Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle

Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle: Effective learning follows a four-stage loop of Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization, and Active Experimentation. Most traditional teaching skips straight to concepts, missing the experience that makes learning stick.

Article: Kolb's Learning Styles & Experiential Learning Cycle

Why do we forget most lectures but remember lessons learned the hard way?

David Kolb's Experiential Learning Theory, published in 1984, explains that effective learning isn't just receiving information. It's a cycle with four stages:

1. Concrete Experience (Feeling). You try something. You attempt a task, encounter a problem, or engage directly with a new situation. This is the raw material of learning.
2. Reflective Observation (Watching). You step back and think about what just happened. What worked? What didn't? What surprised you?
3. Abstract Conceptualization (Thinking). You extract principles from your reflection. You form theories, identify patterns, and create mental models that explain your experience.
4. Active Experimentation (Doing). You take your new understanding and test it in a different situation. This generates new concrete experiences, and the cycle continues.

But there’s a problem with most education: it starts at stage three. Teachers jump straight to “here’s the concept” and “here’s what the research says.” Students receive abstract principles without the concrete experience that would make those principles meaningful.

Therefore, experiential learning flips this. Do first. Reflect. Then abstract. Then do it again. This is why hands-on training beats lectures. Case studies beat textbook definitions. The experience creates a hook for the concept.

This is closely related to the CCAF Instructional Design Model (Context, Challenge, Activity, and Feedback) and Bloom's Taxonomy.

After learning this, I’m reflecting on how Weekly I/O can incorporate these principles for readers. Stay tuned! If you are a paid subscriber, you will soon be able to try something I’m currently building!