Three current approaches to the investigation of active learning and a study of two designs of a field-based graduate course are considered. The first approach, by Lenore Borzak and Barbara Hursh (1977, 1979), centers around the study of students' cognitive development and changes in self-perception stemming from experiential learning. Another thrust, taken by Allen Tough (1978, 1979), focuses on the exploration of strategies and processes that adults employ in designing and carrying out active learning programs of their own choosing. David Kolb (1981, 1976), in a third perspective, deals with an investigation of individual learning styles and their interrelationships within a theory of experiential learning. The study concerned students' perceptions of their learning experiences in regard to two internship models of the College of Education of The Cleveland State University. An original internship model of the masters degree program in postsecondary educational instruction, administration, and counseling was compared to a revised internship model designed to help learners develop self-directed learning skills (Tough), to enable them to experience benefits of decentering and reciprocity (Borzak and Hursh), and to encourage them to utilize a variety of learning styles (Kolb). Twenty-three students from the original internship program version, and 20 from the redesigned course responded were administered questionnaires. The findings, while not always consistent with conceptual expectations, revealed provocative relationships among theories of active learning. (SW)