Educators Tout the Value of Experiential Learning

Experiential learning can come in many forms. Students at the Beaver Country Day School in Chestnut Hill have social action education as part of their curriculum and participate in a number of different activities, said Kit Beaudion, director of community engagement at the Hiatt Center for Social Justice Education.

"The goal is to produce global citizens and agents of social change,” said Beaudoin. "It’s the practice. It’s the real life connections that absolutely make it come alive for the kids.”

Generational differences cause some problems for students, employers and families, but also carry some advantages, said Scott Weighart, senior coordinator of cooperative education at Northeastern University.

This generation has been told they are terrific, students have high expectation for themselves, and in turn some students find it hard to compete, said Weighart.

"There is a lot more pressure on these students and families in college to pick the right thing,” said Weighart.

Weighart said he sees two types of personalities emerge from this generation: a "see what happens" kind of person and a "make it happen" kind of person. Experiential learning is the "ultimate differentiator,” he said.

Students who have the opportunity to do community service or try their hand at different jobs, have an advantage and a head start when they get to college, he said.

"When you do things as a high school student, it helps you to make better choices of where you should even go to college. What you should be considering for college,” said Weighart.

A strong experiential learning program incorporates reflection on the experience, said Peter Folan, assistant director of the First Year Experience Office at Boston College.

"If more students had more emphasis on experiential learning before they got to university, they are going to find their way into more activities initially,” said Folan. "It provides deeper connections.”

Gretchen Ayoub, a community service and career education coordinator at Needham High School, attended the talk and said that while Needham High does require students to participate in community service, the conference provided a good resource.

"Our basic approach is, some of the most important education comes from outside the classroom,” said Ayoub. "We want them to get involved.”