September 24, 2024

Power up Your Professional Development with Experiential Learning with Kirsten Holt

13 minutes

Kirsten Holt, founder of Creativity Sown, talks about experiential learning in teacher development. In this episode, Kirsten shares practical tips for getting started and highlights the value of building a community to exchange ideas and support growth.

Watch this episode with closed captions here.

KEY TALKING POINTS

What is experiential learning?

Kirsten explains that experiential learning involves applying knowledge in a practical setting (e.g., a classroom), followed by reflection and adjustment. This process helps teachers improve their teaching methods by learning from both successes and mistakes.

Iterative Process of Learning

Teachers are encouraged to try new activities, reflect on their outcomes, and make adjustments. This cycle of testing, analysing, and repeating leads to deeper learning and continuous professional development.

Collaborative and Reflective Practice

Experiential learning thrives in a collaborative environment where teachers share ideas, reflect on their experiences, and help each other improve. It helps foster a positive, engaging staff room culture or even an online community for solo practitioners.

Practical Applications and Resources:

Kirsten highlights how experiential learning can be applied to new technologies, such as AI, by experimenting with different teaching tools and approaches. She also gives the example of Creativity Sown, where teachers can exchange ideas and receive feedback.

ABOUT

Kirsten is based in Brighton, UK where she runs Creativity Sown, a company providing editorial, writing, training and education consultancy services. This encapsulates her 30 years’ experience in education, first in teaching, teacher training and school management, then in publishing, with her passion in training and mentoring. She has written course material for kindergarten learners through to adults, blog content and classroom resources for teachers and teacher trainers; designed and run face-to-face conferences, events online and training programmes, and edited hundreds of books! She is also an international conference speaker, a British Council ELTons judge and has served on the IATEFL MaWSIG and PronSIG Committees.