What is Experiential Learning?

Experiential learning is learning based on direct experience. What makes something an experience is that it is a psychological state generated by sensation or introspection (rather than by intuition or reason). What makes an experience direct is that it is not mediated by a linguistic or pictorial representation of something experienced (as in the case of books or photographs). What makes a direct experience a source of learning is that the person who has had the experience engages in active reflection on the experience in such a way as to acquire understanding or knowledge on the basis of the experience.