By Brandon Lane ’20
Mr. John Crowley-Delman is a World 9 History teacher at Pingry. He is also a wilderness “addict” who enjoys hiking and backpacking. Most recently he was appointed to a new role: Pingry’s Director of Experiential Education. While experiential education does not have a hard-and-fast definition, it is essentially, as Mr. Crowley-Delman explains it, “learning by doing.”
Experiential education has always been a part of Mr. Crowley-Delman’s life, beginning at a young age by spending summers at Camp Treetops, an outdoor learning institution for boys and girls near Lake Placid. His experiences continued over the years, and in 2017, he led two travel opportunities for Pingry students: Winter in the North Woods in the Adirondacks and City of Rock in Utah. All of these activities helped shape his passion and ultimately his teaching methods.
“Why do we study history?” This was the first question he asked in World 9 History class. Students took their time developing complex answers with the hope of impressing their teacher. Then he shocked the room by saying, “Studying history doesn’t matter. It’s experiencing it that’s important.” Mr. Crowley-Delman was laying the groundwork for his students to learn hands-on and then reflect independently on what was learned. These are the principles of experiential education.
The main goals Mr. Crowley-Delman has for this year in his new role are to “shine a light on how experiential learning is already happening at Pingry, expand opportunities, and improve the program as a whole.” He believes students need to experience a “wow moment” or have a realization about what they are learning. This occurs through reflection.
Global Programs is an example of how Pingry is providing experiential opportunities for its students. For example, the City of Rock Program was a backpacking adventure through Utah’s canyon wilderness that brought students into contact with some of the best preserved Ancestral Puebloan rock art and cliff-dwellings in existence. To see and feel pieces of ancient history, photograph them, and reflect on what was learned helped bring the material to life–something that doesn’t easily happen in a classroom listening to a lecture or watching a PowerPoint.
The principles of experiential education are founded upon the process of conceptualizing, experimentation, experience, and reflection. Mr. Crowley-Delman will work to merge traditional teaching styles with these principles. With a new hybrid in place, he hopes the opportunities Pingry provides will encourage students to pursue experiential education not only while they are on its campus but for years to come.