The quality of student learning is a subject of considerable attention in higher education institutions around the world. One emerging pedagogy that addresses this issue for both higher education and the professional workplace is action learning. One concern, however, is that the definitions and conceptions of action learning vary widely. The author provides an in-depth examination of the term and its connections with other interrelated themes and constructs. She explores the relationship between action learning and action research, active learning and active practice, experiential learning, academic service-learning, and community-based research. (Contains 2 figures.)