How to Coach Yourself and Others Essential Knowledge For Coaching | Page 169

Kolb's Model of Learning Styles
Kolb (1981) developed the Learning Style Inventory (LSI) to
evaluate the way people learn and work with ideas in day-to-day
life. He used the LSI to help people understand how they make
career choices, solve problems, set goals, manage others, and
deal with new situations. The instrument consists of twelve
questions in which the subject selects one of four possible
responses. The four columns in the instrument relate to the four
stages Kolb identified as a cycle of learning: Concrete Experience
(CE), Reflective Observation (RO), Abstract Conceptualization
(AC), and Active Experimentation (AE). He paired AE and RO as
polar opposites (doing vs. watching), and CE and AC as polar
opposites (feeling vs. thinking).
According to Kolb (1981),
1. Concrete Experience (CE) emphasizes active involvement,
relating with other people, and learning by experience. Learners
in the CE phase of learning are open-minded and adaptable, and
are sensitive to the feelings of themselves and others.
2. Reflective Observation (RO) is the stage in which the learner
watches and listens, views issues from different points of view,
and discovers meaning in the learning material.
3. Abstract Conceptualization (AC) is the application of thought
and logic, as opposed to feelings, to the learning situation.
Planning, developing theories, and analysis are part of this stage.
4. The last stage is Active Experimentation (AE) and involves
testing theories, carrying out plans, and influencing people and
events through activity. Kolb believed that a complete cycle of
learning involved each of these stages.
Since people use all four stages in many learning situations, Kolb
(1981) used combined scores to determine which of four
learning styles an individual preferred. He encouraged learners
to become familiar with their own learning style, including its
1047