Learning by doing: the benefits of active learning for professionals

Most of us have sat through training that didn’t land. Endless PowerPoint slides. Passive note-taking. Information that sounded important but never quite stuck. And when the facilitator finally wraps up, we leave with a handout we’ll probably never look at again.

It doesn’t have to be this way.

Experiential learning (also known as active learning), is based on the simple idea that we learn better when we do something with the knowledge. It’s hardly a new concept, but in professional development, it’s gaining long-overdue attention. After all, we instinctively understand that children learn through play and experimentation – so why should it be any different for adults?

This kind of learning turns participants from passive recipients into active problem-solvers. And it’s not just more engaging, it’s also more effective. A study published in the Journal of Experiential Education found that participants retain 70% more information through experiential methods than through traditional lecture-style training methods.

What is Experiential Learning?

Experiential learning involves gaining knowledge and skills through direct experience, then reflecting on and applying what you’ve learned. Psychologist David Kolb, who popularised this concept, describes it as ​“the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” (Kolb, 1984, p. 38)*. Instead of just listening or reading, you actively participate in a task, reflect on it, draw conclusions, and then experiment with those new insights. It’s a cycle of concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualisation, and active experimentation. For example, rather than only reading about project management, you might design and run a mock project, then debrief on what happened and how to improve. This approach turns learners from passive recipients into active participants in their own learning journey.

*Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development (Vol. 1). Englewood Cliffs, NJ: Prentice-Hall.

The Key Benefits of Experiential Learning

• Better Retention & Understanding: When you apply knowledge in a real context, you simply remember it better. According to the NTL Institute for Applied Behavioural Science’s ​‘Learning Pyramid’*, when learners engage in hands-on practice, they recall about 75% of the information compared to just 10% retention from reading. Learners are therefore more likely to retain information when they can immediately put it into practice.

  * NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Science, 300 N. Lee Street, Suite 300, Alexandria, VA 22314. 1−800−777−5227.
   

• Higher Engagement and Motivation: Because it’s an active, immersive process, experiential learning tends to be far more engaging than slide decks or lectures. Learners feel the relevance of the material when they’re solving real problems or discussing real scenarios, which naturally boosts motivation because it’s personal and can often be fun. This kind of training respects adults’ desire to be involved and self-directed in learning. As summarised by Park University, ​“adult learning thrives on relevance, flexibility and engagement. Adults value learning that is directly applicable to their personal or professional lives and prefer active involvement in the learning process.” When training is hands-on and tied to real-world challenges, people are intrinsically more driven to participate fully.
  
   
• Enhanced Critical Thinking & Problem-Solving: Experiential learning forces you to think on your feet. By working through authentic tasks or case studies, learners develop their critical thinking and problem-solving skills in context. They learn to navigate uncertainty, make decisions, and adapt in real time, just like they would have to in real-life work situations. For example, analysing a safeguarding scenario based on a real challenge faced by a theatre company prompts a far deeper level of thinking and engagement than purely being told how to respond in a generic situation.
  
   
• Bridging Theory and Practice: One big advantage of ​‘learning by doing’ is that it closes the gap between abstract theory and practical application. Instead of knowledge living only in your head, you get to use it. This makes learning immediately relevant to your job or creative practice. For instance, it’s one thing to study the theory behind mentoring, but another to actually put this into practice in a workshop. Experiential training ensures that when you learn a concept, you simultaneously learn how to implement it. That makes the learning ​‘stick’ and directly translates into improved performance back in the workplace.
  
   
• Increased Confidence and Collaboration: By practising skills in a safe environment, learners build confidence in their abilities and will feel more competent handling similar situations at work. Hands-on projects often involve teamwork and reflection, so they also strengthen communication and collaboration skills. Learners share feedback, learn from peers, and become more comfortable voicing ideas. All of this contributes to greater self-assurance and the ability to work effectively with others.

Experiential Learning in the Creative & Cultural Sectors

Professionals in the creative, cultural and heritage sectors are particularly likely to find experiential learning natural and valuable. After all, these sectors thrive on practice, iteration, and ​“learning by doing.” Whether you’re a museum educator, a theatre director, a community arts facilitator, or a heritage site manager, much of your expertise comes from hands-on experience. Training that incorporates creative projects, interactive discussions, or real case studies can mirror the challenges of working in these sectors, making the learning highly relevant.

Furthermore, creative work often requires collaboration, adaptability, and innovation. These are all skills best developed through experience. Experiential learning environments give creative professionals the opportunity to experiment, fail safely, and discover new approaches. This kind of active professional development can spark fresh ideas and new perspectives that directly carry over into artistic or cultural projects. 

Importantly, this approach also treats learners as equal partners in the process. In an active training session, the facilitator becomes more of a guide on the side than a traditional ​‘trainer’, allowing participants to shape their learning through discussion, experimentation, and reflective practice. This model respects the expertise that professionals already bring to the room, while offering practical, problem-focused opportunities which they can apply straight away.

Experiential Learning at Artswork Professional Development

At Artswork, we apply experiential learning throughout all our professional development offerings. Our active learning approach is what sets us apart from others, and is why our training encourages you to Think, Learn, and Do. 

Each course is designed to be engaging and practical, going beyond theory, and into immersive, interactive activities that mirror real challenges and scenarios in the creative and cultural sectors. We deliberately build in opportunities for you to apply new ideas during the training, whether through interactive exercises, group discussions, or collaborative projects. This way, you’re not just hearing about the best practices, but trying them out in a supportive environment and learning through that experience.

By encouraging participants to think for themselves, learn actively, and do it for real, our programmes make learning more immersive and relevant to day-to-day work. You leave not only with new knowledge, but with the confidence and capability to implement what you’ve learned. We believe this experiential approach is why our courses consistently lead to meaningful outcomes, such as museum and gallery staff gaining tangible project management skills, or creative practitioners confidently developing their approach to safeguarding.

If you’d like to experience the difference that learning by doing can make, explore our upcoming live courses on a range of subjects from evaluation to people management, or take a look at our self-guided eLearning, covering issues such as wellbeing and unconscious bias, which can be completed at your own pace.