Experiential Learning for faculty and staff

Experiential learning is a pedagogical strategy that advances learning, personal growth and competency development by engaging students directly in the application of theoretical concepts in practice and reflecting critically on those experiences.

At its best, experiential learning is intentional, reflective, and transformative, and promotes deep engagement with theory through relevant hands-on activities or immersion in a complex learning environment.

Since the university’s founding, experiential learning has provided opportunities for students to apply their learning in a range of diverse contexts, and to develop the knowledge, skills and dispositions critical to life, work and global citizenship.

We believe experiential learning empowers both students and educators to think creatively, act with purpose, and engage meaningfully across a variety of contexts, not just in the classroom. It encourages us to see the potential in diverse experiences and to build relationships rooted in mutual respect. At its core, experiential learning values the lived experiences of students and invites educators to engage with them as partners in a shared journey of growth and discovery.

• Support faculty and instructors in the development and deepening of experiential learning activities in courses and programs.
• Act as a coordination point for sharing of high-impact experiential learning practices and resources across all faculties.
• Work with colleagues to incorporate Indigenous pedagogies and inclusive practices within experiential opportunities.
• Support measurement of the impact of experiential learning projects and activities, and gather data and stories about experiential learning at the university.
• Champion a culture of best practices and innovation within experiential education through collaboration within the University and with colleagues across Canada.

As a concept, experiential learning has been around since the 1970’s and many definitions have been created to explain it. Regardless of how it is defined, the core intuition behind experiential learning pedagogy is the belief that students learn better and develop more fully when they are actively engaged in the process of applying theories and concepts in real-world contexts. In practice, this intuition translates to a variety of teaching strategies that go beyond the passive use of lecturing as one’s main instructional method. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to experiential learning. Instead, experiential learning encompasses a flexible spectrum of teaching strategies and activities that can be incorporated into any course, regardless of its subject, class size, or setting. Some common examples include case studies, interviews, role-play, games and presentations. With this diversity in mind, The UM created an Experiential Learning Typology that describes 12 different ways in which experiential learning approaches are currently applied in courses and programs– from classroom-based experiences like Project-Based learning and Creative Works, to field and partnership-based experiences such as Industry Projects and Applied Research.