Psychology | Robs Place

Do you want to learn more faster? Well you need to determine your learning style. Here’s how ….

learning-cycle

An interesting post over on Zen Habits prompted me to dig out my occupational psychology notes, specifically those to do with effective learning.

Leo is an advocate of the “just do it approach”, but that may not always be appropraite.

Consider, for example, the David Kolb model based on Experiential Learning Theory, as explained in his book Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development

Our learning style is a based on your preferences in approaching a task and how you respond to the experence.

So do you prefer gaining new information by thinking, analyzing, or planning (‘abstract conceptualization’ – ‘thinking‘) or through experiencing the ‘concrete, tangible, felt qualities of the world’ (‘concrete experience’ – ‘feeling’)?

Then do you prefer to watch others involved in the experience and reflecting on what happens (‘reflective observation’ – ‘watching’) or just ‘jump straight in’ and just doing it (‘active experimentation’ – ‘doing’)?

According to Kolb’s model, the ideal learning process engages all four of these modes in response to situational demands. For learning to be effective, all four of these approaches must be incorporated.

As individuals attempt to use all four approaches, however, they tend to develop strengths in one experience-grasping approach and one experience-transforming approach.

The resulting learning styles are combinations of the individual’s preferred approaches. This adds additional dimensions to the basic cycle presented:

learningcycle

Learning Styles

These learning styles are as follows:

Converger;
Diverger;
Assimilator;
Accomodator;

Convergers are characterized by abstract conceptualization and active experimentation. They are good at making practical applications of ideas and using deductive reasoning to solve problem
Divergers tend toward concrete experience and reflective observation. They are imaginative and are good at coming up with ideas and seeing things from different perspectives
Assimilators are characterized by abstract conceptualization and reflective observation. They are capable of creating theoretical models by means of inductive reasoning
Accommodators use concrete experience and active experimentation. They are good at actively engaging with the world and actually doing things instead of merely reading about and studying them^.

Strengths and Weaknesses

Diverger

Strengths

imaginative thinker
uses own experience
looks at situations from many different perspectives
brings coherence to a mass of information
sees relationships between things, grasps the whole picture
wide-ranging interests
good at listening and sharing
likes to get involved in the experience/information directly and then reflect on it
enjoys brainstorming and generation of ideas/altematives
likes social interaction/discussion/group work
aware of people’s feelings
wants to see the whole picture before examining the parts