Experiential Learning is one of the most important elements of a successful organization transformation, used as a powerful methodology based on the premise that success depends on a combination of intellectual comprehension and hands-on experience. Experiential learning immerses participants in an active and shared learning environment. Each of the team members discover for themselves a different meaning than lessons acquired through lecture or discussion modes. The learning that results from active personal involvement can be superior to passive, traditional means. The general objectives for learning-partners in such experiences, include increasing an understanding of principles and theories as applied to the concrete situations, including transfer to real situations; skills in interpersonal and decision making methods; skills in observing, analyzing and diagnosing behavioral phenomena; and an awareness of the learning-partners own values, the assumptions, and personal strengths and limitations.
Our Portfolio (SP)New trends in the field of learning are supported by the experiential learning methodology developing experiential workshops as part of a training process in which workshops, activities, simulations, initiatives are tools that play a pivotal role in promoting self-discovery from the factual. The activities should be professionally structured and managed to achieve the objectives activated with the debriefing techniques.
Experiential Learning
In Experiential Learning, the Debriefing is a semi-structured process by which the Facilitator, once an initiative or an activity is accomplished, elicits making a series of progressive questions, to process in an appropiated sequence that let the learning-partners reflect what happened, giving substantial insights projecting towards the future, linking that future with the challenge and the actions.
Experiential Learning
x-learning is a model adapted to e-learning processes enhancing TLPs (Teaching-Learning Processes), applicable to training and education programs adapted to virtual environments, maintaining the high impact of magic and the power of Experiential Learning, Debriefing, ICT, Heuristic Learning, Metacognition, stimulating the creation of a PLE (Personal Learning Environment), incorporating principles of Andragogy, Paragogy, Heutagogy, and generating, based on Contructivism and Connectivism, memorable experiences for a Meaningful Learning, applied in our corporate programs, workshops, courses, as well as online training of trainers and the certification of facilitators in face-to-face workshops.
There are many valuable ELC Experiential Learning Cycles, developed by John Dewey, Kurt Hahn (Outward Bound), David A. Kolb, YMCA, Brathay, Pfeiffer & Jones, and other authors that involves many stages from the concrete experience to the reflection.
Ernesto Yturralde developed the "Yturralde´s Debriefing Model of the 4 Elements: Water, Air, Earth and Fire", pre-presented at the ACCT | Association for Challenge Course Technology 22nd Conference at Boston, Massachusetts, on february 2012 and presented at the AEE | Association for Experiential Education International Conference at Colombia in june 2012. This model is not an ELC, it is a practical model that helps the facilitators to make the right questions at the right moment, depending in the facilitators skills, taking the pulse of the learning-partners, as a group, and as individuals inspired in Kurt Hahn´s and Kolb´s ELC Models.
The Debriefing Model applied to Experiential Learning , "Model of the 4 Elements of Yturralde" , goes from the experience, and considers the generation of observation questions in which the focus is on facts and emotions : (WATER questions)1 , continuing towards reflection , orienting itself towards creation of meaning and value : (AIR questions)2 , to later link and connect with the adaptation to the reality of the participants in their life, role, work: (EARTH questions)3 , and concluding with the application or transfer of the experience : ( FIRE questions)4 .
Many activities take place in which valuable exercises or activities are run, but they have lack of debriefing for many probable reasons: lack of time, not necessary preparation or facilitators knowledge, delivering activities just as enjoyable games.
In an Experiential Learning context, the Debriefing is indispensable and valuable. Without the Debriefing Session, the learning-partners might not learn, or have not too much learning. Debriefing is an essential part of experiential training and it is necessary for facilitators to know its structure and basics to turn into a memorable learning experience for the learning-partners. If facilitators don´t do a conscious debriefing, do not expect the learning-partners to extract much learning from what they have just experienced. The professional Facilitators skills and their vision for each process, are essential to capitalize the experiences of experiential workshops into teachable-moments, full of inspiration, that become debriefing sessions into commitments, actions and transformation of the learning-partners.
x-learning is an Experiential Learning model adapted to e-learning processes such as b-learning (blended learning), based on Experiential Learning . x-learning is a model to enhance the TLP (teaching-learning process), applicable to training programs adapted to virtual environments, maintaining the high impact of the magic and the power of Experiential Learning , Debriefing , ICT , Heuristic Learning , Metacognition , stimulating the creation of a PLE (Personal Learning Environment) , incorporating principles of Andragogy, Paragogy, Heutagogy , and generating based on Constructivism and Connectivism , memorable experiences for Meaningful Learning , applied in our corporate programs, workshops, courses, as well as in the training of online trainers and certification of facilitators in face-to-face workshops.
Successful transformations demand new capabilities and skills, to build them, Experiential Learning provides the strong link between knowledge and experience. Our goal is to support teams in reaching their full potential as individuals and as a team. We provide customized training programs that apply Experiential Learning within the context of your organization’s needs to leverage your people strengths.
This March the 4th we are commemorating our 40th Anniversary by developing people and organizations in Latin America, USA and The Caribbean, accelerating technology to adapt to new scenarios, maintaining the high impact on corporate teaching-learning processes backed by our 40 years of expertise in 21 countries: B-Learning sets trends.
