Curriculum Design and Instructional Practices for Experiential Learning

Abstract

In developing countries, many higher education institutions experience a growing gap between their curricula and the demands from society, business, and industry for a more fl exible workforce with high skills in problem solving, teamwork, and project management. Many universities want to put a strong emphasis on traditional, disciplinary knowledge production because timeless, universal knowledge is important in a world where everything is in fl ow. Chronic industry complaints about skill defi ciencies in engineering graduates, the gradual dwindling rates of engineering students with good academic performance records, the worldwide adoption of outcome-based engineering program accreditation, and fi ndings from both cognitive science and thousands of educational research studies showing seri-ous defi ciencies in traditional teaching methods force the universities for changes in how engineering curricula are structured, delivered, and assessed. This article tries to discuss the various ways suggested by Kolb and Fry's theory of experiential learning and instructional strategies in designing the curriculum. Effective teaching and learning throughout the study was conceptualized as that situated within a social constructivist framework. This is a descriptive study in design. The literature component of the study utilized a content analysis methodology with a view to identifying strategies of practical application and potential to facilitate learning in classes, such as active learning, collaborative learning, cooperative learning, induc-tive teaching methods, and novel practices for change are suggested.