ORIGINS OF EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING METHODOLOGY “OUTDOOR-TRAINING”

ORIGINS OF THE EXPERIENTIAL LEARNING METHODOLOGY: "OUTDOOR TRAINING"

Theoretical roots

This methodology was born decades ago, rooted in humanist psychology and constructivist theories such as those defined by Fosnot (1996) and Noddings (1990).

Humanist psychology movements foster theories that stress the ultimate good of human beings and their potential — creativity, health, hope, meaning, connection, purpose, and the ability to reach self-actualization, or for individuals to achieve their full potential (Crain, 2011).

In recent years it has been shown that "learning through experience" has a great impact and effectiveness in educational programs; when developed properly, it allows us to achieve important changes in human behavior and relationships.

Ancient roots, modern rediscovery

Experiential learning has been part of the history of education since the days of the Greek philosopher Plato, who believed that true understanding comes from direct engagement rather than rote instruction. But rationalism and utilitarianism took over education for much of the last century, pushing experience-based learning to the margins — until it was rediscovered and formalized in the 20th century.

Kurt Hahn and the birth of Outward Bound

Experiential learning, as a modern educational movement, began in the early 20th century with Kurt Hahn (June 5, 1886 – December 14, 1974), the creator and founder of the "Outward Bound" movement. His ideas were rooted fundamentally in Plato's educational principles.

Hahn's philosophy of education rested on a series of concepts: physical fitness, self-discipline, skills development, imagination, memory, and compassion. Building on these principles, he went on to found Salem School in Germany (1920) and Gordonstoun School in Scotland (1934), before founding Atlantic College in Wales in 1962 — the first of what became the United World Colleges, a network now spanning 18 institutions worldwide. Hahn later created the Duke of Edinburgh's Award, a separate initiative that, alongside Outward Bound, remains one of his most enduring legacies.

The "Outward Bound" movement had its origins at sea — the name itself refers to the flag a ship flies when it is about to leave port. The first Outward Bound school was founded in Aberdovey, Wales, in 1941, by Hahn together with shipowner Lawrence Holt, with backing from the Blue Funnel Line. Its original goal was to train young merchant sailors to survive harsh conditions at sea, building the confidence and resilience they'd need before facing real danger.

After Hahn, Captain Freddy Fuller led the Aberdovey school through the 1940s, '50s, and into the '60s, serving as senior warden until 1971. Outward Bound crossed the Atlantic in 1962, when Joshua L. "Josh" Miner — who had studied under Hahn — opened the first American Outward Bound school in Colorado, adapting Hahn's ideas for American schools and communities.

From Outward Bound to Outdoor Training

Starting in the 1970s, many of the instructors who had worked at Colorado Outward Bound went on to found their own schools and develop their own methodologies, giving rise to what we know today as "Outdoor Training" or "Experiential Learning." In 1977, this growing field gained a professional home when educators established the Association for Experiential Education (AEE), giving the discipline a shared community, standards, and a dedicated body of research that continues today.

Over the decades, the development of this methodology has branched into different paths and specializations: Outward Bound, Outdoor Training, Experiential Learning, Outward Walls Training, Gamification, Team Coaching, and Team Building.

The theories that shaped it

Experiential learning has been enriched over the years by different psychological theories and movements. Some of the key ones include:

John Dewey (1938), whose book Experience and Education argued that genuine learning comes from reflecting on lived experience rather than passive instruction — a foundational idea that continues to influence the field today.

Brain research (Bruner, Sarvin, Olson) — the process of constructing meaning from the experiences we live through, and extracting the learnings that allow us to keep progressing.

Active learning — we become aware of the objects around us and interact with other people, ideas, or events, producing new meaning from things. It's a constant dialogue with our environment and the people around us, based on performance, experimentation, and trial and error. Today, active learning is used in most universities and many schools around the world.

Constructivism (Fosnot, Poplin) — the process by which we make sense of things and build new meaning. This is how we learn new things while letting go of old habits and customs that no longer serve us.

Narrative (Hart, Bateson) — we produce our own stories through the experiences we accumulate in life, and then share them. Narrative is also used as a system of metaphor, a way of finding parallels and stories that inspire us and apply to our real lives.

David Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle (1984) — building on Dewey, and on Piaget's work on cognitive development, Kolb proposed that real learning moves through four stages: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. This cycle remains one of the most widely used frameworks for designing experiential programs today, precisely because it shows why the experience alone isn't enough — reflection is what turns doing into learning.

From the wilderness to the workplace

This methodology of training and education support today draws on a platform of more than 200 games and initiatives, developed and refined for their effectiveness over decades of practice.

The evolution of this field led some of its creators to design games and activities that could take place indoors, within educational or business institutions themselves. From that point on, the Outward Bound movement was no longer limited to activities in nature or at sea — it became accessible to a much wider population, bringing "experiential learning" from the countryside into the city. Today, many of these activities are run indoors, in gymnasiums, training rooms, and conference spaces.

A closing thought

"Playing brings us closer to our purest essence, and it is from here that our relationships with others become more effective and heartfelt. If we played more, we would probably, maybe, be more productive and happier." — Robert Brown