1. Think of the learning experience/situation that you used as a reference for completing the Kolb LSI. What learning experience did you use as a reference? After taking the LSI, do you see the experience differently? How? What new insights do you have into your experience?
Response: The learning experience that I used in the Kolb LSI (learning style inventory) was finding my work location when I didn’t know where it was. I work in many different areas in most of the parks, so finding the location can be hard.
After finding the results of the Kolb LSI, I found that my learning style is strongly orientated towards concrete experience. I rely mainly on concrete experience, due to my data points falling between accommodating and diverging. Additionally, I also largely rely on active experimentation and reflective observation. My score shows abstract conceptualization is a minor contributor to the way I learn.
After taking the LSI I view my experiences of trying to find my working location in a new light. My learning style means that begin my learning experience at the concrete experience stage in the learning cycle. When given directions in an unfamiliar environment, I struggle to follow the instructions in finding my location, showing that I am weak at abstract conceptualization. However, once I have visited a location, Diverging and Accommodating learning styles allow me to remember landmarks and interactions that occurred within that area.
2. Consider how your learning approach changes in different contexts such as home, school, job, with friends, and with co-workers. Discuss how knowing/understanding your learning style will impact your learning approach in these situations in the future.
Response: I believe my learning style changed in school compare to one of my friends. At school I learn by reading book and try listen to teacher but with friend or at home I can use dictionary and translate words, so that I can understand easy words and learn step by step because being from foreign country, English is difficult to understand. my learning style will show me how best approach on leaning so that I will always do active experiment and not abstract conceptualization because that is best way to learn for me.
3. Personal Observation: First Name of person
Which of Kolb’s learning styles do you believe this person demonstrated?
Describe the situation you observed: time/date/location/extenuating emotions
Summarize the situation indicating the behaviors/traits/characteristics this person displayed that lead you to choose this learning style:
Does this “feel” like typical behavior from this person? Why/why not?
Do you believe this to be their preferred learning style or are you seeing this person flex to another learning style?
Response: Personal Observation: Sherrill (roommate)
I think that Sherrill follows the assimilator learning style. At 7.30pm on February 2nd Sherrill was reading a water filter instruction manual in our apartment. I watched her put on water filter, she opened box and followed the manual instructions step by step. This is a typical learning behavior for Sherrill as she regularly reads books and follows similar step by step instructions at home. Although this is a typical way that Sherrill follows instructions, it is not the most convenient or desired approach. Sherrill would rather have someone show her how to change the water filter rather than working it out on her own. This is because Sherrill can learn how to change the water filter much faster while learning other useful tips that are not mentioned in the instruction manual.
4. Personal Observation: First Name of person
Which of Kolb’s learning styles do you believe this person demonstrated?
Describe the situation you observed: time/date/location/extenuating emotions
Summarize the situation indicating the behaviors/traits/characteristics this person displayed that lead you to choose this learning style:
Does this “feel” like typical behavior from this person? Why/why not?
Do you believe this to be their preferred learning style or are you seeing this person flex to another learning style?
Response: Raymond (friend)
11.00pm 2/22/11
The task I gave Raymond was to construct a complex origami crane. Raymond first tried to construct the crane by folding the paper without any instructions from me or the book. He failed in constructing the crane which shows his learning style is not accommodating in this example.
In Raymond’s second attempt he read the instructions that I supplied him to make the crane. He was easily distracted and didn’t understand many of the instructions, so he failed once again. This shows that his learning style is not converging for this example.
Now I explained to him how to fold the paper to construct the crane. This worked well as most of the folds where correct, but still the crane was not successfully constructed, as my explanations where confusing him. I finished the crane off while he watched which made him fully understand how to construct the crane. He then went off and constructed the crane from scratch, just from watching the right way of constructing the crane. This shows his strongest learning style is diverging as feeling the crane and watching me make it was the most effective learning style for Raymond.
I feel Raymond’s typical learning style is mostly observing how to do something then actually doing it himself. Raymond would fit between concrete experience and Reflective observation on the experimental learning model.
5. Work Observation: First Name of person
Which of Kolb’s learning styles do you believe this person demonstrated?
Describe the situation you observed: time/date/location/extenuating emotions
Summarize the situation indicating the behaviors/traits/characteristics this person displayed that lead you to choose this learning style:
Does this “feel” like typical behavior from this person? Why/why not?
Do you believe this to be their preferred learning style or are you seeing this person flex to another learning style?
Response: Charlotte (cast member) Date: 02/26/11
When Charlotte was training to be Mickey’s friend she made many mistakes, she was not playing the part of Mickey. She knew she was making mistakes and really wanted to learn how to move like Mickey.
I felt sorry for her so I decided to help her out back stage after work. I tried to show her how Mickey moves and reacts to guests while she was Mickey’s friend. This method of learning involved her doing the actions but not really thinking about it, as I was helping her move in certain ways. She still didn’t understand exactly what to do.
So I became Mickey’s friend while she watched. She observed me react to different examples while she watched. She said this was a big help, as she could see and think about the moves. After she observed many different characters she improved. I believe her learning style is assimilating, as she found watching and thinking the most effective learning paths for her.
I believe converging learning style was also shown in this example when she had to be Mickey’s friend. But from her reaction this was not her preferred learning style, but due to the job role she had no choice.
6. Work Observation: First Name of person
Which of Kolb’s learning styles do you believe this person demonstrated?
Describe the situation you observed: time/date/location/extenuating emotions
Summarize the situation indicating the behaviors/traits/characteristics this person displayed that lead you to choose this learning style:
Does this “feel” like typical behavior from this person? Why/why not?
Do you believe this to be their preferred learning style or are you seeing this person flex to another learning style?
Response: Tiffany (character attendant) 2/5/11
A new character attended joined the team at magic kingdom. Tiffany came from a merchandise position at Hollywood studios where she mainly used the converging learning style. She had little interaction with young guests at her old work location, therefore she struggled to tell younger guests to wait in line and to leave after visiting Mickey. Both character performers and character attendance noticed that she struggled with her new position. In situations when she didn’t know how to control the guests and started to stress, other character attendances help out. This allowed her to see the correct way of dealing with individual events.
From watching the correct way to handle situations she was able to take control of similar events by the end of the day. This was a clear example of Reflective observation from the experimental learning model. Her learning style was mostly diverging as she observed how to correctly handle guests and learnt from it.