4.5 Experiential education: Moving beyond the computer through place-based education

Active learning and experiential education are overlapping and arguably inextricable; they both have the goal of engagement and participation and focus heavily on activities that can result in deeper learning. Experiential education can be defined as a philosophy and methodology in which “educators purposely engage learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills and clarify values” (Association for Experiential Education). Experiential education is distinct from active learning in the classroom in that there are more “unknowns” and instructors may not be able to ensure experiential activities go as expected. Many engaging forms of experiential education are carried out in spaces beyond the classroom (e.g. field settings, workplaces, community placements).

Although several activities outlined in this document offer strategies for facilitating active, classroom-oriented experiential education in the online realm, something is lost when deeply embodied, relational, or experiential pedagogies are attempted virtually. In spite of those losses, this is also an opportunity to imagine possibilities and to consider how student learning can be enhanced beyond the computer, in the physical and geographical location (including connections to the historical, cultural, and scientific nature of the place) in which they find themselves; this is often referred to as "place-based education" (Sobel, 2004). Meaningful place-based learning activities across a diversity of contexts can be especially discipline-bound, and therefore requires learners to ask questions such as: "Where am I? What is the nature of this place? What sustains this community? It often employs a process of re-storying, whereby students are asked to respond creatively to stories of their homeground so that, in time, they are able to position themselves, imaginatively and actually, within the continuum of nature and culture in that place. They become a part of the community, rather than a passive observer of it" (Sobel, 2004, p.iii). Place-based education can happen in every discipline, but may require additional time, creativity, and imagination on the part of the educator.

Designing meaningful place-based learning activities can be especially discipline-bound. For this reason, we offer questions that you can ask yourself as you aim to design activities for students beyond their computer:

What can students learn about a given subject/topic in the physical environment that they are currently in? (consider structures, patterns, objects in the home, yards, balconies, local neighbourhoods, weather)
What can students learn about a given subject/topic from the people with whom they share physical or social spaces? (consider family, roommates, children, neighbours)
What can students learn about a given subject/topic from their current daily routine in the time of the COVID19 pandemic? (What observable changes have occurred? What routines are in place and what are they evidence of? What have they highlighted?)
How can students’ immediate environments be framed as metaphors or examples of broader concepts?
How can students learn about a given subject or topic through their own personal/embodied/reflective experiences? (Consider reflective journals, self questionnaires over time, visualization activities, writing activities)
What kinds of activities or tasks could leverage the limited variety of objects or space in order to generate creative solutions to a specific problem? (“Necessity is the mother of invention”; What can students create solely from what they have in their home?)

Examples of discipline-tailored activities beyond the computer could include:

A geography student might be tasked with mapping their neighbourhood with a specific question in mind.
A botany student might be asked to sketch, identify, and produce a research project on plant species within walking distance of their home.
A fine arts student may be asked to produce a photography or art exhibit inspired by a one-meter area of their home.
An urban planning student may be asked to choose one space in their immediate vicinity and explain how it encourages or discourages equitable engagement from local residents.
Anthropology, sociology, psychology, and gender studies students could be asked to explore how interpersonal relationships, domestic workloads, and/or community connections have changed through the pandemic. This could be done through daily reflective journals, designing/conducting interviews with close acquaintances, and/or conducting observational analyses.
Students in a qualitative research methods course could design and carry out an informational interview with a person in their home while taking into account best practices in interviewing.
A music or fine arts student might be asked to propose how live performances could change in a post COVID-19 world, and how these changes could influence different types of performances.
A sociology or land and food systems student could explore how urban farming may become more prevalent in society through creating an urban gardening space in their home or community, documenting successes and challenges, and how this might impact social structures and food systems, etc.

University Affairs offers practical advice on How to adapt experiential learning activities in the time of COVID-19 Links to an external site..