BOOK: AOD Foundations: Experiential Learning

6. Writing a Prompt

6.5. Experiential Learning

Some discussions help learners process an experience, analyze what happened, and share what they learned from this experience. This is especially common for learners who engaged in a COOP program, work-integrated learning, practicum, experiential learning, community-based learning, or who are professional (adult) learners.

While reflection is usually a personal activity, in the context of professional learning, many students are encountering similar situations, so they could learn from each other's reflections on experience.

If this applies to your discussion, then crafting your prompt may be as simple as adapting a critical incident analysis framework to your context.

Critical Incident Analysis Framework

The Critical Incident Analysis Framework is a structured approach to reflective practice, enabling educators and learners to examine significant events or situations that have occurred within their professional or learning environments. By focusing on specific incidents that stood out due to their impact or challenge, this framework guides individuals through a process of detailed description, personal reflection, analytical understanding, and learning identification. It serves as a powerful tool for uncovering insights into professional behaviours, decision-making processes, and the dynamics of educational settings, fostering a deeper level of self-awareness and continuous improvement in teaching practices.

Here is how the framework could be introduced in a prompt to guide learners to engage in a critical incident analysis as part of an online conversation.

Select a situation from your work experience that was particularly challenging, enlightening, or transformative, [here the educator can customize the characteristics of suitable events so that learners will select ones that align with the learning goals] and respond to the following prompts, which are based on the stages of critical incident analysis, tool for reflection often used in fields such as health professions:

Description of the Incident: Begin by describing the incident in detail. Focus on the who, what, when, and where, without interpreting or judging the events.
- What happened?
- Who was involved?
- When and where did it occur?
Reflection: Reflect on your immediate thoughts and feelings during the incident.
- How did you feel at the moment?
- What were your initial thoughts?
Analysis: Analyze the incident to uncover why it unfolded the way it did and your role within it.
- Why do you think the incident happened?
- How did your actions or reactions contribute to the outcome?
- What theory might have helped develop your understanding about some aspect of this incident?
- [Here educators can add questions that help learners relate what happened to concepts learned in the course.]
Learning: Identify what you learned from the incident, both about yourself and your professional practice.
- What insights have you gained?
- What research did you consult that helped you to understand some aspect of this incident?
- How has this incident influenced your understanding of your field or your approach to your work?
Action Plan: Based on your reflections and analysis, outline an action plan for future situations.
- What would you do differently if faced with a similar situation in the future?
- Are there new strategies or approaches you would employ?

In the context of a discussion, learners might be asked to review the critical incident analysis of some of their peers, giving them a chance to empathize with some of the professional scenarios that were encountered (often seeing that they are not alone to encounter such scenarios), to relate what happened to what they know, and to productively work together to find solutions to these circumstances.