Learning Through Experience

It has been said that "all learning is experiential." I have no reason to doubt that, but I do think there are times when applying the specific skills and processes of experiential learning are called for.

Experiential learning is best suited for two very distinctive performance improvement needs. The first is to increase awareness and understanding of self-perceptions and how a person is seen by others. The second is need is to address situations that call for new knowledge and application by a work unit prompted by a change in plans or expectations.

The experiential learning process is simple to grasp, is effective and reliable as a means to create meaningful change. It allows individuals and teams to participate in activities that facilitate both personal and group learning around key business matters.

There are a couple of things that are essential for experiential learning to be effective - a suitable learning event and capable facilitation. The event creates the context for increasing awareness and understanding. Facilitation helps learners pull ideas from the event that can be helpful for changing attitudes and behaviors.

Experiential learning begins with doing. That is followed by a chance to reflect on and talk about what happened. From this, new ways to think and behave are brought forward. These are then tried and examined. If they work, they are put into practice. If not, they are tweaked and tried again. The process spirals out from there.

Choice of the learning event is crucial. It provides the context for insights and ideas and how to put them to use. The event can be a simulation, a game or a physical activity that serves as a metaphor for the workplace. It can also be a real time, real place situation. The latter, I have found, is particularly powerful when work units can quickly apply what they learned, make changes in how they do things and reap the rewards of their new found knowledge.

The experiential learning process fosters knowledge and growth through the structure of an environment that is rich with opportunities to learn. Collaboration and synergy are hallmarks of this approach. So too are the give and take that come with providing meaningful feedback and supporting each other. Likewise, the facilitation that is an integral part of the process keeps people engaged and helps shape their ideas.

Experiential learning can help people gain deep understanding about themselves, each other and their performance. More importantly, it helps them put their understanding to work.