Career Goals & Learning Plan Paper (1,500 words) - Essay Example

I agree with the ideas given by them because I have observed the working of these theories in my own education. Kolb (1983) presented his theory about learning styles by basing the process of learning on an individual’s personal experiences. In fact, the theory of learning as presented by him is called the experiential learning theory which has a set of learning styles that can be useful for everyone. The theory is based on other psychological theories that were given by older prominent psychologists such as Piaget and Jung and it says that there are four distinct learning styles which are derived from a four state learning cycle.

This learning cycle starts with direct experiences that create private observations and reflections for the learner. I personally prefer this learning style since it supports the interpersonal approach which is useful for me. The observations I make in class or in working experience can be used by me for the creation of theoretical concepts that create new ideas and allow me to learn new concepts that can be evaluated to create new experiences. The four stages of learning for me therefore become (1) experience, (2) reflection and observation, (3) abstract conceptualization and (4) active experimentation.

As I found while taking the personal assessment and as suggested by Kolb I would go through all four stages during the learning process before a concept is completely internalized but Kolb discovered that many people prefer to use a combination of two elements listed above. These combinations become the four different types of learning styles which Kolb mentions as Diverging, Assimilating, Converging and Accommodating. Each style has two primary processes which underlie the learning that takes place and these have been described as: Of course a deeper account of these learning styles becomes essential if we are to