BENEFITS OF LEARNING AND Kolb’s LEARNING CYCLE FOR ORGANIZATIONAL PERFORMANCE

 

Kolb’s Learning Model…

Learning is a process, not a one time event, and Kolb's Model helps us to break that process down. One of the most influential models was proposed by David Kolb ,the Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) in 1984. It is still seen as one of the most widely used learning styles model. ELT is based on the assumption that people learn by doing or from direct experience. Not all writers agree with Kolb's theory. Rogers, for example points out that "learning includes goals, purposes, intentions, choice and decision-making, and it is not at all clear where these elements fit into the learning cycle." (Rogers, 1996) Habermas has also proposed that there are at least three kinds of learning and that we have different learning styles for each. (Rogers,1996)

 

Importance of experiential learning

1. Orientation - Students become familiar with the subject matter through experience (real world) and reflection.

2. Cognitive Processing - Students actively engage in the material through hands-on activities.

3. Retrieval - Students recall the content through memory and repetition.

4. Consolidation - Students integrate the new information into long term memory.

5. Motivation & Evaluation - Students evaluate whether the activity was worthwhile.

6. Integration - Students synthesize the new information into existing knowledge.

7. Application - Students apply the new information to solve problems.

8. Exploration - Students continue to explore the topic further

 

Kolb’s Learning Style

In addition to the experiential Learning cycle, David Kolb also developed learning styles to illustrate different ways people naturally take in information.

Kolb’s four learning styles are Diverging (feeling and watching), Assimilating (watching and thinking), Converging (doing and thinking), and Accommodating (doing and feeling). In Kolb’s theory, people tend to favor one of these four distinct styles, impacting how they learn.

Stages of Kolb's Experiential Learning Cycle?

1. 
   Concrete Experience - At this stage, the learner shows personal involvement with others in everyday situations. In concrete situations, learner tends to depend more on feelings, open-mindedness, and adaptivity to change, rather than on a systematic approach to situations and problems.
2. Reflective Observation - At this stage, learners understand situations and ideas from different points of view. They depend on objectivity, patience, and careful judgment but do not essentially take any action. The learners create an opinion on basis of their feelings and thoughts.
3. Abstract Conceptualization - At this stage, learners use ideas, logical approaches, and theories, rather than interpersonal issues or feelings, to understand situations or problems. In most cases, they depend on systematic planning and building ideas and theories to solve practical issues and problems.
4. Active Experimentation - At an active stage, the learners show an active learning experience by experimenting with different situations. At the active experimentation stage, the learners take a practical approach, rather than simply observing a situation.

 

Application of Kolb’s Model

So, how does Kolb’s model help companies improve their learning? First, it gives you a proven framework for architecting effective experiences that take learners through every stage of the learning process. It also helps you avoid a “one-and-done” approach to learning. Because people rarely learn something after a single exposure, Kolb’s model helps companies adopt a more process-focused approach. A constant cycle of learning opportunities for your team members is what will make them, and by proxy the organization, the most successful.

Conclusion

While we deeply value David Kolb’s contribution to learning and the experiential learning cycle, we take a different stand on learning styles: we don’t believe that people only learn in these four ways. In contrast to Kolb, we believe all learners benefit from engaging with learning in multiple ways, and the best way to learn something is to have a holistic, well-rounded learning experience.  These models may positively impact to organizational performance.

References

Armstrong, P. & McDaniel, E. (1986). Relationships between learning styles and performance on problem-solving tasks. Psychological Reports, 59, 1135–1138.

 

Brookfield, S. (1990). The Skillful Teacher. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass

 

Freedman, R.D. & Stumpf, S.A. (1980). Learning style theory: Less than meets the eye. The Academy of Management Review, 5(3), 445–447.

 

Peters, J., Jarvis, P., et al. (1991). Adult Education. San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Rogers, A. (1996). Teaching Adults (2nd ed.). Buckingham: Open University Press.