Almost every week somebody rings us up and asks us to quote on topics as diverse as workplace etiquette, women in business to Gen Y’s, career development and innovation. We then send through the details of our company name and 1 in 3 call us the Australian “Experimental” learning centre. Why do people hear experiential and write down experimental? Why that paradigm? Do people not understand the word “experiential” so they substitute what they think it should be?

So what is experiential? According to Wikipedia, experience as a general concept comprises knowledge of or skill in or observation of some thing or some event gained through involvement in or exposure to that thing or event. The history of the word experience aligns it closely with the concept of experiment. An experiment is a set of scientific observations performed in the context of solving a particular problem or question, to retain or falsify a hypothesis or research concerning phenomena.

In our context we take current education theory and turn it backwards. Most people enrol in a generic course with the hope they will gain skills or knowledge in a particular area. There is no direct experience from this, just observation of the theories and studies of other peoples ideas and experiences.

We take the view that each person needs to analyse where they want to go and we then design a project experience for them to undertake and learn from in order to acquire that knowledge. The generic skills they need to do that project is gained by relevant short courses they will need as a person to complete that project. Each person undertaking the project may have quite different needs in this area. That way they can experience theory in action.

Is this the way of the future? We think so. Classroom based learning is not the way to embed knowledge.

Try this experiment. Think back to your university or TAFE lectures and try to remember what they said. I guarantee only those theories you applied will be imbedded in your memory.

Print articles:

www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23666946-5010800,00.htmlLink

yourlifeworks.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=456348

From Employer to Employee – The West Australian February 20th

Helicopter View brings the parts together – The Australian Financial Review Monday 14th April

www.news.com.au/business/story/0,23636,22398467-5012424,00.html

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