What it says. Experiential learning, associated with Kolb, describes learning as a cycle: a concrete experience, reflection on it, forming a general idea from it, and testing that idea in a new situation. Experience alone does not teach; the reflection and abstraction are what turn it into learning.

What it means for your teaching. Pair hands-on experiences, such as labs, fieldwork, projects, simulations, and cases, with structured reflection that asks students to make sense of what happened and draw a principle from it. An internship or activity without reflection is a missed opportunity, because the reflection is where the learning is completed.