Contemporary Sexuality through the Process of Experiential Learning

Abstract

Learning about “sex” may be a difficult topic to discuss or communicate directly. At the same time, it is considered a topic to discuss secretly or privately. Because of this, the public have often formulated their own understanding of the topic which leads to wrong practices. This problem, in turn, is not only a personal problem but also a social and public problem. When adolescents become adults, they are equipped with their free thinking and self-confidence, so they tend to naively believe that their thoughts and behavior are proper, especially those concerning sexuality. The negative effects of such orientation are, for example, teen pregnancies, abortions, unwanted pregnancies, HIV infections and others. The writer and other teaching staff on the team see this as a significant problem, thus “sexuality” has been discussed and ways to introduce it to the classroom have been brainstormed. As a result, the course design, course specifications and the teaching and learning process have been developed for a course entitled “Contemporary Sexuality” by using the process of experiential learning, which takes the learning from abstract to concrete experiences, the process that is appropriate for a practical or a skill course. Experiential learning can be used with an individual learner as well as a group. The principle is the teaching should set up a learning experience plan, trigger the learners to reflect and discuss what is learned through the experience. This process of learning has been adopted on an experimental basis as a model for other course designers who may be looking for a proper design in dealing with or integrating with other issues that are related to the learners’ life and social experiences.