7.08. Experiential Learning, Its importance in Business Education.

Autores: P. Arriagada S. Ph.D.

Abstract

The main objective of this paper is to show Universidad del Desarrollo Business School experience with the so called Co Oop project through which the students interact with firms in their formal learning process. It is also an attempt to prove the hypothesis that experiential learning is as important as cognitive or theoretical learning in business schools education.

 

After five years of experience and cohorts of aprox. 250 students in the Co Oop model, UDD´s model show that students that went through the program do much better in formal and theoretical courses than students that did not do the program. At the same time, the experience show that the model requires different kind of teachers and a whole different way to administer and supervise the learning process.

 

This paper is factual oriented; therefore its predicted potential is limited. Its originality is very high given that at professional educational level is the only experience in the country. Also, it introduces the innovation of week to week interactions with firms, rather than a sequential process whereby the students spend one semester in school and then one semester working, which is the experience of business schools in the United States.

Business education, Co Oop model, experiential learning, entrepreneurship, .