From the process of learning some educationalists tried to
identify the ways in which different people learn. These they called learning
styles of people.
Honey and Mumford (1982-cited Dennison, 1990:24)) identified
these as activists, reflectors, theorists and pragmatists.
Activists
Individuals who use this learning style involve themselves
in the new experience without any bias. These people are open-minded and happy
to face the challenge of the new experience. As they are not sceptical, they
tend to be enthusiastic about new concepts. Their outlook is open and they
believe in trying anything once. They throw themselves wholeheartedly into the
new experience and revel in short term crisis. They generally tackle any
problem by brainstorming. They move on from one activity once the excitement
has died out and so they are easily bored if involved with long term work. They
tend to be extroverts and are constantly involving themselves with others,
often being the centre of all activities.
Reflectors
These individuals like to stand back and contemplate about
the new experience from different angles. They will gather all relevant
information and reflect over it before reaching any decision, which means they
delay definitive conclusion for as long as possible. They are cautious and so
leave no stone unturned. They are thoughtful, preferring to weigh the pros and
cons of any issue before reaching any conclusion. This means they generally
take a back seat in any discussion and spend time in observing others and
listening to them. Though they adopt a low profile, they will take into account
the past, present and give importance to everybody's views, when they act.
Theorists
Individuals using this style will adapt and integrate their
observation into complex yet logically sound theories. They do so by using
logic and working through a problem step by step. They can assimilate different
facts into understandable theories by analysing and synthesising the
information. They are perfectionists with a philosophy of rationality and logic
underpinning all their actions. They will be detached, analytical, objective
and dedicated, which makes them keen about basic assumption, principles,
theories, models and systems thinking. They will reject anything that does not
fit into their logical outlook. This makes them uncomfortable when dealing with
subjective or ambiguous judgments and lateral thinking.
Pragmatists
These types of individuals like to try out new ideas to see
if they will work in practice. They are keen to do this by actively searching
out new ideas. They will attend courses and return full of enthusiasm to try
out the new ideas. They will act quickly and confidently on ideas that are
attractive to them. The tendency is to get on with things, which makes them
impatient with long-winded discussions. They are practical people who enjoy the
challenge of problem solving and decision making.
The individual learning styles which emerge from the Kolb's
learning process are diverger, assimilator, converger and accommodater.
Diverger
These individuals learn by observing and doing. They have
the ability to view the concrete situation in a number of different ways. They
perform well in situations which require brainstorming. They are people with
broad interests and enjoy dealing with people. Thus their strength lies in
their imaginative ability, which enables them to see different perspectives and
develop new ideas.
Assimilators
These individuals are logical and use reasoning to create
sound theories, but they are not concerned about its practicalities. They
perform best when asked to analyse facts of abstract concepts to produce some
explanations. Thus their strength is their ability to create theoretical models
by assimilation of various observations. But they are not interested in the application
of the theories they create. Thus they learn by observing and thinking.
Converger
These individuals focus their knowledge on specific problems
by hypothetical reasoning. They use their thinking and planning abilities.
These people give best performance when the problem has a single correct
solution. Their technical interests are limited but they prefer to deal with
things instead to people. Thus their strength lies in their ability to use the
theories in conjunction with their powers of deduction to arrive at the correct
solution.
Accommodator
These individuals learn by planning and doing. They are the
risk takers but still have a practical approach to the problem solving process.
They are highly adaptable to specific and immediate problems. If the theory
does not fit the information they have it will be discarded. They are action
orientated and so may be viewed by others as being pushy and impatient. Thus
their strength lies in their ability to do things, carry out plans and involve
themselves in new experiences.
Generally individuals in this category are innovators to
some extent.
Summary
Honey’s & Mumford’s classification provides a tool for
teaching, it offers further information which can influence approaches to
learning and teaching. Comparison of the two classifications indicates that
learning styles are comparable. The interpretation of these authors’ proposal
on learning styles is that each type of learner, learning necessitates the
involvement of psycho-motor skills, cognitive changes and environment which is
suitable to the individual. Once the individuals’ perception and behaviour are
modified by these experiences, within a learning situation, then learning
usually proceeds by means of a combination of these elements.
Read ‘Understanding
Your Learning Style’ which discusses the Learning Styles with Honey and
Mumford’s being central to the discussion. This work also give you tips of how
to enhance learning in each learning style.
Now you can go to the following website and look at another
questionnaire about learning style and find out your style of learning -
Some resources from Youtube on learning styles:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cX0teReijUk&feature=related
(good explanation of VARK and strategies to learn in relation to each style.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2stVs4mjbsU&feature=related
(movie about multiple intelligence – visual of what each type is)
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