“Experience is first taken in or grasped, then transformed into meaning” (Yorks & Kasl,
2001, p. 180). Kolb’s experiential learning theory is illustrated in Figure 2.9, below:
Figure 2. 9
2.9 Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory
Note: Adapted fromDevelopment by D.A. Kolb, p. Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and 42. Copyright 1984 by Prentice Hall.Major underpinnings that Kolb (1984) described as influencing this theory are:
Learning is process-focused, not outcome/result-focused;
Learning is a continuous process grounded in experience;
Learning requires resolution of conflicts between dialectically opposed modes
(i.e., between (a) concrete experience and abstract conceptualization and (b)
active experimentation and reflective observation);