Experiential Learning in Action
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This document describes an experiential learning program for English language learners. The 4-week program meets 3 hours per day for classes in Experiential Learning 1 (CLB 7) and Experiential Learning 2 (CLB 9). Students set a communication goal, create a learning plan, and complete projects involving research, authentic communication activities, and reflection. Class time focuses on planning goals, researching language and culture, communicating in real contexts, and continuous learning strategies. Students are assessed through project work, an oral presentation, and a written reflection. Student reflections indicate learning about language, culture, themselves, and their own learning processes through experiential activities outside of class.
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Experiential Learning in Action
- 2. This project is made possible through funding from the Government of Canada and the Province of British Columbia.
- 3. Bridging the classroom with life experiences and needs
- 4. Experiential Learning • 4 weeks – Full time - 3 hours per day in class – Remaining hours outside class • 2 classes – Experiential Learning 1: CLB 7 – Experiential Learning 2: CLB 9
- 5. The Experiential Learning Cycle
- 6. Reflection: Mei Lin “When I came here I still was not willing to speak English because I thought my English was poor. Then I was in a vicious circle. After several times trying [to speak to daycare staff], I found it was not as difficult as I thought. I learned from this project that jumping right in [is a] better perspective to learn a language.”
- 7. Instructor and Student roles • What is the role of the instructor in Experiential Learning? • What is the role of the student?
- 8. Instructor and Student Roles
- 9. Individualized Learning Plan • Goal statement • Communication needs • Actions for the month • Prioritization of actions • Self evaluation • Resources • Weekend action plan
- 10. Project Goals I want to ________ (communication goal) so I can_______ (target activity) in/at/with _______ (specific context)
- 11. Project Goals Personal: • I want to improve my small talk skills (communication goal) so I can feel confident in casual conversations (target activity) at my daughter’s school (specific context).
- 12. Project Goals Academic: • I want to practice negotiating skills (communication goal) so I can do group project work (target activity) in a university course (specific context).
- 13. Project Goals Workplace: • I want to research and experiment with e- mail styles (communication goal) so I can write messages (target activity) more appropriate to my current workplace (specific context).
- 15. Project Goal for Astrid I want to ________ (communication goal) so I can_______ (target activity) in/at/with _______ (specific context)
- 16. Only 4 weeks! Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Create a project goal and plan Go through the Experiential Learning cycle Begin project actions (1st Weekend Action Plan) Research and continue actions Work on Component Tasks in class Receive coaching Apply Component Tasks outside of class Research and continue actions Work on Component Tasks in class Receive coaching Apply Component Tasks outside of class Start final assignments Finish project Present to class Hand in final written reflective narrative
- 17. Class time - 4 Activities • Planning to reach a goal • Researching language and culture • Communicating in authentic contexts • Using strategies for continuous learning
- 18. Activity: Planning to reach a goal – Set a goal – Create an Individualized Learning Plan
- 19. Activity: Researching Language and Culture – Ethnographic research – Text analysis
- 20. Activity: Communicating in Authentic Contexts – Cultural Mapping – Peer Interviewing – Communicating about oneself
- 21. Activity: Using Strategies for Continuous Learning – Complete an Experiential Learning Cycle – Reflect and Articulate Learning – Create a future Individualized Learning Plan
- 22. Assessment • Three components: – Evidence of project work (assessed holistically) – Final oral presentation (assessed by rubric) – Final written reflective narrative (assessed by rubric)
- 24. Reflection: Jun Compared to my previous English learning, I am not only learning about language and culture, but also learning about myself and my own learning process throughout the course.
- 25. Reflection: Adelina This doesn't mean that I am ready. It is just the beginning of the path I will walk now, being more aware of many ways to continue my experiential learning as [an] English learner. I will be ready to learn even being in the bus, or sitting in a coffee [shop], watching how people communicate, observing, listening, watching, researching, being open and aware of all possibilities to learn every day.
Notas del editor
- Elicit: What issues do students have taking knowledge and skills from the classroom into the “real” world? What can be done to help them use their knowledge and skills outside of the classroom? Experiential Learning: The course is designed to be a bridge for English language learners between classroom learning and real-world communication. Students plan and carry out an individual project that will help them meet specific language learning goals related to a workplace, academic or personal setting of their choice. The project goal can be described as ‘getting something done’ in a specific context outside the classroom.
- The course is designed as a project which incorporates the language, skills, and strategies students have learned in the Pathways curriculum. Experiential Learning 1 follows the Levels 5-7 core courses. Experiential Learning 2 follows the Level 8-9 core courses. Experiential Learning 1 and 2 share the same curriculum. Students are expected to perform at their own level. Students may require more support in Experiential Learning 1, whereas students may be more autonomous in Experiential Learning 2. During the core courses students have been introduced to Experiential Learning. The curriculum guidelines for the core courses list suggestions for experiential learning for each activity as you have seen in previous sessions. Many of the learning strategies and methodologies used in the core courses are expanded on in Experiential Learning. Elicit: Can you think of some examples of experiential learning covered in the core courses? (Think of things that students must do outside of class). Outside class: interviewing people, attending speeches and networking events, visiting government agencies Elicit: What elements of the core courses do you think build up to the Experiential Learning courses? (Think also of things that students do in class). In class: giving and receiving feedback, providing peer feedback, giving presentations, analyzing data, writing reflectively, and documenting evidence of language competency.
- The Experiential Learning course takes students through a complete “learning cycle” with a focus on language learning and use. Ask participants to reflect on something they have learned recently – for example, how to make cheesecake, how to knit a scarf, how to repair a hole in a wall. Ask them to describe their learning to a partner using the Experiential Learning Cycle. Do it – What did you do? What? – What were the results? So what? – What did the results imply? Did you learn anything you can apply to other processes? Now what – What will you do differently next time? In Experiential Learning, students practice a cycle of doing, analyzing and reflecting on what has been learned. They are encouraged to see the value of trying new ways to use English and learning in different situations. Students’ awareness of their learning process, the strategies they learn, and the insights they gain about living in Canada are the most important aspects of the course, not necessarily the realization of the project goal itself. For those who are interested: All course activities are anchored in the theoretical foundations of Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle (Kolb, 1984) and on the further work of Jarvis’ model of the learning processes. (Jarvis, 2004).
- What is the key thing this student learned in the Experiential Learning course? (to jump right in – don’t worry that her English isn’t perfect. Try to communicate with the people around her.) How do you think the phrase “jumping right in” relates to Experiential Learning? (many students are nervous about making mistakes outside of a classroom setting. They are nervous about interacting in social settings that they have not experienced before. The Experiential Learning course forces them outside their comfort zone and requires them to interact with people in the community, but in a supported an planned way.)
- Elicit from participants: What do you think is the role of the instructor in this course? What is the role of the student? In the Experiential Learning Course, the instructor takes on multiple roles from classroom instructor to facilitator to coach, which can be very different from traditional ESL classrooms. Students may feel confusion about the instructor’s different roles and need the opportunity to have an explicit classroom discussion on the topic. Because this type of course may be very new to students, explicit guidance is needed on what they are expected to do and what attitudes they adopt. Give participants Handout 10-1, cut up into strips. Have them sort the roles into two piles: Instructor roles and student roles.
- Tanis In this video you will see Patricia, an instructor for the Experiential Learning 1 course, sharing some reflections. She is speaking about students’ reactions to the differing roles for instructors and students in this program. What message does she have for instructors in this course? Students will not necessarily buy into the class format right away. It might take them 2 weeks (half the class) to understand the idea of independent learning. It is therefore very important for instructors to act as strong advocates for the strategies being used in class, such as “Ethnographic Research” and “Cultural Mapping”.
- Week one revolves around helping students define a project goal and develop an Individualized Learning Plan which will help them achieve that goal in the time frame of the class. Show Handout 10-2 on the projector or give a copy to each group of 3 participants. Look at the example of the Individualized Learning Plan (ILP) in Handout 10-2. Where on the ILP do students record: Their goal statement Communication needs (for example, telephone skills to ask for an interview, past tenses to describe job experiences) Actions for the month (brainstorm things they could do over the whole month) Prioritization of actions Self evaluation (what level of completion will make them feel successful? What do they want to accomplish in one month?) Resources (what resources are already available to them?) Weekend action plan (which things from their list for the month can they do this weekend?)
- Writing a goal statement is challenging for many students. The goal must be language related, complex enough to work on for a month, but not so broad as to be unattainable in a month.
- Here is an example goal from the Personal field.
- Tanis Some students may have academic goals like this one.
- Other students may focus on workplace goals.
- Astrid had a life goal of getting a job. Play the clip and then have the participants perform the role play. Listen to how the course helped her get closer to her life goal. Role play: One person is instructor the other is ‘Astrid’ As instructor come up with questions to try to elicit a more refined goal statement for Astrid. Instructor begins with: “ So what’s your goal” Astrid says” I need to improve my English to get a job” and go from there. Ask participants to work in pairs to draft a goal statement for a student like Astrid: If Astrid was starting experiential learning, how could you help her write a goal statement for the course? Think about the three parts of the goal statement: communication goal, target activity, and specific context. Note: She was currently working in the non-profit sector, and wanted to get back into project management. *Show participants the next slide while they try to draft a goal.
- A possible goal could be written as: I want to practice asking and answering questions about my experience so I can interview confidently for a job in project management.
- By the time students have a goal set, they do not have a lot of time to work on it. The first week is spent creating and refining a goal. The last week is largely taken up with final presentations and written documentation of projects.
- Explain that in the core classes, each Activity lasts about one week. In Experiential Learning, there are four Activities, broken into ten “Component Tasks.” Rather than teaching one Component Task from beginning to end, a number of lessons on each task are available to the instructor. An instructor can choose to do them in any order as needed by students. For example, there are six possible lessons about Cultural Maps. An instructor can pick and choose which are appropriate for the class and in which order to present them. A suggested schedule is given in the Instructor’s Guide. (NOTE – In the curriculum materials there is an introduction to each of the component tasks for instructors which explains the theory.) Give participants Handout 10-3. Have the participants match the Activities to the Component Tasks, and the descriptions of the Component Tasks. Use slides 17-21 to check their answers and discuss the various Component Tasks.
- This Activity is carried out in the first week of class. Students take control of their own learning process and create a detailed plan for how to reach a goal.
- Students develop their ability to observe and evaluate how language is used. These skills will help them become better language learners as they learn to notice how English is used differently in different situations and begin to apply this knowledge. Students gather observations of spoken and written language outside the classroom, reflect on their observations, and share their findings with their classmates. Listen to one student describe her experience with Ethnographic Research.
- As students carry out their Individualized Learning Plans, they will need to be making contact with people in the community. The class can work together to create Cultural Maps to help each other prepare for these interactions. Students conduct interviews with each other to help each other identify their skills and attributes. They practice describing these skills and attributes as they might in a job interview or when introducing themselves to new colleagues.
- Tanis Students reflect on their learning throughout the four weeks of the course. At the end of the course students create a new Individualized Learning Plan to help them carry their learning beyond the Pathways course.
- The Experiential Learning course is not letter graded. The student must be successful in all three of three areas in order to pass the course: Evidence of project work (assessed holistically) Students must gather documentation of the interactions they have had outside the classroom. For example, if they go to a public speech, they could collect any handouts that were used. If they have an informational interview, they could ask for a business card. Final oral presentation (assessed by rubric) Final written reflective narrative (assessed by rubric) Students are expected to be communicating appropriately at their CLB level, but are not assessed or expected to meet the outcomes for the next CLB level. Experiential Learning assessment is not portfolio-based. However, maintaining student folders is a convenient way to help them document their project work.
- Here is one piece of advice from Patricia for new instructors in the Experiential Learning course. What advice does she give? Make a list of resources to refer students to. As students should be learning to be independent, it is not the instructor’s role to be providing material to students, but it is very helpful to have a list of websites, government resources, etc. to point students towards.
- Jun’s goal involved improving his telephone skills. What did Jun learn from the course?
- How did Adelina broaden her understanding of what it means to learn English?