Learning Through Reflection

Experiential Learning Is Not Learning By Doing

There’s one thing most of us learn to do when we were very young, that we were told ‘once you learn how to do it, you’ll never forget.’ Riding a bicycle.

And it’s true, once you learn how to sit on a bike, pedal, and balance all at the same time, you’ve learned how to ride a bike. Some would argue that this skill is mastered through a process of learning by doing, but they are wrong.

My son learned to ride a bike when he was four years old. After spending almost a year on a ‘balance-bike’ (regular bike without pedals or training wheels) he was ready to propel himself forward by using the pedals on a slightly bigger bike.

Over the course of a couple of weeks, we would hit the road together. He would work on pushing the pedals, and I would help him to balance on his seat. Holding on, I’d walk or jog behind him to keep him upright.

Naturally, there were spills and tears and many days between attempts. Then it happened, he found his balance, and Daddy could no longer keep hold of the bike. He whizzed away from Daddy, and then after performing a spectacular turn, he sped back towards me exclaiming, “Daddy, I got it.”

Indeed, he did. Some would argue that he learned by doing, but this is scientifically incorrect.

He learned to ride a bike by ‘not’ doing it.

My son learned to ride a bike by discovering all of the ways not to do it successfully until he did. And with each attempt, assisted by a professional facilitator for a father, my son would reflect back on what went wrong and tried again by doing something different. It was this process of reflection where the true learning occurred.

That is experiential learning – a process of learning through reflection on doing.

The Experiential Learning Cycle

As shown in the diagram above, the Experiential Learning Cycle (ELC), developed by David Kolb, is an ‘action-reflection’ model, and one of the foundations of adventure education.

The ELC will give you a structure to follow in your work as you seek to draw more meaning or learning from your program. It proposes that the transfer of learning will be more effective if what is being learned is discovered through actual experience.

This process, also known as a debrief, review, or reflection, is an opportunity for your group to process what has been learned from a particular experience. Guided by a series of reflective questions that you pose, your group can discuss significant topics and tackle relevant issues, such as communication and leadership within the group.

Within the context of a safe and supportive atmosphere (ideally governed by a ‘full value’ working agreement,) they can also provide feedback to one another and raise valuable learning points.

Obviously, this is higher-order, Stretch Zone stuff. Adopting the action-reflection model of the ELC means that your group can not expect to be fed the answers, so there’s work to be done. Starting small and building up over time, you can expect your group to continue to improve, testing the limits of their self-perceived boundaries.

To work effectively, this process works hand-in-hand with each of the other essential tools, especially when you have articulated the difference you want to make (set goals,) honoured choice, and agreed on a set of full value behavioural norms.