The art of walking. Fostering experiential learning through observation and creative practice

This paper explores how the art of walking can foster learning through everyday observation and creative practice. Based on an empirical case study investigating postgraduate students’ learning through a specially designed pedagogical activity of ‘City Walks’, in what follows I suggest the need for practice-based, experiential learning and discuss existent pedagogic debates on walking in the city and creative processes. Following Kolb (1984), experiential learning reinforces active learning processes where students “learn by doing” through fieldwork, observation and experience. To discuss experiential learning through the art of walking, I examine the ‘City Walks’, a teaching activity that I designed for an MA module in a creative and arts programme at King’s College London. I draw on my observations as the module leader and data collected from a student questionnaire to offer evaluative reflections on this activity. My findings reveal the ‘City Walks’ were an effective pedagogical activity that can link the theories learned in the classroom to everyday urban observation and creative practice. This exercise increased the level of creative intellectual exchange between students. Through the analysis of this pedagogical activity as a meta-learning experience, I conclude with four main strategies to further enhance the art of walking as a pedagogical tool. Keywords: walking practices, experiential learning, teaching, everyday observation, creative practice