1. 1st English Teachers’ Workshop
Tuesday, 27 September 2017
1st Junior Secondary School of Pyrgos

2. Active and Experiential learning
Tell me, and I forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me, and I will understand.
Confucius
Learning is experience. Everything else is just information. 
Albert Einstein

3. Experiential learning: the creators (Kolb, 1984)
Based on the work of scholars like
John Dewey,
Kurt Lewin,
Jean Piaget,
Carl Jung,
Paulo Freire,
Carl Rogers
Enframed in a sound theoretical model
Learning as a holistic and multi-linear process
Both person and environment are interdependent variables
Learning is embedded within real world contexts 

4. The theoretical model Learning is best conceived as a process that
a) engages students, b) gives feedback on learning
Learning is RE-learning: draws OUT beliefs/ideas, tests them, refines them and enriches them with new ones
Learning involves conflict, disagreement and adaptation.
Learning is a holistic experience of thinking, feeling, perceiving, and behaving
Learning is a process of CREATING not transmitting knowledge.

5. Defining experiential learning
"the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience. Knowledge results from the combination of grasping and transforming experience" (Kolb, 1984: 41)
Experiential learning exists when a personally responsible participant cognitively, affectively, and behaviorally processes knowledge, skills, and/or attitudes in a learning situation characterised by a high level of active involvement.

6. Learning: a spiral and recursive process
Acting
Reflecting
Thinking
abstractly
Experiencing
concretely
the learner experiencing learning concretely, abstractly, reflectively and actively.

7. Kolb’s 4 stages of experiential learning
active experimentation
concrete experience
reflective observation
abstract conceptualization

8. The Learning Style Inventory (LSI) (Kolb, 1984, 1999)
Diverging
Assimilating
Converging
Accommodating

9. The diverging learning style
best at viewing concrete situations from many different points of view
perform better in situations that call for generation of ideas, such as a "brainstorming
have broad cultural interests
like to gather information
are interested in people
tend to be imaginative and emotional
prefer to work in groups
prefer to receive personalized feedback

10. The assimilating learning style
best at understanding a wide range of information and putting it into concise, logical form
less focused on people and more interested in ideas and abstract concepts
prefer theory with logical soundness to practical value
prefer readings, exploring and having time to think things through

11. The converging learning style
best at finding practical uses for ideas and theories
have the ability to solve problems and make decisions based on finding solutions to questions or problem
prefer to deal with technical tasks and problems rather than with social and interpersonal issues
prefer to experiment with new ideas, simulations, laboratory assignments, and practical applications

12. The accommodating learning style
have the ability to learn from primarily "hands-on" experience
enjoy carrying out plans and involving themselves in new and challenging experience
prefer to act on "gut" feelings rather than on logical analysis
prefer to work with others to get assignments done, to set goals, to do field work, and to test out different approaches to completing a project

13. Key guidelines
individuals learn better when subject matter is presented in a way that is consistent with their preferred learning
left to their own devices students tend to do what is easiest for them
learning to be internalised has to be experienced concretely and actively and not just abstractly and reflectively
learning is enhanced as more learning stages are used
teachers should encourage students to engage in all four stages of the learning cycle.

14. Active Learning is a component of Experiential learning
In active learning
In experiential learning
Activities are used during the instructional process to keep learner active/busy with the learning process.
The teacher uses activities like: 'working in pairs', ‘role-playing', 'co-operative learning' 'produce short written exercises'.
The learner is responsible for the degree to which the information is processed. 
the experience is intentional and used for reflection
students engage actively in opportunities to learn through doing
theoretical knowledge is applied to practical endeavours in a multitude of settings inside and outside of the classroom

15. Before proceeding to experiential learning
What experience or activity will capture my students’ attention and reach them in a meaningful way?
What kind of reflective experience can I create to help my students make sense of that activity?

16. Experiential learning requires
considerable re- structuring of teaching
a great deal of detailed planning
extensive re-training
careful orientation and preparation of students
just giving students tasks to do in real world situations without guidance and support is likely to be ineffective

17. Example: the Fortune Teller
Pre-teach key vocabulary (crystal ball, earring, fog/cloud, fortune teller, etc.)
Ask questions:
- what she does
- what other things she uses to tell the future (cards, palm reading, tea leaves etc)?
- if they have ever been to a fortune teller
3. Elicit the topics one asks a fortune teller about

18. Example: the Fortune Teller
4. Ask students to write 3 open questions each they would ask a fortune teller on 3 strips of paper (where/when/what...) 5. pre-teach and drill rhyme ‘cross my palm with silver and I'll tell you your future'. 6. Split the class in 2. Half are fortune tellers and half are customers. Fortune tellers sit around the room. Customers sit opposite a fortune teller and after the fortune teller says the rhyme ask the 3 questions. Set a time limit of 2 or 3 minutes.

19. Example: the Fortune Teller
4. Ask students to write 3 open questions each they would ask a fortune teller on 3 strips of paper (where/when/what...) 5. pre-teach and drill rhyme ‘cross my palm with silver and I'll tell you your future'. 6. Split the class in 2. Half are fortune tellers and half are customers. Fortune tellers sit around the room. Customers sit opposite a fortune teller and after the fortune teller says the rhyme ask the 3 questions. Set a time limit of 2 or 3 minutes.

20. Example: the Fortune Teller
7. After 2 minutes fortune tellers give their answers.
8. Customers rotate to a new fortune teller.
9. After customers have spoken to all fortune tellers, students give feedback on what futures people were told
10. Ask ‘Who was the best fortune teller?'.
11. Customers and fortune tellers swap roles and repeat. Feedback again.

21. The benefits of Experiential Learning
motivates and engages learners
rather than being passive recipients of a “product” they actively engage with the content, the instructor, their peers, and themselves in an ongoing process of meaningful discovery
leads to better long-term memory
 leads to deeper understanding
develops skills for a digital age (problem-solving, critical thinking, improved communications skills, and knowledge management)
provides opportunities for the students to take what they learn in the classroom and apply it in a real world setting where they grapple with real- world problems, discover and test solutions, and interact with others.