I have just come back from a trip to Vietnam and Cambodia, two counties with long and complicated histories. Vietnam has become the destination of choice for many Gen Z’s partly because its cheap but more importantly it offers a real-life experience, different attitudes, cultures, smells, and flavours, with a kindness in its people that is infectious.

There is also a wisdom that has developed over time as a result of relations with other countries (China, Japan France, and the USA), its different religions (Hinduism and Buddhism), competing political ideologies (Capitalism and Communism) and a reflective mindset that tries to take the best from the wars they have fought and the atrocities experienced.

Wisdom often manifests itself in saying or proverbs, and one Vietnamese proverb that stood out for me was, “a day of traveling will bring a basketful of learning.” But do you really learn from travelling, and even if you do, how effective is it when compered with other methods of delivery and teaching?

“The world is a book, and those who do not travel read only one page.” Saint Augustine

Real-world and Experiential learning
To help answer this question let’s start by looking at two types of learning that on the face of should provide some insight, real world, and experiential learning.

Real-World Learning involves engaging with real-life situations and practical experiences outside the traditional classroom setting. It focuses on applying theoretical knowledge to solve actual problems often in the workplace, it also requires the individual to communicate and engage with others.

Experiential Learning, as defined by Kolb et al is a broader concept that encompasses learning through experience. It involves a cyclical process of experiencing, reflecting, thinking and acting. Its sometimes more narrowly defined as “learning through reflection on doing.”  Experiential learning can occur in various settings, not just real-world contexts, and includes structured activities designed to simulate real-life situations, for example case studies and role plays . Real-world learning is a form of experiential learning.

One other theory related to experiential learning worthy of mention is, Constructivist Learning. This is where learners construct knowledge through their experiences and interactions with the world. This fits perfectly with travel which offers diverse and rich contexts for individuals to build and refine their understanding of already learned facts and opinions.

As you can see the methods are similar but not the same, by way of an example you would engage in experiential learning if involved in a role play, perhaps negotiating the price for a new product with a colleague. Whereas real-world learning might result in you actually working in a company, actively engaged in a real world negotiation, possibly as part of a team.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” Marcel Proust

The role of knowledge – Just to be clear, the precursor to both experiential and real-world learning is knowledge, they are application models e.g a means of testing out how well you have understood what you have already learned, can you apply your knowledge in the real or simulated world?  And in that application, reflecting and challenging what you have learned as you attempt to reconcile the theory with practice.

Benefits – There have been several studies looking at the effectiveness of these application-based methods, and they have been shown to result in higher levels of engagement and motivation, improvement in critical thinking and problem-solving skills, higher levels of retention, and the cementing of previously learned knowledge.

“One must travel to learn.” Mark Twain

But these methods are often part of a structured, formal training programme, overseen by a teacher or coach with predetermined learning outcomes and some type of assessment. When you go traveling, this framework does not exist.

Travelling is learning – it’s just informal
But if you look closely the clues are there as to why travel is a good teacher, its just you must take more responsibility yourself. Firstly, you choose to travel, you are motivated (internally), curious, and inspired, you are looking for something, an experience perhaps. Interestingly you probably don’t know what it is, it’s possibly more of an itch that needs scratching, a desire to explore, to break away from the norm. You are “motivated away” from what you have towards something different that is unknown. This is informal learning, there is no desired outcome, you are simply moving away from the status quo and not towards a specific learning outcome.

“I met a lot of people in Europe. I even encountered myself.” James Baldwin

Secondly you may have certain expectations as to what you will experience, but when you are there, those preconceptions may well be challenged, the stereotypes dispelled. This is Kolb in action, experiencing, reflecting, thinking, and acting. To make sense of the world around you at that point, you might need to challenge your existing beliefs, black and white suddenly becomes grey, and blurred lines emerge where previously non existed. Thirdly it opens up a whole new world of possibility, expanding your horizons, turning the trip into a learning adventure. At the same time, you are in the real world having to navigate the changeable environment, communicate with others who look think and behave differently, you may have to adapt or change the way you do somethings completely. But most of all you begin to learn about yourself, and that humility gives you a wonderful perspective.

“True humility is not thinking less of yourself; it is thinking of yourself less.” Rick Warren,

And it is this that makes travel a potential life changing experience, its as if you had removed the walls from the classrooms, making everything possible, forcing you to develop your own thoughts and ideas, not mimic others. Your senses will be in overdrive and your ability to recall significantly increased, making this a memorable event that you will reflect on throughout your life.

“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” Henry Miller

But this will not of course be the case for everyone, the learning is not guaranteed, some will come back with broken friendships and mosquito bites. And that’s life, travel is not the most efficient learning experience, it’s just possibly the best one.

But don’t take my word for it, watch this – 10 Reasons Why Travel is the BEST Education