Using a gnome-tracking expedition by way of illustration, Phillip Payne applies his imaginative flair to explain the concept of experiential education—a term that encompasses the crucially important elements of play, exploration, discovery and imagination that are the building blocks for physical and emotional wellbeing.
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Inspirations
The memory is etched in my mind: a large group of eight- and nine-year-olds feverishly tracking gnomes at Limeburner’s Point in Eastern Park (Geelong) on Corio Bay in 1978. I have vivid recollections of children running from tree to tree or crawling under a bush while looking for clues about a Garden Gnome’s secret hiding spot, and girls and boys excitedly whispering information during their lunchtime gnome-feast about some gnomes ‘not far away’ (for a list of the gnomes found, see Box 1).
| Box 1. Our gnome-tracking explorers encountered the following gnomes: |
| Name: |
Traits: |
Metro(g)nome |
Likes to shake the leaves of gum trees rhythmically as the breeze passes through the branches. |
| Forest Gnome |
Likes to drink overnight dew from curled-up eucalyptus leaves for breakfast. |
| Marram Gnome |
Has an angry disposition; for example, derives pleasure from catapulting sand from grass fronds into children’s faces (adults aren’t pursued as most are disbelievers). |
| Foreshore Gnome |
The most cunning member of the gnome species. Found predominately on sand dunes. Foreshore gnomes have been caught reversing the patterns on the soles of their boots to avoid any predators or overly-inquisitive school children. |
Only a handful of adults have seen a gnome because most are disbelievers. Many parents and teachers feel there are far more important things to do than track gnomes, or even tell and read stories about them. Gnomes of all varieties, says Robert Ingpen (1979; 1980), dislike cynicism—so they avoid most adults and increasingly, it seems, younger children. This occurs predominantly to children who preoccupy themselves with more pressing matters such as electronic games, the internet, reality TV, fashions, music and sports stars, gadgets, icons and other forms of entertainment.
Most impressive to me—then a young, second-year teacher with an emerging philosophy of education and views about early childhood development—was the sheer power of the eight- and nine-year olds’ interest, delight, curiosity, participation and creativity in the gnome experience. The benefits were physical, emotional and intellectual, and included the spin-off advantages of follow-up work in reading, writing, spelling, social studies, health and physical education (see Boxes 2 and 3). The gnome experience, plus other teaching strategies I experimented with in the less-restricted pedagogical spaces of the 1970s, catapulted me into the field of experiential education, a vital but poorly-understood educational legacy of John Dewey.
| Box 2. Follow-up activity—literacy |
| Following the gnome-tracking expedition, the children arranged in alphabetical order new words like ‘eucalyptus’, ‘expedition’, ‘feast’ and ‘foreshore’. This became the spelling list for the following days and weeks. The children used these words in sentences and stories they wanted to (re)tell friends in other classes. Obviously, word had quickly passed around the playground about the fun of the expedition. |
| Box 3. Follow-up activity—geography |
| The original hairy Peruvian gnomes who landed in the Poppykettle at Indented Head (Geelong) and their Gaucho (Argentina), European Garden, Beijing (China) and Boccerini (Italy) friends provided a very useful introduction to examining maps, and talking and drawing about different countries, peoples and cultures. To find out more about the Poppykettle voyage visit www.poppykettle.co.uk/popstory.html. |
Characterising experiential education
Sadly, despite constant reference in the education literature to the term ‘experience’, the idea of educative experience is relatively unknown to parents, let alone debated in schools or by academics. This is despite the chorus of calls for innovation, authenticity and excellence in education. Meanwhile, politicians and health professionals express great concern about the declining health status of Australian children. Obesity and mental health issues regularly appear in the headlines. In short, the self-evident values of experiential learning, such as extended, regular and playful exploration of open spaces, remain hidden. There are numerous reasons for this ‘lack’ which cannot be explained here. Dewey (1938/1988, p. 31) called for educators to first, frame, and second, adopt, an ‘intelligent theory of experience’. How might educators, child carers and academics revisit that task?
The gnome experience provided a novel focus over many weeks of schooling. It provoked the imagination and curiosity of most children. It reconnected the classical separations schools too often foster, such as:
- mind and body
- passive and active
- cognitive and affective
- control and freedom
- indoor and outdoor
- individual and social (and/or natural).
If the latter of each of the above pairs is invisible in our thinking, then the gnome experience is useful in responding to Dewey’s challenge. The children actively explored an environment (relatively natural, in this case) as an individual and social form of discovery in playful response to a puzzling situation (the possible existence of gnomes in a nearby park). Their discovery was perceptual, sensory and intellectual; incorporating imagination, physical movement, use of all senses, wonder, intrigue, curiosity, awe, adventure, uncertainty and confusion—including the temporary suspension of a sense of self, time and place. The children’s healthy exploration and creative discovery was also social and relational, incorporating a great deal of physical interaction and verbal communication.
Challenges for education
A major challenge is the abundance of learning, teaching and child development theories which serve to confuse rather than clarify. At the moment, as you will know, there are inescapable pressures to lay the groundwork for physically active, healthy lifestyle development. Early childhood educators already understand the importance of play, both indoor and outdoor. Yet there are massive risks and dangers. Educators in all sectors, including universities, must be equipped with theory and research, not just anecdotal evidence, about what children productively do if they are to defend that which they seek to promote.
In experiential education the active, physical body and an individual’s thinking are immersed in and engaged by the ‘real’ content matter, or focus, of inquiry. The body isn’t a mere spectator or passive recipient of that which is to be learned. Direct, grounded, raw and concrete experiences contrast with the second-hand or vicarious experiences of knowledge written into text or imaged on to computers, reality TV, mobile phones and iPods. Experiential education does share affinities with new theories or pedagogical strategies—such as situated learning, contextual understanding, problem-based learning, reflective practice and authentic assessment—only if there is a strong presence of the acting, sensing, perceiving and ‘doing’ body.
Parents, early childhood educators and carers, coaches and health professionals potentially have a significant role in restoring a balanced or ecological approach to how young children develop. Learning through physical, intellectual, emotional and imaginative means—like the gnome experience—needs to be rediscovered and re-explored.
Dr Phillip Payne is an Associate Professor in the Faculty of Education at Monash University. His teaching and research interests lie in the application of experiential education to environmental, sport, health, outdoor recreation and sustainability education.
References
Dewey, J. (1938/1988). Experience and education. In J. A. Boydston (Ed.), John Dewey, Volume 13: 1938-1939 (pp. 1–61). Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press.
Ingpen, R. (1979). Australian gnomes. Adelaide: Rigby.
Ingpen, R. (1980). The voyage of the poppykettle. Adelaide: Rigby.
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