What is “Experiential Learning”?
Ever flash back to the time when you had to reach up to hold your parent’s hand, back to learning experiences that you have retained and that have influenced you? What were those experiences?
Current educational research is showing that young learners best retain new knowledge gained in combination with activity. Active learning is natural to little learners. Movement, travel, touring a new environment, multimedia and interactive presentations, reading out loud, acting, discussions and projects help children absorb multiple lessons from an experience.
Recently 20 four-year-olds stepped off the elevators at Landmark Center II in downtown Orlando and headed to an important meeting on the fourth floor with HKS Architects, Inc. Vice President and Project Manager Jeff Bush, AIA, deftly handled the daunting task of conveying architectural building concepts that the little learners could grasp. He taught about architecture by relaying lessons about shapes. The students experienced an interactive multimedia presentation, CAREFULLY examined scale concept models of HKS projects and actively traced key shapes recognized in architectural floor plans. They used paper shapes to create their own houses and castles. Then they toured the office before heading back to the Trinity Lutheran School campus.
What a great learning opportunity! Thank you HKS and thank you Trinity Lutheran admin, teachers and parents for going the extra mile to create rich learning activities…who knows, the next world famous designer might come out of this year’s PVK class!
