Experiential Education in Asheville School Classes

• Just a hodgepodge of ropes course activities and get to know me/ feel good games that aren’t ever directed towards cognitive learning or academic skills/content.

• Something that must be done outside or off campus.• The answer to all our needs and issues in academics

and the only tool you should use in teaching. • A replacement for all the approaches and activities

experienced teachers have developed over the years.

What experiential education is not.

• You will have one minute to quietly consider this question. (Ed will be the time keeper)

• Then turn to someone next to you.• Take one minute each to express what you

think experiential education is. • Be ready to report on what your partner said

in NO MORE than a sentence or two.

What is experiential education?

John Dewey first expressed the idea of experiential education as a process of learning from well designed experiences in a simple three step formula:

- frontload the experiencereview, assess previous knowledge, immersion,

read/discuss/define activities, mini-lecture, etc.- have the experience5 to 25 minutes in a 40 to 90 minute period – active whole

class activity, group exploration/activity, either this or that, think/pair/share, etc.

90 minutes or more – a problem (project)-based exploration, a learning expedition, a constructivist project, a Place – Based

experience, etc.- reflect on the experiencewritten reflection, discussion, relate to former working

knowledge, construct a new framework for use, etc.

periodic table

• The opportunity for students to employ other modes of learning (tactile, interpersonal, etc.) and multiple intelligences (Howard Gardner).

• Relevancy to their daily lives, an actual place, and the real world.

• Deeper, multi-faceted understanding and personal constructs of knowledge.

• Improved communication and group/teamwork skills.

• Breaks up the routine (especially in 90 minute periods!)

• Everyone in the class has a significant/unique role, not just the teacher. It matters if a student is missing!!

What experiential education can provide.

Either this or that

Maze

Christopher’s word game

Find someone who…. Find someone who......

Toss the ball

An active quiz Bonding mixer

Games or activities to restructure how content/skills are approached

Analogy – how we begin to understand birthday activity

Simulated – representing reality in a tangible form Help Mendeleev!

Real – considering/using it in an actual situation Predict Properties of new elements

How I think of levels of activities

Analogy Activity• How is a cell like a factory?• How are students walking around campus like electrons in the quantum atom?• How is estimating rice grains in a bag like estimating the number of atoms in a sample?

Simulated Activity• Going inside a giant cell. • Getting a recipe in Spanish and buying food to cook it at a “classroom store”.• Games like “either this or that” or an experiential quiz.• A “senate panel” hearing presentations for/against a proposed nuclear reactor.• Playing a game called "Oh, Deer" in which students run around outside, pretending to be

deer and resources in order to model (and collect data on ) competition, adaptations, and natural selection in natural populations.   

Real or Problem-Based Activity• Exploring what organic compounds are and how we can divide them into categories.• Going to a tienda and actually shopping your recipe or using the Spanish self check out at

Ingles then cooking it and speaking Spanish as you eat.• Visiting the landfill then keeping a “waste journal”. • A presentation comparing pre-civil war U. S. slavery to that in a Spanish speaking country. • Exploring an issue and preparing a pamphlet and/or Wiki for a local NGO.

Examples of my levels of experiential activities

1. Use them as part of a larger flow of activities Possible flow for 90 minutes- 10 minutes – review recent topics (could be experiential, a

quiz, review of homework, etc.)- 15 minutes – mini-lecture to introduce a topic and a

related experiential activity- 30 minutes – experiential activity and group

reflection/summary of activity- 20 minutes – whole class reflects on activity and

synthesizes new ideas with previous knowledge through discussion and follow-up lecture

- 15 minutes – follow activities to practice/implement new skills

Two approaches to experiential education in a 90 minute period

Either this or that

Maze

JP’s word game

Find someone who….

Toss the ball

An active quiz Bonding mixer

An analogy activity Equilibrium What's in the box?

A simulated activity Isotope activity Let's Go Fishing!

A hands-on real activity Water bottle activity

Relationships between Composition, Structure, and Properties

5- 30 minute activities formats

2. Use them as the entire period (or multiple periods)Constructivist – constructing a new understanding of an idea or topic through an activity (real or simulated), a lab, a research project etc. Constructivism website Organic Discovery Lab

Problem-based learning – researching and fleshing out an answer to a stated problem Problem-based website A nuclear reactor in your town?

Place-Based Learning- make the community a part of your study community experts to consult or serve on a panel, community projects, and field trips influenza website archives - inf.pdf

Expeditionary Learning – allowing students to choose a question or topic to pursue within a given subject Expeditionary Learning PDF

- Group cooperative structures should include roles…- Consider structures like Jigsaw, Three Stay One Stray, etc.

Two approaches to experiential education in a 90 minute period

JIGSAW - Groups with four or five students are set up. Each group member is assigned some unique material to learn, practice, or research and then to teach to or share with his group members. To help in the learning process, students across the class working on the same sub-section get together to decide what is important and how to teach it. After practice in these "expert" groups the original groups reform and students teach each other.

Three Stay One Stray-This structure requires the identification of a team member who will become the group’s spokesperson. A problem is posed and after problem solving discussions are complete a designated student will "stray." That is, one student from each group leaves and rotates to an adjoining team to give the report.

The designated student shares with this new team the results of his original group's discussion, giving proposed solutions to problems or summarizing discussions. A second rotation may be desirable if the topic prompted divergent thinking and solutions.

You should include assessment for any experiential activities lasting more than a few minutesAssessments should include formative and summative aspects

- Formative/Process – how students do along the way: how they hit intermediate goals, how they problem solvehow they work as a group - most likely using a rubric or checklist

- Summative – a culminating assessment including:a) individual accountability a written test, lab, oral exam format, or paper for content, reflection piece b) an authentic group product/assessment – a

presentation or a tangible product for a specific audience: a simulated city council or a faculty &/orcommunity expert panel; a Wiki; a presentation/product to give to a school or NGO; an actual test of new skills such as a CPR exam

Assessment for experiential education activities

Peer EvaluationTeamwork 4

-worked extremely well with others-stayed on task at all times- always tried to involve others and listened carefully

3-worked very well with others-stayed on task most of the time- usually tried to involve others and listened well

2- worked fairly well with others-stayed on task some of the time- sometimes tried to involve others or listen to them

1-didn’t worked well with others- rarely stayed on task - never tried to involve others or listen to them

Communication

4-listened extremely well to others-tried to communicate ideas very often-asked and answered questions very frequently 

3-listened very well to others-tried to communicate ideas often-asked and answered questions frequently 

2 - sometimes listened well to others-sometimes tried to communicate ideas-asked and answered questions sometimes 

1- never listened to others-never tried to communicate ideas-never asked and answered questions frequently 

Active Learning

4-thought extremely carefully about project-always tried to come up with ideas & solutions -tried to understand at all times

3thought very carefully about project- usually tried to come up with ideas & solutions -tried to understand at all times

2-sometimes thought carefully about project- sometimes tried to come up with ideas & solutions -sometimes tried to understand

1-never thought carefully about project- never tried to come up with ideas & solutions - never tried to understand

Get together for a colleague now for 5 minutes to start brainstorming/sharing ideas

Departments – later today and subsequent meetings- discuss ideas for 90 minute periods tomorrow

- have one or two outlines/activities ready for a subsequent meeting to share and/or get help with

Further time in later faculty meetings to plan/consider 90 minute meetings

Join a PD lunch group that will just be about 90 minute periods/experiential education or have this as an occasional topic with your existing group

Support – meet with Ed as needed for resources, ideas, feedback, etc.

Getting Started