Experiential Learning: Interventions and Implications for Enabling Learning in Uncertain Environments

Abstract

In the years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic, surveys of top US business schools revealed an increasing trend in adoption and provision of experiential learning courses, particularly as part of MBA programs. Experiential learning within management education, refers to the application of business concepts, ideas, and theories in solving real-world problems, through the use of real-world learning projects. According to business school surveys conducted during 2020, COVID-19 brought with it a reversal of this trend, with a sudden lowering of reliance on experiential learning offerings and an increased emphasis on flipped classrooms. Schools that opted to continue with experiential programs did so amidst an environment of ongoing uncertainty. Program educators had to shift the paradigm in which they operated, revising and re-creating structure in the absence of predictability, and stimulating learning motivation in the absence of traditional learning spaces. This research draws attention to how management educators have grappled with supporting students and their learning under such uncertain conditions and considers the theoretical and practical implications for experiential learning theory. Findings from this empirical study, which includes graduate student and educator interviews, point to a greatly increased focus on planned and enhanced educator interventions. The results reveal that experiential learning during times of uncertainty fosters both resource-seeking and learning-opportunity seeking behaviors among students. Keywords: Experiential learning, Interventions, Resource-seeking, Learning- opportunity seeking