Experience has been the focus of many approaches to student engagement and active learning. However, how can students make that critical connection between their own experiences and what they are studying? The authors show how student reflection is the key ingredient for transforming experience into meaningful learning. (Contains 13 references.)…

Examines the current trend of adventure education as a form of management and leadership training for corporate executives. Discusses the benefits of experiential education for executives and influential people. Considers potential problems related to ethics, safety, and quality control across programs. (SV)

Staff developers can plan better programs if they have some knowledge of adult learning theory and if they use principles and practices of exemplary adult education. Participants should be helped to examine their cultural and organizational assumptions. (JD)

Interviewed members of semester-long, unstructured small group processes course to identify trainer interventions contributing most to learning. Based on information obtained in interviews, a model was developed which divided trainers' teaching acts into three sequential levels: articulation, legitimation, and connections. (Author/NB)

Describes a framework for competency-based training focused on the importance of training the person responsible for implementing staff development programs. Suggests Kolb's experiential learning model as a vehicle for instilling competencies that overcome difficulties with many traditional, single modality approaches to training. (JOW)

Contains five personal accounts: (1) "From Intern to Senior Staff: Movement toward Self-Nurturance" (William Holahan); (2) "Toward the Emergence of Professional Identity" (Marya Barey Kyril); (3) "Selling My Private Practice: When Less is More" (Lynn Rew); (4) "Mid-Life Career Change: Taking the Plunge" (Richard Weigel); and (5) "A Chance…

Reviews articles in special journal issue dealing with critical incidents, or direct experiences which have impacted the counselors who experienced them. Examines what critical incidents mean to the persons they affect and discusses the powerfulness of mistakes, of personal crises, and of empathy. (NB)

Reports on the findings of a study designed to investigate factors that influence the educational effectiveness of field trips for students. Recommends that a field trip should occur early in the concrete part of the curriculum and should be preceded by a relatively short preparatory unit that focuses on increasing familiarity with the learning…

Observation and an interview of a nurse educator determined that she had a clear understanding of experiential learning and used that knowledge in the classroom. The phenomenological method used in the study involved questions derived from knowledge and experience that were designed to elicit personal thoughts, knowledge, and perceptions in an…

Describes one teacher's experiences at the Institute for Deep Ecology Education (IDEE) Summer School in Applied Deep Ecology. Reviews the program offered and the focus on interactive, experiential activities. (LZ)

A 20-year veteran of alternative education discusses his work with troubled teenagers in a wilderness retreat setting. The generalized learning environment eventually became tailored to suit the needs of the individuals involved, which lead to questioning the concerns that drove those needs. The metaphorical "dragons" are thus embraced,…

Presents an interview with Stephen Brookfield, an expert in the field of critical thinking. Defines what a critical thinker is, according to Brookfield's perceptions. Emphasizes that critical thinking is an open-ended process. Concludes with a plea for critical thinking to be promoted both within and outside of the classroom. (PA)

Describes a class project in which students conduct a "communication audit" or assessment of an off-campus organization, providing students with opportunities to explore, examine, monitor, and evaluate communication in a practical way. Discusses grading, beginning the class, contacting clients, instrumentation and procedures, costs, and…

Discusses ways to improve technology education by taking into account the nature of high quality learning, people's preferred learning styles, and teaching methods that enhance the quantity and quality of learning. (Author)

Examines differences in cosmologies between literate cultures and those approaching knowledge through experience and oral mediation. Describes several concomitants of orality and literacy with reference to self, silence, and abstract referencing. Argues that schooling prioritizes the legitimacy of literacy and denies the legitimacy of experience…