Here’s Why Instructors Want to Use Experiential Learning — But Don’t #

I think most instructors already believe in experiential learning.

They know students learn better when they do something — when they make decisions, solve problems, apply knowledge, and experience the consequences.

So why isn’t experiential learning used more often?

Because believing in it is the easy part.

Delivering it can be hard.

Real-world experiential learning can be difficult and time-consuming to manage, particularly with dozens or hundreds of students. Creating realistic experiences, monitoring students, providing feedback, and assessing individual performance can add significant work for already-busy instructors.

There’s also risk.

Will the activity work? Will students understand what to do? Will it fit the curriculum? Will it create more work instead of less? Will students actually learn what they are supposed to learn?

So I don’t think the biggest barrier to experiential learning is convincing instructors that it works.

The barrier is making it practical.

That’s the problem I’ve been working on for 25 years.

And what I’ve learned is that experiential learning becomes much easier to adopt when the experience is highly structured and designed from the ground up for the realities of teaching.

Students need to know what to do without constantly asking the instructor. They need to make meaningful decisions and experience the consequences. And instructors need an easy way to see what students did and how well they performed.

Do that, and the role of the instructor can transition from delivering and managing content to coaching student success.

That’s why I design games and simulations this way.

Teach business? Let students run a business in a simulation.

Teach personal finance? Let students live their financial futures in a realistic game of life.

Teach health and wellness? Let students diagnose patients in a simulated medical clinic.

I describe our learning methodology as Experiential + Social + Gamified, and I apply it to both software apps and tabletop games.

With software simulations, much of the delivery and assessment can also be automated. An instructor can roll up their sleeves and fully participate in the experience, or set it and forget it — let it run on autopilot.

Either way, the experience can provide instructors with student proof of work and proof of performance.

If you have ever considered creating an experiential learning activity for your students — do it. AI can help.

But if you just want something that is ready to go and proven successful, check out GoVenture.net for ideas.