Experiential Learning

Impact’s experiential learning methodology integrates the four domains we believe are required to drive lasting behavior change. These are:

Knowledge: this conceptual domain is about learning from books, videos and established expertise, which is codified, cumulative and fixed. 

Skills: this practical domain is about competence; this learning might be practiced but it is driven by expert tuition and direct guidance rather than being self-led. 

Direct encounter: this is where the learner actively engages with the learning need and begins to integrate knowledge and skill acquisition with trying to deliver a result. This domain is driven by the learner and integrated with the final domain. 

Reflection: this is the domain in which we process material from the other domains. This is vital to internalize and integrate learning into new behaviors, mindsets and actions. 

Traditional educational approaches to learning design typically focus on knowledge and skills, taking a ‘tell/test’ approach to applying what experts have told or taught us. But for complex learning needs that drive behavior change, the route to building expertise requires an active engagement. This means directly encountering the learning objective and organizational purpose and actively and expertly reflecting on putting knowledge and expert tuition into practice. In this way, all domains of our model are activated alongside each other. 

Our approach isn’t cyclical because that isn’t how learning is applied in real life. Instead, we teach our methodology in a way that learners understand how to move between the four domains, depending on their needs, your purpose and the immediate context. 

There is no such thing as a 'typical program' with Impact. You might choose to bring your executive team together for an in-person event that includes a multi-day outdoor journey. Or perhaps your high-potential talent will be challenged with some high energy interventions in a large conference venue. You may plan a large-scale rollout that requires your senior leaders to collaborate in small groups over a digital platform.

Whoever, wherever and whatever your learning outcomes. All of our experiential programs will feature a series of projects that have a ‘problem’ with no clear answer. Success or failure is largely irrelevant – what is important is the opportunity for people to see what happens when they step outside of their comfort zone and test their preconceptions and their relationships with others.

Under the guidance of our expert facilitators and using our learning model as a central reference, these projects allow individuals to challenge themselves in a safe space, to see how their values, beliefs and communication styles influence what they do and what they understand themselves to be capable of. The shared experience of experiential learning quickly builds trust and encourages a place for open dialogue, to explore leadership styles, own a change process and embrace an organizational purpose.

Impact is the world leader in experiential learning. For 40+ years, we have been working in collaboration with leading client organizations, facilitators and academics across the world offering award-winning solutions. 

Today we are the only expert experiential training company to be working at a global scale with many of the world’s most successful and purpose-led companies. 

Our expertise is in both designing and delivering integrated experiential learning using our unique methodology. Our learning journeys are not linear, and they can and will shift in the moment, depending on the learning need. Our solutions are custom-designed and custom delivered - there is not one size fits all.