As I have been researching Learning Experience Design, I came across an article which has quickly become a favorite of mine. It connects my current work as a learning designer with my former work as an actor. In The Experience Economy, Gilmore and Pine (1998) discuss the influence theater has had and will continue to have on the experiences we design and provide to consumers. (Or rather, our students, if we’re thinking about this from an educational context.)
The main idea being that our society will (and has) transitioned from a product based economy to a service driven economy and at the heart of those services lie the experience. Again to translate this into an educational context – Students are no longer satisfied with simply obtaining a degree, they want to have experiences while attending their institution of choice.
Theater is one field uniquely suited to help us think about the experiences we craft for our learners to engage in. After all, what is the staging of a play, if not the creation of an experience for an audience. And what is the design of learning, if not the creation of an experience for a student.
A former professor and friend of mine used to say, “theater is a reflection of the world around us.” Through theater we can find connections with our lived experiences. It can help us reflect upon and think more deeply about the world around us. It can introduce us to new paradigms and perspectives unlike our own. Theater has the ability to create experiences that can transform us.
As I write that, I realize just how similar theater and LXD truly are. Shouldn’t a quality education help our learners reflect and think more deeply, introduce them to new paradigms, and ideally help them transform into the best version of themselves?
Citation:
Pine II, B. J., & Gilmore, J. H. (1998). Welcome to the Experience Economy. Innovation, July–August, 1–15. https://hbr.org/1998/07/welcome-to-the-experience-economy
