Harnessing Wasted Talent and Experiential Learning

I am excited and pleased today because I am holding my new book, Harnessing America’s Wasted Talent: A New Ecology of Learning (Jossey-Bass, Jan. 2010), in my hands. It lives up to its title, I think, describing how our technology-rich environment, populated with platforms, networks, social sites, and downloads, makes possible a level of access and completion in higher education that has been unattainable up to this point. I illustrate this point with a number of examples. Primary among them is being able to self-assess your experiential learning and then, if you wish, get it reviewed formally for academic credit , all on-line.

The actual assessment process is not new. What is new, however, is your ability to drive the process, for learners to participate more proactively. You can take the assessment as far as you want, including converting the informal assessment into transcripted academic credit that can be used towards the completion of a degree. In a fashion similar to TurboTax’s tax estimator, you can get an idea of the value of your experiential learning before plunging in and getting the formal story.

We’ve learned a lot developing and testing this approach at Kaplan. The average person submitting a formal portfolio asks for 45 credits and receives around 31 credits. That is the equivalent of 6 courses, or a savings of $12,000 in the total cost of the degree.

Equally as important, assessing your experiential learning is a powerful educational experience. You have to reflect, not only on what you have done, but also on what you have learned, how you have changed as a result of your experiences. It is hard work! But it is valuable and the reward is sweet satisfaction for those who persevere.

And what about finally getting a degree? Our assessment completers persevere to their degrees at rates of nearly 70%%. Experiential learners are successful college students as well.

A program that moves people towards their college degree while saving them time and money is a step in the right direction. And a program that does that while delivering a powerful educational experience is even better. I believe this kind of student-oriented, personalized service is only the tip of the iceberg when it comes to “the new ecology of learning”.

Other links: Lumina Foundation

                   Carnegie Foundation

                   DGree

                  Lens Ventures

                  StraighterLine