Multiple sources highlight the critical role that experiential learning plays in the engagement and motivation of students in all scientific fields, both at cognitive level and at skills level, by discovering and reflecting on new opportunities and interests while in parallel practicing new abilities.

Experiential Learning involves various opportunities for active learning and can unlock numerous benefits for students’ personal and professional development, such as:

  • It encourages them to think outside the box, developing their creativity, critical thinking and innovation skills.
  • It often involves group work, offering to students the opportunity to develop collaboration and communication skills such as being active listeners, exercise their negotiation and teamwork skills, competencies that they do not always have the chance to cultivate through conventional courses in their technical field.
  • It can transform students into active learners by empowering them to connect theory and knowledge to real-world applications.

However, according to a recent study, the demand for hands-on learning is not always met in the educational institutions, as the following percentages showcase:

  • Only 30% of educational institutions offer experiential learning opportunities.
  • Only 41% of students reported being unable to secure an internship simply due to the lack of available opportunities.

How can educators support their students participate in authentic learning environments where they have the opportunity to tackle real problems and connect with other community stakeholders to determine their career future?

The following article offers some practical and useful ideas for STEM educators to adapt better to hands-on experiences: Envision by WorldStrides. (2024). Learn By Doing: Building the Case for Experiential Learning. Building the Case for Experiential Learning | Blog | Envision by WorldStrides

Here are some additional tips that STEM educators can apply to promote experiential learning in STEM education:

Tip 1: Incorporate more hands-on activities and projects into the implementation of STEM curricula.

Tip 2: Seek further opportunities for establishing synergies with STEM organizations and local stakeholders or experts in your field that can inspire students and cooperate with them in real-life settings.

Tip 3: Bridge the green skills gap by inviting STEM professionals or other experts related to the examined / topic of an activity/course. This strategy can help students be connected with and inspired by community stakeholders and other experts in the field who can operate as mentors role models and talk about their jobs and their activities.

Tip 4: Adopt team-based approaches like organizing a gorp field trip to collect data or interviews people of a local, bringing diverse perspectives to a particular problem related to environment, climate change or socio-economic challenges.

Tip 5: Leave space for open dialogue & diverse ideas.

Tip 6: Embrace flexibility in your teaching style, by tailoring the technical knowledge with more engaging approaches & collaborative learning tools that can boost students’ creativity, open mindedness and curiosity to try out new concepts in an innovative way.

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