In collaboration with "30 Years of Experiential Learning"

Traditional learning at a university is based on a didactic approach in which knowledge is transferred from resident experts (our faculty) to transient novices (our students) through carefully designed lectures and homework assignments designed to enable learning. The success of this approach can be directly measured by the accumulation of vocabulary on the part of the students and by graded exercises and examinations that test their internalization of the lessons taught. The process is effective as evidenced by an appropriate distribution of As, Bs and Cs with our brightest students getting the higher grades. Students understand the rules by which grades are assigned and how higher grades can be achieved. It is generally considered fair by all. The whole system works reasonably well.

Experiential learning is messier for all concerned. Problems are generally less structured, interdisciplinary in nature, require team participation and may take weeks to develop an answer that is then not provably “correct” nor even better than the alternatives submitted by other students. Moreover when teams are involved it is difficult to assess who has contributed what to the solution and who therefore deserves which grade. All of this takes us out of our traditional comfort zones and can cause angst - for the students, for the faculty and for school administrators.

Our goal in this interactive session will be to ask: “In light of these facts, why would we do this … what’s in it for me”?