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Kolb's learning styles inventory
Kolb's learning styles inventory
Kolb's learning styles inventory
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Learning How to Learn
There are four characteristics to Kolb’s learning style. They are divergers, convergers, accommodators and assimilators. Divergers are people whose strength lies in creative and imaginative ability. They excel in the ability to see concrete situations from many sides and to come up with a lot of ideas. Convergers are the opposite of divergers. Convergers use the practical application of ideas. They do best in a situation where there is one correct answer or solution and they can focus on same. Accommodators are good at carrying out plans and experiments. They also involve themselves in new experiences. They are risk takers and do well in situations that require quick decisions and adaptations. Assimilators are the opposite of accommodators. They have the ability to understand and create theories. Their learning style excels in inductive reasoning.
I think that I am a cross between an accommodator and a diverger. I tend to relate more, though, with the accommodator. I tok multiple tests on the web, and I scored high on concrete experience (CE) and active experimentation (AE). I also rated as a tactile or kinesthetic in other tests. These both carry remarkable characteristics that are very common to each other, and to me. I would totally have to agree with the tests, because both styles fit me perfectly.
There are good points and bad points to my learning characteristics. Once I was urethaning a bar, and the customer wanted a thicker finish on top. Instead of researching this, I applied several thick coats of urethane. It did not work. Urethane, when applied to thick, does not harden, but stays soft. I had to explain to the customer, show them the proper application, restrip the whole bar ...
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...e problem. It seems to come to me naturally. This benefits me tremendously in all of my lifes endeavors.
While the above characteristics work very well in my line of work, which I have proven, there is also a down side to it. I also match the characteristic which will cause me problems in class, unless I correct it. This is the taking of long tests or essays. I am terrible at this, and always have been. The solution to this problem is to apply another style of learning to this problem. I plan on applying the visual style the next time that I encounter this problem. Now that I know exactly what the problem is, I know that I can come to grips with it and apply the solution. When I follow through on with correcting this defect, it will have a tremendous impact on my life and business. There will be no limit as to the amount of success I will be able to achieve.
In Matthew Sanders, “Becoming a Learner: Realizing the Opportunity of Education,” he teaches the readers that there is much more to college than the basic material in which we learn. We should approach our college education with an optimistic view on learning both who we truly are, as well as the material for specific job skills. Matthew Sanders states, “I am suggesting that you be more concerned about who you are becoming as a learner rather than about the specific job skills you may be acquiring.” It is vital to our growth in our educational studies. There are so many opportunities that come our way during college.
I found Kolb's (1984) model of experiential learning a useful way to summarize the process if individual learning. The cycle begins when we each experience the world through our senses. Kolb calls this step ‘concreate experience', to indicate that he does not mean the various experiences we have through books or plays, but real-world experiences. Examples of concrete experience could be as varied as sitting through a boring meeting or suffering the distress of losing a job. Kolb suggest that to learn from our experiences we must engage in a second step of consistency reflecting on what has occurred. This step he calls ‘reflective observation'. We are able to reflect on much less than what occurred in the actual experience. Reflection is selective and influenced by our expectations. The third step in the learning cycle is making sense of what we have experience. In other words, ‘abstract conceptualization'. The final step in Kolb's model is ‘active experimentation'. At this step, we test out the meaning that we have constructed by taking action in the world – which then leads to new experiences. Kolb has shown that over time we tend to get more proficient at some steps of the process that at others, thus we develop a learning style preference. Kolb has noted all the steps are necessary, the smallest alteration to any of these steps can make the learning process less
David Kolb published his learning styles theory, in 1984, after many years of development. His theory stated that people learn in two different steps, inputting information and processing information. How people do this is also different. Think of inputting information on a vertical line, one person may prefer concrete examples at the top and abstract concepts at the bottom. Processing information is on a horizontal line with active experimentation on the left and reflective observation on the right.
Kolb’s learning cycle is used to break up the learning process into different stages, such as doing, reflecting, conceptualizing and experiencing (Kurian, 2013, p.162). The use of Kolb’s learning cycle (1984) has a wide impact on the advancements in learning. Within the four stages, the practitioner would have taken part in a task and would have noted down their observations. At this stage the practitioner would have begun to see the positives and negatives of the task that they have just carried out. From then on the practitioner will form new ideas from the observation notes. Later, being able to use these new ideas to plan their task effectively. Once the practitioner has implemented their task, for the second time with the new ideas. Kolb’s learning cycle (1984) begins again. However, Kolb’s model has been criticized due to the fact that it does not give a wide range of detail about the process of reflection, and lacks evidence. It can sometimes be seen as rigid and sequential (Trodd, 2012,
of personality. Those types were extrovert and introvert. However, I can relate to my style of
Learning is defined as a permanent change in attitude or behaviour that occurs as a result of repeated experience (Sims & Sims, 1995). Understanding one’s learning style has many advantages as it can help one to identify the learning method or activities that can help to optimise the learning experience. It has been suggested that the importance of one’s learning style has been identified through studies and research on how one can maximise the potential for success and further learning development (Honey & Mumford, 2006). Learning styles are unique to each individual and are developed in childhood (Chase, 2001). We all have different personalities; therefore we all have preferred learning styles that suit us best. The way one learns depends on preference. Some learn by observing, listening and imitating others and draw conclusions from their experience. There are several factors that affect our learning style; for example, background, culture, religion and environment can have a major influence on one’s learning.
I am responsible, in my job and life. As a maximizer, I focus on long-term goals and strive toward excellence. As a nurse, working in an environment of change, the strength of my personality allows me to adapt easily and figure out the best way to accomplish tasks (Strengths, 2012). I also took the DiSC Work of Leaders Profile to analyze my style. The results indicate I fall between Steadiness and Conscientiousness, leaning more towards Steadiness which gives me the style SC.
According to the authors (Entwistle & Ramsden, 1983), differences between approaches to learning concern the differences that what learners are focusing on, what they are trying to achieve and how they are going about it. In the deep approach, students intend to extract meaning and, thus, engage in an active process of learning that involves relating ideas and searching for patterns and principles (Entwistle, 2000). Furthermore, the deep approach is argued to promote understanding and long-term retention of ideas that could result in long-term and meaningful outcomes of higher education (Gibbs, Margon & Taylor, 1982; Marton et al., 1997; Marton et. al., 1993; Purdie & Hattie, 2002). On the other hand, in the surface approach, the students
The learning styles are not the only way learners can be categorized; there are individual learning types. Type one learner is imaginative, they like to feel and watch, they seek personal associations and need to find meaning as well as involvement. (McCarthy, B. & O’Neil-Blackwell, J, 2007, p.7). Type two learners like to listen and reflect about the information. They work through problems by thinking about ideas and listening to what the experts have to say. (McCarthy, B. & O’Neil-Blackwell, J, 2007, p.7). Type three learners are tinkerers and use common sense. They will think and do by experimenting, building and then creating something usable. (McCarthy, B. & O’Neil-Blackwell, J, 2007, p.7). Type four learners are dynamic; they do and feel by seeking hidden possibilities and exploring. Type four learners learn by trial and error or self-discovery. (McCarthy, B. & O’Neil-Blackwell, J, 2007, p.7)...
Skill acquisition refers to the method that athletes use to learn or advance a new skill. A skill can be distinct as an act or duty such as typing or sketching, or in the order of sport, catching, pitching, running and throwing. Pick up a bat that is light. As a learner, the lighter the bat, the better it is for you to learn. A trick to making the bat lighter to move your hands up on the bat an inch or two. It's actually intermittent to see somebody swing a bat that's too light.
Honey and Mumford say (Gallagher K., 2013, p. 23-24) that idyllically someone has a composed learning style, though some individuals have a robust preference for a particular style.
“A learning style is a way of learning and refers to the way that you learn new information” (2). Most people have one preferred learning style and perform to a lesser standard when learning in a different style than what they’re used to. Nowadays, children are told to take a quiz in school to determine what their preferred learning style is, but after a few years, not many of these children remember what their preferred learning style is, or even if they do, they don’t apply it to their learning.
Many people in history, as well as my mentors, have influenced my personal learning philosophy about early childhood learning.
Just as we are unique in our personality and characteristics, I believe that we also have a unique mixture of every learning type. No two people learn the exact same way and that’s what I find beautiful about learning. If we are labeled as just kinesthetic or just aural, we are limiting ourselves and our learning potential. While I struggle with reading a textbook, I love to read novels for enjoyment and learn from them. While I am not primarily a visual or aural learner, viewing a painting and listening to music are important ways to expand my knowledge. It makes more sense to look at and adapt our learning to each situation we encounter and use different learning techniques to assess situations. I find it vital that we fully understand each and every learning type not only to better understand ourselves and to grow in the areas we may be weaker in, but also to better understand our peers and the people we will encounter throughout our
Thought out our lives, we are faced with many different learning experiences. Some of these experiences have made a better impact than others. This can be attributed to everyone’s different multiple intelligences or learning styles. A persons learning style is the method though which they gain information about their environment. As a teacher, it is our responsibility to know these styles, so we can reach each of our students and use all of the necessary methods.