Processing the Experience: Enhancing and Generalizing Learning

When this book arrived I thought it was a text book. However, as a business owner who works with small businesses and organization, who value employee development, I found the authors' approach to processing learning experiences as a winner. This is a MUST BUY for any trainer or consultant who uses experiental learning activities.

This book looms as large on my experiential education bookshelf as David Kolb's seminal ur-text, "Experiential Learning." But whereas the latter has a more theoretical bent, Luckner & Nadler's work here is eminently practical, as well. "Processing..." is rife with pedagogical nuggets that are immediately applicable to all sorts of experiential learning contexts. Moreover, it's a very user-friendly work. No experiential educator worth his or her salt should be without this absolutely indispensible volume.

I was introduced to this book in my Outoor Leadership Training classat Houghton College and I was so impressed and impacted by it I laterwrote a manual for the camp I worked for using this book as one of the primary sources. Whatever you are doing this will help you make an impact and teach you a great deal about learning with people. It has greatly improved my leadership skills in my outdoor education positions. This book enlightens so many of the fuzzy areas of group procesing and managing a group or person for growth experiences. Its division and explanation of the edge experience is priceless. END

As an adventure "consultant" I found "Processing the Experience" one of the top three books I recommend to others in the education and/or adventure field. There are so many excellent ideas covering such a wide area of interest that it has become a reference book as I start design or facilitate a new program.The book covers educational, corporate, family, and theraputic venues. I especially enjoyed the chapter on "edge work" because of it's application to challenge course work.

"Processing the Experience" offers a comprehensive, yet accessible look at the field of experiential learning. The book's easy-to-use format is a bonus for trainers, therapists and educators in all walks of life. It is well-researched and well-presented. The authors have an obvious love of their subject that translates into a work that can serve as a guidepost for others in their teaching and learning travels. The book offers a wide range of practical ideas that cover the spectrum of learning settings. The authors enlist appropriate expertise from some of the top professionals in experiential learning and related fields. The case studies bring concepts to life in ways that are both practical and philosophical. "Processing the Experience" is an important resource for anyone interested in learning in general and experiential learning in particular. I highly recommend it.