Faculty Resources
Teaching Resources
David Kolb’s Experiential Learning
| Learner Type |
Best Classroom Practices |
| Concrete Experience (Feeling) |
- Learners rely on personal involvement for understanding
- Learners rely on feelings rather than a systematic approach
- Learners rely on ability to be open-minded and adaptable
- Learners are self–directed
|
- Group work
- Peer feedback
- Games
- Films
- Field work
|
| Reflective Observation (Watching) |
- Learners need to view situations from multiple perspectives
- Learners rely on their own thoughts and feelings to form opinions
- Learners exercise patience, objectivity and careful judgement but do not take action
|
- Lectures
- Journals
- Discussions and questioning
- Observations
|
| Abstract Conceptualization (Thinking) |
- Learners like to involve logic rather than feelings to understand
- Learners like to form theories from observations and experiences
- Learners like to develop explanations and hypotheses
- Learners use rational evaluation
|
- Making analogies
- Writing papers
- Building models
- Reading theory
- Analyzing case studies
|
| Active Experimentation (Doing) |
- Learners are actively experimenting with influencing or changing situations
- Learners have a practical approach and concern for what really works, as opposed to watching a situation
- Learners value attaining goals and seeing the results of their work
|
- Projects
- Self-directed assignments
- Simulated experiences
- Problem-solving exercises
|
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