Which word should I choose in this context?

Question

I have participated in many campaigns aiming at providing some opportunities for students to perceive vicariously what was going on in the real life behind the economic data which they were familiar with.

I mean that the students may know something through numbers, but he can have a clearer understanding of what these number means if he has direct contact with people. I use "perceive vicariously" , because I want to emphasize "senses" versus dry rationality. But still I think what the senses will give the students is a higher or clearer understanding, not sensation. Maybe "understand vividly“ fits well my purpose？

Answer 1

I think "see firsthand" is appropriate here, as in, "I want my students to see firsthand what the data represents."

The idea being that the economic data is an abstracted, or "secondhand" representation, and you want your students to understand what the data actually represents at its source, or at its "firsthand" representation.

From http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/firsthand: coming directly from actually experiencing or seeing something

Answer 2

I would not use perceive vicariously, as it implies a disconnect, as in, someone else perceives the life of common people, like the professor, and then tells the students about it. And understand vividly is about the result, not the process. To me, vicariously experience makes more sense, but doesn't give that punch that you are looking for: it is still a bit too removed. I'd probably write directly observe, possibly adding in real life for clarity if necessary.