THE IMPORTANCE OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING AND REFLECTION
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tive goal is for our students to understand that all they do inside and outside of the classroom is connected, so they can learn from that educational process and apply what they have learned to other areas of their lives long after graduation.
So what is our role as educators in this experiential learning process? In a world that often feels unstable, our ability to help students reflect on the entire lived experience can provide the needed stability to put those experiences in context and to help each student develop a plan to move forward. Kolb and Kolb importantly describe the experiential learning process as“ a recursive circle or spiral as opposed to the linear, traditional information-transmission model of learning used in most education where information transferred from the teacher to the learner is stored in declarative memory for later recall … students are both receivers and creators of information”( Kolb and Kolb 33). One model empowers and provides the opportunity to adapt to changes while the other locates the student as the entity being acted upon. One model helps the student become an active learner or actor while the other sees the student as a passive observer. One provides students with strength and courage while the other adds weight to the student’ s load.
Weimer argues that the pedagogical tool of reflection provides students with an accurate understanding of the situation of experience; it also provides them with the ability to“ relate it to personal experiences …( and) make practical applications”( Weimer). Reflection allows the student to envision challenging conversation with a peer( or perhaps adult) with a different cultural or political view as an opportunity for learning, empathy, and patience. Reflection allows the student who did not make the starting lineup on an athletics team to try out for and earn a solo in the school concert, or one to view a lower than hoped for score on an exam as an opportunity for self-awareness as they examine goals, and come up with new strategies and approaches to reach their goals. A student, guided by caring mentors and practiced in reflection, can take the difficult conversation or situation, examine the perspectives and experiences of all involved, and put
“ The collective goal is for our students to understand that all they do inside and outside of the classroom is connected, so they can learn from that educational process and apply what they have learned to other areas of their lives long after graduation.”
Page 8 Summer 2025 CSEE Connections