Experiential Learning

“Experiential education, which takes students into the community, helps students both to bridge classroom study and life in the world and to transform inert knowledge into knowledge-in-use.”

- Janet Eyler, AAC&U-

What are the Components of Experiential Learning?

• Reflection
• Critical analysis and synthesis
• Opportunities for students to take initiative
• Make decisions
• Be accountable for the results
  
  

What are the Benefits of Experiential Learning?

• Increases student motivation to learn
• Produces more autonomous learners
• Reflection deepens learning and helps students to transfer their previous knowledge to new contexts and master new concepts
• Internships and work experience become more meaningful
• Most transferable and marketable skills are developed in “real world” settings
• Provide students with opportunities to explore research and other scholarly activities early on in their academic career
  
  

What are some examples of Experiential Learning?

Your Role as Faculty is to…

• Select suitable experiences
• Facilitate the learning process by posing problems, setting boundaries, and supporting learners with suitable resources and ensuring safety
• Recognize and encourage spontaneous opportunities for learning, engagement with challenging situations, and discovery of solutions
• Help the learner notice the connections between one context and another, between theory and the experience

Experiential Learning at UTA

• To learn more about Maverick Advantage, the experiential learning experience at UTA, visit:
  https://www.uta.edu/student-affairs/maverick-advantage
  
  

More Resources

• https://facultyinnovate.utexas.edu/instructional-strategies/experiential-learning
• https://www.aacu.org/publications-research/periodicals/power-experiential-education
• https://www.bu.edu/ctl/guides/experiential-learning/