Running head: EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING: REFLECTION, SYNTHESIS, AND 1

APPLICATION

Experiential Learning:

Reflection, Synthesis, and Application

Arcadio Avalos III

Colorado State University

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Experiential Learning

What is experiential learning? Bannerman (2012) told us that experiential learning

means that to learn something, we have to actually try it out and experience it. The theory of

experiential learning is nothing new to mankind because it is what we do in our everyday lives,

whether it is something that we do in a self-directed way, or it is in the form of an instructor led

class. The ability to learn through interactivity is one of the purest forms of challenging oneself

to learn new skills and concepts. In this paper, I will be discussing my involvement as an

experiential learner and how I will be able to apply these experiences and theories to my career

and my everyday life.

Reflection

In the early stages of the experiential learning process we were challenged to come up

with a word for the week that would we would carry with us through the learning process. It

took me some time to find what word would be the most appropriate to me for my time in the

course. The word approach presented itself to me and I ran with it. Initially, I began to think

about my approach to leadership and how it may affect those around me. For people who dont

really know me, or understand my work environment (U.S. Army), I can come off pretty strong.

As the week progressed, I found that looking at approach as only a means to enhancing my

leadership style was too narrowly focused. I had to truly step back and find a deeper

understanding as to how I looked at leadership and what qualities I felt made a strong leader.

Personal reflection and taking time to look at my own experiences has never been

something that I have invested time in. At the start, one challenge that I found to be difficult for

me to grasp was having to journal my daily experiences and take the time to reflect on how I
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have grown through these experiences. I have always struggled with appearing vulnerable to

others and found the idea of journaling to be terrifying because of the vulnerability of having

someone else read my thoughts on paper. As the week progressed, I found that my word,

approach, kept appearing in many different forms. For the task of journaling, thinking about

approach allowed me to be more honest with myself. I went from writing in bullet points

describing on the activities we performed, along with the rules and expectations associated with

them, to filling pages with paragraphs full of real emotion. Taking the time to learn, in the

moment, and then go back and walk through my process of solving the problem and overcoming

a challenge allowed me to gain better insight on myself as a learner and applying the learning

process to others. As experiential learners, it is easy to use our strong traits as an advantage but

sometimes we have to take a minute to look to those around us and use the traits of others for

guidance.

I have always prided myself on being a strong, efficient leader who has never turned

down an opportunity to take charge. I have an assertive nature that takes over and can be quite

over-powering to those around me. The loud inflection of my voice alone has the power to take

over a room in a matter of seconds. Using these natural traits has always been my approach to

any given situation. I found myself well out of my comfort zone when challenged to let others,

who may not be as assertive, to have the opportunity to step out of their comfort zone and lead

the group. I began to feel anxious when no one would be volunteer to take charge of a situation,

and what felt like minutes of silence in my mind really turned out to be just seconds of waiting.

Sometimes those around us merely need a boost of encouragement to explore new sides of

themselves. The theory of metaphoric framing helped me to create a new approach to my build-

up of anxiety. So, to help clear my mind, I would always think others before self which helped
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in shaping my goal of encouraging those around me to approach and conquer their obstacles

with confidence. Having this state of mind brought me great joy when I was able to see those

around me succeed. While thinking of the word approach, I was able to take a step back,

breathe, and tell myself that I dont always have to be the first to volunteer in every situation.

What I value most out of this is a new outlook is how I can challenge myself to help someone

else become the best leader they can be.

Synthesis

Experiential learning is a concept that I have truly embraced most of my life, I just didnt

realize it had a name. I have never had the ability to focus in a traditional class room setting.

My mind tends to wander when I dont feel engaged in the learning process. Being a hands-on

learner has been a tool that I have used throughout the years to build my self-confidence and help

me succeed academically and in my vocation. Having chosen to pursue a career in the military

enabled me to really shine as a hands-on, in the moment, learner and instructor.

The experiential learning process can look different for different people. Outside of the

basic hands-on aspect of the experiential learning process, I felt that understanding self-

recognition, and learning that failure is acceptable, were key to getting the most out of the

learning environment. We are not always placed in settings where a facilitator is leading a

learning session and giving us the guidance necessary to succeed. In many cases, experiential

learning is happening when we are not even aware of it. This thought plays in to the idea that we

are all life-long learners, no matter what the setting is. As a professional, I am constantly

challenged to better myself as a leader and Officer, while still taking the responsibility to better

those around me. This isnt possible without embracing the dual roles of constant learner and

facilitator. In my personal life, I challenge myself to learn something new every day, whether I
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realize it or not. My passion for the outdoors has allowed me to have many opportunities to

embrace experiential learning. I am constantly learning what it means to appreciate the offerings

our environment provides in both mental and physical ways. In the end, I have found that

experiential learning is all about mindset, and how, as learners, we allow ourselves to open up to

what is around us, take it in, and learn from it.

Application

In my profession as an Army Officer in a combat arms field, I find that many of the

techniques used in experiential learning come into play while I am commanding my troops. The

most similar experiential learning to the style of education that many Soldiers experience is

conducted through the Experiential Learning Cycle as discussed by Bannerman (2012). This

is a six step cycle that includes orientation, beginning a new activity; clarification, the task,

condition and standards of the activity; experience, executing the activity; reflection, how was

the problem solved; generalization, how efficient was the process; and application, how can we

use this in the future.

Every time a Soldier is involved in any form of learning or training exercise, the

facilitator is required to give the group the task, conditions, and standards for what training being

executed. This sets the expectations for each learner to create a positive training experience for

themselves. When a learner knows what is to be expected, they will typically do everything they

can to meet the goal or standard. During the actual execution of the training, the learner takes

every opportunity to become immersed into each task involved in the session. This allows them

to better understand the experience, while taking the time to soak in what is being taught or

personally executed. The reflection phase of the cycle comes directly after the to event. With

the guidance of the facilitator, the Soldiers (learners/participants) conduct an after action review
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(AAR) which gives them the option to give constructive feeding back in the form of positive

feedback and ideas for future implementation. The generalization portion is also done

simultaneously with the AAR. The facilitator will give an overview of what was expected to

happen in the learning or training process and the participants will be given the opportunity to

discuss how the process actually went for them. This gives them to opportunity to think back to

each step and create a base of knowledge about where they can improve the process and

implement it in the future.

I found that problem-solving through clear decision making was the most effective tool

from this class that will transfer to my professional life. The Army uses a very specified model

for the decision making process called the Military Decision Making Process (MDMP). There

are many complicated steps that can make it hard form some people to clearly understand what is

most important and how it can be best executed. Taking the time to visualize multiple paths,

through the use of course of action development, will help guide learners to what is the clearest

path of execution. The process of finding this path is not always clear and isnt always to first to

present itself. A learner will have to be willing to go through some trial and error. In my

opinion, this makes problem solving much easier and one can back up their decision with

confidence.

For myself, I found that taking the time to self-reflect was the best tool from this class

that I can use going forward in my life. Investing time in my journal allowed me to recognize

where I needed to grow as a person and a leader. Sometimes, it isnt always the act of stepping

up first that makes a good leader, its the act of stepping back and letting others take the lead that

is. I have found that to be one more quality of leadership, and having the ability to encourage

those around you to be their best leader-self, is even greater. I think this course has truly given
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me new tools for the future, not only as a facilitator of adult learning, but as a, Army officer,

person, and life-long learner.

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References

Bannerman, N. R. (2012). Facilitating powerful learning experiences: Experiential learning, the

experiential learning cycle, and how tos for facilitators. Ryan Bannerman Associates.

Retrieved from www.ryanbannerman.com