Integrity Through Experience: Fostering a Culture of Academic Integrity Through an Experiential Learning Approach

Experiential learning is an intentional teaching and learning approach that engages students through meaningful active learning and critical reflection. As an umbrella term, experiential learning can include a vast diversity of experience types, ranging from intensive work-integrated learning terms to activities limited to one class session. A uniting factor in this approach is the goal of developing progressive competence in the transference of content and behaviors to future formal and informal learning situations, workplaces, and community organizations. Key among these are the knowledge, behaviors, and attitudes students need to successfully demonstrate academic integrity. There is limited literature that explicitly links experiential learning with the development of student academic integrity. This chapter contributes to addressing this gap by connecting experiential approaches with academic integrity goals to foster a culture of academic integrity in postsecondary settings. The focus is on the instructor adopting the role of experiential facilitator and intentionally employing course design and delivery strategies to develop academic integrity through an experiential learning approach. This chapter also examines interconnected themes linking experiential learning and academic integrity, including the importance of prior experience, developing relationships, and an increasing focus on process and practice, with suggestions for how they can be incorporated.