Experiential Learning for 4-H Judges Adapted by Liz Beiersdorfer, Dearborn County 4-H Youth Development Educator. Presented at Judges and Volunteer Clinic 2017

Objectives Recognize the five steps of the Experiential Learning Model. Experience the model. Understand how Experiential Learning relates to evaluating 4-H projects. Apply Experiential Learning to 4-H project evaluation.

What is Experiential Learning? Referred to as “Learning by Doing” Learner experiences a problem or activity and makes sense of the solution on his or her own Model is divided into five steps, and summarized into three main processes

Experiential Learning Model Requires Hands and Heart Requires Head, Heart & Hands Share: Youth share the experience with the judge during project evaluations. Judges must be prepared to ask the right questions in order to find out about the experience, understanding the child may be embarrassed about failures they experienced along the way. Example: What was your goal for this project when you began? Tell me about your favorite /least favorite part of the project. What did you learn about yourself? What did you do to complete the project? Once judges find out how things went with the project, they need to help the youth process the most important thing was, and which life skills were needed or developed. Example: How did you make your decisions? What did you learn from this project that you didn’t know before? Why does it matter that you did this project? Generalize: Help youth identify and connect the skills practiced through the project to real life situations. Example: How would you describe your skill at _______? What do you feel you need to be better at___? What life skills did you develop doing the project? How is this life skill important to you? Apply: Help youth understand that they have gained new knowledge and practiced life skills, beyond just completing the project. Example: What principles or guidelines can you use in real-life situation? How could you use these skills in different situations? How will act differently in the future as a result of this experience? Why was this project important to your life? Requires Heart and Head

Experience Engage in an activity that: Is likely unfamiliar to the participant Is possibly uncomfortable, pushes personal limits Offers minimal instruction-let the participants figure something out before being told how to do it

Process (What is Important? & What Life Skill was most important?) Analyze and reflect on what happened What did you learn about yourself? How did you make decisions? What was important? Discuss how problems and issues presented themselves Discuss how the problems and issues were addressed and solved Discuss personal experiences of the participants Were there any recurring themes in the process?

Share (What Happened? & What was Done?) Participants should be asked what they experienced while doing the activity Reactions Observations Feelings Encourage discussion and expression of ideas and feelings by asking questions Have questions ready to guide and aid the discussion or draw attention to items of importance.

Generalize (Identify how to use what’s been learned by project completion) Relate the experience to “real life.” Identify key items learned Identify key life skills developed Identify key terms related to the experience

Apply (What’s Next?) How can lessons be applied elsewhere? How will the lessons learned be useful in the future? Discuss how behaviors and actions can be modified to improve the results. Discuss how results could be accomplished more efficiently. Help youth understand they have gained new knowledge and practiced life skills.

Key Points to Remember Ask open-ended questions Encourage open and non-threatening discussion Help youth understand that Failures/Mistakes are a key element to successful learning!

The Model at Work Experience Share Process Generalize Apply

Let’s Experience It! Experiential Learning: How does smoking or lung disease affect lung capacity and breathing? Breathe through a straw Breathe through a coffee stirrer Compare the difference and share with a neighbor What if you were walking or doing exercise while breathing through a coffee stirrer?

Applying Experiential Learning to Judging Let’s pretend the activity you just did, was the basis of a 4-H’ers Health poster project. Work in Table Teams and answer the following questions. Refer to the Experiential Model: Experience, Share, Process, Generalize, Apply. Be prepared to share. What questions could you ask a youth to better understand what they learned? Help youth determine what was important to remember Help youth explain how they completed the project and their level of understanding. Help youth think about how to apply what they learned to future “real life” situations

Let’s Share the Results What questions do you feel would be helpful to get the information you need to evaluate the 4-H’er’s project? What questions would help the 4-H’er process what they did? What questions would help the 4-H’er link life skills to the project? What questions would help the 4-H’er link knowledge to the future? Any other questions that would help a judge or the 4-H’er?

Key Elements of Judging Experience Help Youth develop life skills Learning skills & knowledge Decision making & problem solving Developing positive self-concept Communicating and relating to others Responding to needs of others and “real life” situations

Final Thoughts Think about how 4-Hers learn using the Experiential Learning Model. Come prepared for judging with questions to guide the evaluation process. Consider 4-H’ers with special needs and consider how best to relate. Refer to the Experiential Learning Guide booklet, University of Minnesota Extension, for helpful questions. Treat each child individually, and probe for understanding before making first perception decisions.

Questions? Comments, Yes Please!

Sources Steve McKinley-Experiential Learning PPT Diem, K.G. (2001) Learn by Doing the 4-H Way. New Brunswick, NJ Rutgers Cooperative Extension Kock, K (2006) Experiential Learning Model slide show. Noblesville, IN Purdue Cooperative Extension. Deidrick, J., Doering, Shirley, Geiser, Donna, Kanengieter, Holly, Piehl, Barb, Stevenson, Anne (2014) Experiential Learning Guide: a field guide for volunteers, mentors, coaches, fair judges, etc.