I wanted to find out the value of experiential learning techniques.  Much has been written about these techniques.  However, there is not a lot of research that points to specific outcomes in using them.  I have been combining lecture with experience based learning for quite some time now, and although I seem to have a better time in the classroom doing so, and my students seem to truly like engaging in this kind of learning, there is no real data that supports the fact that it actually increases success in learning objectives or retention of material.  Therefore, I was very interested in testing for these items. 

The objectives of this project were to 1.  Test the soundness of experiential learning techniques, 2. Analyze the effects of using these techniques as opposed to other more traditional techniques of teaching communication theory.  In this project I taught two units using experiential techniques and two units using more traditional teaching techniques [lecture, discussion].  After each unit, I asked the students to respond to the question:  "Please tell me what concept or principle you believe you will remember or take away from this unit.  Then tell me how you believe you learned this concept or principle."  The results of the research overwhelmingly revealed that the experiential techniques are not only a tool of providing enjoyment in learning, but more importantly, an instrument of retention.  A clear 60% -70% percent of all students referenced the concept I taught using the experiential learning technique during the units for which I used one.  That is, there was a consistent answer among students when asked the assessment question.  The other two units that utilized no experiential technique did not elicit a clear answer from students.  They tended to, in my opinion, remember items that they learned according to their own specific learning style.

I did not modify the project

I learned that students not only have a higher retention rate of material that is taught using experiential techniques, they also seem to truly understand it better as well.  Often, the assessment would include the student--by no prompt from me--giving a definition of the concept that they remembered from the experiential experience.  It seemed that having the experience, and mentioning it as a means of learning, served to prompt them to suggest the learning that came out of it.  In addition, they seem to genuinely enjoy the learning experience as well.  I am encouraged by this research to choose concepts that seem to be difficult to grasp by students as fodder for experiential learning.  I believe, as a result of doing this research, that I can be a more effective teacher by doing so.  I also believe that I am able to increase my retention of students period.  As they enjoy being in the classroom learning, they tend to come back!