What are the “Learning Styles” that can be observed?

 

 What is learning and development?

“It's developed by individual through experience. And it is a relatively permanent change in knowledge, skills, attitude or behavior that comes through experience.” (Henderson, 2017)

Development is the “continuing improvement of an individual’s effectiveness in terms of their role or profession beyond the immediate task or job.”(ibid).

 “Learning can be shown to have occurred when learners know new facts, or can use a new skill. It is a continuous lifelong process, best achieved through real life experience”. (Lesmes, Geoffrey and Moody, 2001)

 

 As you can see in the above figure, according to Kolb’s learning cycle, there are 4 stages. Namely;

1.           Concrete experience
2.         Observations and Reflection
3.          Formation of abstract concepts and generalizations
4.         Testing implications of concepts in new situations

So the learning experience runs in sequence from 1 through to 4 as mentioned above. But different learners will be stronger and weaker using different facets of the cycle. So as a manager in the organization, it is his/her responsibility to identify each employee and delegate the tasks with respect. In that manner, the work output can be taken maximum.

Discussing more in learning, Peter Honey and Alan Mumford (1986a) identify four distinct styles or preferences that people use while learning. They suggest that most of us tend to follow only one or two of these styles and that different learning activities may be better suited to particular styles. Knowing your predominant learning style will help you judge how likely the activity is to be helpful to you.

Activists Activists are people who learn by doing. They like to involve themselves is in new experiences, and will ‘try anything once’. They have a tendency to act first and consider the consequences afterward.   Reflectors Reflectors learn by observing and thinking about what happened. They prefer to consider all the possible angles and implications before coming to a considered opinion. They spend time listening and observing, and have a tendency to be cautious and thoughtful.   Theorists Theorists prefer to perceive the speculation behind the actions. They have models, ideas, and facts so as to find out. They prefer to analyze and synthesize and feel uncomfortable with subjective judgments.   Pragmatists Pragmatists are keen on making an attempt at things out. They give the impression of being for brand spanking new concepts which will be applied to the matter in hand. They prefer to get on with things and have a tendency to be impatient with open-ended discussions; they're sensible, realistic individuals.

VAK learning style was established by Barbe, 1979. VAK learning style divides people into three categories of learners. VAK method is a favorite of the speeded learning community at present since its principal and benefits extend to all types of learning and development. 

Visual	Auditory	Kinesthetic
Learning through seeing  See the teacher Sit in front of the classroom Learning best from visual       displays	Learning through listing Learning through listing  Verbal lessons   Discussions	Learning through moving, doing and touching         Hand on approach          Prefer group work        Rather demonstrate than explain

 

Global context on the most effective style of workplace learning

 For organizations to stay up in In today’s fast world, learning initiatives should be the inspiration of their talent development strategy. Learning and development programs keep people growing and organizations performing at their best. 

The 5 Main Workplace Learning Styles

Micro Learning

Micro Learning utilizes brief learning units and short-run activities, associated is usually managed in an autonomous, self-paced delivery. It’s a holistic, skill-based approach to workplace learning.

Macro Learning

Macro Learning is used when the subject matter is a larger, more theoretical concept. Macro Learning takes a few hours or may span a couple days, depending on the depth of the subject matter expertise you’re trying to achieve.

Macro Learning can be given through workshops, experiential learning, seminars, online courses, or coaching sessions.

Informal Learning

Informal learning permits individuals to learn from a variety of sources that align with their personal interests and preferences while consuming content that is most relevant to their role. In this style, individuals learn at their own place because there isn’t structured content or curriculum involved. Individuals can learn at any time and anywhere as well as from coworkers, senior leaders, coaches etc.

 Traditional Learning

Traditional workplace learning is a structured curriculum that’s delivered through a pre-defined, company-approved curriculum. These programs may be online or led by a classroom instructor in-person, or some blend of both methods. But traditional learning needs specialized expertise and access to instructional designers, visual and UX designers, technology experts, and more. There is a bigger cost to these programs, and they require more time to develop and deploy, but the scale and level of content included in traditional learning still create value for an organization.

 Cross-Functional Learning

Cross-functional learning expands workplace learning beyond an individual’s role or department into different departments, job positions, and responsibilities. Cross-company learning helps HR teams identify gaps across a broader scope

 

Conclusion

While an effective learning plan is a great asset for an organization, make certain learning doesn’t happen in a very vacuum. Produce learning experiences that align with individual and team goals. If a person has to need their performance to successive levels or improve upon the specified outcomes they're following, design learning experiences that facilitate them more effectively pursue their goals.

Reference list

·       Honey, P. and Mumford, A. (1986a) The Manual of Learning Styles, Peter Honey Associates.

Honey, P. and Mumford, A. (1986b) Learning Styles Questionnaire, Peter Honey Publications Ltd.

 Zigarmi,D.(2020) What’s your most effective style of  workplace learning.[on line].Available from:https://www.hr.com/en/app/blog/2020/01/whats-your-most-effective-style-of-workplace-learn_k572j57x.html[Accessed 26 April 2021]