Ethical Issues in Experiential Learning

Abstract

Experiential activities are a powerful pedagogical tool that have grown in popularity. But there are a series of ethical issues (the “shadow side”) that such activities raises. These include (a) inadequate (informed) student choice, (b) bias in what is covered, (c) lack of adequate debriefing, (d) personal exposure in class and community, (e) issues of deception, (f) role behavior being personalized (by self and others), (g) the negative impact of feedback (planned or spontaneous), and (h) the degree of “boundedness” of experiential activities These problems are not inevitable, but with instructor awareness can be lessened. This article also suggests other ways to address these issues.