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Sense and sensibility

Engaging the five senses in university learning

Textures, smells and tastes can facilitate positive educational outcomes at the undergraduate level, according to Matt Auer, director of undergraduate programs in Indiana University’s School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA). In a recent article in the International Journal of Learning, he challenges the assumption that “touching, smelling, tasting, hearing and seeing nature are a child’s entrée to the environment, and adults have little to gain by reawakening ‘primitive’ learning pathways.” Instead, he argues that sensory perception continues to enable an “indelible learning process” throughout adulthood. Auer distinguishes between service-based forms of experiential learning, which rely on critical thinking skills, and a “five-senses” approach that allows learning to occur prior to rational thought. He describes the methods he has used for several years in an undergraduate environmental studies course, such as smelling and tasting local flora, listening to calls of different birds, and walking through and observing wooded areas. Auer found that retention of information acquired in this manner was surprisingly high. For example, having taught the course almost a dozen times, Auer has never had a student misidentify the ailanthus tree after smelling the peanut-like odor of its leaves. Of course, understanding the nature of ecosystems requires more than memorization. Auer follows the sensory experiences with critical inquiry assignments and classroom discussions that incorporate both student observations and theories of ecological change.

Matthew Auer is a professor at SPEA, as well as director of its undergraduate programs. His research focuses on comparative industrial environmental politics, international forest policy, and the politics of foreign aid.

Click here to read more about Prof. Auer.