Improving Teaching and Learning through Experiential Learning

Betty McDonald

Dec 2019 · Cambridge Scholars Publishing

About this ebook

Who doesn’t want to improve teaching and learning? A lot of people continue to ask searching questions like: Will I ever use this in real life? Why waste time learning all this stuff? Such questions are never-ending. This book provides answers to these and many other queries. Repeatedly, we hear sayings like, ‘No pain, no gain’; ‘You’ll know it when you feel it’; ‘You have to experience it to know about it’; ‘Experience teaches!’; and ‘Experience is the best teacher!’ Such commonly heard adages appear to underscore the importance of experiential learning. Underpinning these aphorisms is the common theme that learning is most effective through experience. This book provides the reader with the tools needed to make better use of experiences to improve teaching and learning. It is divided into several parts to facilitate easy understanding. Operating under the Creative Commons Copyright license, the text is intentionally interspaced with relevant shareware graphics (exhibits) from the public domain. Such exhibits are selected to serve as stimulants for innovation, engagement and personal pleasure.

About the author

Professor Betty McDonald is Head of the Professional Development Unit at the University of Trinidad and Tobago. With close to 50 years of academic experience, she has taught at all levels of the education system, and has served as Visiting Professor to numerous universities across the globe. She is the author of over 170 publications, including over 42 academic books and technical reports. A Fulbright Fellow, Haggai Institute Fellow and Commonwealth Fellow, her research interests include assessment, teaching and learning, problem-based learning, professional development, project management, mathematics, and technical and vocational education.