Teaching With Dogs: Learning About Learning Through Hands-on Experience in Dog Training

Abstract

This paper summarizes a pilot study of an experiential learning technique that was designed to give undergraduate students a greater understanding of the principles and theories of learning and behavior, which is traditionally taught only in a lecture-based format. Students were assigned the role of a dog trainer, and they were responsible for designing and administering empirically and theoretically based training regimens to shelter dogs to teach them new behaviors that would make them more adoptable. Results from student feedback and their performance on assessments suggest that this activity was well-received by the students both for the learning benefit and enjoyment aspect, and this translated to a moderate level on their assessments. Details about how the learning and behavior class was made into an experiential learning course, the outcomes of this experience, and suggestions for improving the educational benefit of this experiential activity are discussed. This hands-on program offers a new alternative for teaching learning and behavior. Future offerings of this course and others like it present ideal opportunities for researching the effectiveness of more experiential methods of teaching and learning.