The Kolb Inventory of Learning Styles

The Kolb Inventory of Learning Styles is a widely used and referenced learning model that is more complex than the VARK Inventory. While the VARK Inventory investigates how learners prefer to use their senses in learning, the Kolb Inventory focuses on the abilities we need to develop so we can learn. This inventory, developed in the 1980s by David Kolb, is based on a four-stage cycle of learning (see Figure 4.1 below).

According to Kolb, effective learners need four kinds of abilities:

  1. Concrete experience abilities, which allow them to be receptive to others and open to other people’s feelings and specific experiences. An example of this type of ability is learning from and empathizing with others.
  2. Reflective observation abilities, which help learners reflect on their experiences from many perspectives. An example of this type of ability is remaining impartial while considering a situation from a number of different points of view.
  3. Abstract conceptualization abilities, which help learners integrate observations into logically sound theories. An example of this type of ability is analyzing ideas intellectually and systematically.
  4. Active experimentation abilities, which enable learners to make decisions, solve problems, and test what they have learned in new situations. An example of this type of ability is being ready to move quickly from thinking to action.

Kolb’s Inventory of Learning Styles measures differences along two basic dimensions that represent opposite styles of learning. The first dimension is abstract-concrete, and the second is active-reflective. See Figure 4.1 below to visualize how these opposing characteristics combine to create four discrete groups of learners: divergers, assimilators, convergers, and accommodators.

Doing well in college will require you to adopt some behaviors that are characteristic of each of these four learning styles. Some of them might be uncomfortable for you, but that discomfort will indicate that you’re growing, stretching, and not relying on the learning style that might be easiest or most natural for you.

image

FIGURE 4.1 image Kolb’s Four-Stage Cycle of Learning

If you are a diverger, you are adept at reflecting on situations from many viewpoints. You excel at brainstorming, and you’re imaginative, people-oriented, and sometimes emotional. On the downside, you sometimes have difficulty making decisions. Divergers tend to major in the humanities or social sciences.

If you are an assimilator, you like to think about abstract concepts. You are comfortable in classes where the instructor lectures about theoretical ideas without relating the lectures to real-world situations. Assimilators often major in math, physics, or chemistry.

If you are a converger, you like the world of ideas and theories, but you are also good at thinking about how to apply those theories to real-world, practical situations. You differ from divergers in your preference for tasks and problems rather than social and interpersonal issues. Convergers tend to choose health-related and engineering majors.

If you are an accommodator, you prefer hands-on learning. You are skilled at making things happen, and you rely on your intuition. You like people, but you can be pushy and impatient at times, and you might use trial and error, rather than logic, to solve problems. Accommodators often major in business, especially in marketing or sales.1

Stay Motivated

Where Are You on the Cycle of Learning?

On the basis of the descriptions we have provided here, where do you see yourself in the Kolb Inventory? Are you more like a diverger, assimilator, converger, or accommodator? Do you sometimes feel forced to engage in behaviors that are uncomfortable for you? Is it hard to be motivated when you want hands-on experience but find that some courses require you to consider abstract theories, or when you want to use your imagination but find you must come up with concrete answers? Choose to adopt behaviors that are characteristic of each of Kolb’s learning styles. Don’t let some initial discomfort hamper your motivation.