Abstract The use of experiential learning in tourism and hospitality education is well-documented in literature. Experiential learning studies in this field may include, for example, internship experiences, field trip perceptions, conferences, and social events. However, there is still insufficient literature to understand students’ learning and their real-world experience in MICE education, especially in the exhibition sector. This study, therefore, addresses this gap by reporting the experiential learning of graduate students in an event course with the objectives to investigate student perceptions on academic learning experiences and the development of work-related skills by carrying out the exhibition project. Students are challenged to perform a complicated task as a real exhibition organizer, and to deal with other stakeholders of the exhibition industry (e.g., exhibition venue, exhibitors, contractors, and visitors). The experiential learning method is discussed through the Plan-Do-Check-Act (PDCA) process. The results indicate that students not only gained in-depth learning about the exhibition industry, but also developed important work skills (e.g., teamwork, planning, and coordinating skills). Moreover, classroom learning, industry visits, and real-world experience are found to be the important factors contributing to exhibition learning. The current study contributes to the limited exhibition learning literature and provides event educators new insights into the teaching and learning of exhibition-based projects in regard to how students plan, learn and carry out the exhibition event through the case of Thailand. Other similar courses may apply the learning processes and results of this study to develop effective experiential learning in MICE education.

中文翻译：

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了解会展教育的现实世界：以泰国的展览学习为例

摘要文献记载了体验式学习在旅游和款待教育中的应用。该领域的经验学习研究可以包括，例如，实习经历，实地考察的感觉，会议和社交活动。但是，仍然没有足够的文献来理解学生在会展教育中的学习及其实际经验，尤其是在展览部门。因此，本研究通过报告活动课程中研究生的体验学习来解决这一差距，其目的是通过开展展览项目来调查学生对学术学习经验和与工作相关技能的发展的看法。作为真正的展览组织者，学生被要求执行一项复杂的任务，并与展览业的其他利益相关者打交道（例如，展览场地，参展商，承包商和参观者）。通过“计划-执行-检查-行动”（PDCA）过程讨论了体验式学习方法。结果表明，学生不仅对展览业有了深入的了解，而且还发展了重要的工作技能（例如团队合作，计划和协调能力）。此外，发现课堂学习，行业访问和实际经验是促成展览学习的重要因素。当前的研究为有限的展览学习文献做出了贡献，并为活动教育者提供了关于展览项目教学和学习的新见解，涉及学生如何通过泰国案例来计划，学习和开展展览活动。