Observations about Learning Styles

in Adult Learners

DU-TEAC1980JUN: Adult Learning

Group #2: Sheri Abreu, Claire Leyland, Erin Malanych, Jason Shea

August 17, 2014

• Each learner that comes into the classroom is unique and has a different way of taking in new information

and/or ideas.

• It’s important as a teacher/instructor to be able to recognize the existence of the four preferred learning

styles and to understand the learning cycles that David A Kolb identified. By doing this, sessions can be

designed to accommodate each individual learner and their preferred learning style.

Introduction:

The Learning Cycle:

A learner may start the learning

process in any one of the four

phases, however an instructor will

want to ensure that when they

teach, they cycle through all of the

four phases whenever possible.

It is ideal to begin the learning

process starting with Concrete

Experience, then move to

Reflective Observation, Abstract

Conceptualization and ending with

Active Experimentation.

How Learners Learn:Kolb identified the four following learning styles:

1. Accommodating – combines Concrete Experience (doing or having an experience) and Active

Experimentation (trying out what has been learned).

2. Assimilating – combines Reflective Observation (reviewing and reflecting) and Abstract

Conceptualization (analyzing and learning from the experience).

3. Converging – combines Abstract Conceptualization (analyzing and learning from the experience)

and Active Experimentation (trying out what has been learned).

4. Diverging – combines Concrete Experience (doing or having an experience) and Reflective

Observation (reviewing and reflecting).

Case Study:

Recently, a call centre that was primarily a “customer service” focused call centre has now become a “sales”

focused call centre. Because of the recent changes, management has decided to have all front line agents

attend a mandatory two day sales training session.

The first session includes twelve front line agents who are all coming to the session with a different level of

knowledge regarding the topic as well as with their own preferred learning styles.

Because some of the learners have similar learning styles, we are going to take a closer look at four of the

participants to identify some of the characteristics, challenges and possible solutions for the session.

Description of Employee #1:

Meet Alfredo LaRizza,

Alfredo is a recent Network Administration graduate with a passion for Information and Technology.

Alfredo has worked with the technical support team for the past two and a half years. He is excellent

at solving technical problems and providing solutions to practical issues.

Alfredo excels at troubleshooting where he can use hypothetical, deductive reasoning and can focus

on specific problems. He is well trained and often can provide solutions faster than his peers. He

does find himself on the phone with both clients and other co-workers providing solutions and this

would be the least favorite part of his job.

Jaz represents the converging learning style.

Description of Employee #2:

Meet Emily Brown:

Emily is 28 years old and has been with the company for 6 years. She is people-oriented and known to

always volunteer to be in focus groups at work as she likes to be part of group discussions. She is also on

the social committee where she helps organize team and departmental events and outings. She likes

personal attention and feedback from her Supervisor but can be a bit sensitive at times. Emily is excited to

attend the two day sales training session and is hoping that during the session there will be time to

brainstorm ideas on how to better her sales skills and how to effectively handle objections from customers.

Emily’s preferred learning style is “Divergent”.

Description of Employee #3:

Meet Andrew Johnson:

Andrew joined the Call Centre at Bell Canada last year, after having worked at a Bell Mobility store for

five years. He has developed strong IT skills, and is a wizard at solving technical problems for

customers. He is excited for the training session so that he can learn more about sales, especially

techniques that will be useful for customer interactions over the phone, as he sometimes struggles

with developing strong relationships with customers. Andrew is at the course representing those

employees with an “Assimilating” learning style. This is what we know about Andrew and his preferred

learning style:

• He’s good at understanding a wide range of information and putting it into concise, logical form

• He really appreciates when a manager provides a clear explanation for what he is required to do,

rather than practical opportunities

• He is sometimes more focused on ideas and concepts, rather than people

• He likes to think things through, and prefers being taught through readings, lectures, and exploring

analytical models

Description of Employee #4:

Meet Loretta Wong:

Loretta is a recent college graduate and has just commenced her career at Bell Canada working as a Call Centre

Representative. During her eight months with the company, Loretta has demonstrated her strengths as both a team player

and a leader. She has adjusted well to the announcement that her job is being transformed to a sales-focused position

and is embracing the new challenge. She is very ambitious and is looking forward to attending the mandatory training to

develop and learn new skills, but she is concerned that the sales course may be lecture-based rather than providing

practical, hands-on experiences.

At this course, Loretta represents the attendees who have been identified with an ‘Accommodating’ learning style. Here is

what we know about Loretta and her particular learning style:

● She is action-oriented and prefers to learn through hands-on training (Durham College, 2010-11).

● She enjoys working in groups and is generally at ease with people (Srinivasan, 2008).

● She is adaptable to change (Clark, 2011).

● She thrives on new challenges and experiences (“Kolb Learning Styles,” n.d.).

● She likes to take the initiative to get the ball rolling (“Kolb Learning Styles,” n.d.).

● She often uses her intuition to make decisions (Durham College, 2010-11).

● She is a risk taker (Cherry, 2014).

● She needs to discover and understand the significance in her learning experiences

(“Concrete/Reflective/Abstract/Active – David Kolb,” n.d.).

Instructor

Meet Abdul Mohammad:

Abdul Mohammad is a certified Call Centre facilitator and coach. He is a skilled curriculum developer

and has designed, developed and delivered numerous courses over his 15-year career as a trainer.

Abdul also has his certificate in Adult Learning/Staff Training and appreciates the importance of the

different adult learning styles. Over the course of his career, he has become an enthusiast of Kolb’s

Learning Styles and tends to consider these four styles (Diverging, Converging, Accommodating,

Assimilating) when developing various training strategies in order to provide a memorable and

meaningful learning experience.

Challenges with Convergent Learning Style:

1. Prefer to work solo

2.. They tend to be inflexible and may lack team skills (http://www.lifecircles-

inc.com/Learningtheories/constructivism/kolb.html)

3. Convergent learners may end up solving the wrong problem because they did not consider all the alternatives and

because they did not want to waste time chewing things over- strength -decision making, problem solving and practical

application of ideas.

- Kolb says convergent learners need to work on/improve their “valuing skills”-listening with an open mind

and imaging the implications of a situation

Skills that are ideal to develop

1. Listening with an open mind

2. Gathering information

3. Imagining the implications of situations

Challenges with Divergent Learning Style:

● Learners may become frustrated if the class session is lecture based

● These learners are more comfortable watching rather than doing

● Divergent learners prefer to work in small groups having discussions and brainstorming ideas

● These learners can be sensitive

● They may find it hard to draw conclusions or make decisions; they may need a push to make a decision

Challenges with Assimilating Learning Style:

• A focus on concepts and theories and looking at things from a very logical perspective could be at

the expense of not putting enough focus on other people’s opinions or on the ‘human side’ of learning;

these learners may have a hard time interacting with learners who have stronger soft skills, or those

that rely more on intuition in decision making vs. logical facts

• Practical, hands-on opportunities for learning are not going to work as well

• These learners prefer lots of written materials, analytical models, and need time to think things

through. This type of learning is appropriate in the science and information technology industries, but it

may be hard to facilitate a sales or training seminar at work for this type of learner

• In a seminar setting, these learners may have a tendency to hold up the group by asking a lot of

questions to ensure that the concepts being discussed have logical soundness. They may question

the facilitator of the seminar a lot if they do not understand or agree with the material being discussed

Challenges with Accommodating Learning Style:

While the ‘Accommodating’ learning style has many strengths, it also has its challenges.

The following is a list of potential obstacles for Loretta:

● She may become very frustrated when she is forced to read instructions or rules and isn’t able to

perform hands-on experiences right away (“Kolb Learning Styles,” n.d.).

● She is sometimes perceived as being impatient or pushy (Srinivasan, 2008).

● When problem solving, she tends to rely on other people rather than her own analysis (Swinton,

n.d.).

● She acts on instinct rather than logical investigation (Swinton, n.d.).

● She tends to lose interest or procrastinate if she isn’t engaged

How Abdul can assist those with a Convergent Learning Style:

Skills that are ideal to develop

1. Listening with an open mind

2. Gathering information

3. Imagining the implications of situations

How Instructor Will Help:

How Abdul can assist with the Divergent Learning Style:

If the instructor recognizes there are divergent learners within the session he can create an activity

where the participants will break into smaller groups. They would be assigned a specific topic as a

group and would brainstorm ideas or thoughts regarding their assigned topic. They would then teach

back what they have brainstormed, to the rest of the group. This would allow everyone to collaborate

and work together as a team assigning roles such a scribe and presenter(s).

How Instructor Will Help:

How Instructor Will Help:

How Abdul can assist with the Divergent Learning Style (cont’d):

Since the Divergent learners prefer to observe, reflect and experience when learning, the instructor could

play videos that are specific to a behaviour or process they would like to see implemented. In order for the

diverging learner to be able to experience what that behaviour or process feels like, the instructor could

break the participants into 4 groups of 3. One person would be assigned the role of the observer, the next

would be the representative and the third would be the customer. The observer would watch the interaction

between customer and representative and record strengths and opportunities. Then the group would switch

roles until each person has had the chance to play each role. Because the diverging learners prefer

personal attention and feedback, this type of activity would also address that.

How Abdul can assist those with an Assimilating Learning Style:

• Present training material with facts and evidence that support what is being discussed; Provide written

materials and any kind of research or findings in graphs and charts

• Allow time for quiet self-reflection; time to process the information being presented

• Set up a designated Q&A time for the group at the end of various sessions so that the group doesn’t lose

focus or go off track with a lot of questions being asked throughout the presentations

• If hands-on role play activities need to be used in the training sessions, make sure they are followed up with

written summaries of what was demonstrated so that the Assimilators can take in the information more

effectively

How Instructor Will Help:

How Instructor Will Help:

How can Abdul ‘accommodate’ the Accommodating Learning Style?

● Include the learner in decision making

o Present some topics in the form of questions to allow the learner to get involved by providing responses

o Provide group brainstorming/discussion opportunities

Divide the trainees into small groups. Have tables set up with different thought-provoking question

related to the topic. Allow the group 10 minutes to discuss answers and solutions and then have

the group rotate to the next table for the next question.

Post questions on the wall around the room. Each person is provided with sticky notes to write

their answers and then post them on the wall. The idea is to post as many ideas/solutions as

possible

● Let them explore (self-discovery)

o Allow time to review material on their own and reflect on new information

o Have participants identify three weaknesses and create an action plan to help develop their call centre

skills

Summary

References Cherry, K. (2014). Kolb’s Learning Styles. Retrieved July 24, 2014, from

http://psychology.about.com/od/educationalpsychology/a/kolbs-learning-styles.htm

Clark, D. (2011, July 13). Kolb’s Learning Styles and Experiential Learning Model. Retrieved July 18, 2014, from

http://nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles/kolb.html

Concrete/Reflective/Abstract/Active – David Kolb (n.d.). Retrieved July 24, 2014, from

http://web.cortland.edu/andersmd/learning/Kolb.htm

Durham College. (2010-11). Unit 2, How Adults Learn. Retrieved July 18, 2014, from the OntarioLearn Moodle site for

DU-TEACHJUN.

Kolb Learning Styles (n.d.). Retrieved July 23, 2014, from http://www.businessballs.com/kolblearningstyles.htm

References McLeod, S.A. (2010). Kolb – Learning styles. Retrieved from

http://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html

Srinivasan, B. (2008, April 17). Learning Styles for Better Leadership. Retrieved July 23, 2014, from

http://leadershipchamps.wordpress.com/tag/learning-styles/

Swinton, L. (n.d.). Kolb's Learning Style Inventory and Kolb's Learning Cycle Explained

- no fluff, no filler, just facts. Retrieved July 23, 2014, from http://www.mftrou.com/kolb-learning-style-inventory.html

Symmons, Janet. (2011). Kolb's learning style inventory - Accommodators and Divergers.

Retrieved April 11, 2011, from

http://www.janetsymmons.ca/kolbs-learning-style-inventory-accommodators-and-divergers/