Experiential Learning and Problem-Solving Skills among Higher Education Students
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.63345/Keywords:
Experiential learning, Problem-solving skills, Higher education, Reflective learning, Collaborative problem solving, Learning transferAbstract
Experiential learning has gained renewed importance in higher education as universities increasingly prioritize competencies that enable students to interpret, analyse, and respond to complex real-world problems. This study examines the relationship between structured experiential learning and problem-solving skills among higher education students, with particular attention to reflection, collaborative decision-making, and transfer of learning to unfamiliar situations. The research is motivated by a gap in existing studies, which frequently evaluate experiential activities through satisfaction, engagement, achievement, or self-reported competence without adequately distinguishing the mechanisms through which experience is converted into transferable problem-solving capability. A multidimensional framework is therefore proposed in which experiential learning is conceptualized through authentic task exposure, reflective processing, collaborative inquiry, iterative experimentation, and learner agency. Problem-solving competence is treated as a combination of problem identification, evidence evaluation, solution generation, strategic adaptation, and transfer performance rather than as a single self-reported outcome. The proposed investigation will compare students exposed to a structured experiential-learning sequence with students undertaking conventional case-based instruction and will integrate performance indicators with process-oriented measures. The study specifically evaluates whether reflective reasoning and collaborative decision quality function as mechanisms connecting experiential participation with improved solution accuracy and transfer to novel problems. The anticipated contribution is an empirically testable model explaining not simply whether experiential learning works, but which components of experiential learning are most strongly associated with durable and transferable problem-solving skills in higher education.
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