Today, higher education institutions are increasingly moving towards a modern educational approach known as experiential learning. This method is popular for engaging, motivating, and inspiring students of all backgrounds and skill levels.
Getting started with the experiential learning technique in your classroom can be hard if you don’t know where to begin. Thankfully, experiential learning platforms and software are here to streamline the process—just keep reading to find out more!
What is experiential learning?
Experiential learning is a process where students learn by doing. It’s about actively engaging in the learning process rather than simply watching it happen.
Educational theorist David Kolb first described the experiential learning model in 1984. He defines four critical steps in the process, which we can imagine as a ‘cycle’ rather than a fixed list:
- Active experimentation, where students try out what they have learned,
- Concrete experience, where students have meaningful and relevant experiences,
- Reflective observations, where students analyse their progress,
- Abstract conceptualisation, where students apply their learning to real-world scenarios.
The most powerful way to deliver these experiences is through a specialised experiential learning platform. As a technology-integrated solution, these platforms can help you engage and upskill students while connecting them with industry leaders and role models.
Drawbacks of traditional educational models
While experiential learning is powering forward in the higher education space, some universities still rely on traditional teaching systems.
The overarching drawback of traditional education lies in its ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. This is the exact problem Kolb attempted to solve in developing the experiential learning model, which aims to serve all kinds of learners.
Kolb’s four learning styles—accommodating, diverging, converging and assimilating—each fall somewhere on the experiential learning model. However, traditional teaching lends itself largely to ‘diverging’ learners, who prefer to sit back, listen, and gather information.
Traditional approaches like lecturing benefit some learners, but not all. That’s why many institutions are moving towards experiential learning platforms to deliver personalised and engaging experiences.
What can an experiential learning platform do?
An experiential learning platform is an all-in-one programme bursting with features to help you engage and motivate your students.
These features include progress tracking tools, comprehensive analytics, chat-based collaboration, and much more. Using an experiential learning platform like Practera, you can do everything from connecting your students with experienced mentors to signing them up for valuable internship programs.
A specialised learning platform will also allow you to:
- Deliver customized learning experiences based on student needs and preferences,
- Choose from pre-built templates or create your own project plans,
- Provide high-value, personalised, and timely feedback for each learner,
- Stay informed about learner sentiments,
- Track student performance and progress,
- Chat and collaborate with students, mentors, and employers.
These features offer endless benefits for students and educators, including higher student enrolment and retention, stronger employability, and lower delivery costs.
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Deliver engaging experiences today
If you’re ready to retain more students, boost employability, and reduce education delivery costs, an experiential learning platform is a way to go!
We recommend investing in this tailor-made software to consistently deliver high-quality education and professional development to your students by IB Chemistry Tutor.