Communicate about Outcomes with Multi-stakeholders, Consider EL Design Factors, and Create Meaningful Experiential Learning!

The Outcome-Based Experiential Learning (OBEL) Framework offers:

  • 47 intended outcomes that stakeholders and co-creators may have for an experiential learning opportunity or experiential learning in general;
  • Five factors that influence experiential learning design that provides a planning checklist for experiences; and
  • A planning template for design discussions to align outcomes, activities, and assessments while considering the five factors.

Created by Carolyn Hoessler & Lorraine Godden based on a landscape scan review of institutional EL webpages in Ontario and Nova Scotia universities of 31 institutions and 127 online pages, and established learning theories. We are looking forward to expanding provinces and also including colleges.

The framework has been well-received by career education professionals, faculty, government representatives and industry colleagues. The five factors have helped explain and plan for the challenge of going remote in Spring 2020. On May 13, 2020 we presented a webinar with CERIC with over 2000 registrants.

Watch the CERIC May 2020 webinar on Going Remote with Experiential Learning and Work-Integrated Learning: A Practical Outcome-based Approach (63 minutes)

Learn More & Recent Sessions

Recent Applications

  • Informing conversations with stakeholders to unpack broad goal statements of “for careers” or “for better learning”.
  • Distinguishing why labs may be experiential learning or might not be both based on the outcome and the resulting consideration of context (factor 1).
  • Talking to students about their goals (intended outcomes) for upcoming placements.