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Experiential or active learning is used to describe learning that involves active
manipulation by the learner and is environmentally based. To learn something new,
children must become aware, explore, inquire, use, and apply (Bredekamp et al., 1992).
The Progressive Education movement and the writings of John Dewey (1910) support
this position of learner as active. “Only by wrestling with the conditions of the problem at
hand, seeking and finding his own solution (not in isolation but in correspondence with
the teacher and other pupils) does one learn” (p. 182). Pratt (1948), an early follower of
Dewey, believed that the use of open-ended materials would offer children the
opportunity to re-create their world and dramatize the events occurring in it, addressing
the mode of learning inherent in the child.
Voice is “what people mean when they speak of the core of the self” (Gilligan,
1993, p. xvi). Voice can be seen as a metaphor of development extending well beyond the
expression of a point of view. “Voice is a powerful psychological instrument and
channel, connecting inner and outer worlds” (Gilligan, 1993, p. xvi). To have a voice is
also relational; it depends on listening and being heard. Voice is also reflects the
empowerment of those being heard.
Authentic refers to the teaching and learning experience as genuine, true to the
individual teacher and child. It is fundamental to the Reggio Emilia approach, which is
heavily influenced by John Dewey. Dewey believed that school and education should be
rooted in the experiences of the child. In describing this approach, Malaguzzi stated that
it “produces for the adults, but above all for the children, a feeling of belonging in a
world that is alive, welcoming and authentic” (Malaguzzi, 1998, p. 64).