Chapter 6: Building Minds and Organizations Through Conversational Learning

Higher education finds itself in an era of deep uncertainty as structural issues that have been plaguing the sector over recent times are now exacerbated by a global pandemic. Against the backdrop of cost-burdened institutional structures, increasingly diverse student bodies with greater economic need, and the influx of “Gen Z” learners seeking education through experience, rapid and systemic change within the institution is imperative. We posit that experiential learning is one critical component needed for the solution to this complex reality. While experiential learning as a practice has been used since the 1970s (Kolb & Kolb, 2017), experiential learning is now more relevant than ever because of students’ need for experience as a source of learning mastery, and it is a prerequisite for successful movement from higher education to the workforce (Bradberry & De Maio, 2019; Selingo, 2016).