings learn more from experience. They survive more through the same and are thus likely to learn better through the same means a concept he described as continuity.
The last of Dewey’s arguments insofar as experiential education is concerned is on his ideology of Interaction. Here, he bases his view on the interaction of someone’s past experiences and his or her present situation. Ones’ experiences will determine how one interacts with the present situation and thus different people will react differently to different situations (Rothman, 1995).
Experiential education as viewed by John Dewey has both positive and negative sides.
The positive implications of his school of thought upon which the philosophy is based include but are not limited to the following factors. Psychologists have since discovered that human beings are less likely to forget the concepts learned on an interaction basis than through talking e.g. the typical teaching in class. This would improve students’ performance in education due to the high likelihood of remembrance of the concepts learned through this kind of learning. Long-term memory would help the students successfully apply the concepts learned in class into their professions leading to a highly skilled labor force (Gutek, 2004).
Another positive implication would be the interest captured through this kind of learning. When a student or say a pupil engages in this kind of learning process, the learner tends or rather is likely to gain more interest in the subject or even concept being studied. This improved interest makes the student activities during the learning process improve the innovation and invention chances of the student or learner. This is going to improve the students’ creativity and as such excel in their respective professions. It also helps in breaking the boredom that students normally experience with the traditional education system which involved students being taught more through oral discussions.
However, the perspective held by the philosopher is complex to implement in real life. For instance, imagine a class with say 40 students, how would one ensure he learns the experience of this group and how they earned these experiences in order to give them the different approaches needed in their learning process? John Dewey leaves such questions unanswered not to mention that his formula is expensive to implement and time-consuming.
Kurt Lewin on the other hand stresses more on the role played by groups in the learning process. He views the experiential learning process as a process which if incorporates groups of learners; the educational process is most likely to succeed.
References
Gutek, G. L. (2004). Philosophical and Ideological voices in education. Michigan: Pearson.
Rothman, M. B. (1995). Experiential education: an activity training guide. Pennsylvania: Kendal Hunt Publishing Coperation.