People Learn in Different Ways - Essay Example

"People learn in different ways" In the world today every individual has his own chosen path which he follows. Everything one individual points as to what his chosen path is and how is he behaving according to it. Thus every individual possesses the power to learn and implement accordingly. Different theories have evolved over these centuries which describe how people tend to learn. Many of these theories differ from each other and this shows that people tend to learn from different techniques in ways. One important individual who gave different ways of learning is David A. Kolb. However in the recent years the ways of learning given by Kolb have been amended and put into different forms. This essay would further analyze the different ways of learning in the light of the basic tool of Kolb. According to David A. Kolb individuals learn through four different styles. The styles followed by individuals are in accordance to the behavior exhibited by the individual. These four learning techniques not only apply to objective instances but also to practical ones. It helps to decide and take decisions accordingly in businesses and while leading. The learning ways given by Kolb have changed through out to give a better understanding to the learners. These can be divided into Activist, Reflective, Theorist and Pragmatist. People who tend to work out their role through experimentation are included in the group of Activists. Individuals in this group tend to play an active function to attain knowledge and produce effective results in accordance. As experimentation is the basis of this group it makes the individuals change the whole scenario of a certain theme. It can be said to be a disadvantage if used in an environment where theories and structure play a role. The main key to this type of learning is getting influence from others and then taking an action accordingly. Similarly this learning style can be an advantage if used at a place where individuals are more goal oriented. This learning technique can be made stronger if facts are used instead of direct experimentation. One can think properly before carrying out a certain step and this can make this learning style a perfect one. Furthermore this style is only welcomed at places where experimentation is recommended. Team work is usually preferred in this type of learning technique as it would help the individual to take influence from others and work accordingly. Another learning way as described by Kolb is Reflective. In this type of learning one does not act or implement his thinking in the way it should be. He rather thinks and observes all the things thoughtfully for a long time. Clearing up of ideas and concepts is the basic theme in this type of learning. One is discouraged from carrying on the experimentation stage rather he is diverted towards learning and balancing concepts. In this type of learning one can evaluate a situation from all possible angles and can know better how it should be implemented in practice. However mostly they do not tend to carry out the experiments related to the concepts learned and assessed. These individuals tend to work in groups and are more diverted towards the field of arts. The third way of learning is known to be Theorist which deals with the individuals who tend to gather out facts arrange it and conclude accordingly. These types of individuals do not take into account the emotions and reality but rather base their conclusions on theories. The practicalities of different situations are not taken into account by this type of learning individuals. These individuals are more diverted to abstract thoughts and do not pay heed to human factor i.e. the emotional factor. Most of the individuals who belong to this category may not do well in instances where the techniques are to be related to the humans or to the feelings of these human beings. Most of the people belonging to this group are more indulged in the field of science. The fourth and the last way of learning is known as Pragmatist. The learning aspect is the exact opposite of theorist. It can be said to be a learning way which applies more practical theories to itself rather than the theoretical ones. As described by Drew and Bingham "Concrete experience: where learning from feelings or reactions to experience influence your learning"(Henke, Harold,1996 2001). It is based on practical realities of life which help the individual to act accordingly. An individual in this type of learning category tends to apply more practical solutions and new ideas to different aspects. The practical knowledge exhibited by them is gained usually through experience and this experience teaches them to follow their practical knowledge abilities. Furthermore, if this type of learning aspect if amalgamated with the theorist learning style would form a perfect learning style.It can be said that these individuals are quite successful in solving a particular task if they have prior practical knowledge of these similar tasks. People who are in this category are keen to work on tasks which are related to their practical knowledge. However the four ways of learning can be said not to be accurate as one way of learning does not describe an individual fully. Rather different categories of learning are found in each and every individual. Usually individuals who have two of these learning aspects may be more successful to achieve tasks. For e.g. a person who has pragmatic and reflective approach will both qualify the needs of academic and technical achievements. Almost all of the individuals have their own type of learning capabilities. Though all have their own approach to follow the learning aspect, but altogether it can be said that the four types of learning strategies are followed upon by everyone. Some follow a single learning strategy while some follow both of them. The styles of learning however depict different approaches adopted by different people to achieve the tasks. Furthermore, these approaches are very important to take important decisions in academic and other departments. References Mabey, Christopher, and Paul Iles. Managing Learning. London: Routledge in association with the Open University, 1994. Henke, Harold (1996, 2001) Learning Theory: Applying Kolb's Learning Style Inventory with Computer Based Training. Read More