How to Maximise Your Development with Kolb’s Learning Cycle
How do we best learn? That may be a question you have not considered before, but it is certainly important. If we want to be in a growth mindset, we need to ensure we are developing effectively. It turns out that effective learning happens cyclically, in a continual loop, and that is what David Kolb’s learning cycle helps us to embrace.
I find Kolb’s learning cycle useful on several levels. Firstly, it gives insight into my preferred learning style. Secondly, it helps me as a leader and coach, supporting the development of others. Thirdly, it informs how I construct the leadership education programmes that I deliver at businesses, universities and in the military. You will soon see how you can apply it too.
What is the Kolb cycle of learning?
Kolb’s learning cycle is a conceptual model that explains learning from the perspective of experiential learning theory. As you would expect, experiential learning is education through experience and the application of knowledge. As Kolb himself puts it:
“Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” – David Kolb
Kolb’s model is a four-stage learning cycle and has four associated learning styles. We will explore this in more detail a bit later.
Kolb’s experiential learning theory is based on psychology and approaches developed by the likes of Lewin, Jung, and Dewey. Kurt Lewin, the gestalt psychologist was an expert in mindset change. Carl Jung, the analytical psychologist, developed the ideas of personality type, and the concepts of introversion and extroversion, which both relate to learning styles. John Dewey, the philosopher, and educational reformer was also a proponent of experiential learning.
Beyond the field of educational psychology, there are other obvious influences and useful comparisons. Kolb’s learning cycle reflects a decision-making process and is almost synonymous with John Boyd’s OODA loop (Observe, Orientate, Decide, Act). There are also similarities with Eric Rees’s Lean Start-up model, as the Think, Make, Check process is a learning cycle too.
What are the 4 stages of Kolb’s learning cycle?
The four stages of Kolb’s learning cycle are:
Concrete Experience (CE)
Reflective Observation (RO)
Abstract Conceptualisation (AC)
Active Experimentation (AE)
Effective learning is only achieved when the loop is completed. But, the loop can be entered at any point, as long as the full cycle is accomplished.
Kolb’s 4-Stage Learning Cycle (by author)
Here is a further explanation of each stage.
Concrete experience
A concrete experience (CE) is a new experience or similar experience under new circumstances. The key element is some sort of novelty in the situation that promotes a learning opportunity.
Reflective observation
Reflective observation (RO) is the mental process of assessing the situation with existing knowledge and identifying gaps in understanding.
Abstract conceptualisation
The next stage is abstract conceptualisation (AC) where a new or modified idea is introduced to address the intellectual gap. This abstract concept takes the form of a mental model.
Active experimentation
The fourth stage is active experimentation (AE) where the new or modified mental model is implemented into the new situation. The approach is one of experimentation, where the learner observes what happens so that the cycle can start again, and further adaptations can be incorporated as needed.
What is an example of Kolb’s learning cycle?
We can illustrate how this cycle works by taking the example of playing a video game. I am a fan of many computer games but let us take the ever-popular Supercell app, Clash Royale, as a specific example in this case. For those who don’t know (and suffer an addition to) Clash Royale, then in simple terms, it is a strategy game where you battle other players in real-time online, with a limited deck of attack cards. Here is a simple application of the Kolb model in this scenario.
Concrete experience. I start a game and enter a battle with another player.
Reflective observation. With my chosen deck I see the effect of the battle cards I chose and how they fare against the opposition. I think about when, where, and how I place the cards, drawing upon previous experience of playing the game or similar games.
Abstract conceptualisation. Depending on how my strategy performs (but particularly if it goes badly) I will think about changing my deck to select other cards that might perform better in another match.
Active experimentation. I will start a fresh match with my new deck and experiment with how the alternative cards perform as compared to my old deck. But inevitably this new experience will be against a new player with a slightly different deck to the last one played and so the cycle begins again.
Hopefully, you can see from this how easily the model can apply to everyday situations. Think about experiences you have had today; that could be commuting, cooking, practising a musical instrument, writing or one of a thousand other things. What novel circumstance promoted the learning loop for you in that experience and what was the outcome?
What are Kolb’s 4 learning styles?
Four learning styles complement the four stages of the Kolb learning cycle. In my mind, these are less useful than the cycle, but they are still worth considering. The learning styles, as they relate to the learning cycle, are:
Diverging (CE/RO)
Assimilating (AC/RO)
Converging (AC/AE)
Accommodating (CE/AE)
These terms need unpacking a little more so here is each in turn:
Diverging – feel and watch
The Diverging preference is predominant in the CE and RO phases of the cycle. People with this preference are often sensitive, open to different perspectives, like idea generation and brainstorming, and are imaginative and in touch emotionally.
Assimilating – think and watch
Assimilators prefer the reflective observation and abstract conceptualisation stages. They tend to be concise, and logical, want a clear explanation, and access to a wide range of information. They have a tendency towards science, reading and analysis.
Converging – think and do
The Converging style concentrates on the abstract conceptualisation and active experimentation phases. People with this preference like practical issues, problem-solving, and taking a hands-on approach. They tend to be technically minded and gifted.
Accommodating – feel and do
Those with the Accommodating style particularly enjoy the active experimentation and concrete experience elements of the cycle. They use intuition rather than logic, relish new challenges and experiences and often prefer to rely on others for getting knowledge and data.
What is my preferred learning style?
According to Kolb, we all have a preferred learning style and after reading the descriptions above there is a good chance you will have an idea of which one best depicts you. For example, I tend to reflect before I do which makes assimilation my preference. By contrast, my wife loves to do and would be closer to the accommodating preference. Suffice to say, in any team (and there I include the family) it is good to have a range of preferences.
The four learning styles are based on the psychology of Carl Jung (as mentioned earlier) and his ideas on personality preferences for how we understand and interact with the world. You might recognise some of the terminologies if you have done a personality test such as the Myers-Briggs (MBTI) profile. Doing and watching relate to introversion and extraversion. Similarly, experience and conceptualisation relate to feeling and thinking. For those familiar with the work of Honey and Mumford (The Manual of Learning Styles, 1986) you will also see parallels with their ‘activist’, ‘reflector’, ‘theorist’, and ‘pragmatist’ typology.
I mentioned before that I feel that these preferences are – on balance – less useful than the cycle and that is because I don’t like to put people into boxes. Preferences are just that, preferences, not exact types. Styles relate to a rough spectrum that has flexibility, rather than a box with firm boundaries, but we often forget that when it comes to personality profiles. This can lead to unhelpful assumptions such as “I can’t learn that way because I am this particular type.” That would be a wrong assumption; we all have elements of each type and need to engage through each stage of the learning cycle.
Every day is a school day
I love the phrase, “every day is a school day” as it sums up the growth mindset. We should all seek to be in learning mode with every new day and new experience. But as John Dewey points out,
The belief that all genuine education comes about through experience does not mean that all experiences are genuinely or equally educative.
John Dewey
Kolb’s learning cycle gives us a model to ensure that experiences can be educative. If we take the concrete experience, apply reflective observation, build our abstract concepts, and apply them in active experimentation, then we can be sure to learn, develop and educate ourselves effectively – whatever our preferred learning style.
So, what new thing can you learn today? Have fun!
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!
10 Simple Tools to Bolster Your Productivity, Leadership and Decision-Making
My work falls into several key roles. I lead an organisation, and run my own business, I coach senior managers and I also facilitate leadership courses for various corporations. With a couple of decades of management experience under my belt, I have found that certain tools and approaches really help me on a weekly (even daily) basis. So why not share them with you?
I have picked my top 10 (because, hey, we all like top-ten lists, right?) so this is not exhaustive, but it is representative of the mental models that I use the most. You will likely recognise a few tools from the list but equally, hopefully, there are some new gems to be found or reminded of.
I have included a short explanation of each model but there are also links to longer articles on each tool if you want to explore them further.
The Rule of 3 – for simple, impactful written and verbal communication
I love the rule of 3 because it is utterly simple and yet undeniably effective. The rule of three is the phenomenon that information, clustered in threes, makes communications clearer, more memorable, and impactful. There is a long history of using this tool, reaching back to Aristotle and perhaps further. To find out how to apply to rule to your writing, decision-making and public speaking, take a look at The Rule of 3: An Easy Hack to Improve Your Communication.
The Right Questions – for decision-making and planning
I developed this approach for making decisions and plans through my work as a Bomb Disposal Officer. By using the seven main interrogatives in the English language as a mental prompt, and applying the questions in a suitable order, it creates a simple system to think through a choice and come up with a plan of action. The framework looks like this:
Why? (Purpose, Values, Priorities): Why is this important?
Where? (Situation, Vision) Where have we come from, where are we now and where do we want to go?
What? (Mission, Goal) What does success look like?
Which? (Options, Risk) In which ways could we achieve our goal?
How? (Resources, Plan) How do we get to our destination (what steps and resources do we need)?
Who? (Network, Team) Who can help us achieve the goal?
When? (Timing, Scheduling) When is the best time to achieve the tasks and how long will it take to succeed?
The Eisenhower Matrix – a tool for effective prioritising
I first came across the Eisenhower Matrix over two decades ago when I first read Stephen Covey’s The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. I have been using the system ever since to help me think about my task list and how to prioritise things. The two-by-two matrix is composed of thinking about what is important and what is urgent. This creates four ways to categorise and prioritise our tasks:
Urgent and Important. Do these tasks now.
Not urgent but important. Plan time to do these tasks.
Urgent but not important. Try to delegate these tasks.
Not urgent and not important. Avoid these activities.
5:5 Breathing Technique – to help your emotional management
Various scientific studies have shown the effectiveness of using breathing techniques to manage our emotional states. When a crisis hits, or you feel yourself losing your cool then the best thing to do is employ a proven breathing technique. The thing is, to truly be effective, you need to have practised beforehand. My favourite technique is 5:5 breathing where I breathe in for a slow count of five and then breath out for a slow count of five. If you would like to know some variations to this technique (and how tracing your hand can make it even more impactful) then read How to Use Simple Breathing Techniques to Reduce Stress.
The Kolb Learning Cycle – for experiential learning and a growth mindset
We learn through experience and the Kolb cycle helps is to ensure that we learn effectively by making us aware of the critical stages. The order is not important but we need to go through all four phases of the cycle if we are to truly learn. So, if you do not want to waste a learning opportunity then you need to check off these four elements:
Concrete Experience – having some sort of new experience
Reflective Observation – assessing the experience against existing knowledge
Abstract Conceptualisation – generating new mental models
Active experimentation – applying new methods to the experience
The SWOT Analysis – a tool to improve your situational analysis
The SWOT analysis is one of the best know conceptual tools there is. Some people might discount it because it is so frequently mentioned or used, but this would be a mistake. The SWOT analysis is popular because – as with the best management tools – it is so simple and effective. It is brilliant for getting a snapshot of a situation. SWOT stands for:
Strengths
Weaknesses
Opportunities
Threats
Strengths and weaknesses are internal factors whereas opportunities and threats are external factors. One of the most beneficial elements of this tool is looking at the links and relationships between these four quadrants. And, even though the SWOT tool was designed for use with businesses I also highly recommend it as a personal tool. Do a quick SWOT analysis on yourself; it’s great for self-awareness.
The GROW Model – a tool for setting goals and coaching others
Sir John Whitmore’s GROW model, along with the SWOT analysis, is one of the best know conceptual tools used in the workplace. The GROW model was developed as a coaching tool but has been widely accepted as a tool for all managers and I frequently teach it in leadership courses. The GROW method provides an easy-to-follow framework for coaching someone to achieve something. GROW stands for:
Goal – identify the vision and set the task
Reality – consider the present situation and its factors (the SWOT analysis can help here)
Options – look at different ways to achieve the goal
Will – commit to achieving the goal and plan the first steps
As a manager, you can use this method to coach people through objectives at work and works very well alongside the SMARTER delegation method outlined below.
SMART (and SMARTER) tasks – to ensure effective delegation
The more responsibility I take on, the more I have to delegate. The thing is, if I fail to delegate work effectively then I will end up with just as much work (if not more) in the end. Therefore, it is critical to define tasks effectively when assigning work. The SMART and SMARTER acronyms are really helpful reminders of what is needed to create an achievable goal. Talking through these elements with the person taking on the job also gets their buy-in to the activity and creates agreement around the parameters of the work. SMART stands for:
Specific,
Measurable,
Attainable,
Relevant and
Time-bound
You can also add an optional E of Evaluate and R or Re-Evaluate to create a SMARTER task with planned review points. I would wholeheartedly recommend this, and the Traffic Light system (below) can complement this evaluation process.
The Traffic Lights Review Tool – for reviewing projects, progress, and performance
As seen from the Kolb learning cycle, if we want to improve performance, we need to reflect on what we have done before and learn from the experience. It is also evident, from the SMARTER delegation technique, that planning in evaluation points will support the successful achievement of a task. Therefore, we need to constantly review performance in a simple, effective and time-efficient manner. This can be done by using the Traffic Light approach which prompts the three critical questions to cover in a review process:
The SCARF Model – to improve your social interactions
The SCARF model is a tool I have come across more recently as I have become more interested in the psychology and neuroscience behind how we behave at work and in our relationships. It was developed by neuro-scientist David Rock to explain how we interact with people in social engagements and why our body and brain interpret social threats in the same way as physical threats. His research came up with five factors that can impact whether we find a social situation positive or negative. These make the acronym SCARF which stands for:
Status – where we feel in the pecking order
Certainty – how sure we feel about the future
Autonomy – the level of choice and agency we have
Relatedness – how connected we feel to others
Fairness – whether we perceive something to be equitable
The science behind this is fascinating and, when understood, can improve relationships, and help to stop explosive, damaging, or uncomfortable social interactions. You can find out more in How to Stop Your Primal Brain from Hijacking You at Work.
A starter for 10: which do you want to experiment with?
If there is something new here for you, then I recommend experimenting with the tools and seeing how it goes. Be playful with it, adapt it to your needs, and if it doesn’t work, put it on the shelf and try something else. Part of the fun of working life is this learning journey where we find new ideas, experiment, and grow. As we develop as individuals, we get better at what we do. Everyone – our bosses, colleagues, and teams – benefit. We also benefit if we enjoy what we do and get the satisfaction of improving our performance and achieving new things.
So have a play. And if you could make your own list, what would it have on it?
If you want the right answers you have to start with the right questions
About The Right Questions
The Right Questions is for people who want greater clarity, purpose and success. There is a wealth of resources to boost your effectiveness in achieving goals, your leadership of yourself and others, and your decision-making.
Wherever you are on your journey, I hope that you find information on this site to help you on the next leg of your quest. Even if that is just the inspiration to take one small step in the right direction, then that is a success. If you can take pleasure in learning and travelling as you go, then so much the better.
I love to serve people, helping them unlock their potential, empowering them as leaders, and assisting them in achieving their goals. Please get in touch and let me know how I can support you!