What is Experiential Education?
In a nut shell, experiential education (EE) is best defined as "Challenge and Experience followed by Reflection leading to Learning and Growth" Association for Experiential Education. It's a philosophy and structured methodology of teaching used in a wide variety of disciplines and settings including both indoor and outdoor environments.
Who Is It For?
The tools and techniques of experiential education can be used to engage both youth and adults. Experiential educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop people's capacity to contribute to their communities.
Why Educate Experientially?
Put simply, experiential education or learning through experience is one of the best possible ways to learn valuable lessons, enhance knowledge and learn vital skills, essential for living a successful life and becoming a responsible global citizen.
Learners are actively engaged in posing questions, investigating, experimenting, being curious, solving problems, assuming responsibility, being creative, and constructing meaning which helps develop individuals on many levels. This type of education also helps people to learn from natural consequences, mistakes and successes.
Who Are Experiential Educators?
Experiential youth educators include classroom teachers, camp leaders, therapists, environmental educators, outdoor guides and instructors, coaches, mental health professionals and many more...
Experiential education approaches are used in many disciplines and settings including non-formal education, place-based education, project-based education, global citizenship education, environmental education, student-centered education, active learning, service learning, cooperative learning, adventure-based and expeditionary learning.
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