Kolb 's Cycle Of Experiential Learning

[3] Infed - (2010) David A. Kolb on experiential learning [Online] Available from: http://infed.org/mobi/david-a-kolb-on-experiential-learning/ [12/01/15]

How does the IBM Think video reflect the concepts of the process definition of leadership we are using in this course?

Another of my teaching methods delivered is by way of ‘on the job’ training which allows me to assess their progress, explore their knowledge and skill by observing and questioning their processes. This method of teaching falls in with Kolbs (1984) four stage experiential learning cycle.

From an early age I found learning hard and in my early educational years I

ii. Another important factor I must consider when identifying the needs of my learners is their learning process. A commonly used theory of learning process is that of Kolb (1984) who describes four different stages of the learning process as; Concrete experience, observation and reflection, abstract conceptualisation, and active experimentation. This theory particularly gained insight into the fact that greater understanding is achieved by learners when different and appropriate means are deployed to teach the same concept.

As an experiential cognitivist I delineate the process of learning through experience, and learning through

To do this, you always find other ways of doing things based on our must think of a particular moment in time, ponder over it, learning from previous experiences. We will go back through it and only then will you gain new insights into different aspects of that situation. According to Kolb Building up experience is a gradual process. The student (1984) reflecting is an essential element of learning. This is will develop reflective abilities during the course of their shown through an experiential learning cycle illustrated learning on placement.

David Kolb developed a learning theory that involves concrete concepts which learners process experience. Kolb’s theory is based on intentions that learning takes place through four linear cycles based on experience and the personal changes that occur throughout that experience. As Kolb (1984) states, “learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” (p. 38). Similar to other scholarly theories of learning, Kolb has many critics. I will discuss Kolb’s theory and summarize some of the critics to this theory. Also I will use Kolb’s theory and the critic’s comments to improve my approach to teaching.

Education benefits individual mentally, emotionally and physically by placing them in better place than they were previously before. Everybody would agree that learning something new would take place throughout the life. Learning style defined as "A term that describes the variations among learners in using one or more senses to understand, organize, and retain experience" (Reid, 1987, p. 89). Furthermore, Felder and Henriques (1995, p. 21) explained learning styles as "the ways in which an individual characteristically acquires, retains and retrieves information". However, different learners possess different characteristics and different preferred learning styles to perceive, process, take in and understand information.

Throughout this assignment, I will explore the theory behind Experiential Learning, specifically Kolb’s learning cycle and how this learning theory can impact the adult learner. Additionally, I will look at how I can include Experiential Learning strategy within the classroom, especially within the Royal Australian Navy (RAN). Finally, I will discuss my personal learning experiences and the link to Race’s seven factors to underpinning successful learning and how they consolidate with Experiential Learning (2010).

This paper will identify which of the Kolb learning styles best suits me and why I think so. It will also give some examples from my past and present to support these findings. After determining, the learning styles that best fit me and completing an inventory exercise, I have concluded that I learn best using audio and visual techniques in the learning process. I agree with everything this exercise has brought to light. I never knew that these styles were the meaning by which I learned. I have also included examples as to how I see the use and benefits of these learning styles in my career.

Although this limitation can become a barrier for the experiential learning theory Rogers’ developed, it is possible for this to overcome this with patience. As the main purpose of this theory is to allow personal growth within the student, we must note that personal growth appears differently for each individual learner. The role of the facilitator is to help engage all types of students in self-motivated learning to help them improve their overall growth from significant information.

Kolb’s experiential learning cycle is a theory that argues that we learn from our experiences of life on a daily basis. Cognitive ability is the way people learn and Kolb believed from an early age we begin to develop a sort of instinctive preference as to the way we process information and use it. Kolb (1984) believes that the process of learning follows a pattern or cycle. Kolb’s cycle is made up of 4 stages; the first stage is concrete experience and Kolb believes that life is full of loads of different experiences that everyone can learn from and whether you are at home, work, school or even out shopping that there was experiences everywhere within those sectors and that it was a way for us to start the learning cycle. The concrete experience is the doing stage, the stage where you have the experience. We then have stage two which is reflective observation, this stage involved looking back at our experiences and reflecting on them. Stage three is the abstract conceptualisation which is

In the reading Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development by David Kolb (1984), he proposed that learning is a cycle process in which individuals learn through their own experiences in life. This notion of the learning cycle in which he was influenced by the ideas of three other theorists (Piaget, Dewey, and Lewinian) called it Experiential Learning Theory. Kolb’s theory was based on how people learned by imputing information and processing the information. Within this two abilities, there are four steps in which Kolb’s believe the learning process occurs. The first one he calls “concrete experience”, in which one actually does the learning right then and now. The second one is “reflective observation” when the learner thinks about what they did as a reflection of the experience. The next step is the “abstract conceptualization”, where the learner makes a generalization of the experience. The last step is “active experimentation”, where the learner puts to practice his/her understanding and adapts to it. The learner does this by taking all the first three steps of the learning cycle and seeing the results (pg. 30). Learning is a process in which individuals learn through trial and error. This process can then be reused with our prior experience to strengthen the outcome of our first experience. It is shaped as a cycle in the way we process information cognitively. This is how I understood of the reading on Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory.

“Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” said David A. Kolb (1984, p.38).