If you are going to learn, do it in style
Are you a reflector or an activist? The science of Learning Styles has shaped training courses across the world for many years and helped all kinds of people learn better. Find out how you fit into the learning cycle.

Most of us have experienced the emotional trauma of assembling flat-packed furniture.

The question is when you set about the task did you ignore the badly-translated instructions and work out for yourself how the parts that weren't missing came together?

Or did you religiously study the manual, lay all the parts out in a neat line and work out how it might be assembled before getting hands on?

What determined your approach was simply your preferred learning style. Whether you are aware of it or not you do have one, and sometimes several, says David. A. Kolb in his writings on experimental learning, which are found in many of today's discussions of the theory and practice of adult education, informal education and lifelong learning.

Knowing your learning style is the key to effective learning and Kolb’s theories are put into practice in many spheres; as a guide for understanding learning difficulties, vocational and academic counseling and in planning teaching and learning activities.

He showed that learning styles could be seen on a continuum running from:

• concrete experience: being involved in a new experience
  
  
• reflective observation: watching others or developing observations about own experience
  
  
• abstract conceptualization: creating theories to explain observations
  
  
• active experimentation: using theories to solve problems, make decisions

Although Kolb thought that one moves through these learning styles over time, usually people come to prefer, and rely on, one style above the others.

The UK workers Alan Mumford and Peter Honey have developed Kolb's ideas.

In their Manual of Learning Styles, they looked at which of the Kolb categories different types of people prefer to use to enter the learning cycle.

They termed the four types activists, reflectors, theorists, and pragmatists. They say learners will use all four of the styles (the styles relate to the Kolb categories) but different types of learner will begin with a different style.

• Activists (experiencing)
  
  
• Reflectors (evaluating)
  
  
• Theorists (conceptualizing)
  
  
• Pragmatists (experimenting)

The cycle
Though we may have several learning styles it is the dominant one that determines where we enter the cycle.

• An activist begins at 1 and proceeds through 2-3-4 and back to 1.
  
  
• A reflector begins at 2 and proceeds through 3-4-1 and back to 2.
  
  
• A theorist begins at 3 and proceeds through 4-1-2 and back to 3.
  
  
• A pragmatist begins at 4 and proceeds through 1-2-3 and back to 4.

The theory has its detractors; challenging it for its neatness and simplicity among other criticisms, and therefore some care needs to be taken when approaching theories on experiential learning.

However, the concept of learning styles has been embraced across the world as a guide for understanding learning difficulties and all kinds of learning at all levels.

Activists (experiencing)
Activists like new experiences; they enter the cycle at the experiences stage. They are usually willing to try anything and tend to be enthusiastic about new ideas. They learn best when there are new experiences and problems available, especially where these are short-term results to be gained. They like other people around to bounce ideas off.

Activists tend to leave manuals still in their wrapping - they try things out to see what happens rather than have somebody tell them.

They learn least when learning is passive and involves a great deal of reading or listening to a tutor. They will be more comfortable with more formal learning methods if they have had the opportunity for hands-on experience prior to any seminar or presentations.

Reflectors (evaluating)
Reflectors like to consider experiences in detail. They tend to be more cautious than activists. While to an activist the experience is everything and evaluation takes second place, to a reflector experiences should be short and then there needs to be plenty of time for evaluation.

Reflectors learn best when they are encouraged to evaluate an activity and then given plenty of time to think about what happened before proceeding to the next task. They learn least when activity follows activity with little or no time to consolidate their thoughts.

Theorists (conceptualizing)
Theorists like to integrate their observations and experiences into a logical, conceptual framework. They want to know how and why it happened this way. They respond to being given all the details first and then they will try it. In this respect they are the exact opposite of the activist who cannot wait to get his or her hands on the task.

Theorists learn best when they can see how the task fits into the whole and they are directed to the theoretical background to events. They learn least when they are forced to undertake the task before they have understood the implications and theoretical background. They need a clear mental picture before actually undertaking a task.

Pragmatists (experimenting)
Pragmatists want to try out new theoretical ideas but in practice/simulated activities before moving on to the real thing. They are experimenters. They tend to be very practical people who can make a link between theory and practice but wish to be sure, via experimentation, that their ideas are correct before undertaking the task proper.

Pragmatists learn best when they can concentrate on practical issues and they can see the link between theory and practice. They learn least when they cannot see the relevance between the theory and an immediate practical need.