Kolb's Learning Cycle
In 1984, David A. Kolb, published a ground breaking book entitled Experiential Learning: experience as the source of learning and development (Englewood Cliffs, Prentice Hall, 1984). This book essentially exposed the principle that a person would learn through discovery and experience. The reason the theory is called "experiential" is its intellectual origins are taken from the experiential work of Lewin, Piaget, Dewey, Freire and James, forming a unique perspective on learning and development.
Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) provides a holistic model of the learning process and is a multi-linear model of adult development, both of which are consistent with what we know about how we naturally learn, grow, and develop. The theory is called "Experiential Learning" to emphasize the central role that experience plays in the learning process.
http://www2.le.ac.uk/departments/gradschool/training/eresources/teaching/theories/kolb