Experiential Learning Study Without Teachers

Experiential Learning is based on the meaning that is derived through direct experience and the learning that takes place in course of the experience. It is a direct process where the individual focuses on learning without requiring the services of a teacher.

Experiential Learning constitutes a process that is inherent and involves learning naturally, where the individual derives meanings from the experiences that he is subjected to rather than by any formal education provided by any teacher or institution. Acquisition of practical skills can be derived from this kind of learning where trial and error and opportunity to practice various skills becomes an essential part of the learning process. Vocational education provided in the UK is often based on this type of learning.

In order to refer to a structured learning sequence, experiential learning is often employed by training providers and educational service providers. A cyclical model is often employed for these purposes, which is also guided to ensure best results. Although there are various stages in the learning process, it can often be managed, unmanaged or even self managed since experience is a daily process that people go through every single day of their life.

Experiences in life cannot be guided according to a particular structure and in experiencing these, people start deriving meanings, which are later learned and expressed wherever required. But a trainer might view experiential learning as a cyclical process consisting of 2, 3,4 or even 5 stages. Each stage is viewed as contributing to the learning experience and every consequent stage is a continuity of the previous stage.

Experiential learning is thought to consist of a 3-stage learning process, generally in the development training process involving any of the following 3 stages: Plan, Do, Review or Apply, Do, Review or Learning, Experience, Reflection. These cycles are referred to as the Brathay cycles imply in some ways The Way We Work. Similarly, a 2-stage model can be used to show how managers work or how their learning experiences correspond with their work. It might consist of the following models : Do, Review and Experience, Reflection. Each of these are cyclical processes that are continuously repeated in the course of learning.

But experiential learning models are not supposed to be taken as guidelines for trainers or learners. They are just theories about how people work and different theorist have explained it in different manners, suiting their understanding of the process. These models are often employed in personal development, self-development, manager development etc. Experiential learning