Experiential education in my class refers to the process of actively engaging students in their own learning. It is a pedagogy that asks students to participate and to collaborate where students choose to be active in guided conversations, in designing research projects, in solving math problems, completing science experiments—the possibilities are endless. Students are taught to ask questions rather than to answer them. The class runs on curiosity and inquiry, and the student is expected to lead the way. There is a Chinese proverb that summarizes experiential learning:
Tell me and I will forget. Show me and I may remember. Involve me and I will understand.
Mummified apples was a great experiment for my students, and allowed us to practice what we had learned about the scientific method. As a cross-curricular unit, students used their prior knowledge from Ancient Egypt on mummification. The control apple had 1/2 cup of baking soda and 1/2 cup of salt and was covered for the whole time. Each group was allowed to use other products and experiment how they might be able to preserve their apple. Students recorded their observations daily in their science journals with writing and drawings and after a week were able to complete the experiment using the predict, observe, explain method.