Experientialism emerged as a philosophical theory in the 1950s-1980s that maintained personal experience is the principal basis of knowledge. It developed in response to the inadequacies of behaviorism. Major theorists included Dewey, Lewin, Piaget, Kolb, Lakoff, and Johnson. Kolb's experiential learning cycle emphasized a four-stage process: concrete experience, observation/reflection, formation of abstract concepts, testing concepts in new situations. Lakoff and Johnson argued meaning depends on how we frame experiences based on our bodies and social contexts. Experientialism posits that learning occurs best through hands-on experience and reflection rather than passive knowledge transmission. It remains influential in fields like education,

1. Experientialism
AN EMERGING THEORYBy Atula Ahuja

2. Description and Background
1950s
Behaviorism dominated the field of human learning,
education and linguistics.
 1960s- discontent with the inadequacies of
Behaviorism due to reductionist view.
1970s- 80s
Non-reductionist theories emerged.
Focus: Mind

3. John Dewey (1938)
Learning cycle:
1. Review
2. Observe
3. Plan and proceed
Kurt Lewin (1942)
Observe
Review
Plan
Observe/
Reflect
Abstract
concepts
Active
Experimenta
tion
Concrete
Experience1. Experience
2. Reflect
3. Conclude and learn
4. Act out your plan.

4. Piaget emphasized the role of biological maturation
and environment on reorganization of mental
processes. He believed that children construct the
world around them by combining what they already
know with what they discover in their environment.
The experience of acquiring new knowledge leads to the
development of 2 different kinds of knowledge:
Physical
Experience
Logico- mathematical
Experience
2
1
Jean Piaget (1970s)

5. Concerns itself
with properties of
the objects-weight,
volume, size etc
Concerns itself with
knowledge of
actions with highest
forms of abstract
reasoning
Final Principal of Piaget
Intelligence is an action and education,
a result of child’s natural curiosity to
experience the world.

6. Diagram by Rolf Pfeifer (Pfeifer & Bongard; 2007)

7. Further advancement
 Early 1980s- Mezirow, David Kolb, George Lakoff, Mark Johnson
Kolb pointed that learning depends on how we process
experience and reflect on it.
 Learning is a cycle that begins with experience.
 Continues with reflection
 Leads to action
Swedish Professor Roger Saljo (1979) theorized –the more
the experiences, the better internalized is the learning.
Thus rudiments of experiential theory come into play.

8. Visibility
With this Experientialism began to
emerge as a philosophical theory
which maintained that personal
experience is the principal basis of
knowledge.

9. Cognitivism revisited
David Kolb (proposed the Theory of
Experiential Learning in his book- Experiential
Learning in1984)
George Lakoff (1981- 87)
Mark Johnson (1981- 87)
Catherine Snow( currently professor at
Harvard)
During the 1980s Cognitivism gained importance
in the field of Linguistics

10. Kolb’s conceptualization of Experiential Learning
He suggests:
Divergent quadrant: Practitioners
of creative disciplines
Assimilative quadrant: Pure
scientists and mathematicians
Convergent quadrant: Applied
scientists and lawyers
Accommodative quadrant:
Professionals, such as teachers
“Learning is the process
whereby knowledge is
created through
transformation of
experience. “
Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle
(1984)based on Lewin’s research

11. George Lakoff and Mark Johnson
In Metaphors We Live By (1980), Lakoff and Johnson based
Experientialism on the principles of cognitive linguistics.
“Thought is the disembodied manipulation of abstract
symbols; that concepts are internal representations of
external reality; that symbols have meaning by virtue
of their correspondence to real objects.”
Key ideas:
 Thought and meaning are disembodied.
 Meaning depends on how we frame experience.
 The mind is shaped by bodily and social experience.
 Image schemas arise from bodily functions.

12. Schemas Theory: Piaget, Lakoff & Johnson, R.C
Anderson
The term ‘schema’ was first used by Piaget in 1926.
Schema has 2 categories: 1. that of knowledge itself
2. process of obtaining that
knowledge
1. Abstract concepts are understood well only after
concrete information has been acquired.
2. This knowledge establishes the framework into which
new knowledge can be assimilated.

13. George Lakoff and Mark Johnson jointly introduced the notion of
“image schema” as one of experientialism’s major foundational
pillars in the book ‘The Body in the Mind’ (1987)
A dog is a ‘prototypical member’ in the category
‘ANIMAL’, will have more attributes with an animal as
compared to a bird and will have more attributes with
the category ‘MAMALS’ than to ‘REPTILES’.
Animation created by Daurice Grossniklaus and Bob Rodes (03/2002)
http://www.simplypsychology.org/piaget.html
Click to Play

14. Schemas
 are organized
meaningfully.
 change with new
knowledge.
 reorganize and
restructure
themselves if
concept
changes.
Characteristics of schemata
Anderson (1977)

15. Catherine Snow
Prof of Education at Harvard
Social Interactionist
Interaction with adults plays an important part in children's
language acquisition.
“Children who are fearful, anxious or disengaged from others,
loose out on countless opportunities to learn. “
According to her parents to child in, ‘mother’s speech.’ These
are short, simple sentences with exaggerated inflections and
musical speech. (1977)

16. Experientialism in a nutshell
 We learn best from our own experiences and
reviews.
 Doing is far more important knowing.
 Experience moves beyond knowledge- into skill
building.
 To make learning permanent, the learning process
should be made enjoyable, motivating and
rewarding.
 Respects the individuals ideas and choices.
 Space for reflection
 Process gets privilege over result.
 Effective learning requires controlled steps outside
comfort zones.

17. References
 Kolb, A. and Kolb, D.A. (2001) Experiential Learning Theory Bibliography 1971 –
2001, Boston, McBer and Co.
 http://www.digitalschool.net/edu/Exp_learn_Kolb.html
 http://teachinglearningresources.pbworks.com/w/page/19919565/Learning%20T
heories
 http://www.infed.org/thinkers/et-dewey.htm
 http://www.units.muohio.edu/servicelearning/sites/edu.servicelearning/files/imag
es/kolb_cycle.jpg
 http://teachinglearningresources.pbworks.com/w/page/19919565/Learning%20T
heories
 http://books.google.co.th/books?hl=en&lr=&id=qBgHYkS23tMC&oi=fnd&pg=PR
9&dq=catherine+snow+and+theory+of+experiential+learning&ots=FuHfOD8NEy
&sig=vtgs-fxnSDDtCibmkJDu3MRTnQw&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false
 http://www.rhetcomp.gsu.edu/~gpullman/3080/articles/Women,%20Fire,%20and%20other%
20dangerous%20things%20--%20George%20Lakoff.pdf
 http://web.archive.org/web/20001120004600/http://www.fbe.unsw.edu.au/Learning/instructio
naldesign/styles.htm

18. Strengths and
Weaknesses
of
Experientialism
Theory

19. Strengths

20. Experientialism creates more
meaningful knowledge
 Knowledge is more meaningful when children
construct it themselves rather than having it
imposed upon them.
 When knowledge is not based on temporary
memorization, it is not easily forgotten.

21. Experientialism produces
creative minds
 Children become critical, creative, and inventive
because the major part of their learning relies on
active experimentation and discovery.
 Multiple teaching/learning methods can be
integrated to maximize creativity.

22. Experientialism builds self-esteem
 The process of “discovery” of knowledge and
solutions builds competence and confidence.
 Children will be more willing to explore new
ideas.

23. Experientialism encourages
cooperation
 When children need to learn through interaction,
cooperative work is encouraged.
 Language is developed at the same time as
cooperative skills.

24. Experientialism does not depend
on rewards and punishments
 Children learn automatically while they are
exposed to new experiences (or even the
repeated ones).
 Parents or instructors do not need to present them
with rewards to stimulate learning.
 In the same way, punishments are discouraged as
they would make children afraid to try different
things.

25. Experientialism does not
concentrate on academic
outcomes
 Learning outcomes are not measured by
traditional standardized tests.
 Language development is observed on
practical usage.
 Therefore, children are not pressured or
forced to learn. Learning is more fun!

26. Weaknesses

27. Readiness is essential
 Children need to be “ready” to assimilate the
new experience to current ones. They must
know how to make connection between old
and new information.
 They need to be able to make sense of it;
otherwise, it will not be useful. Learning
cannot occur.

28. Motivation is needed
 Children must be open to learn. If they don’t pay
attention or don’t participate, then learning won’t
take place.
 Educational content that is either too simple or too
advanced might not be interesting.
 Instructors then need to adjust, but it is difficult to
support everyone at the same time since each
child has different potential.

29. Repetition of usage can create
wrong understanding
 One-time experience may not be enough to
learn some contents.
 BUT if not explained, children can repeat
things without actual understanding.

30. Frequency determines
knowledge construction
 Frequency determines creative possibilities or
productivity of the construction.

31. Limitation obstructs knowledge
 If children are not exposed to a variety of
language use, they cannot learn new things.
 When linguistic experience is limited, their
knowledge tend to be constricted.
 Therefore, learning by experientialism
depends too much on external factors.

32. Reoccurrence of mistakes
without corrections
 Children say what they hear. The more they
hear it, the more it seems to them that this is
the only way it can be said.
 When adults imitate children’s mistakes
instead of correcting them, children won’t
realize their own mistakes and keep saying
them the same way.

33. Pedagogical
Application
EXPERIENTIALISM

34. Let’s make Dog Origami!Fold the paper in half
downwards to make a
triangle.
Fold in half again
horizontally, and unfold right
away. Fold the two corners
down from the top of the
crease in the middle of the
paper.
Fold the top and bottom
corners to the back.
Draw a dog face and
you’re done!

35. Learning by Doing:
experience is the best teacher

36. Experiential Learning:
Kolb (1984) defines learning as the "process
whereby knowledge is created through the
transformation of experience

37. Learning by Doing
Five basic steps of learning process by Diem (2004):

38. Learning by Doing in EFL
classroom

39. What kind of learning is it?

40. Active Learning

41. Active Learning

42. Active Learning Process

43. Tips: Approaches that promote
Learning by Doing and Active
Learning
Cooperative Language Learning
Group learning activity
Learning is dependent on the socially structured
exchange of information between learners in
groups and others.

44. Activities in Active Learning
• note
comparison/s
haring
• flash
cards
• work on the
board
• a think-
pair-share
a class
discussion
a class
game
a short
written
exercise:
a daily
journal
an
effective
response
Role-playing
brainstorming
Mind mapping
case study

45. Confucius’s saying:

46. Experientialism as Opposed to
Other Perspectives
by
Mr. Apichat
Khamboonruang

47. Issues on Language
Acquisition
1. The Origin of Language
Knowledge
2. The Nature of Innate Ability
3. The Role of Environment
4. How Languages are Learned
5. The Primary Focus of Study

48. 1. The Origin of Language Knowledge
 Experientialism holds that language is learned
through environment with some help of
innateness.
 Behaviourism holds that language is learned
solely through environment with some help of
innateness.
 Nativism holds that language is acquired solely
through innateness (species-specific LAD/LF) with
some help of environment.

49. 1. The Origin of Language Knowledge
 Functionalism holds that language knowledge is
learned through environment with some help of
innateness.
 Cognitivism holds that language is learned
through environment with some help of
innateness.
 Constructivism holds that language is learned
through environment with some help of
innateness.

50. 2. The Nature of Innate Capacity
 Experientialism holds that general cognitive
capacity plays a partial role in learning process by
strengthening experiential association between
stimuli and responses.
 Behaviourism holds that general cognitive
capacity plays a partial role in language learning.
 Nativism holds that specific cognitive capacities
plays the most important role in language
acquisition.

51. 2. The Nature of Innate Capacity
Functionalism holds that general cognitive
capacity plays a partial role in language
learning
Cognitivism holds that general cognitive
capacity plays a major role in language
learning
Constructivism holds that general cognitive
capacity plays a major role in language
learning

52. 3. The Role of Environment
Experientialism holds that frequency of
language experience play a major role in
learning process.
Behaviourism holds that language
experience play a major role in language
learning.
Nativism holds that language experience
basically contributes to language
development.

53. 3. The Role of Environment
 Cognitivism holds that language interactive
experience just triggers cognitive development, in turn
playing a major role in language learning.
 Functionalism holds that language communicative
experience (linguistic function) plays a major role in
language learning.
 Constructivism holds that language interactive
experience in social context is foundational in
cognitive development and play a major role in
language learning.

54. 4. How Languages are Learned
 Experientialism holds that children learn language
through mentally constructing language knowledge
based on strengthened personal language experience
.
 Behaviourism holds that children learn language
primarily through a process of S-R-R concept.
Nativism holds that children acquire language through
specific cognitive capacities or language-specific
capacity with basic support from Language experience
.

55. 4. How Languages are Learned
 Functionalism holds that children learn language
hugely by a process of mapping relations between
linguistic functions and forms, motivated by
communicative need.
 Cognitivism holds that children learn language by
mentally constructing language knowledge from
surrounding language experience.
 Constructivism holds that children learn language by
mentally constructing language knowledge from
interactive language experience.

56. 5. The Primary Focus of Study
 Experientialists focus study primarily on mind
and learning processing
 Behaviourists focus study primarily on empirical
Linguistics behaviour.
 Nativists focus study primarily on an internal
structure of language.

57. 5. The Primary Focus of Study
 Functionalists focus study primarily on language
form and particularly language function (linguistic
function/pragmatic meaning).
 Cognitivists focus study primarily on underlying
motivation and deeper structure of linguistic
behaviour.
 Constructivists focus study primarily on social
interaction and learning processing.
57