According to Kolb's learning cycle, the movement from one of these learning activities to the next is crucial to the success of the learning experience. Two activities must precede negotiation of the learning contract: the learner's adequate preparation and the learner's self-audit, or self assessment, of his or her learning needs. The learner's preparation involves the definition of the learning objectives, an understanding of how to move through the learning cycle, and a readiness to take respond sensibility and initiative for the negotiation of the contract. Once the assessment has been made and learning needs have been defined, the con tract can be negotiated. As Pearl, Roderick, and Mulroney (1995) pointed out, the elements of the contract have to be made explicit, and the role of the supervisor or trainer is to clarify the needs of the learner and to support him or her in developing an action plan and a realistic time frame. Before categorizing this tool, we turn to examine another one from the action- learning toolbox.