Kolb's learning styles model and application

Learning Styles

Based on Kolb's model of learning styles, I am a Diverger. This means that I am oriented towards reflective observation rather than active experimentation -- strongly in my case -- and I am also oriented slightly to concrete experience over abstract conceptualization. The characteristics of the Diverger style of learning are that I perceive information concretely, but process reflectively. So I am imaginative, believe in my own experience and am an insight thinker (Kolb, 2013).

When I thought about how I would learn how to plant a rose garden, I guess the first thing is that I thought about it. I assume somebody more oriented towards active experimentation might just dive right in and start digging, figuring out the details as they go along. For me, I went straight for the Internet to get a list of things to do and a list of pitfalls to watch out for. This was my way of thinking about the steps needed to plant this garden. I considered details about I would plant the garden, but I really never envisioned the garden itself as a whole entity. Nor could I really imagine the process. It was more that I would understand my written instructions at such point as I began to start working on the garden. Then it would all make sense to me.

I feel that my greatest strength as a learner is that I am able to basically absorb all of the learning styles fairly well -- I am not bad at the abstract side of things. However, while I believe in my experience I am not a doer, per se. I feel that if I have enough prior experience with rose gardens, that I would be comfortable applying that knowledge to a new rose garden. So from that perspective I look at my ability to learn and I realize that there are some strengths in that I can learn things a few different ways. The biggest weak spot is more what I worry about, however, because the enthusiasm to get my hands dirty and figure things out that way just isn't there. I actually have to conceive of the entire process from start to finish, and read about it, and make sure that I understand it before I get in there. So when I have no experience, I really want somebody with that experience on hand to make sure that I am doing it right.

I look at what I am good at, and what I am not good at, in terms of my learning style and I understand that a rose garden is probably not the best thing for me to work on. I might do better designing an entire English garden, because of the need to conceive and be imaginative, and work out different problems. A single rose garden does not take advantage of my diverging orientation, which makes me a good problem solver (No author, 2014). Without prior knowledge of planting rose gardens, I really cannot anticipate the problems that I will see, and in that I will quite likely run into those problems later on. Whereas, for example, if I was conceiving something I had experience with, I would easily anticipate problems and my ability to avoid these problems with my initial design would be at a very high level.