What is ‘Learning by Doing’?

“Learning by doing” is a pedagogical method based on the idea that you can learn something better and faster if you practice it – if you “do it”, as the name suggests. The method, theorized by the American philosopher, psychologist, and educational reformer John Dewey, seems quite straight forward. When trying to put it into practice, though, you might realize that it is not quite as obvious as it seems. What are some real-life examples of Learning by Doing? How do you apply this method to theoretical subjects and concepts? And is this idea suggesting that we should put ourselves in new and challenging situations without any previous study or preparation?

In this article, we are going to analyze 3 examples of the “learning by doing” method successfully applied in diverse contexts. Hopefully, this will help you to formulate a better understanding of this fascinating topic.

1. First example: learning to ride a bike

Example 1. “You are seven years old. All of your school friends run across the narrow streets of your neighbourhood on their shiny bikes, and you feel the excitement to join the fun. For your birthday, last week, you were gifted a brand new red bicycle, and since then you have been wondering what it must feel like to sit on it, swipe above the asphalt and gain speed down the road.

Finally, you gather the courage to go outside and try it out. You have seen others do it, you know what it looks like, but you also remember your father warning you that it might take a while to learn. You are prepared. You sit on your vehicle, and when you finally decide to lift your feet off the ground and start pedalling, you fall. That afternoon, you fall again and again, with little improvement and, comparatively, much more frustration. But the following day you are out again, and so the day after that.

Every day you fall, but slowly you gather some small successes and build up some courage. Through trial and error, your body learns what movements and postures are needed to maintain your balance, and adjusts your muscles accordingly. In your brain, tiny electric impulses travel in new ways, sketching a light map for the neural pathways that one day will make biking a very automatic activity for you.

The first time you manage to ride the whole length of the courtyard without putting your feet down, you feel a rush of satisfaction and adrenaline through your body, and you run inside to bring the good news to your family. There are still adjustments to be made – you certainly still need to get a hold on your breaks and gears. But the most difficult part is done, and you have successfully learnt how to ride a bike.”

2. Second example: learning to organize and host big events

Example 2. “You’ve made up your mind: you want to be an active citizen, have an impact on your reality, leave a mark on those around you. For a while, you’ve been thinking that a good way to reach a big number of people is to organize large scale events. But how do you start to do that? You’ve never done anything similar before, and the fear of the huge responsibility is big enough to prevent you from taking any initiative. These thoughts, among other things, convince you to enroll in an educational programme that will help you develop your skills and personality. You have also heard that the programme will offer you plenty of opportunities to learn how to organize big events.

When the time comes, you are excited and scared. The task is to organize the Graduation ceremony for the last year students – an event that will involve hundreds of guests and that certainly carries a certain importance. You and your teammates take up this responsibility, without knowing much about how to fulfill it. You start by asking more experienced people for advice, then you put your heads together and come up with a plan. What should you keep into consideration? The invitations for the guests, the food, the set-up of the stage and the decorations, perhaps performances or speeches, the programme for the day… It is a long list. You divide into groups and decide who will take care of which part. You learn from each other, and each evening you meet to update the group on the process of your task and exchange feedback.

A few days before the ceremony, a few teachers and older students come to your group to check on your process and ensure the success of the ceremony. They make you notice some important details: the quantities you calculated for the food are wrong, and you should start collecting the audio material that will be needed for the performances. You realize that, because you are not alone, you are acting in safe frames, and the pressure you felt until now was not needed.

After the Graduation is over, you reflect together with your teammates on what worked and what could have been better. Now you know what it takes to organize a big event, and you feel more prepared to face the next occasion.”

3. Third example: learning by doing applied to knowledge

Example 3. “Halfway through your programme in Alternative Education, it is time to take your Teacher’s Ethics and Planet Protection exam. The ordinance requires you to “investigate on a topic of your choice within the subject, and write a report comprising the results of your investigation”. What does it mean, to “investigate”? As you’ve had the chance to learn in previous studies, ‘investigating’ means researching a certain topic through theory and practice, by studying as much as by ‘experiencing’ it.

You decide to investigate the difference between organic and mainstream agriculture. You set off for your investigation in internal Denmark, with a teammate, two bikes, and a few books and printed papers on the topic. You travel, observe the landscape, read your selected material and try to approach the farms you meet on the way. Many are flattered by your curiosity, and they welcome you in their homes to express their views on topics so close to them. They show you their world and work, and in this way you come across contrasting, complex aspects of the topic that you could not have found on the internet. With some degree of astonishment, you hear of an organic farmer who has no choice but to buy manure from his non-organic neighbour, or of a traditional farmer who points out that organic can still be intensive, and can still damage the soil as much as a non-organic, but less intensive agriculture.

Every evening, you discuss your findings with your teammate, attempting to set apart personal views from facts, but to still reflect on the value of individual experiences in a context of black-and-white information. You backup your conclusions with data and facts, and write a satisfying report that faithfully depicts the complexity of the topic. Towards the end of your investigation, you notice how deeply you came to understand and care for this topic, which you’ve had the chance to explore so closely and to associate with many powerful experiences.”

Conclusion

To sum it up in a few sentences, the ‘Learning by Doing’ methodology is a much more versatile and adaptable pedagogical tool than it might seem. From skill development, to self growth, to pure theory, there are ways to apply the underlying key elements of this method and make learning deeper, more efficient and more memorable. The trick is to be flexible about the word ‘doing’, which doesn’t necessarily indicate pure practice, but rather suggests a personal and close involvement with the object of studies, and an ongoing reflection on the learning process. Creating a safe educational environment in which it is possible to seek new and challenging experiences is important, too!

We hope these examples were of use to you, and allowed you to get a deeper insight into the learning by doing methodology. We’d like to read your own experiences, thoughts and considerations in the comments!