Growing Future Planners: A Framework for Integrating Experiential Learning into Tertiary Planning Programs

The planning industry expects that tertiary planning education will prepare graduating planners with practical planning skills, applicable in an increasingly complex world. However, planning schools are not required to systematically include practice or experiential learning in curriculum. In this article, we explore the benefits of experiential learning, highlight gaps in application of the concept, and present a framework for integrating experiential learning in planning education at a tertiary level. The framework comprises core principles, applied to a range of experiential activities, scaffolded across an undergraduate planning program to provide increasing engagement in practice.