Forward to Basics! Deep‐Level‐Learning and the Experiential Approach

The conceptual framework developed by the 'Experiential Education' project challenges the assumption that narrowly defined tests of academic achievement are the only means of measuring educational outcomes. The concept of 'deep‐level‐learning '‐‐ based on a constructivist tradition ‐‐ catches the essence of an alternative view on learning and development: real learning affects the deeper structures on which competencies and dispositions are based. This line of thought is made more tangible through an analysis of several domains: the understanding of the physical world, social competence, communicative skills, curiosity, intuition, imagination and creativity and self‐management. They play a key role in the way people function in school and in life. To develop these domains an educational context must be constructed that brings children to the highest levels of 'involvement'; this is where deep‐level‐learning takes place.