experience of learning

Celebrating the experience of learning. - By Carl Ebenezer

​Management Consultant, Tom Peters said, ‘Celebrate what you want to see more of.’ No better way to celebrate the New Year & the festive season, than by celebrating the experience of learning. 

For three days starting from 8th till 10th of January, led by the Chief Facilitator Vishwas Parchure, CELOL (Centre for Experiential Learning and Outdoor Leadership) had organized a workshop ‘Certificate in Experiential Education & Practice (CEEP)’ at Pebble Creek School, Hyderabad. CEEP brought together participants from diverse back grounds like Executive Coaches, School Educators, Corporate Trainers, OB Consultants and the like both from within & outside Hyderabad. 

Experiential educators create experiences, not just activities.’ was very true of Vishwas, when he tried to connect the experiences and methodologies of the Waldorf & Montessori educators using the ‘Heart, Head, Hand’ model which essentially starts with belief that ‘The gateway to learning is through feeling/emotion’ where the role of ‘The facilitator is to be an enabler of the process while being detached from the outcome.’ 

Some like Joel, a school administrator found the idea of a teacher not being fixed to a particular content but become open any outcomes very radical, yet he acknowledged that it was a necessary change in the present education system.

The three days was a good combination of theory, assessment tests and practice, were powerful personal realizations began to occur as the participants began to apply this learning by giving meaning to their experiences by relating to real life situations on what they did, and what will do. Even seasoned executive coaches, like Jesslina & Dr.Anuradha acknowledged the value the program added to their confidence in the design & delivery of an experiential learning session for their clients.

Perhaps the most touching moment was when a participant walked up to the facilitator during break, sobbing and explaining the impact & potential experiential education has and wished she had known about this much earlier!.
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People may not remember what you tell them, but always remember how you make them feel, experiential learning is an approach were the participants realize the learning themselves through meaningful facilitation. ​