Early experimentation with the REAL idea demonstrated that for participants to be true owners of their businesses, they also must have ownership of the process through which they learn to be entrepreneurs. As a subject, entrepreneurship does not lend itself well to traditional teaching and learning methods. Student entrepreneurs are more interested in “getting down to business” than in reading about it. Therefore, the REAL program is designed to be taught and learned through experiential methods.

Experiential methods work to educate entrepreneurs because they promote ownership, self-direction and responsible decision-making – all qualities needed for successful business ownership.

What is meant by experiential learning? There are four parts to the cycle:

1. The cycle begins with a concrete experience – an event or exercise in which the learner actively participates
2. Next the learner reflects on the experience, focusing on what happened, how he/she feels about it and why the experience was (or was not) valuable and educational.
3. After reflecting, the learner expands on the original experience by identifying the abstract ideas, theories and principles behind it. This step may include lecture, reading on related topics, analysis and hypothetical application.
4. The learner completes the cycle by transferring his/her newly acquired skills to situations in the “real world.” This stage involves application and active experimentation.

“Tell me and I forget. Show me and I remember. Involve me and I understand” – Confucius

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