AS PUBLISHED ON LEARNOGRAPHY BLOG - January 26, 2017

“Learning by experience” is all the rage these days. The concept has blown up–and for good reason. When people connect learning to the actual doing or experiencing of that learning, it leads to a deeper comprehension and connection to the subject matter.

So what is “experiential learning” and how do you design experiences in the learning space? Broadly, experiential learning is any learning that supports applying knowledge and conceptual understanding to real-world problems or scenarios. This can be done with embedded activities such as case studies, scenarios, and guided discovery. In other words, we have to “get real” when designing learning experiences so that learners can relate and replicate their learning in the real world.

As designers and developers of learner-centred products and experiences, we really have to think outside the box when designing. What makes a great experience? How do we design to meet the learner where they are?

As curators of learning experiences, we have to take into account what the learning needs of our audience is and design to match those unique needs. This demands that every nuance of design and development be carefully thought out. Every touch point is an opportunity to create that learning and engage the audience. Learners are savvy and expect great experiences that are dynamic in format and comprehensive in experience. Forbes has some great tips on frame-working the design and developmental process to make it human-centred and ultimately experiential:

1 – Apply multidisciplinary skills and perspectives.

Use the talent around you to apply different perspectives in support of a common vision to create experiential learning.

2 – Explicitly integrate learners, tasks, and environments.

Designers must factor in people’s behaviours, context, preferences, as well as their learning goals and aspirations. The objective is to build a sustainable relationship between learning experience and learner.

3 – Make user-centered design processes iterative.

Designing never really stops especially when it comes to experiential learning. Keep iterating on ideas so you can successfully keep your learner engaged.

Author - Lauralee Sheehan, Chief Creative Officer (CCO)

Blog Cover Photo - tim-goedhart-334149-unsplash