Experiential Learning

At colleges and universities students are primarily exposed to academic learning. That is, they expand their knowledge through courses. In the United States, so much emphasis is placed on this type of learning that people often do not consider another important type of learning: experiential learning.


It doesn’t take any research to understand that experiential learning is learning based on experience. It occurs when an individual interacts with the surrounding environment, reflects about that interaction, and internalizes the meaning he or she takes from the situation. As this process requires an active learner, certain stipulations must be met by him/her. (1) The learner must be willing to be actively involved in the experience, (2) the learner must be able to reflect on the experience, (3) the learner must possess and use analytical skills to conceptualize the experience, and (4) the learner must possess decision making and problem solving skills in order to use the new ideas gained from experience (via Wikipedia).

The role of a college’s career development office is to promote experiential learning. In doing so, students can receive a dynamic education based on experience and academics. At Grinnell’s CDO, we emphasize the importance of internships for gaining experience. As consistent with the process described above, when students secure grinnellink internships or internship funding from the College, we ask that they not only keep a journal but also provide us with a reflection of their whole experience when they return to campus. As a result, students are encouraged to actively process their internship experiences. Hypothetically, students who come from Grinnell College will possess the skills necessary for the experiential learning process.

Why is experiential learning important? First of all, certain life truisms can only be learned through experience. For example, how can one learn proper conduct in an office environment without being exposed to it? Or, learning how to deal with unreasonable bosses or employees must derive from actual experience in which you were exposed to such people. This also applies to areas outside of the professional sphere including developing relationships (see what Freud and Kohlberg say about attachment), managing money, etc. Secondly, experiential learning can engage students in ways that other learning methods cannot. The process of experiential learning is predicated on creating an environment that the learner enjoys and will therefore be committed to learning from. Thus, experiential learning creates happy learners. Thirdly, experiential learning allows individuals to apply and to better understand concepts they learn through academics. In a way, it calls for the application of theory to practice. This is incredibly important at liberal arts colleges like Grinnell, where courses teach fluid skills, not crystallized knowledge.

In sum experiential learning is incredibly beneficial. All people engage in it at some point in their lives, but starting earlier is ideal. If you haven’t already, consider looking for an internship or some other opportunity for experiential learning. You will probably learn a lot from it.

Social Media

It can be interesting to look at the ways in which the job market changes in response to societal “advances”. Arguably, the professional sphere is the fastest to change, as employers seek to quickly exploit these shifts for a competitive advantage. As a result, they begin to look for different skills in potential employees. The recent emphasis on social media skills and positions is the best current example of this. Ever since facebook, twitter, youtube, etc. the job market has exploded with demand for employees whose primary role is to navigate social media websites in order to promote their company of employment.


This article provides information about a handful of different social media jobs. If you’re thinking about social media as a possible career path or jumping off point, I implore you to check it out.

Concerning Motivation

Motivation. Now that’s a loaded word. Everyone struggles with it at some point, often times at frequent intervals. Discovering or creating your motivation for a task is as important as conceptualizing an idea. It goes without saying that without sufficient motivation a goal is unattainable, regardless of how much thought went into its birth. Bear with me as I engage in a little bit of ‘philosophizing’ regarding this topic.


I envisage motivation manifesting itself in two forms: indirect and direct motivation. Direct motivation occurs when an individual completes a task for its own sake. He or she follows through with it only for the benefits of its completion. You might also call this internal motivation, for the task itself inspires effort. Indirect motivation, on the other hand, describes an individual being motivated not by the task, but by external factors that can result from its completion. For example, one would be indirectly motivated to succeed academically if they view their academics as a stepping stone toward future professional success. Conversely, one would be directly motivated if their quest for academic success was fueled by their love of learning. Obviously people can be simultaneously motivated both directly and indirectly.

Direct and indirect motivators play different roles at different parts of our lives. Arguably, direct motivation is ideal in your professional life. While it may be a platitude, it is indubitably true that happiness in a professional context is based largely on how sufficiently a job provides direct motivation. As the age old advice goes, aspire for a profession that makes you happy, one that you look forward to when you wake up in the morning. All good jobs should be able to provoke interest in employees not only for a salary, but also for providing engaging work; all good jobs should be direct motivators. I could go through a long list of reasons explaining why more jobs with direct motivators would be beneficial for society at large, but I’ll let someone else do that. This video is an animated portrayal of a speech delivered by Dan Pink, in which he explains why direct motivators are more effective than indirect ones.

While you cannot affect the job market or the availability of directly motivating jobs, you can begin to think about your preferences and personality. Knowing yourself and what you would be interested in doing is the first step to finding a job that will make you happy. You might want to check out the last post on this blog (concerning reflection) to find out how you might go about doing this.