The Learning Way Kolb, Alice Y.; Kolb, David A.
Simulation & gaming,
06/2009, Volume:
40, Issue:
3
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Contemporary research on meta-cognition has reintroduced conscious experience into psychological research on learning and stimulated a fresh look at classical experiential learning scholars who gave ...experience a central role in the learning process—William James, John Dewey, Kurt Lewin, Carl Rogers, and Paulo Freire. In particular James's contributions are foundational for experiential learning and research on meta-cognition. Research on meta-cognition and the role it plays in the learning process are described. The meta-cognitive model is used to describe how fundamental concepts of experiential learning theory—a learning self-identity, the learning spiral, learning style, and learning spaces—can guide meta-cognitive monitoring and control of learning. Meta-cognitive strategies to help individuals improve their learning effectiveness are outlined. Learners can chart their path on the learning way by developing their meta-cognitive learning capacities, and educators can pave the way by placing learning about learning on the agenda of their educational programs.
Drawing on the foundational theories of John Dewey and Kurt Lewin, we examine recent developments in theory and research on experiential learning and explore how this work can enhance experiential ...learning in higher education. We introduce the concept of learning space as a framework for understanding the interface between student learning styles and the institutional learning environment. We illustrate the use of the learning space framework in three case studies of longitudinal institutional development. Finally, we present principles for the enhancement of experiential learning in higher education and suggest how experiential learning can be applied throughout the educational environment by institutional development programs, including longitudinal outcome assessment curriculum development, student development and faculty development.
A guide to awakening the power of learning that lies within each of us, this accessible book offers deep, research-based insights into the ideal process of learning and guides you in identifying your ...dominant style.
On Becoming an Experiential Educator Kolb, Alice Y.; Kolb, David A.; Passarelli, Angela ...
Simulation & gaming,
04/2014, Volume:
45, Issue:
2
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Background
Becoming an experiential educator involves more than just being a facilitator or matching learning style with teaching style. Experiential education is a complex relational process that ...involves balancing attention to the learner and to the subject matter while also balancing reflection on the deep meaning of ideas with the skill of applying them.
Aim
To describe a dynamic matching model of education based on Experiential Learning Theory and to create a self-assessment instrument for helping educators understand their approach to education.
Method
A dynamic matching model for “teaching around the learning cycle” describes four roles that educators can adopt to do so—facilitator, subject expert, standard-setter/evaluator, and coach. A self-assessment instrument called the Educator Role Profile was created to help educators understand their use of these roles.
Results
Research using the Educator Role Profile indicates that to some extent educators do tend to teach the way they learn, finding that those with concrete learning styles are more learner-centered, preferring the facilitator role; while those with abstract learning styles are more subject-centered preferring the expert and evaluator roles.
Conclusion
A model for the practice of dynamic matching of educator roles, learner style, and subject matter can aid in the planning and implementation of educational experiences. With practice, both learners and educators can develop the flexibility to use all educator roles and learning styles to create a more powerful and effective process of teaching and learning—in Mary Parker Follett’s words to, “. . . free the energies of the human spirit . . . the highest potentiality of all human association.”
This study examines the role that culture plays in the way individuals learn. Experiential learning theory is used to describe the learning process and the Kolb Learning Style Inventory is used to ...assess differences in how individuals learn. Using the framework for categorizing cultural differences from the Global Leadership and Organizational Effectiveness (GLOBE) study, national cultures are examined by cultural clusters and individual cultural dimensions. The first part of the study assesses the relative influence of culture in comparison to gender, age, level of education and area of specialization of 533 respondents born in and currently residing in 7 nations. We found that a significant portion of the variance in the preference for abstract conceptualization was explained by culture, gender, level of education and area of specialization. The variability in preference for active experimentation over reflective observation was accounted for by age and area of specialization. The impact of culture was only marginally significant. In the second part of the study where we examined the influence of individual culture dimensions in shaping the learning style preferences, we discovered that individuals tend to have a more abstract learning style in countries that are high in in-group collectivism, institutional collectivism, uncertainty avoidance, future orientation and gender egalitarianism. Individuals may have a more reflective learning style in countries that are high in in-group collectivism, uncertainty avoidance and assertiveness.
People often bemoan the spread of malls, suburban strips, subdivisions, and other sprawling places in contemporary America. But are these places as bad as critics claim? In Sprawling Places, David ...Kolb questions widely held assumptions about our built environments. Kolb agrees there is a lot not to like about many contemporary places, but to write them off simply as commodified "nonplaces" does not treat them critically. Too often, Kolb says, aesthetic character and urban authenticity are the focus of critics, when it is more important to understand a place's complexity and connectedness. Kolb acknowledges that the places around us increasingly have banal exteriors, yet they can be complex and can encourage their inhabitants to use them in multiple, nonlinear ways. Ultimately, Kolb believes human activity within a place is what defines it. Even our most idealized, classical places, he shows, change over the course of history when subjected to new linkages and different flows of activity. Engaging with the work of such writers and critics as Henri Lefebvre, Manuel Castells, Karsten Harries, and Christian Norberg-Schulz, Kolb seeks to move discussions about sprawl away from the idea that we must "choose between being rooted in the local Black Forest soil or wandering in directionless space." By increasing our awareness of complexity and other issues, Kolb hopes to broaden and deepen people's thinking about the contemporary built environment and to encourage better designs in the future.
How do entrepreneurs obtain the creative ideas they need to develop innovative new products? We interviewed 32 technology entrepreneurs to generate a grounded theory as to how technology ...entrepreneurs use social behaviors, techniques, and cognitive processes to generate, validate, and refine ideas for new products, processes, or services. The results reveal a complex, cyclical, and recursive multilevel social process emphasizing active and social experimentation. Greatest ideational productivity occurs when “trusted partners” exchange and refine ideas through a form of shared cognition. The findings will be useful to researchers and practitioners interested in entrepreneurship, social creativity, and management team dynamics.
Learning to play, playing to learn Kolb, Alice Y; Kolb, David A
Journal of organizational change management,
01/2010, Volume:
23, Issue:
1
Journal Article
Peer reviewed
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to propose an experiential learning framework for understanding how play can potentially create a unique
ludic
learning space conducive to deep learning.
...Design/methodology/approach
The framework is developed by integrating two perspectives. First, from multidisciplinary theories of play to uncover the underlying play principles that contribute to the emergence of the
ludic
learning space are drawn. Then the formation of a
ludic
learning space through a case study of a pick‐up softball league where for 15 years, a group of individuals diverse in age group, gender, level of education, and ethnic background have come together to play are examined.
Findings
The case study suggests that play in a
ludic
learning space can promote deep learning in the intellectual, physical, spiritual, and moral realms.
Originality/value
This paper uses the play literature to inform the experiential learning concept of the learning space.
High entropy alloys (HEAs) and their closely related variants, called multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs), are the topic of a rather new area of research, and so far, the gathered knowledge is ...incomplete. This is especially true when it comes to material libraries, as the fabrication of HEA and MPEA samples with a wide variation in chemical compositions is challenging in itself. Additive manufacturing technologies are, to date, seen as possibly the best option to quickly fabricate HEA and MPEA samples, offering both the melting metallurgical and solid-state sintering approach. Within this study, CrFeNiTi MPEA samples were fabricated via laser powder-bed fusion (PBF-LB) and solid-state sintering of mechanically alloyed powder feedstock. The main emphasis is on the PBF-LB process, while solid-state sintering serves as benchmark. Within a volumetric energy density (VED) window of 50 J/mm
to 83 J/mm
, dense samples with large defect-free sections and an average micro-hardness of 965 HV0.1 were fabricated. Clear correlations between the local chemical alloy composition and the related micro-hardness were recorded, with the main factor being the evaporation of titanium at higher VED settings through a reduction in the C14_Laves phase fraction.
