​Enriching education through experiential learning

UWC Atlantic College on a co-curricular programme that aims to produce ‘well-rounded students with a story to tell’...

Today, the most prevalent, and in our opinion, the most important trend we are aware of is the growing discontent parents express towards a traditional grade-oriented approach to education.

We have witnessed a very real turn by parents towards a more holistic education, rather than a curriculum solely based on a pressure to achieve grades alone: a single-minded pursuit of straight A*s. It is not accurate to say that these parents or the students themselves are no longer interested in achieving academic success, but rather that we have observed and recognised a clear and present demand for a more experiential approach to learning. In essence, an education that seeks to foster good values in addition to good grades.

While this trend is in its ascension in the UK, it is altogether more established in other countries. Indeed, deans of US universities openly admit that they are forever searching for well-rounded students with a story to tell. They choose to look beyond the grades and ask students to express a broader educational base. This does not mean a pedagogy where students are overburdened by additional academic subjects, but one which allows students to progress beyond the academic theory to apply it in the real world.

Having been involved in its genesis, we like to think of UWC Atlantic College as the research and development department of the International Baccalaureate. Under our Atlantic Diploma the focus on the essential extra-curricular elements of the IB is expanded to form a co-curricular programme, which sees students splitting their time equally between academics and more experiential activities. This allows academic studies to progress beyond the classroom. The attraction for students, parents and universities here is that this experiential learning allows learners to progress beyond theory to immerse themselves in a subject of study.

The co-curricular programme activities can be separated between four College facilities: Environmental, Global, Social Justice and Outdoor. The services/activities themselves range from working with political refugees to training to be a lifeguard.

For example, under this model a student studying Arabic as a second language would support their classroom lessons by working with a local community project to teach English to Arabic speaking migrants, often refugees, to the UK.

While advice is available, students select their particular activity based on personal preference and it is interesting to see how individuals develop as a result of the time spent volunteering and working for the benefit of others.

All too often, co-curricular activities are thought of as extra activities, this is simply not the case. The fact that co-curricular elements of a curriculum take place outside of the classroom, should not diminish the educational value they provide. Co-curricular activities must be considered as complementary to academic studies.

The value of sports, athletics and school games are almost universally accepted as being essential to a student physical development. Though, in many cases, many struggle with the concept that physical activities outside of traditional sport can be of value. The fact is that allowing students a greater range of co-curricular activities allows them the chance to develop themselves physically, emotionally, socially and culturally. Often people will voice the opinion that team sports help to inspire and develop team work and leadership qualities, and this is very true. However, by providing students with a wider range of choice you allow them the opportunity to develop those skills in their own unique way.

The Outdoor Faculty at UWC Atlantic College reflects the ideas of UWC Atlantic College’s founder, Kurt Hahn, who also founded the Duke of Edinburgh Award. Hahn believed that each person should be allowed an opportunity for self-discovery and to pursue their own grand passion. Our students’ first experience of the Outdoor Faculty begins almost as soon as they arrive on campus, when all first years travel to West Wales for a week of camping, adventure and team-building. The shared experience of meeting challenges, working together and building trust is invaluable. Often the bonds that are formed in this first week will last the duration of a student’s time at the College, but the lessons learned via an experience-based education can last a lifetime.

Year-on-year, it is gratifying to hear from those students and often university admissions tutors, how these activities have made a difference when it comes to securing their desired undergraduate course. Furthermore, we often see this correlation continue onto alumni’s career choices. We find that many students, who elect to volunteer with the disadvantaged through our social justice programmes, go on to work with charities or similar organisations.

In one particular case, a former scholarship student from Peru, who before joining us had been working since the age of six selling soda, elected to volunteer through our ‘Social Service’ and has since gone on to set up a non-governmental organisation, which works to improve Peru’s economic growth and social inclusion.

As teachers our role is to educate, to impart knowledge and understanding to the students in our care. An experiential, co-curricular approach to education allows us to enhance this by providing new way to engage an inspire students to take those lessons and apply them to the world around them.

For more information about UWC Atlantic College, see its profile on International School Search.