Conference Recap • Welcoming Remarks • Judicial Branch Education • Observations on the Role of the Judicial Educator • Which Level of Evaluation is Right for You? • Experiential Learning • Experiential Learning in the Garden • Where We Were, Where We Are & Where We're Going • Making the Most of Teachable Moments • How to Host and Provide Learning Experiences for International Visitors • Regional Reports

Conference Recap
Experiential Learning: An Adult Learning and Teaching Model for Personal and Professional Development
by Carrie A. Brooks, Project Coordinator, Institute for Faculty Excellence in Judicial Education

David Kolb’s Experiential Learning model, a learning model adopted by many judicial educators, is a cornerstone for teaching adult learners. In judicial education, there are many opportunities to apply Kolb’s model. But knowing fully the best means by which an educator can complete the “circle of learning” according to Kolb is something that requires the educator to explore, as a learner, a variety of experiences in tandem with the processing of the experience.

By participating in such a learning experience, the educator can more clearly understand how the unfolding of a story in a novel, a tour of a museum, or listening to people share personal accounts of their lives can be an effective and comfortable way for learners to explore and make meaning of difficult topics such as ethics, values, justice, and decision-making.

In Track II, the judicial educator reviewed the tenets of David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Model in the first session and learned about ways they can integrate experiential learning into their educational sessions. They then were given guidance on how to lead those in their classroom through the same type of process. In this track, participants were then immersed in three experiential learning opportunities (ELOs) from the perspective of a learner.

For session two, or the first ELO, participants had been asked to read the book Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil prior to their arrival at the conference. In this session, they processed the literature piece and learned a basic outline of how to successfully process literature as a means for teaching and/or addressing substantive topics.

During session three, or the second ELO, participants navigated Jim William’s and other “Midnight” characters’ journey during the murder trials.

During session four, or the third ELO, Sonny Seiler, the local defending attorney for Jim Williams in three of the trials and the man who portrayed the judge in the movie, spoke about his experience during the trials and the filming of the movie.

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