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  • Arguably the most natural and powerful form of learning

  • is through experience,

  • or more precisely through reflection on doing.

  • Also called experiential learning,

  • it’s what prima ballerinas do

  • after their performance at the national opera.

  • But it also happens to boys that are sad

  • because their father got angry

  • when they played football in the living room.

  • By the age of one,

  • we all had our own painful encounter with

  • experiential learning

  • when we tried to walk, failed,

  • fell and cried like, well a baby

  • And even though this was an unpleasant and

  • discouraging exercise that lasted for months

  • in the end

  • we all made it.

  • How is that possible?

  • As soon as we fell and the first shock was over,

  • our brain unconsciously began to make sense

  • out of all of the information available

  • to identify how this embarrassment occurred.

  • It remembers that when we pushed ourselves up,

  • everything was fine:

  • our feet on the floor,

  • our arms in position and our head

  • and shoulders up right.

  • Ready to go!

  • When our upper leg muscles

  • pulled our left foot 12.3% to the front

  • at an angle of 23 degree,

  • our arms didn’t compliment the movement

  • and the ventricles in the inner ear,

  • responsible for static balance,

  • got confused for a second.

  • When at the same moment the cat ran by,

  • our eyes sent an alarming signal to the hippocampus

  • and we completely lost it

  • Outch!

  • Unconsciously this is how our brain analyses

  • the relationship of events within our body

  • or in the environment.

  • It happens all the time as we learn to walk,

  • talk,

  • kiss,

  • function in a fancy office

  • or dance the salsa.

  • Once we understand the connections between

  • what went wrong,

  • we know what we need to change

  • when we try the next time.

  • Experiential Learning

  • can also be used explicitly to learn a new skill

  • or to become better at what we already love doing.

  • Here is how it works:

  • First get yourself into a situation to experience.

  • After, reflect on what happened.

  • Then try to understand the relationships

  • to form an abstract concept

  • - if I do A,

  • I get B.

  • Last, decide what to do differently next time.

  • Then do it again.

  • For example

  • if you want to learn how to ride a bicycle,

  • the following might happen:

  • You get onto the bike and start kicking the pedals.

  • As you are afraid of speed,

  • you ride too slowly and you fall to the side.

  • Afterward

  • you remember that you fell at the exact moment

  • when your speed was the slowest

  • Then you form the abstract and slightly dangerous idea:

  • speed equals stability

  • Next time, you decide, youll speed up

  • Lets try that again:

  • This time you ride fast.

  • In fact, so fast that you crash straight into the next fruit stall.

  • Your head hurts

  • and you realize that speeding like that is really dangerous.

  • You create the next abstract thought:

  • speed is danger and danger needs protection

  • You then decide to wear a helmet next time

  • Experiential learning is also believed to be responsible

  • for the fact that musicians

  • generally fare better at most tests,

  • regardless of what they measure.

  • People that practice an instrument

  • not only engage their brain in motor,

  • visual and auditory areas,

  • but they also learn by reflecting on what theyre doing

  • with a fast feedback loop

  • – a wrong tone on the violin sounds too terrible

  • to remain unnoticed.

  • While playing they therefore not only learn to make music,

  • but also that progress in general comes through practice,

  • reflection,

  • understanding,

  • and repetition.

  • You can use it with your friends

  • or colleagues when working on a project.

  • Silicon Valley start-ups do it

  • when they tell their developers to get out of the building!

  • After the interaction with real potential customers,

  • the team gets together,

  • analyses the feedback

  • and decides what to do next.

  • If you are all by yourself learning something

  • where feedback doesn’t come fast and painfully,

  • get going

  • and look for someone

  • who can give you a second opinion along the way

  • for students that can be a friend or the teacher,

  • for entrepreneurs that’s the mentor

  • and for journalists a blog where readers can comment.

  • Tell us, what do you think?

  • Is learning through reflecting on doing

  • only good when acquiring new hands-on skills

  • or is it also suitable to study science,

  • math,

  • the humanities

  • or abstract art?

Arguably the most natural and powerful form of learning

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