Introduction Kolb’s Experiential Learning Cycle Session 1 BSB124 Working in Business

Learning Objectives At the end of the Session you should be able to:  Understand why the concept of ‘Learning Styles’ is important in business  Define Experiential Learning  Describe each of the stages in Kolb’s (1984) Learning Cycle  Explain how the stages in Kolb’s (1984) Learning Cycle are related to Learning Styles 2

BSB124 Working in Business Learning and Learning Styles Why is ‘learning’ important in business?  The ‘Half-life’ of knowledge (Machlup, 1962)  Design of training programs can affect learning  E.g. Leadership training (Yeo, 2007)  Individual Learning styles predict:  Job performance (O’Connor & Jackson, 2007; 2008)  Training and Performance Adaptability (Kozlowski et al., 2001)  Feedback-seeking behaviour (VandeWalle & Cummings, 1997). 3

BSB124 Working in Business Theories of learning  Learning: What is it?  “Any relatively permanent change in behaviour that occurs as a result of experience” (Robbins et al. 2008, p. 54)  Learning also refers to the acquisition of new knowledge, ideas and skills  Traditional approach in education/training  Didactic teaching, expert based etc.  Is this the natural way that humans learn?  If so, how do we learn to talk? To walk? To reason?  These skills are generally not taught using a didactic approach  How else can human’s learn? 4

What’s happening here? 5 “Birdie”

BSB124 Working in Business Example of learning  Toddler who has never seen anything fly but birds thinks that all flying objects are birds  Seeing an airplane flying prompts the child to call it a ‘birdie’  Mother says ‘no, that is not a bird, it is a plane’  Child experiences conflict upon realizing that not all flying objects are called ‘birds’. Child also realises that the object has no feathers.  Child therefore learns that there is more than one type of flying object and forms a hierarchical cognitive structure (‘scheme’) consisting of a superordinate class (flying objects) and two subordinate classes (birdies and airplanes). 6

BSB124 Working in Business A Constructivist approach  People construct knowledge for themselves (Piaget, 1971; Siegler & Ellis, 1996)  People are therefore seen as  Active  Learning many important lessons on their own  Intrinsically motivated to learn  Much of natural learning is due to people actively placing themselves in situations whereby they are likely to learn by experience 7

BSB124 Working in Business Experiential Learning  Thus much of learning is experiential  Silberman (2007) defines experiential learning as:  Learning through the use of activities that enable learners to experience what they are learning  The opportunity for learners to reflect on these experiences  Experiential Learning Theory (ELT) was proposed by Kolb (1984) to provide a complete model of the learning process in humans  Kolb (1984) was influenced by famous theorists, including Jean Piaget and John Dewey amongst others.  Kolb’s ELT has six propositions. 8

BSB124 Working in Business Kolb & Kolb (2005) 1.Learning is best conceived as a process, not in terms of outcomes 2.All learning is relearning 3.Learning requires the resolution of conflicts between dialectically opposed modes of adaptation to the world 4.Learning is a holistic process of adaptation to the world 5.Learning results from synergetic transactions between the person and the environment 6.Learning is the process of creating knowledge 9

BSB124 Working in Business Experiential Learning Kolb emphasises four elements of learning: 1.Concrete Experience 2.Reflective Observation 3.Abstract Conceptualisation 4.Active Experimentation 10

BSB124 Working in Business The Learning Cycle Concrete Experience Reflective Observation Abstract Conceptual- isation Active Experiment- ation 11

BSB124 Working in Business Using ELT to enhance learning (Kolb & Kolb 2005)  Respect for learners and their experience  Begin learning with the learner’s experience of the subject matter  Creating and holding a hospitable space for learning  Making space for conversational learning  Making space for the development of expertise  Making spaces for acting and reflecting  Making spaces for feeling and thinking  Making space for learners to take charge of their own learning 12

What have we covered? Employees will learn things differently to one another Experiential learning identifies a process by which knowledge is constructed and re- learned All learning is relearning 13

BSB124 Working in Business To Do:  Loan a KeePad from the Library or download the ResponseWare App to your mobile device  Bring to the workshop  Have a look at the content for Session 2  Session 2 is the beginning of tutorials for the semester 14

BSB124 Working in Business References Kolb, D. A. (1984). Experiential learning: Experience as the source of learning and development. New Jersey: Prentice-Hall. Kolb, A. Y., & Kolb, D. A. (2005). Learning Styles and Learning Spaces: Enhancing Experiential Learning in Higher Education. Academy of Management Learning & Education, 4, Kozlowski, S. W. J., Gully, S. M., Brown, K. G., Salas, E., Smith, E. A., & Nason, E. R. (2001). Effects of training goals and goal orientation traits on multidimensional training outcomes and performance adaptability. Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, 85, 1–31. Machlup, F. (1962). Knowledge production and distribution in the United States. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press. O’Connor, P. J., & Jackson, C. J. (2008). Learning to be Saints or Sinners: The Indirect Pathway from Sensation Seeking to Behavior through Mastery Orientation. Journal of Personality, 76, 733 – 752. O’Connor, P. J., & Jackson, C. J. (2008). The psychometric structure of learning: A psychometric critique of the Learning Styles Profiler (LSP-1). European Journal of Psychological Assessment, 24, 117 – 123. Piaget, J. (1971). Biology and Knowledge. Edinburgh, UK: Edinburgh University Press. Robbins, S. P., Judge, T. A., Millett, B., & Waters-Marsh, T. (2008) Organisational Behaviour (5th ed), Frenchs Forest: Pearson Education Australia. Siegler, R. S., & Ellis, S. (1996). Piaget on childhood. Psychological Science, 7, 211 – 215. Silberman, M. (2007). The Handbook of Experiential Learning. San Francisco, CA: Pfeiffer. VandeWalle, D., & Cummings, L. L. (1997). A test of the influence of goal orientation on the feedback-seeking process. Journal of Applied Psychology, 82, 390–