Experiential learning is a fantastic way to engage classroom and homeschool students in fun, personalized, and self-directed learning experiences. But how can you afford it? Is it possible to make hands-on learning where students are actively involved in every experience budget-friendly?

The answer is yes! In fact, I would argue that if you're working on a tight budget, experiential learning is the way to go. There are many strategies that I use to get cheap or free learning materials for experiential learning.

All kids are different. We know this. This is the foundation of experiential teaching. Experiential learning is also a process that doesn't always lead to black and white outcomes, wrong or right answers. Yet it is still common practice to evaluate all students as if they are the same.

How do we evaluate experiential learning then? How do we assess learning outcomes when those desired outcomes vary so widely among students? What are some ways to assess students or evaluate learning outcomes in a way that is personalized, isn't one size fits all, doesn't necessarily test for right or wrong answers, and measures growth and skill development in addition to content knowledge? 

What are my thoughts on required state standards in education? Or national standards or any standards? I think I get this question as much as I do because of my experiential philosophy. How can a teacher like myself facilitate experiential learning experiences and teach to the state standards in education at the same time? 

Experiential learning and reflection go hand-in-hand. Reflection is an important characteristic of experiential learning, so as an educator with an experiential learning classroom philosophy, I make it a point to enhance learning by reflection. 

I add a reflection piece to almost every learning experience that my students have, within AND beyond the walls of the classroom. Reflecting on the process, the outcomes, the content, the goals, and the skills-acquired from the experience really drive the learning experience home.

Welcome to the beginning of my experiential learning blog series specifically on examples of experiential learning activities. I have been writing about the topic of experiential learning for over a month and have covered experiential learning importance, how to set up your classroom for experiential learning, and have even offered examples of experiential learning methods.

What I haven't done is offer you specific examples of experiential learning activities at play. For the next few weeks I will be laying out and showing you experiential learning activities in action. ​

In the world of experiential learning there is a lot of talk about theory and philosophy; about what experiential learning is and what it is not, the benefits of experiential learning, and the purpose of it. 

But the most common question that I get from educators is not about experiential learning in theory but about experiential learning in practice.

How do I practice experiential learning with my k12 students? What is an experiential learning activity? What are experiential learning activity types? What approach or experiential learning activity is the best fit for me and my students? How do I facilitate experiential learning in my classroom and beyond?

These are the questions that this blog post is going to get at. This post is all about my favorite experiential learning activities. ​

Are worksheets good or bad? That is the question.

For those of you that follow my blog closely you have probably formulated a guess as to my answer to this question. I'm going to start by saying that I don't think worksheets are "bad". I believe that they have a place in this world, but in very very very very very small doses. There are ample alternatives to worksheets, and I hope you'll consider them.

Every season is prime time for experiential learning, but fall is one of my favorite times of year for experiential learning activities. Fall is unique in so many ways. The weather begins to change, wildlife prepares for winter, many farmers harvest their crops, seasonal illnesses begin to creep in (not my favorite), kids gear up for winter sports, fall flavors make a brief appearance, and the holiday season comes on strong.

Experiential learning is a fabulous way to personalize learning, and developing personal learning plans is a great way to do that.

Experiential learning is by nature personalized, and part of customizing any learning experience is by letting students take the lead. Student-directed learning gives students voice and choice in what they learn and how they learn it. For students to direct their own learning experiences you (and they) need to have a good idea of who they are and what they need. Students design and develop learning experiences that fit with their academic and personal needs, challenges, strengths, interests, and more. 

​So how do you approach this? How do you make learning personal?  How do you use personal backgrounds, needs, experiences, and interests to develop self-directed learning experiences that are meaningful and effective?

​With personal learning plans.

What is experiential learning importance? What are the benefits of experiential learning? Why bother spending the time to learn a new teaching style?

I am often asked how to get colleagues on board with experiential learning. This is an important question. I taught at an experiential school for 10 years. It was tough when there was a staff member or two that didn't agree with or understand the experiential philosophy. 

Experiential learning is a profound and life-changing teaching strategy with a laundry list of benefits attached, but working with those that are resistant to the craft can be draining, leaving you with little choice but to keep on teaching in a way that you don't feel is effective for your students or fulfilling to you. 

So how can you work with those that are resistant to experiential learning? ​What can you do? What can you say?