The Experiential Learning Cycle

The experiential learning cycle is David Kolb's four-stage model of how learning actually happens: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Each stage feeds the next, and the cycle repeats as each experiment produces a new experience. John Dewey's *Experience and Education* is the philosophical grandparent; Kolb's *Experiential Learning* is the formal four-stage model. Every active-learning method sits inside the cycle — the methods differ in which stage they emphasize, how compressed or extended the cycle is, and whether it runs individually or socially.