Pedagogy and Professional Development

“Absolutely Hands on!”: Analyzing Student Learning Gains and Perceptions From an Experiential Learning Experiment in an Advanced Textile Science Course

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Abstract

Experiential learning “…is a hands-on form of learning that begins with a concrete experience,” which also involves reflection on the process.” In the 1980s, traditional education began to experience a backlash for being too passive. With experiential learning, students learn by doing and thinking about what they are doing. Hands on learning improves student assessment performance with scientific concepts. In this experience, students created new knowledge in the coloration of bacterial cellulose (BC) with fiber reactive and natural dyes in the colors of blue, red and yellow. They also performed selected colorfastness tests. Pre-test knowledge measure scores ranged from 36% to 82% and from 73% to 91% on the post-test. The result indicated that median post-test scores were significantly higher than median pre-test scores (Z = 9.00, p = .004). When asked session preference, all 10 students reported they preferred the laboratory sessions and learned the most from them.

Keywords: Textile Science, Student Learning, Bacterial Cellulose, Experiential Learning

How to Cite:

Harmon, J., (2020) ““Absolutely Hands on!”: Analyzing Student Learning Gains and Perceptions From an Experiential Learning Experiment in an Advanced Textile Science Course”, International Textile and Apparel Association Annual Conference Proceedings 77(1). doi: https://doi.org/10.31274/itaa.12135