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6.2 Experience and Learner Experience 93
the trip. Moreover, when you come back from the camping, you tell the story of
climbing the mountain to your peers, which you may refer it as “a terrific
experience.”
Often, the word “experience” and the concept of “user experience” are used
during product design and development processes. We want initially to create a
systemic way to talk about the experience broadly. Our understanding of existing
theories of experience has led to three ways that we speak of experience: cognitive
experience, an experience, and experience as a story (see Table 6.1).
Definition of Experience
The purest form of reference is experience, the constant stream that happens during
moments of consciousness. Self-talk or self-narration is often the way that people
acknowledge the passing of this kind of experience (Forlizzi & Ford, 2000). This
definition is based on cognitive scientist Richard Carlson’s theory of consciousness
known as Experienced Cognition (Carlson, 1997). The above example mentioned
that “one sees the beautiful landscapes, and feel pleasant” is an example of such
experience.

Table 6.1 Three ways of understanding the concept of “Experience” (adapted from Forlizzi &
Ford, 2000)
Cognitive experience An experience Experience as story
Concept The constant stream The experience that Stories are the
that happens during has a beginning and vehicles that we use to
moments of an end, and changes condense and
consciousness the user, and remember experiences
The experience that sometimes, the and to communicate
required us to think context of the them in a variety of
about what we are experience as a result situations to certain
doing audiences
Example Interactions with new Witness a story that Experience as story
products, interactions allows us to feel plays an important
with confusing or powerful emotions, role in events as
unfamiliar assess our system of diverse as legal
environments, or tasks values, and possibly testimony and fantasy
that require attention, make changes in our gaming
cognitive effort, or behavior
problem-solving skills A powerful selection Relevance for sharing
of stories leading us user findings with a
through an design team of various
experience as we disciplines
read them
Representatives Richard Carlson’s John Dewey’s Art as Roger Schank’s Tell
theory of Experience and Me a Story: Narrative
consciousness known Experience and and Intelligence
as Experienced Education
Cognition