Related topics or keywords - authentic/experiential learning

The Saturna Ecological Education Centre (SEEC) is an experiential, place-based ecological learning centre on beautiful Saturna Island, B.C. Operating as an alternative school within the local school district, SEEC programs integrate science, social studies, physical education, language arts and fine arts to create unique learning adventures that promote critical thinking, social responsibility and personal growth.
Visit the SEEC website or read the school’s newsletter, attached below.

How does a 19th Century Maori war chant figure into the college aspirations of a bunch of student athletes in California? Just another means of preparing students — not just for college, but for life, suggests Dan Golden, who was recently hired for the new position of director of life planning and experiential learning at the private Vistamar School in El Segundo.
( Los Angeles Times ) (02-Jan-2008)

An important study in the area of apprenticeship training in Canada helps set the agenda for removing perceived employment barriers for skilled trade apprentices and to dispel some of the myths and reinforce the concept of apprenticeship training in the minds of the public.
(Source: Canadian Education Association)

The workplace of the 21st century requires certain skills that employers find are in short supply. Recent research suggests that a learning strategy called knowledge building can help students acquire and develop these skills.
(Source: Canadian Council on Learning)

Science is playing a growing role in public policy and in the daily lives of most citizens. As a result, science literacy skills are becoming increasingly important. Free-choice science learning is a form of non-sequential, self-paced and voluntary learning “that is guided by a person’s needs and interests.”

The apprenticeship system has a long history as an effective vehicle for work-based learning, but modern times have seen negative attitudes to apprenticeship and a poor image of trades, as well as a lack of information and awareness of apprenticeship. This is unfortunate because in the contemporary Canadian context, apprenticeship can help to address two distinct problems: labour shortages in the skilled trades and youth unemployment.
(Source: Canadian Council on Learning)

The latest research and theories from evolutionary psychology, neurobiology and cognitive science demonstrate the various ways that humans have evolved over time to be extremely effective learners. John Abbott discusses what current research from various fields can tell us about how the adolescent brain works and how educators can work with adolescent learners to maximize their potential.

Education critic John Abbott quotes Bill Gates who states unequivocally; “High schools are obsolete… by that, I mean that even when they are working exactly as designed (they) cannot teach our kids what they need to know today”. Abbott explores what we know about our species that might help us understand better how humans learn and how to provide young people with the learning experiences they need.
(This paper was delivered to The Campaign for Learning, 10th June 2005, Kensington Town Hall, UK.)

In the math class of veteran teacher Steve Norton, students cut pizza into precise triangles, calculate the volume of ice cream cones (filling them with real ice cream), and throw water balloons at their teacher. Norton wants to show his grade 8 students that algebra can be fun and engage them in ‘learning through doing’. It’s a constructionist approach that engages students in the learning experience, in part, by allowing them to actually construct or do something ‘real’.