Importance Of Experiential Teaching

When you picture a classroom, what do you think of? You more than likely picture a chalkboard, desks for all the students and teacher. A new way of teaching has developed that removes students from the stereotypical environment and places they in a new and engaging environment. This is experiential education.

Mike’s second truly inspirational instructor was at Loyola University during a set of classes commonly referred to as the sophomore survey. For Dr. Frank Carothers, being a professor was “a profoundly social calling” . Frank was excited about what he taught and that excitement and love of the material caused interest and stimulation in his students.

One fall, I sat in a crowded auditorium about to begin another year teaching when the words of the school head, Tom Hudnut, rang deep. His charge to the faculty was simple. “Be great teachers!” Be like the loon 's voice on a summer night. Be that great teacher whose memory and instruction reach into the heart and soul of those you teach. Born and raised in the private school world, I learned from many great teachers. However, none figure so prominently as my middle school teachers: Jim Gardner, Arnold Klingenberg, Jim

I structure my teaching practice around the practical application of skills. Rather than teaching in abstract terms, I encourage students to apply the concepts we explore in the classroom to their everyday lives; building connections between the academic and

The University of Kansas has hired some of the best professors a school can have. The school has done an excellent job of bring in a diverse staff to teach ample amount of classes. The staff that I have encountered is not the stereotypical kind that you encounter in movies who give limitless amounts of homework, don’t really care about what they do and are only here for a paycheck. What I have found, are passionate professionals who care about the success of the student, and would possibly go the extra mile if need be. Unfortunately I will not have the chance to meet every one of them but I got the chance to interview one of them, the director of Science Fiction Chris McKitterick. Prof. McKitterick has been with the University of Kansas for more than a decade now, and has been the director of Science Fiction for 5 years. Through this interview we discuses an ample amount of topics from everyday life, passion for teaching, and what research he is currently working on.

There are a number of teachers that I could mention in my journal today, there is Miss Lamb, who helped referred me to the Gifted and Talented Education (GATE) program. Mrs. Child, my third grade teacher who I still have lunch with from time to time to discuss literature. Even Mr. Ford, who would lend me books from his daughter’s personal library because we had the same taste in literature and he knew how much I loved to read. Throughout my years as a student, I have had the honor of being taught by many great educators. However, the most influential educator I have had in my life is the one who not only helped jumpstart my career as a student, but also offered me my first job, and that is my kindergarten teacher Mrs. Walker.

University of California Irvine (UCI) is one of the top universities in the country known for brilliant research, skills development, social and environmental responsibility. While UCI may contribute more to develop the individual, students can make significant contributions to the university with carefully selected experiences. UCI provides opportunities for students to learn beyond the classroom setting and provides several paths to individual and social improvement. As such, UCI is a holistic environment that provides students with the needed competencies to forge a promising career. It is a privilege to be part of such a prestigious academic institution. As such, I cherish this rare opportunity by maximizing classroom learning and ensuring academic excellence. I must ensure that each classroom session is a learning opportunity since it is enlightening to be under the tutelage of expert professionals who are well versed in their respective careers and their achievements inspire me to become proficient in all my subjects.

My measurements of success are found in each and every student I teach. One of the most rewarding experiences I have had while student teaching, was watching a child’s face light up at the pivotal moment when they grasp a new concept or master a new skill. In fact, those “aha” moments are my motivators which feed my desire to look for better ways to ensure all students experience those same “aha” moments. As an effective teacher, I am determined and dedicatef to the continual process of researching, implementing, collecting and analyzing data to ensure I am improving upon the curriculum, instructional strategies, and assessment used in my classroom. Learning is a never-ending process. The better skilled I become as a teacher, the better the learning experience I can provide for my students. Therefore, the more I actively research, implement, and reflect, the greater the opportunity for giving my students the education they deserve and hopefully, the inspiration to pursue their own lifelong love of learning.

Society expects for students to be able to learn and comprehend any information that is being thrown out. Some students seem naturally enthusiastic about learning, but many need-or expect-their instructors to inspire, challenge, and

Although this limitation can become a barrier for the experiential learning theory Rogers’ developed, it is possible for this to overcome this with patience. As the main purpose of this theory is to allow personal growth within the student, we must note that personal growth appears differently for each individual learner. The role of the facilitator is to help engage all types of students in self-motivated learning to help them improve their overall growth from significant information.

There is always more than one way to do something and education is no exception. Educators have different philosophies and classroom approaches depending on their subject and the type of students that they have. This semester, I had the opportunity to apply information from a class to real world situations. Through my field experience at the Whelchel Family Life Center, I was able to see the challenges associated with teaching different social classes, different demographics, and different learning styles. I was able to learn how to navigate through common challenges from observing my mentoring instructors, which in turn will help me to develop my own teaching style and better prepare me to be a future educator.

During my learning experience, I had the opportunity to re-skill myself and learn new strategies to support my mission as a teacher. Recently, the Practicum course has helped me live an authentic experience by transferring my learning and understanding into reality. I share knowledge, experience, and communication, which increase my awareness in a way to understand the change and implement new ways of

Going into higher-education, such as a university or college, applied learning experiences are made ever-more plentiful for students wanting to learn about specific areas of studies. Applied learning is a teaching model that puts students in an experience that requires them to integrate ideas, skills, and theories that they have learned in new contexts, which is proven to extend their learning (“What Is Applied Learning?”). In my own education, applied learning courses are typically those that are major-specific – education, chemistry, biology – and those regarding social sciences – psychology, sociology, anthropology. Furthermore, learning happens through the immersion and application of the surrounding world and society.

In the reading Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development by David Kolb (1984), he proposed that learning is a cycle process in which individuals learn through their own experiences in life. This notion of the learning cycle in which he was influenced by the ideas of three other theorists (Piaget, Dewey, and Lewinian) called it Experiential Learning Theory. Kolb’s theory was based on how people learned by imputing information and processing the information. Within this two abilities, there are four steps in which Kolb’s believe the learning process occurs. The first one he calls “concrete experience”, in which one actually does the learning right then and now. The second one is “reflective observation” when the learner thinks about what they did as a reflection of the experience. The next step is the “abstract conceptualization”, where the learner makes a generalization of the experience. The last step is “active experimentation”, where the learner puts to practice his/her understanding and adapts to it. The learner does this by taking all the first three steps of the learning cycle and seeing the results (pg. 30). Learning is a process in which individuals learn through trial and error. This process can then be reused with our prior experience to strengthen the outcome of our first experience. It is shaped as a cycle in the way we process information cognitively. This is how I understood of the reading on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory.

When I think about teachers that I have had in the past, several different ones come to my mind. Each of these educators stands out in my mind for a variety of diverse reasons. Whether it is their sense of humor, their tactfulness, their love of the subject matter, their fanatical and sporadic behavior, or their yearning to be childish themselves, I can still remember at least one quality of every teacher I have ever encountered. Every one of these teachers conveyed subject material to their students just as they were educated and employed to do. However, I trust that every professional in the world has an abundance of opportunity for improvement; teachers could discover and improve themselves merely by having