Workplace Learning And How Adults Learn (Part 2)
Script for
Chapter 13. WORKPLACE LEARNING AND HOW ADULTS LEARN (PART 2)
Let us first understand the objectives of the session
OBJECTIVES
● To understand learning strategies and styles
● To understand Kolb’s Learning Style in detail
● To Understand what is meant by perceptual preferences ?
AND
● Kolb’s Learning style questionnaire and its analysis
INTRODUCTION
Today’s organizations worldwide are faced with many new challenges in business. Leaders
must learn new strategies, competencies and skills in order to lead organizations successfully
in this new age (Collins & Holton III, 2003; Kotter, 1988; Sherlock 2002; Bennis & Nanus,
1985; Senge, 1990).
Learning is often defined as a permanent change in behavior or as knowledge acquired by
study. Creating a learning culture is imperative in today’s economy. In the workplace, such a
culture begins with corporate training and education at colleges, technical schools and
universities. Many government-sponsored programs require employee training to promote
safety, growth and development.
Adult learning must begin with a basic understanding of ways that adults learn. Once again,
we hope you see the connection: organizations need to learn how to adapt effectively to the
changing environment. Individual members of the organizations need to develop needed
competencies so that their organizations can adapt. When the trainers identify the training
needs, they move on to deciding the content to be presented to the trainees. For desired learning
to occur at the end of the trainees, the methods used by the trainer also should be effective.
Organizations are complex systems. One method doesn’t work for all.
HRD : Systems & Strategies /MOOC-2021/B.K School of Professional and Management Studies/Gujarat
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Workplace Learning And How Adults Learn (Part 2)
For instance, Even though the literature asserts that the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) plays a
key role in the success of the organization, few studies have concentrated on understanding
how the CEOs learn (Sherlock, 2002; Bennus & Nanus, 1985). Many studies have focused on
how senior executives learn, but few studies have focused exclusively on how the Chief
Executive Officers learns (CEO) (Collins and Holton III, 2003; Sherlock, 2002). “This lack of
understanding of how CEOs learn has negative workplace implications for both CEOs and the
organizations they serve.”
It is important to understand how different people learn, so that an appropriate method can be
selected for the desired learning to occur. You perhaps already know that we do not learn the
same way. Different people have different styles of learning. Learning strategy will have to be
different depending on one’s learning style.
Learning Strategies and Styles
A perspective on the learning process and how to maximize learning examines, to what people
do, when they learn. Learning styles and strategies can be important in determining learning
outcomes.
Kolb’s learning styles
David Kolb, a leading theorist on experiential learning, stated that the learning process is not
the same for all people. Because of the complex nature of the learning process, there are
opportunities for individuals’ differences and preferences to emerge. A learning style
represents how an individual choice made during the learning process affects the information
selected and how it is processed. Kolb illustrates the notion of learning styles by observing how
people learn to play pool game:
Some people just step up and hit the ball without bothering to look carefully as where their shot
went unless it went in the pocket. Others seem to go through a great deal of analysis and
measurement but seem a bit hesitant on the execution. Thus, there seem to be distinctive styles
or strategies for learning and playing the game.
HRD : Systems & Strategies /MOOC-2021/B.K School of Professional and Management Studies/Gujarat
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Workplace Learning And How Adults Learn (Part 2)
Differences in learning styles can explain why some individuals are more comfortable and
successful with some training approaches (e.g., role playing, lectures, and videotapes) than
others. Similarly, learning style differences among trainers can also contribute to their
preferences for certain training approaches over others. Kolb theorizes that an individual’s
learning style is based on that person’s preferred modes of learning. A mode of learning is the
individual’s orientation toward gathering and processing information during learning.
Kolb identified four orientations: forming two axes. On axis X, he placed active
experimentation and reflective observation. This axis is known as ‘the processing continuum’.
On the Y Axis, he placed concrete experience and abstract conceptualization. This axis is
known as ‘the perception continuum’. The processing continuum shows how the person
approaches the task, while the perception continuum shows how the person thinks or feels
about it.
The four basic modes of experiential learning are:
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Workplace Learning And How Adults Learn (Part 2)
1. Concrete Experience (CE) An intuitive preference for learning through direct
experience, emphasizing interpersonal relations and feeling as opposed to thinking. For
example, someone using this mode to learn about job politics would personally use
various political tactics in different group situations to get a sense of how each one
feels, while also gauging others’ responses during each interaction.
2. Abstract Conceptualization (AC) A preference for learning by thinking about an issue
in theoretical terms. For example, a person using this mode to learn about job politics
would analyze political tactics and their implications, perhaps consulting or
constructing a model that includes abstract representations of the components of
political activities.
3. Reflective Observation (RO) A preference to learn by watching and examining
different points of view to achieve an understanding. For example, people using the RO
mode to learn about job politics would most likely observe others involved in political
activities and reflect on what they have seen from a variety of perspectives.
4. Active Experimentation (AE) A preference for learning something by actually doing
it and judging its practical value. For example, someone using this mode to learn about
job politics might experiment with various political tactics, determining their
effectiveness by the amount of influence they had on other people.
Kolb argues that an individual’s learning style often combines two modes of learning, such as
abstract conceptualization and active experimentation (thinking and doing). Each learning
style emphasizes some learning abilities and de-emphasizes others. Both on his own work and
the work of earlier theorists (including Lewin, Dewey, and Piaget), Kolb identified four
learning styles:
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Workplace Learning And How Adults Learn (Part 2)
1. Divergent: A combination of concrete experience and reflective observation (feeling and
watching), emphasizing imagination, an awareness of values, and the ability to generate
alternative courses of action.
2. Assimilation: A combination of abstract conceptualization and reflective observation
(thinking and watching) that stresses inductive reasoning, the integration of disparate
observations into an explanation, and the creation of theoretical models.
3. Convergent A combination of abstract conceptualization and active experimentation
(thinking and doing), with a focus on problem solving, decision making, and the practical
application of ideas.
4. Accommodative A combination of concrete experience and active experimentation (feeling
and doing), this style is usually demonstrated by accomplishment, expecting plans, and
involvement in new experiences.
Kolb developed a questionnaire called the Learning Style Inventory (LSI). The LSI, currently
marketed by the Hay Group (Hay Resources Direct), assesses an individual’s orientation
towards the four modes of the learning process (CE, RO, AC, and AE). Scores also reflect the
HRD : Systems & Strategies /MOOC-2021/B.K School of Professional and Management Studies/Gujarat
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Workplace Learning And How Adults Learn (Part 2)
individual’s tendencies toward abstractness over concreteness and action over reflection. If you
wish, you can find out what is your learning style by responding to the questionnaire at the
following link:
[Link]
Kolb’s theory and LSI can help HRD professionals/supervisors, and employees identify and
appreciate different approaches to learning. As a result, interventions can be tailored to
individual learner preferences in both traditional HRD programs and in those using
computerized instruction.
Learning Strategies
Similar to Kolb’s modes of learning, learning strategies represent the “behavior and thoughts
a learner engages in during learning.” Learning strategies are the techniques the learners use to
rehearse, elaborate, organize, and/or comprehend new material as well as to influence self-
motivation and feelings.
Learning Strategies can be Grouped into Various Categories:
1. Rehearsal strategies (e.g., repeating items in a list; underlining text in an article;
copying notes)
2. Elaboration strategies (e.g., forming a mental image; taking notes, paraphrasing, or
summarizing new material)
3. Organizational strategies (e.g., grouping or ordering information to be learned;
outlining an article; creating a hierarchy of material)
4. Comprehension monitoring strategies (e.g., self-questioning)
5. Affective strategies (increasing alertness; relaxation; finding ways to reduce test
anxiety)
HRD efforts have applied learning strategies in learning-to-learn programs, which seek to
provide learners with the skills necessary to learn effectively in any learning situation.
HRD : Systems & Strategies /MOOC-2021/B.K School of Professional and Management Studies/Gujarat
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Workplace Learning And How Adults Learn (Part 2)
Given the dynamic nature of organizations and the environment, there is now a greater pressure
on individuals to learn throughout their lives. Learning-to-learn programs are aimed at
enhancing the learning process and making individuals more independent. The programs
emphasize selecting those learning strategies needed to cope effectively with the nature of the
material and the demands of the learning situation.
Clearly, if employees can acquire and become skilled in applying a variety of learning
strategies, they are likely to benefit more from both formal learning opportunities (such as
training programs) as well as informal ones (such as a problem-solving meeting).
Perceptual Preferences
Just as individuals have preferences for the types of information they seek out in learning
situations and how they processes it, they also have preferences for the sensory channels they
use to acquire information.
For example, someone who asks you for directions may request that you write the directions
out, draw a map, explain them verbally, or use some combination of these three.
Wayne James and Michael Galbraith proposed seven primary perceptual preferences:
1. Print (reading and writing)
2. Visual (such as graphs and charts)
3. Aural (auditory, e.g., listening)
4. Interactive (discussing, asking questions)
5. Tactile/ manipulative (hands-on approaches, such as touching)
6. Kinesthetic/ psychomotor (role playing, physical activities)
7. Olfactory (association of ideas with smell or taste)
Perceptual preferences imply that trainers should, if possible, tailor their material and
techniques to match trainee preferences. Training was provided either by a lecture or by a
hands-on, simulation approach. Trainees with auditory preferences learn substantially more
when taught via lecture, whereas those with kinesthetic preference learn substantially more
when taught via the hands-on approach. The reverse was also true, when preferences and
training method were mismatched, when training achievement and trainee attitudes were
significantly lower. Another implication of the research on perceptual preference is that it
HRD : Systems & Strategies /MOOC-2021/B.K School of Professional and Management Studies/Gujarat
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Workplace Learning And How Adults Learn (Part 2)
would be desirable to train learners to increase their learning efficiencies by taking advantage
of multiple perceptual channels.
Gagne and his colleagues state that successful performance on any given task requires learning
in one or more of these categories. The summary of this work is given in box.
According to Gagne, these five categories are important, first as human performances, second,
because the requirements for their learning are different despite the pervasiveness of such
general conditions as contiguity and reinforcement, and third because the effects of learning,
the continued learning, appear also to differ from each other. The events listed in the left-hand
column of the Box are the nine steps, or instructional events, that should be used in instructional
design. Corresponding entries in the Box list the actions that should be taken to implement each
of these steps for each of the five categories of learning outcomes.
Gagne’s theory provides a rich source of ideas for HRD professionals looking for ways to
enhance the effectiveness of their training programs. It has been cited as a “training classic”
that helped “to turn the free-form art of instruction into something more reliable.”
HRD : Systems & Strategies /MOOC-2021/B.K School of Professional and Management Studies/Gujarat
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Workplace Learning And How Adults Learn (Part 2)
HRD : Systems & Strategies /MOOC-2021/B.K School of Professional and Management Studies/Gujarat
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Workplace Learning And How Adults Learn (Part 2)
Let us now understand this session better with a help of an actual score of a person who
responded to the Kolb’s learning style questionnaire.
The person who responded, had the following score:
Active Reflective Abstract Concrete
Experimentation Observation Conceptualization Experience
13 14 15 9
If you were the HRD manager thinking about learning styles and preferences, what would you
infer from these scores? Here are a few points:
The first thing to observe is that this person has high scores on active experimentation,
reflective observation, abstract conceptualization. The highest score is 15 for Abstract
Conceptualization. The other two styles, namely ‘Reflector’ and ‘Activist’ are not far behind
at 14 and 13 respectively. If this was a person in a key position in your organization, like we
mentioned earlier - a CEO, his or her learning would be crucial for the organization. If this
person needed a training or development program, how would you design it and what methods
would you consider?
HRD : Systems & Strategies /MOOC-2021/B.K School of Professional and Management Studies/Gujarat
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Workplace Learning And How Adults Learn (Part 2)
If you go back to Kolb’s description of learning preferences associated with the modes, then
most of this person’s learning occurs in the area between abstract conceptualization and
reflective observation, the learning style is ‘Assimilative’.
Going back to Kolb’s explanation, we understand that the Assimilating type is a concise, logical
approach. Ideas and concepts are more important to such persons, than people. Assimilating
people require clear explanation rather than a practical example. People with this style are more
attracted to logically sound theories than approaches based on practical value. In formal
learning situations, people with this style prefer readings, lectures, exploring analytical models,
and having time to think things through.
The second thing we learn about this candidate is that they also have a second learning style
which also comes very close in terms of strength to the Assimilative Style. This second style
is Converging style, if you go back to Kolb’s description.
Similar to the first style, the persons who have this style place tasks ahead of people and
interpersonal considerations. However, differing from the assimilating style, here the
preference is for problem-solving and practical use of ideas and theories.
If you wish to facilitate such a person’s learning, what methods will you use? Clearly, more
than concrete experience, this person would prefer to read, listerm discuss and think. Watching,
thinking, and doing are the major considerations for this person. If you are designing a
development program for such persons who are assimilative and converging, then you should
provide enough time for them to think, reflect, explore different and related issues and make
abstract conceptualizations. Next, you should structure activities that allow brainstorming,
collection of information, and see different perspectives.
Depending on the requirement of the job, you may also take a serious note of the fact that for
this person, processing of feelings does not feature prominently. While one approach definitely
is to focus on the current learning style and preferences, there is also a question whether the
person falls short in dealing with the feeling aspect of personality.
Anyways, that is not the focus of this course, so we will stop here. If you have any ideas,
questions, or comments, please join the online forum.
HRD : Systems & Strategies /MOOC-2021/B.K School of Professional and Management Studies/Gujarat
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Workplace Learning And How Adults Learn (Part 2)
Let us now summarise the session in brief
SUMMARY
● If teaching is about helping others learn, then we ought to understand the learning process
of adults -people who, like us, have spent many years in schools, many years in society,
and in some cases, many years working in business.
● Whether for children or adults, learning theories abound.
● Kolb’s theory is that all people learn in the characteristic four- step pattern
● First, a person has an experience.
● Then, he or she reflects on that experience, analyzing it and trying to make sense of it
before attempting to fit the experience into a broader conceptual framework of the
world.
● This latter involves fitting the sense of the experience into an individual’s collection of
theories about how the world operates.
● Once he or she has done that in effect, formed a hypothesis about how things work the
person tries it out, and this experimentation, in turn, leads to another experience from
which he or she can retreat and reflect.
● Kolb’s notion is that this four-step cycle goes on in our lives many times a day and that
reinforcing cycles add to larger structures of beliefs or hypotheses that we carry with
us throughout our lives.
● Kolb also notes that, over time, people begin to favor some of the steps more than others.
Some people, for instance, might become more comfortable with experimenting with
things (Active Experimentation), while others become more comfortable
conceptualizing how an experience might fit into a bigger view of how things in life
work (Reflective Observation).
● Thus, people develop characteristic learning styles or patterns, which Kolb reasoned can
be measured.
● In the end, we understood how Kolb’s learning style questionnaire can be helpful in
designing HRD programs/intervention depending on the score an individual gets from
the same.
With this, we come to the end of this session. See you soon!
HRD : Systems & Strategies /MOOC-2021/B.K School of Professional and Management Studies/Gujarat
University