Kolb's experiential learning cycle and four learning styles¶

Theory · All theories
Evidence · 5 claims (4 for, 1 mixed) · 1 study (1 causal), q3 · 1 of 1 report an effect size · 5 claims rest on one study

Description¶

The article adopts Kolb's model in which "knowledge is created through the transformation of experience" via a four-stage cycle of concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Plotting learners on two continua (perception and processing) yields four styles: accommodator, assimilator, converger, and diverger. The study uses this taxonomy to classify participants and to explain why the guided VR mode, which combines virtual exploration with conventional text and images, suits all four learning characteristics.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Learners' styles are measured with the Kolb Learning Style Inventory, whose combined scores place them on the learning styles grid

Constraints¶

• The study collapsed Kolb's four styles into two groups (assimilator and accommodator) using a diagonal split of the grid

Target Learners¶

• Secondary school students

Target Learning Objectives¶

• Accommodating individual differences in learning style across instructional treatments

Claims¶

• No Mode By Style Interaction Vr Gains [~M]
• Accommodator learners gained significantly more in the VR (guided exploration) mode than in VR (non-guided exploration) or Non VR modes [+W]
• Assimilator learners gained significantly more in the VR (guided exploration) mode than in VR (non-guided exploration) or Non VR modes [+W]
• In the VR (guided exploration) mode, assimilator and accommodator learners did not differ significantly in gain score [+W]
• VR (non-guided exploration) did not differ significantly from Non VR for either assimilator or accommodator learners [+W]

Related Theories¶

• Kolb's experiential learning theory: knowledge created through transformation of experience via a four-stage cycle
• Kolb's four-stage experiential learning model and its four learning style categories
• Experiential Learning Theory
• Kolb's Learning Style Inventory and experiential learning theory

Examples¶

• VR-based learning environment for beginning driver instruction
• Guide experiential curriculum design with Kolb-derived principles: connect to existing knowledge, honour each learner's experiential base, cycle through experience and reflection, and shift power to the learner
• Experiential Learning Cycle

Key Sources¶

• Chwen Jen Chen, Seong Chong Toh, & Wan Mohd Fauzy Wan Ismail. (2005). Are Learning Styles Relevant To Virtual Reality? Journal of Research on Technology in Education, 38(2). https://eric.ed.gov/?id=EJ728898