# About Experiential Learning & Features of Experiential Learning:

This video link is “Experiential Learning Explained-Definition & Theory”. I believe it can help you quickly understand what experiential learning is, and tells you how the model works in a simple language.

Experiential learning, first of all, it is a new learning method that is different from the traditional educational learning model. Under this learning method, the experience is the foundation, and the learner becomes the centre of learning. No longer passively accept knowledge from teachers, classrooms, and textbooks, but automatically and spontaneously invest in the experience, and experience, observe, reflect, and summarize in the experience, and apply it to new life, go in a learning situation. It is precisely because of the whole-hearted participation that the learning efficiency, knowledge understanding, and knowledge memory persistence are greatly improved. The experiential learning method is 3 to 5 times the efficiency of the traditional learning method.

  • The learner:
    In experiential learning, the learner becomes the real protagonist of learning, and this central merger is reflected in the entire learning process.
  • Learning through “experience”:
    In traditional learning, the learner learns from the teacher, learns from the classroom, and learns from books; while experiential learning, learns from “experience”.
  • Uncertainty:
    The learning process of experiential learning is full of uncertainty because the “experience” is brand new, the people in the experience are brand new, and what happens in the experience is brand new … The final learning process and results are also unpredictable.
  • The process is important than the result:
    Traditional learning methods always focus on the results of learning and ignore the learning process. This is a narrow utilitarian idea. Experiential learning does not have a specific learning goal to be achieved. The process of experiential learning itself is the meaning.

 

# Align with my chosen topic:

Our topic is teaching a group of people the concept of impulse purchase behaviour among consumers through interactive learning methods. Group interactive learning is an important form of interactive learning. It is a teaching activity based on group activities. Experiential learning can help students understand the subject of learning. Follow the model of Experimental Learning, to do something, then reflect upon that action, based on that refection the learner can make some modifications, and do it again, improve that.

  • To do:
    In order for learners to influence the purchasing behaviour of consumers, in addition to reading textbooks, the learner also need to create different specific scenarios, let learners actually complete the purchasing behaviour, and let them experience the feelings of different purchasing behaviours. Impulsive consumption refers to customers’ unprepared or conscious purchases made by external factors. Impulsive consumption has unconscious and unplanned behaviours. Therefore, we should pay attention to confidentiality when creating characteristic scenes, and we cannot tell them in advance so that the learner can successfully complete the purchase.
  • Reflect:
    The learner conducts reflection and discussion in the group through different purchasing behaviour feelings and theoretical learning just now. What are the factors that lead to the success of buying behaviour, whether it has the characteristics of impulsive consumption? This step is the most important step of the whole experiential learning. Learners need to reflect on the experience they have gained. So as to be able to understand the subject more concretely.
  • Modify:
    After reflecting on this series of revisions, the learner repeats the “buying behaviour” to complete the real “impulsive consumption” and understand the reasonable “impulsive consumption”. We need to avoid learners’ impulse consumption for impulse consumption.

 

# Conclusion:

Experiential learning is an active, learner-centric methodology where learners put knowledge and skills to use in a meaningful and relevant fashion (Robert 2018). Consumption needs to be understood through effective experience. My understanding is that when a learner enters an environment, the environment gives the consumer a role and a scenario that the consumer self-identifies. Once this role is self-identified by consumers, this scenario is considered successful. Because of the particularity of our group theme, I think experiential learning is the best learning method.

 

Reference

Experiential Learning Explained – Definition & Theory. 02 2016. 05 2020 <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJN9QKukfPc>.

Kerner, Robert. “Five advantages of experiential learning” Northwell. 03 2018. 05 2020 <https://www.northwell.edu/news/five-advantages-of-experiential-learning>.