The Learning Fashion

Learning has evolved through the years and has become quite flexible. It can be presented and executed in varying styles and forms. Let’s take a look at how learning fashion walks the ramp.

Styles in learning can be described as several approaches or methods wherein learning is carried out. They are basically founded on educating ways aimed at achieving optimum level of learning. There are several mechanisms in which people are more comfortable to take in and process stimuli and information. This is why the concept of individualized learning styles came into the picture during the 70s and has been in full throttle ever since.

Now let’s head on to the specific models that bring out the style in learning. First up is David Kolb’s model which is established according to the Experiential Learning Theory. In this model four styles emerge.

Converging focuses on abstract conceptualization and active experimentation and is commonly used in making practical use of ideas and deductive reasoning in order to resolve conflicts. Diverging is based on concrete experience and reflective observation that allows for the creation of theoretical models via inductive reasoning. Assimilation is executed on reflective observation and abstract conceptualization wherein theoretical models are built using inductive reasoning schemes. Accommodation is all about action instead of just reading and studying with the use of principles of active experimentation and concrete experience.

In the middle stages of the 70s Peter Honey and Alan Mumford made use of David Kolb’s model for middle or senior business managers. The Honey and Mumford’s Model was published in The Manual of Learning Styles in 1982 and Using Your Learning Styles in 1983. Two adaptations were established using the experiential model of Kolb. The stages were given names that are appropriate to managerial terms of decision making and problem solving. The styles were aptly patterned with the stages.

The stages of the Honey and Mumford model are having an experience, reviewing the experience, concluding from the experience, and planning the next steps. The styles were termed as activist, reflector, theorist, and pragmatist. These set of styles have the characteristic of being highly adaptable either at one’s own will or during varying circumstances.

Anthony Gregorc’s model has two perceptual qualities namely concrete and abstract. It also has a pair of ordering abilities such as random and sequential. Concrete perceptions are based on obtaining and processing information by the use of the five senses while abstract perceptions are rooted on the understanding of concepts, ideas, and qualities which are intangible and cannot be seen. When talking about the ordering abilities sequential can be described as organizing information in a systematic manner while random is focused on organizing information in a non-specific method.

The Sudbury Model emphasizes that learning and studying can be performed in varying schemes. According to the democratic schools founded on this model learning is a process that a person does and not a process that is done on the person. These schools patronize the idea of acquiring information without the intervention of teaching which means that the teacher does not need to be imperative. There have been accounts of students learning from cereal boxes, game instructions, and street signs.