A PHILOSOPHICAL EXAMINATION OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING THEORY FOR AGRICULTURAL EDUCATORS

TLDR

Experiential learning is widely used in agricultural education, yet the literature offers limited insight into its underlying theory, describing it mainly as a process or contextual phenomenon. The manuscript aims to synthesize and summarize existing knowledge of experiential learning theory. The study found that experiential learning follows a cyclical process—focus, interaction, reflection, generalization, testing—and that its context is defined by level, duration, intended outcome, and setting, leading to models that depict both process and context.

Abstract

Experiential learning is prevalent in secondary and university agricultural education programs. An examination of the agricultural education literature showed many inquiries into experiential learning practice but little insight into experiential learning theory. This philosophical manuscript sought to synthesize and summarize what is known about experiential learning theory. The literature characterizes experiential learning as a process or by the context in which it occurs. Results of this study indicated that the process is cyclical in nature and requires an initial focus of the learner, followed by interaction with the phenomenon being studied, reflecting on the experience, developing generalizations, and then testing those generalizations. The context in which experiential learning occurs is defined by four dimensions: the level, the duration, the intended outcome, and the setting. Based on these results, models depicting the process and context were developed by the author.