At Leysin American School, we believe that education is more than just a classroom experience. That’s why our students will venture beyond the confines of their classrooms and take full advantage of all that Switzerland has to offer.
Here in the beautiful Alpine town of Leysin, we take full advantage of the experiential learning opportunities that are right on our doorstep. At LAS, we believe in the benefits of moving education beyond the confines of the classroom, allowing students to see the practical applications of their studies.
LAS embraces connections with the wider community to develop innovative and creative students. This month some of our IB Business Managements students collaborated with a local coffee business owner, Christoph Sauser of Horizonte Coffee. They learned about the realities of processes such as production, distribution, and shipment, and were then able to apply this practical knowledge to their courses. According to one student, gaining hands-on experience deepened her “understanding of the functions of business and the hard work that goes into each and every cup of coffee” (Madison).
What is experiential learning in reality?
Experiential learning has complemented the classroom curriculum for our Pre-AP Biology students as well; they recently spent the day at Les Trois Terres vineyard learning about the link between grape harvesting and their study of the water, carbon, and nitrogen cycles. The students were shown the equipment and machines that were required to produce the local wine and were able to witness firsthand the chemical reaction of fermentation before their eyes!
Experiential learning is a long-standing value of LAS, as hands-on participation is what drives student engagement and facilitates a link between theories and everyday life. In March, the LAS Entrepreneurship class collaborated with Paola Bellia, founder and CEO of Cadesio Swiss chocolate, and were invited to partake in a blindfolded taste test of nine different chocolates from her new range that supports humanitarian efforts. LAS students were shown a real-life example of how entrepreneurship can be used as a tool to make a positive change.
Here at LAS, we are passionate about creating innovative global citizens with the ability to think critically and work as a team to tackle the challenges of tomorrow. Through an experiential style of learning, students are shown how their studies relate to the world around them and gain the skills they need to become change-makers of the future.
