Learning Through Experience

Since this season of the podcast is all about the HOW of learning through experience, I wanted to talk to Annie Murphy Paul who basically wrote the book on learning outside the brain.  She's the author of several books, and I love to talk with people after they have had a chance to learn through the experience of their book being out in the world. In this episode, we focus on The Extended Mind: Th...

I love how art can take us on a journey to another way of seeing things. And, I don't think I'm alone in thinking that the human condition is a little rough and rocky these days — so I feel drawn to opportunities to cultivate joy. In my role as Chair of the Art Committee at Yale School of Management, I have the chance to impact the space through the iconography on the walls. I wanted to do somethi...

In this first episode of season two, I talk with Tracee Stanley about how to have an experience of yourself through skilled and intentional rest, self-inquiry, and aligned learning. This season is about how we learn through experience using 4 core practices: Challenging your perspective, stretching and building range, directing your learning, and reflection and inquiry. Tracee's way of working is...

I'm Dr. Heidi Brooks. Last season of the podcast, Learning Through Experience, I focused on learning through the experience of mentorship and the guests were all my mentors in one way or another. In a podcast that lifts up that learning can not only happen through conventional exposure to concepts and theories but also through what we experience in life, the second season is all about the HOW. How...

Ok, Season 1 of Learning Through Experience is a wrap. (Woohoo!) I am learning a ton through the experience of podcasting- it's much more fun and definitely more work than I expected!    This short episode is a check-in. One of the core practices in learning through experience is reflection, so this short podcast episode is a check-in on my own learning through the experience of podcasting.   It's...

I love this episode with Rhona Weinstein! It's about coming full circle, working for what you dream about and how all people exist in context. Part of that context can include the experience of inspiring mentorship. Read an automated transcript of this episode.

I have a very clear memory of chasing Robin Rose down the hallway at college and asking her: "How can I be like you when I grow up?" I was fascinated with the way she invited people to step into learning through personal experience. Since most of my idea of learning involved lectures and assignments, this approach was refreshing and evocative. Discovering the power of learning through reflection o...

Learning through experience is an everyday practice — as Bill Torbert knows well. In this episode, he speaks about the power of surrendering to the part of us that is quite a "numbskull."  Read an automated transcript of the episode.

In this episode, family systems experts Phil and Carolyn Cowan talk with grace and wisdom about their process of confronting aspects of family dynamics that they experienced but did not wish to pass on. If there's one thing you take away from our conversation, let it be this: pay attention to your story. Read an automated transcript of this episode. 

In order to learn through experience, our doing needs a good pairing with reflective inquiry into what's working.    Now that we're halfway through the first season of "Learning through Experience," I wanted to pause and take time to walk the talk. In this "check-in" episode, I share a bit of my reflection on what I am learning through the experience of podcasting.  Read an automated transcript.

In this episode, I spoke with Karen Kimsey-House about transformational learning and how to reinvent yourself. When I was coming out of my PhD studies, I was wandering in my own wilderness, trying to find my way. Wondering what else I could do besides clean my house to avoid my dissertation, I enrolled in the Coach Training Institute. And that's how I met Karen, who eventually became my personal c...

In this episode, I spoke with Parker Palmer about the connection between teaching and learning, healing the heart of democracy, and following the path of integrity. I've been reading Parker J Palmer's books for years. He's the author of 10 books about education, community leadership, spirituality, and social change. Three of these particularly resonated with my own experience:  Let Your Life Speak...

Not everything we learn in college comes from the classroom. When you think about learning and insights that have mattered most to you, you may find that the most powerful associations include people, events, feelings and places.   Barbara Tannenbaum and her living room came easily to mind for me when thinking about when and where I learned through experience. Barbara taught one of the most popula...

We are overloaded with so much information that we become full of ideas but too often lack the time to reflect, practice, and enact wisely. Ideas are not enough—we cannot run life by syllabus and read our way through—we have to learn our way through much of the experience of life, and integrate information as sensemaking to help us get better as we go.  I'm Dr. Heidi Brooks, host of Learning Throu...