A Dissection of Experiential Learning Theory: Alternative Approaches to Reflection

The concept of reflection is central to theories of experiential learning common in the field of adult education. In this article, we expand upon the work of Michelson on the dualistic split between experience and knowing inherent in the field’s most common conceptualizations of reflection. We develop alternative approaches to reflection drawing from feminist standpoint theory and theories of embodied knowing. We identify and discuss how each alternative approach points to different positioning of the concept of reflection in experiential learning. We highlight how the alternative positioning of reflection in experiential learning relates to adult education practice through narrative building and the recognition of prior learning. We also identify what we believe are implications of our reconceptualization of reflection for theories of adult learning.