Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (2nd Edition)

By David A. Kolb

Expe­ri­en­tial learn­ing is a pow­er­ful and proven approach to teach­ing and learn­ing that is based on one incon­tro­vert­ible real­i­ty: Peo­ple learn best through expe­ri­ence. Now, in this exten­sive­ly updat­ed book, David A. Kolb offers a sys­tem­at­ic and up-to-date state­ment of the the­o­ry of expe­ri­en­tial learn­ing and its mod­ern appli­ca­tions to edu­ca­tion, work and adult development.

Expe­ri­en­tial Learn­ing, Sec­ond Edi­tion builds on the intel­lec­tu­al ori­gins of expe­ri­en­tial learn­ing as defined by fig­ures such as John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, Jean Piaget and L.S. Vygot­sky, while also reflect­ing three full decades of research and prac­tice since the clas­sic first edition.

Kolb mod­els the under­ly­ing struc­tures of the learn­ing process based on the lat­est insights in psy­chol­o­gy, phi­los­o­phy and phys­i­ol­o­gy. Build­ing on his com­pre­hen­sive struc­tur­al mod­el, he offers an excep­tion­al­ly use­ful typol­o­gy of indi­vid­ual learn­ing styles and cor­re­spond­ing struc­tures of knowl­edge in dif­fer­ent aca­d­e­m­ic dis­ci­plines and careers. Kolb also applies expe­ri­en­tial learn­ing to high­er edu­ca­tion and life­long learn­ing, espe­cial­ly with regard to adult education.

“David A. Kolb’s work is inspir­ing, com­pre­hen­sive, and holis­tic. In this sem­i­nal work, Dr. Kolb unfolds the com­plete the­o­ry of learn­ing and devel­op­ment, allow­ing the read­er to grasp all the con­cepts step-by-step to devel­op a deep under­stand­ing of the the­o­ry and its appli­ca­tion. This recent edi­tion pro­vides recent updates and reflec­tions to every chap­ter. Every stu­dent of Expe­ri­en­tial Learn­ing will want to put this at the top of a read­ing list.”
- Kay Peter­son, founder and CEO of the Insti­tute of Expe­ri­en­tial Learning