Why Experiential Learning is Crucial for Your Students’ Success

The world is changing.

We live in an era where self-fulfillment is our main drive.

Unlike our parents, who strive for financial stability, we strive for happiness.

As a result of the constant pursuit of happiness and fulfillment, more and more people decide to turn their passion into a living and share it with the world.

The online learning industry is booming, yet only 2-5% of the students who start an online course actually complete it.

This is rather shocking when thinking about the amount of time and effort teachers put into those courses.

What’s missing in the online learning industry?

As the founder and CEO of myQuest, I spent the past five years trying to answer that question.

How can one create an online product that works?

How can one make sure the time invested in building a course doesn’t go to waste?

In the last five years, myQuest has managed to increase the completion rate of its courses up to 70% (our starting point was 3%, like most online education companies), and we keep increasing this number.

We decided to share our insights with our community, so that any teacher, coach, or organization, can use the same techniques to drive success.

Experiential learning is key

It’s morning, and your mother is trying to wake you up for school.

“I don’t feel well”, you’re trying to convince her, “I think I need to stay at home today”.

Unfortunately, your pleas don’t help, and you have to heavily drag yourself out of bed and head out to school.

But what if your mother woke you up for an educational trip to the beach? You got to collect shells, describe the sound of the waves, and build a Roman castle in the sand.

You’d probably rush out of bed, quickly brush your teeth, and run out the door as fast as possible to meet your friends from school.

As adults, our brain  works in a very similar way.

Passive learning bores us, and we always look for stimulations. If we don’t get an experience that stimulates all of our senses, we lose interest and turn to our mobile phones for salvation.

How does experience-based learning work?

Experiential learning uses real life scenarios which students will eventually face after the course completion. Asking your students to take action is like taking kids to a playground, and getting them to have fun, try new things and learn, in a safe controlled environment.

While theory and information delivery are important, moving beyond them to the realm of “learning by doing” gives the students a first-hand experience of practicing what has been taught.

If, for example, you’re teaching swimming, there’s no way you could teach it only by delivering information. Your students must practice their swimming skills in order to master them.

This is what myQuest is based upon.

Instead of lessons, students at myQuest go on Missions. Instead of chapters, students move between Levels. Instead of reading and watching videos, students take actions.

Yes, just like in a game.

And it works.

Students are completing their Missions, achieving their goals, and most importantly, are enjoying the learning experience.

So next time you design an online course, remember – incorporating experiential learning is crucial for your students’ success!

Create a course that doesn’t only revolve around delivering knowledge, but also around taking actions.

In my next post, I’ll talk about the importance of a feedback loop, how game developers use it to create an addictive experience, and how you can use it too to create an online course that your students will want to complete.

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