Online Hunting, Gathering and Sharing – A Return to Experiential Learning in a Digital Age

Maristela Petrovic-Dzerdz,Anne Trépanier

doi:10.19173/irrodl.v19i2.3732

Abstract

Learning through a collective experience by taking part in group activities, such as hunting, gathering, and sharing, has always been a natural, “organic,” and “experiential” process where new skills and knowledge, if benefitting the whole group, are accepted, shared, and propagated. Nevertheless, in industrialized societies where specific knowledge and skills are an economical and societal necessity, the learning economy has largely moved to a model where the teachers “harvest” selected knowledge and “put it in a basket” from which students are expected to take from and learn. This learning model has permeated the 21st century digital world, where the main promoted advantage of these new learning environments is still the “individualization of learning,” which can result in a very solitary and isolated endeavor; however, it doesn’t have to be the case. An example of a successful online university course suggests that carefully crafted online instructional design strategies can contribute to a flexible and rich experiential learning environment. Although they might be physically disconnected, it is possible for learners and a teacher to remain closely interconnected, engaged, and accountable for both individual and group success in knowledge "hunting, gathering, and sharing" activities in a digital age.

Highlights

Collective experiences, such as hunting, gathering, raising children, or storytelling have always been a natural, “organic,” and “experiential” way of learning new skills and acquiring knowledge
Still occupying the same physical space and time, in this kind of teaching and learning environment, each learner becomes largely responsible for their own learning success, in contrast with traditional group learning and knowledge sharing processes
The teacher can still guide towards selected orchards, but can encourage a search for new ones and provide opportunities for learners to share their discoveries

Summary

Introduction

Collective experiences, such as hunting, gathering, raising children, or storytelling have always been a natural, “organic,” and “experiential” way of learning new skills and acquiring knowledge. Still occupying the same physical space and time, in this kind of teaching and learning environment, each learner becomes largely responsible for their own learning success, in contrast with traditional group learning and knowledge sharing processes In this rather onedimensional exchange between a teacher (through content) and a learner, the latter often becomes deprived of experiences of exploration and learning by immersion in real-life situations, which require applying and testing the theoretical knowledge and newly acquired skills. The learning process in many of today’s subjects and topics needs to incorporate experiences of searching for and critically evaluating information found online, as well as being able to communicate and share it in a digital space, while learning from the experiences of others, and with others Providing this kind of practice in a virtual classroom, which every learner can decide to join and leave at their will, is not a simple endeavour. As Bates (2014) positions, “experiential learning approaches require considerable re-structuring of teaching and a great deal of detailed planning if the curriculum is to be fully covered” (Strengths and Weaknesses of Experiential Learning Models section, para. 4)

Experiential Individual Learning with Communal Benefits

Conclusion