Experiential Learning Theory as a Guide for Experiential Educators in Higher Education

Core concepts of Experiential Learning Theory—the learning cycle,learning style, and learning space—have been widely used by experiential educatorsin higher education for nearly half a century. We examine the latest thinkingabout these three concepts and highlight some exemplary applications from themany disciplinary applications of experiential learning in higher education. I think that only slight acquaintance with the history of education is needed to provethat educational reformers and innovators alone have felt the need for a philosophyof education. Those who adhered to the established system needed merely a few fine soundingwords to justify existing practices. The real work was done by habits whichwere…