Using Kolb's Cycle To Round Out Learning

We have assessed the learning styles of industrial engineering students over a ten-year period. Using Kolb’s Cycle of Experiential Learning as a basis, we have identified that Industrial Engineering students tend to rely on abstract conceptualization and active experimentation as their preferred mode of processing information (or learning). This paper summarizes the findings of the research. The paper also offers recommendations for providing students with an opportunity to process information with concrete experience and reflective observation, thereby making them more well-rounded thinkers. Case studies from four undergraduate classes will demonstrate how this improves students’ abilities and provide valuable insights to engineering educators. Kolb’s Cycle of Experiential Learning--A Theoretical Framework David Kolb proposed in 1976 that people learn by going through a four-step cycle. He suggested that people learn by first having some sort of concrete experience, followed by reflectively observing what happened, then developing an abstract conceptualization, and ending with an active experimentation to verify the concept. An alternative definition of these steps is doing, thinking, modeling, and checking. This cycle is shown in Figure 1. More total learning occurs when each of these four steps occurs . It can be argued that learning can begin with any step of the process. Engineering, for example, is often taught by introducing a concept or model and assigning homework to reinforce the concept. In a course that has a lab component, the students can sometimes put the concept into Concrete Experience (experiencing/feeling) Reflective Observation (examining/watching) Abstract Conceptualization (explaining/thinking) Active Experimentation (applying/doing)Conceptualization (explaining/thinking) Active Experimentation (applying/doing) Figure 1. Kolb’s Cycle of Experiential Learning P ge 7.260.1 Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2002, American Society for Engineering Education actual practice (concrete experience) with a lab report that requires a reflective observation. Since time, facilities, and resources are always limited, these well-coordinated lab activities are not so common in practice. Additionally, most people have a preference for how they learn, or process information 3, . The few people who have no preference are called “hub learners,” and they can learn in practically any setting. Most people, however, will rely on two steps of the cycle. “Divergers” learn best by a combination of experience and observation; college students with this inclination are most at home in the performance fields like theater and art. “Assimilators” prefer a setting of reflective observation and model development; in college these students gravitate toward mathematics and the sciences. “Convergers” like a setting of abstract concepts and active experimentation; engineers and law students are examples. “Accommodators” enjoy combining experimentation with experience; business majors tend to be accommodators. This does not mean that all students in a given major are in that particular group, but the majority tends to be. This preference toward a particular learning style can be assessed. The findings from our assessments over the past decade provide the basis for this paper. Learning Style Assessments, 1991-2001 The present research began in 1991 when the first author requested the assistance of the second author to help maintain an active learning classroom. In previous sections of that particular class, Industrial Labor and Law, enrollments had been in the teens, but had mushroomed to 55. Through a series of consultations, the Kolb Cycle was decided as a framework for assessing the course and developing learning experiences. The results of that initial assessment showed that the overwhelming majority of students (juniors and seniors in Industrial Engineering) were convergers, with a few accommodators and a few assimilators. Initial indications were that one student was a diverger, but he later proved to be a converger. The results from that first assessment were discussed in an earlier paper and are shown as corrected in Figure 2. The pedagogical approach and remarks pertaining to learning in that course, and several others, will be discussed in a later section on case studies. The authors have continued these assessments of industrial engineering students over the years. The latest data are from a junior level Industrial Engineering Course in Production and Operations Management. The results, shown graphically in Figure 3, indicate that there has been no change in student learning preferences in the last ten years. These data are typical results and the pattern remains the same. Rounding out the Learning Experience—Suggestions to Complete the Loop As the data show, engineering students show a penchant for learning by the converger method of abstract conceptualization and active experimentation. Convergers love to design things, make decisions, and evaluate plans. They tend to be action oriented, but may come to a conclusion too fast or solve the wrong problem if they are excessive. P ge 7.260.2 Proceedings of the 2002 American Society for Engineering Education Annual Conference & Exposition Copyright © 2002, American Society for Engineering Education Concrete Experience R ective O bsrvation Abstract Conceptualization A ct ive E xp er im en ta tio n AccommodatorsConceptualization A ct ive E xp er im en ta tio n Accommodators Convergers Divergers