The Various Forms of Experiential Education

According to the Association for Experiential Education, " Experiential education is a philosophy and methodology in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills and clarify values."

Experiential education can take many forms including: internships, cooperative education, practicums, service learning, externship/job shadowing, apprenticeships, fellowships or scholarships, and volunteer activities. All of these experiences can then be used to build a strong resume.

An internship is a job-related experience that provides students and job changers with an opportunity to test the waters in a career field and also gain some valuable work experience. Internships can be for credit, not for credit, paid or unpaid.

"Tell me and I will forget.
Show me and I may remember.
Involve me and I will understand."
~Chinese Proverb

Cooperative education is more extensive than internships and will usually span two or more semesters of work. Co-ops are paid professional work experiences and are tied very closely to the student's academic work. During the co-op experience students will receive ongoing advising and the co-op will be structured to meet the student's academic and/or career goals. Co-op experience usually is included on a student's transcript in addition to being awarded 3, 6, 9, or 12 credits for its completion.

A practicum experience provides students with an opportunity to apply classroom learning in a workplace environment. Students utilize skills learned throughout their academic curriculum, such as: communication, interpersonal, analytical, and research skills. Students have an opportunity to bring classroom learning to new methods and theories current in the field. Students work closely with a faculty member in designing and completing the practicum and academic credit is awarded upon its completion. A practicum may or may not be paid.

Service Learning is distinguished by its being mutually beneficial for both student and community. Service learning is growing rapidly and is considered a part of experiential education by its very nature of learning, performing a job within the community, and serious reflection by the student. Service learning involves solving some of society's issues; such as, homelessness, poverty, lack of quality education, pollution, etc. One of the goals of service learning is to help students become aware of these issues and develop good citizenship in learning how to help solve some of these problems.

An externship or job shadowing experience offers students an opportunity to spend between a day to several weeks observing a professional on the job. Although such experiences are not done for credit and are unpaid, some colleges and universities pick up travel and/or living expenses. These experiences are a good way to get exposure to a career field and job environment with little time commitment on the part of the student or job changer.

According to Wikipedia, "A volunteer is someone who serves in a community primarily because they choose to do so. Many serve through a non-profit organization – sometimes referred to as formal volunteering, but a significant number also serve less formally, either individually or as part of a group. Because these informal volunteers are much harder to identify, they may not be included in research and statistics on volunteering."

An apprenticeship provides an opportunity to try out a job usually with an experienced professional in the field to act as a mentor. Apprenticeships are a type of on the job training which may lead to certification. Many skilled laborers learn their trade by doing an apprenticeship.

Fellowships or scholarships provide tuition or aid to support the training of students for a period of time, usually between 6 months to one year. They are usually made by educational institutions, corporations, or foundations to assist individuals pursuing a course of study or research. Post-graduate fellowships assist students at the graduate level while post-doctorate fellowships provide monies for those who have already achieved their doctorate degree.