The Learning Circle (Start anywhere, use everything)
Concrete Experience
- Learning from specific experiences
- Relating to people
- Being sensitive to feelings & people
Reflective Observation
- Carefully observing before making judgments
- Viewing issues from different perspectives
- Looking for the meaning of things
Abstract Conceptualization
- Logically analyzing ideas
- Planning systematically
- Acting on an intellectual understanding of a situation
Active Experimentation
- Showing ability to get things done
- Taking risks
- Influencing people and events thru action
Learning Style Types (diagonals)
Diverging
- Best at viewing concrete situations from many different points of view
- Observe rather than take action
- Prefer working in groups to gather information, listening with an open mind and receiving personal feedback
Assimilating
- Best at understanding a wide range of information and putting it into concise, logical form
- Less focused on people and more interested in abstract ideas & concepts
- More important that a theory have logical soundness than practical value
- Prefer lectures, readings, exploring analytical models & having time to think things through
Converging
- Best at finding practical uses for ideas and theories
- Ability to solve problems & make decisions based on finding solutions to questions with social & interpersonal issues
- Prefer to experiment with new ideas, simulations, laboratory assignments& practical applications
Accommodating
- Have the ability to learn primarily from hands on experience
- Enjoy carrying out plans and involving self in new & challenging experiences
- Act on gut feelings rather than logical analysis
- Rely more heavily on people for information than on own technical analysis
- Prefer to work with others to get assignments done, to set goals, to do field work and to test out different approaches to completing a project
