Abstract:

Experiential learning results from involvement, participation, exploration, experimentation, creation, discovery, relationships, and interaction with others and objects, in short, interaction with the world around us. In other words, everyone learns motivated by their purposes, i.e. they deliberately strive to achieve learning that makes sense to them. Motivation and learning are fundamental to the study of new school theories. It cannot, and should not, be seen only as an essential characteristic for the child, but must be mediated by the teacher, supported by various strategies to promote motivation for learning. The study presented here focused on experiential learning as a pedagogy and the teaching-learning strategies that correspond to it. The work was carried out with 24 children, aged 9 and 10, in the 4th year of primary school. The study is based on a qualitative, interpretive approach. Data was collected mainly through the technique of direct and participant observation, using field notes, photographic records, and observation grids. The objectives were: to identify the advantages and disadvantages of experiential work, to understand whether experiential work is a motivating factor, and to study the role of the child in the development of experiential work. The results obtained in the study, which emerged from the application of various data collection instruments, revealed that the children were more active, autonomous, and participative, verifying that experiential learning, using diversified strategies, boosts children's involvement, and stimulates their curiosity and their love of learning. We were also able to see that experiential learning has a greater impact on children's motivation if the teacher presents him/herself to them as an example of a motivated person.

Keywords:

Experiential learning, child motivation, supervised teaching practice.