ERIC Number: ED645371
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2022
Pages: 249
Abstractor: As Provided
ISBN: 979-8-8340-0299-4
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
Exploring Definitions and Perceived Value of Experiential Learning at an American University in Singapore
Paul Hindman McAfee III
ProQuest LLC, Ph.D. Dissertation, State University of New York at Buffalo
This exploratory phenomenological dissertation research evaluated students', instructors', and administrators', definitions and perceived value of experiential learning pedagogies. The research comprised interviews in late 2018 and early 2019 within a program run by a large public American university on its Singapore campus (pseudonym AmUAsia). At the time of this research, the Singapore Ministry of Education was actively promoting the inclusion of educational methods that moved beyond lectures and exams (Meng, 2018; Ministry of Education, 2021). Mr. Ng Chee Meng stated, "Students learn through experimentation--they try, fail, try, learn from it and try again (Meng, 2018, Paragraph 40). It is within this Singapore national education context that AmUAsia operates. With each of the interview groups--students, instructors, and administrators--the research questions explored the definitions of experiential learning, personal descriptions of instances of experiential learning at AmUAsia, and assessment of the value of experiential learning. The conceptual framework incorporated Dewey (1938), Lave (1991), and Lave and Wenger (1991), with focus on the contrast between learning through lecturers alone and learning through experiential activities, usually when combined with lectures. The data analysis lens was the Kolb (2015) Experiential Learning Theory (KELT) model, but with modifications from Bergsteiner et al. (2010) to account for the continuum from "student as receiver to student as actor." The data from this research indicated that every student participant could share examples of experiential learning. Every AmUAsia instructor used some form of experiential learning method. The three AmUAsia administrators all discussed positive value for experiential learning. However, most instructors gave little or no thought to their teaching methods with respect to experiential learning. The students had not heard about experiential learning before I interviewed them. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://www.proquest.com/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]
Descriptors: Foreign Countries, Experiential Learning, Definitions, Student Attitudes, Teacher Attitudes, Administrator Attitudes, Public Colleges, Teaching Methods, Values
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Publication Type: Dissertations/Theses - Doctoral Dissertations
Education Level: Higher Education; Postsecondary Education
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: N/A
Identifiers - Location: Singapore
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A

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