Designing Experiential Learning Projects

Examples of Learning Possibilities with Experiential Learning (EL)

Example 1: A conventional Chinese class may feature the instructor teaching the words/phrases through spelling, listening, writing, and comprehension. Alternatively, the instructor can take students to have a field day in Chinatown, have the students order a soup dumpling, and finish the meal with a cup of boba tea. Though this latter class will take more planning and have some costs involved, it brings the language alive, provides cultural immersion, and builds a special cohort network and memory.

Example 2: The 19th century Maritime Northeast Asia had warring kingdoms, samurais, and pirates, all mingling and penetrating each other’s space. The history itself is mesmerizing and stimulates deep inquiry into the complexity of politics, societies, and economies. What if the instructor created a scenario in which a student became a Chinese bureaucrat in this region in 1868, with the task of implementing a new law from the Qing Court? How would he go about making the decree? The “created” experience encourages students to investigate the actors, networks, rules, and taboos in this locale at that moment.

Example 3: A graduate seminar focusing on global development and environmental justice can effectively integrate various teaching methods. The seminar might begin with a thorough review of pertinent literature, historical cases, and analysis of statistical trends. Students can also conduct a research paper drawing on existing theories or materials. However, to enrich the learning experience further, the seminar can incorporate an experiential learning method. For instance, students could intern or simulate working at the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB), being tasked with developing criteria for assessing the environmental sustainability of renewable energy project financing. This hands-on experience, or well-designed simulation, could allow students to learn by doing and gain practical insights into the real world.

Background Information on EL

Experiential learning (EL) is a pedagogy incorporating real and hypothetical experiences into conventional teaching. It is highly versatile and adaptable to different fields and various teaching objectives. It enhances students’ ability to grasp complex learning tasks, gain valuable insights into real-world challenges, and establish first-hand connections with clients and professionals in their chosen field. The form is versatile, encompassing field trips, role-playing, experiments, internships, and others learning opportunities.

Notably, EL can be flexibly adopted to complement other types of teaching. For example, to illustrate a critical concept or a theory, an EL project can include a single episode of community service, or a policy simulation illustrating policy-making processes. In various disciplines, when the application of theory and concepts is concerned, the EL can be about case studies, re-creation of artifacts in humanities, or crafting a piece of legislature in legal studies.

EL courses are particularly useful for fostering real-world experience. For example, there may be role-play and community services designed to hone students’ practical and applied abilities. There can also be internship and work-study arrangements to foster real-world partnerships and experience.

The Values of EL

EL can be incredibly engaging and instrumental to student learning. It adds significant value to natural science, social science, humanities, and policy schools. A well-designed EL can achieve the following capacities and goals:

• Develop empathy: By engaging with the experiences and perspectives of others, students can develop deeper empathy and understanding.
• Foster critical thinking: Students learn to analyze and interpret complex social and cultural issues critically. 
• Build cultural competency: Direct engagement with different cultures enhances students’ ability to navigate and appreciate cultural diversity. 
• Encourage ethical reasoning: Confronting real-world ethical dilemmas helps students develop their moral compass and ethical reasoning skills.
• Test practical skills: Students develop emerging practical skills such as policy analysis, strategic planning, negotiation, and advocacy.
• Experience real-world applications: Trainees learn to apply policy theories and tools in real-world contexts, enhancing their ability to make informed decisions.
• Promote professional development: EL may provide networking opportunities and professional experiences that are valuable for career advancement. 

How to design an EL

The following steps are suggestive. Instructors can highlight some and eliminate others when they design their EL components. (See broader explanations of designing EL projects in this resource.)

Before EL: 

• Identify learning objectives. It is upon the instructor to clarify the learning objectives, how to achieve them, and how to evaluate the experience. It is preferable to make the objectives, activities, and reflections clear to students when embarking on the EL approach. 

During EL: 

• Design the experience: plan an activity that is challenging yet achievable and relevant to the learning objectives. 
• Prepare the learner: provide students with any background knowledge or skills they need to engage in the experience effectively. 
• Facilitate the experience: implement the activity, providing guidance and support as needed. Monitor to ensure safety and that learning objectives are being met. 
• Encourage in-process reflection

Post-EL: 

• After the activity, facilitate a discussion or reflective exercise to help learners think critically about their experience. 
• Evaluate and provide feedback: assess the learner’s performance and the effectiveness of the experience. Provide feedback to enhance future learning.
• Iterate: use feedback and evaluation to refine the experiential learning process.

Suggested Flow Chart to Thinking about Objectives

EL can be incredibly engaging and instrumental to student learning. It adds significant value to natural science, social science, humanities, and policy schools. A well-designed EL can achieve the following capacities and goals:

The figure (above) captures the goals and examples of these different types of EL: illustration, application, and practicum. They can be taken flexibly.

Some Design Parameters

Instructors of EL courses need to formulate the types of activities, assessments, and student-instructor involvement to ensure the achievement of the objectives. 

Most illustration-oriented EL projects are highly versatile. The instructor needs to decide how much and how often individual work or teamwork is involved. Application projects tend to be longer, and may require different parts of activities and staged involvement of the instructor. The instructor may think about what roles are essential and what roles they are willing to play, from brainstorming, to step-by-step drafting, reporting, and assessments. 

When EL focuses on real-world experiences, such as internships, study abroad programs, or capstone projects, a holistic approach is essential. Before the experience, instructors should provide comprehensive instructions, establish norms, and outline the overall process, while also offering opportunities for skill development. Since the ultimate goal is for students to gain genuine real-world experience, instructors should adopt a “hands-off yet attentive” approach, regularly checking in to ensure a high-quality learning process throughout the entire experience. 

Assessment in EL

In the process of designing an EL course, instructors must give careful consideration to assessment guidelines. We recommend adopting a comprehensive, whole-process assessment approach. This approach involves pre-planning assessments that encompass objectives, procedures, and assessment programs before the EL experience begins. 

When establishing assessment criteria, instructors should engage in self-reflection, addressing questions such as identifying the most effective and feasible activities, anticipating potential challenges, and devising strategies to address them through reflection.

 In-process assessment is highly recommended, especially considering the diverse body of students and the environments they encounter in EL. Assignments should be structured and evaluated at key intervals throughout the experience. It’s crucial to align final assessment tasks with the intended learning outcomes. For instance, in cases of illustrative EL, assess whether students have mastered concepts and frameworks. For EL focused-on application, evaluate how effectively students apply their learning to real or hypothetical issues. Lastly, in practicum-based EL, students should receive feedback from clients and engage in reflective writing to articulate their learning experiences and insights. 

By implementing these assessment guidelines, instructors can ensure that EL experiences are not only meaningful but also aligned with desired learning outcomes.