Building on Jarvis: Towards a holistic model of the processes of experiential learning

Abstract

Despite its continuing popularity as both a practical and theoretical basis upon which to ground pedagogical practice, experiential learning is nonetheless recognised as a difficult concept to ‘pin down’. One serious attempt to schematise and systematise the specific components of the learning process has been made, however. Jarvis's model depicting both a variety of components and ways in which they interrelate, first published in 1987, has undergone a number of revisions, and he himself understands it still to be ‘work in progress’. Recognising the complexity of the task, this paper seeks to contribute to the development of the model. Three dimensions are identified as problematic: its time-centred base, its weak portrayal of the process of internalisation, and the notion of non-learning. With reference to the phenomenographically-derived work of Marton and Booth (1997), a schema of internalisation based around perception, meaning-making and reflection is proposed. A number of modifications to the model are then suggested, including a shift from a horizontal to a vertical orientation, a more specific acknowledgement of the place of human consciousness and of the role of reflection, and the placing of the overall model within a time/existential growth matrix. While the model remains an imperfect vehicle in attempting to portray the intricacies of human learning, it nonetheless provides a structure by which scholarly understanding of the processes can advance.

Keywords:

• experiential learning
• phenomenography
• constructivism
• constructionism
• internalisation