Abstract
We all learn from experience. That is not to say that we learn everything from experience nor to suggest that we always learn from experience. A moments reflection will reveal how often that is not the case! I am constantly horrified by how often I do the same things and make the same mistakes, and haven’t learned much in the process. On the other hand, I am equally surprised how often I have learned the really important things in my life, not from books nor from being told things by other people, but from having had something happen to me that I have found interesting or important. This is experiential learning.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
Preview
Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.
Recommended and Further Reading
Archambault, R.D. (ed.) (1964) John Dewey on Education: Selected Writings, Random House, New York.
Boot, R. and Reynolds, M. (1983) Learning and Experience in Formal Education, Manchester Monograph, Department of Adult and Higher Education, University of Manchester.
Boud, D. (ed.) (1973) Experiential Learning Techniques in Higher Education, Human Potential Research Project, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey.
Boud, D. and Prosser, M.T. (1980) Sharing responsibility: staff-student cooperation in learning. Brit. J. Educ. Tech., 11, (1), 24–35.
Bower, G.H. and Hilgard, E.R. (1981) Theories of Learning (5th Edn), Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Bridges, W. (1973) The three faces of humanistic education. In Curriculum Development: Issues and Insights (eds D.E. Orlosky and B.O. Smith), Rand McNally, Chicago.
Brocket, R. and Hiemstra, R. (1985) Bridging the theory-practice gap in self-directed learning. In Self-Directed Learning: From Theory to Practice. New Directions for Continuing Education No 25 (ed. S.D. Brookfield), Jossey Bass, San Francisco, Cal.
Brown, G. (1971) Human Teaching for Human Learning, Viking Press, New York.
Brown, I.B. (ed.) (1975) The Living Classroom, Esalen/Viking, Cal.
Chene, A. (1983) The concept of autonomy in adult education: a philosophical discussion. Adult Education Quarterly, 32, (1), 38–47.
Coleman, J.S. (1982) Experiential learning and information assimilation: towards an appropriate mix. Child and Youth Services, 14, 3–4, 12–20.
Conrad, D. and Hedin, D. (1982) The impact of experiential education on adolescent development. Child and Youth Services, 4, 3–4, 57–76.
Cunningham, P.M. (1983) Helping students extract meaning from experience. In Helping Adults Learn How to Learn: New Directions for Continuing Education No 19 (ed. R.M. Smith), Jossey Bass, San Francisco, Cal.
Davis, C.M. (1981) Affective education for the health professions. Physical Therapy, 61, (11), 1587–93.
Dowd, C. (1983) Learning through experience. Nursing Times, 27th July, 50-2.
Du Bois, E.E. (1982) Human resource development: expanding role. In Materials and Methods in Adult and Continuing Education (ed. C. Klevens), Klevins Publications, Canoga Park, Cal.
Famighetti, R.A. (1981) Experiential learning: the close encounters of the institutional kind. Gerontology and Geriatric Education, 2, (2), 129–32.
Fox, F.E. (1983) The spiritual core of experiential education. J. Experiential Education, 16, (1), 3–6.
Freire, P. (1985) The Politics of Education, Bergin and Garvey, South Hadley, Mass.
Gager, R. (1982) Experiential education: strengthening the learning process. Child and Youth Services, 4, (3–4), 31–9.
Guba, E.G. (1978) Towards a Methodology of Naturalistic Inquiry in Educational Evaluation, SE Monograph Series in Evaluation No 8, Center for the Study of Evaluation, University of California., Los Angeles, Cal.
Hamrick, M. and Stone, C. (1979) Promoting experiential learning. Health Education, 10, (4), 38–41.
Hendricks, G. and Fadiman, J. (eds) (1976) Transpersonal Education: a Curriculum for Feeling and Being, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Heron, J. (1981) Experiential Research: a New Paradigm, Human Potential Research Project, University of Surrey, Guildford, Surrey.
Hudson, A. (1983) The politics of experiential learning. In Learning and Experience in Formal Education (eds R. Boot and M. Reynolds), Manchester Monograph, Department of Adult and Higher Education, University of Manchester.
Hunter, E. (1972) Encounter in the Classroom, Holt Rinehart and Winston, New York.
Jarvis, P. (1987) Adult Learning in the Social Context, Croom Helm, London.
Levison, R.H. (1979) Experiential education abroad. Teaching Sociology, 6, (4), 415–19.
Lewin, K. (1969) Quasi-stationary social equilibria and the problems of permanent change. In The Planning of Change (eds W.G. Bennis, K.D. Benn and R. Chin), Holt Rheinhart and Winston, New York.
Lipsett, L. and Avakian, N.A. (1981) Assessing experiential learning. Lifelong Learning: The Adult Years, 5, (2), 18–22.
Lomas, P. (1973) True and False Experience, Allen Lane, London.
Menson, B. (ed.) (1982) Building on Experiences in Adult Development: New Directions for Experiential Learning No 16, Jossey Bass, San Francisco, Cal.
Mouton, J.S. and Blake, R.R. (1984) Synergogy: A New Strategy for Education Training and Development, Jossey Bass, San Francisco, Cal.
Noble, P. (1983) Formation of Freirian Facilitators, Latino Institute, Chicago.
Nyberg, D. (ed.) (1975) The Philosophy of Open Education, Routledge and Kegan Paul, London.
Ringuette, E.L. (1983) A note on experiential learning in professional training. J. Clinical Psychology, 39, (2), 302–4.
Rogers, C.R. (1972) The facilitation of significant learning. In The Psychology of Open Learning and Teaching: an inquiry approach (eds L. Silberman, J.S. Allender and J.M. Yanoff), Little Brown and Co, Boston, Mass.
Schafer, B.P. and Morgan, M.K. (1980) An experiential learning laboratory: a new dimension in teaching mental health skills. Issues in Mental Health Nursing, 2, (3), 47–57.
Shaffer, J.B.P. (1978) Humanistic Psychology, Prentice Hall, Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Shropshire, C.O. (1981) Group experiential learning in adult education. J. Contin. Educ. Nursing, 12, (6), 5–9.
Soth, N. (1981) Experiential education from a cultural viewpoint: the peer evaluation meeting as a ritual of enculturation. Alternative Higher Education, 16, (2), 88–95.
Stitch, T.F. (1983) Experiential therapy. J. Exper. Educ., 5, (3), 23–30.
Tough, A.M. (1982) International Changes: A Fresh Approach to Helping People Change, Cambridge Books, New York.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 1989 Philip Burnard
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Burnard, P. (1989). Experiential Learning. In: Teaching Interpersonal Skills. Therapy in Practice Series. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7104-3_1
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-7104-3_1
Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA
Print ISBN: 978-0-412-34590-6
Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-7104-3
eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive