Learning Theory for the Digital Age (1)
Experiential Learning (Dewey)
In this series of blogs, I am inviting you to reflect on how learning is mediated by digital technology. The series will draw on some classic, and some lesser known, theories of learning. I will consider how digital technology is impacting the learning experience and identify some key considerations. This blog starts with a classic: Experiential learning and Dewey.
Historically acquisition of knowledge was a key educational aim. Dewey suggested that this was largely due to an expectation that the future would be like the past. In the classical societies of ancient Greece and Rome this was the case. In the society of today, the future is much less predictable. The risk of just focusing on acquisition of knowledge is that we assume knowledge is static, that it is an entity that won’t change. For some things that may be true but not for everything. Our understanding of the world is continually evolving and what was considered fact at one point in time (e.g. Pluto was a planet) can change over time. The list of kings and queens we learn about in history might not change but our understanding of their impact, and who they were, might. Science stays the same for years at a time but then a new discovery can shake things up (e.g. The Big Bang).
Dewey introduced the notion that education was something we experience, that participation was more important than acquisition: ‘there is an intimate and necessary relation between the processes of actual experience and education’ (Dewey, 1938). He did not suggest that all experiences were educative, but he identified experience as being a key element of education. Participation was required to learn, not just acquisition. The adage about not being a ‘sage on the stage’ but a ‘guide on the side’ refers to this. As facilitators of learning our job is not just to fill people with knowledge, it is to enable them to engage with it. Participation is required for learning to happen.
Dewey argued that educators should work to create a social space where ‘all individuals have an opportunity to contribute something’. Rather than being an ‘external boss’, the educator should lead group activities. Educating should be a ‘co-operative enterprise, not a dictation’. Conceiving of education as experiential re-positioned the teacher. Rather than transmitting knowledge, the role of the teacher became about enabling participation in educative experiences. This is directly relatable to how learning is facilitated today, in classrooms ‘active learning’ is promoted and in professional learning environments social and experiential learning is common.
So, from this perspective, how does digital technology mediate our experience of learning? Let’s consider a specific example: facilitated online sessions (webinars). As a facilitator digital technology changes the ways in which we can invite participation. In a face-to-face environment we can use quite subtle, or not so subtle, cues to invite different participants to contribute. We can throw a ball around, get into groups, use post it notes or flip charts… These activities do have online versions; the ball might be 2D rather than 3D but we can create a similar activity, and most platforms have post it note functions, break-out rooms, and shared whiteboards. But it is often harder online. Part of the reason for this is the lack of para-verbal and non-verbal cues, it’s much harder to read the reactions of individuals in the group. For the participants, engaging with others through a 2D screen is a different experience. It’s not the same as engaging face-to-face, for similar reasons.
The screen acts as a connector, enabling us to participate with others at a distance, but it can also be a divider, hiding some of the signals we use in person (nods, facial expressions, non-verbal reactions or sounds). For facilitators this can feel like a lack of feedback and that can hamper our connection with the group. It can lead to us making assumptions about the participants. For participants it can make the act of participating daunting, like there is a spotlight shining on them. Other things also provide easy distractions, checking email in a face-to-face session is more visible than in an online session, even when all the cameras are on. So how can we create experiential learning in an online space? Research shows that structure is important, we need to be more structured than we might be in person. We need to add in time to build participants competence and competence with the tools we are using. To participate in learning activities, we are asking participants to trust each other and trust ourselves, we need to build connection to support interaction. Dewey said that all education is experience, but not all experience is educative, so it’s about really focusing on the experience that the session is providing. Is there space to engage with knowledge, to participate, to reflect? And reflection is key here, as it allows us to process the experience of participating and to learn from it.