Learning theories and strategies

1. The importance of learning theories and strategies
Knowledge of learning theories and strategies is important in delivering the “Inclusive Sport” training. It is about the question: how do I convey the content of the subject matter and how does the other learn? It is about insight into experiential learning in adults.
“Learning is the process of creating knowledge through the transformation of experience,” says David Kolb. Theory and practice are intertwined. Socrates once said, “A person already knows everything, the only art is to get it out of someone.” Learning is also determined by the context in which we find ourselves, the age stage and personal experiences. Learning is more than just acquiring knowledge from (study) books. Everyone deals with it in their own way.

David Kolb’s. learning styles
David Kolb has modeled the different ways in which people learn. According to his model, there are four learning styles: decision-makers (applying), thinkers (knowing), doers (integrating) and dreamers (seeing). The latter group is also called scouts or reflectors. Decision-makers would like to apply their newly acquired knowledge directly, thinkers would like to know the new knowledge, doers would like to integrate the knowledge and dreamers would like to see how it works.
Kolb’s learning styles apply not only to learning new material, but also to learning new skills or carrying out new assignments. One learning style is no better than the other. However, a certain learning style can lend itself better to one situation than to another.
Every learning style is unique, with its strengths and weaknesses. If you have an eye for it, you can reinforce weaker sides by enticing active doers and decision-makers to the richness of dreaming and thinking, while dreamers and thinkers can be put on the path of movement. Everyone has a first preference for a certain learning style. But most people can also be tempted to other ways of learning, so that one can become even “richer” and deepen learning.
During the train-the-trainer processes, attention is paid to the above learning styles. To properly convey the content of the ‘Inclusive Sport’ method, insight is needed into the different learning styles of a learning group. If the content is only conveyed in one way, according to one learning style, a trainer runs the risk that part of the group will have difficulty following what he is saying and that the content will not come across well to them.
In order to learn to recognise learning styles and to be able to actively use the knowledge about the styles, it is first of all important that a trainer gains insight into his own learning style. That is often the way in which he teaches others. Often this is also the learning style that a trainer most easily recognises in others. The trainer must also develop the skill to quickly recognise other learning styles in people. If the trainer quickly understands the types of participants, he can adjust his working methods while giving a training and thus keep everyone “on the ball”.

Kolb: Learning Styles

2. Recognising Kolb’s learning styles
Note: Visual learners can also view the theory in this paragraph on a Youtube video (see the link under the heading ‘support’).

According to Kolb’s model, each learning style can be recognized by a number of characteristics:

2.1 The decision maker (Concrete Experiencer, feeling)
The decision maker wants to learn actively by doing and asks: “how?”
The decision-maker works purposefully and systematically. He likes to be confronted with a problem for which only one correct solution can be found.
The decision maker:

• likes abstractness;
• likes to experiment actively;
• is often very specialised;
• is practical;
• do not express too many emotions;
• social contacts are not absolutely sought after;
• teachers act as models;
• respects expert opinion.

He sets goals and makes decisions, but is weak in social contact and relationships. A decision maker benefits most from working methods in which he can draw conclusions himself and establish a link with practice. It is also important that there is room for experiment.

2.2 The Thinker (Abstract Thinker, thinking)The thinker wants to learn abstractly by thinking and asks: “what?”.
The thinker emphasises the logical connection between things. He works logically and accurately, starting from theory.
The Thinker:

• combines abstraction and observation;
• thinks logically and takes theory as a starting point;
• likes definitions;
• keeps emotions to oneself;
• likes schedules and clear structures;
• likes to unravel situations;
• new situations can create uncertainty;
• demands peace and order.

He is strong in logical thinking and building concepts or models. His weaknesses lie in the impracticality of applying what has been learned and often not having both feet on the ground. Teaching methods with a clear structure, room for asking questions and the possibility to place observations in theory are effective for thinkers.

2.3 The doer (Active Experimenter, doing)
The doer wants to learn concretely through feeling and asks: “As what?”
The doer works in a goal-oriented manner, gets along well with people and wants to achieve tangible results. He adapts quickly to concrete situations and prefers to perform rather than analyse.
The doer:

• excels in acting actively and experiencing concretely;
• likes variety;
• does not start from theory;
• wants to experiment actively and experience it concretely;
• is result-oriented;
• respond to challenges (fly in);
• often relies on intuition;
• is sometimes impatient or running too fast.

Its strengths are that it is practical and adapts easily. Weaknesses could be the fact that he can be impatient and pushy. Effective working methods for learning new things or new activities offer variety. It is also important that feedback is given and that there is room for humor, fun and relaxation.

2.4 The dreamer (Reflective Observer, watching)
The dreamer wants to learn reflectively by watching and listening and asks: “why?”.
The dreamer emphasises concrete experiences and has great imagination and fantasy. This allows him to quickly make connections from a concrete situation.

The dreamer:

• excels in immediate experience and observation;
• is open to many things;
• generates new ideas;
• has great cultural interest;
• likes to reflect;
• expresses feelings easily;
• is a difficult decision-maker (sees many aspects);
• makes connections easily.

The strengths of a dreamer lie in his imagination and the generation of new ideas. His indecision can be a trap. Effective working methods for a dreamer offer room for expressing feelings and time for reflection. Visual presentation is important when learning new activities.

Recognizing the different learning styles in practice
Recognizing a decision maker, thinker, doer or dreamer is not always easy. There are several tests that can facilitate this. A good way to infer learning styles is by looking at how someone takes on a new assignment. You can see how someone acts and how someone learns. This can be applied well within a training or when giving a course or lessons. An example: we often see that the doer has already started the assignment without thinking about the consequences. The thinker literally withdraws into the head/brain to consider how to carry out the assignment.
The dreamer also withdraws into the head/brain, but looks for an image of what it will look like, and comes up with a world of possibilities. He does not immediately take action. The decision-maker wants to make a quick decision and forces people to make a choice.

Discover which of the 4 learning styles you have!
A tool he calls Learning Style Inventory (LSI). This app will take you through 9 simple steps to help you find out what your preferred learning style may be and briefly explain what that may mean. This may help you better understand why some learning formats has worked better for you than others in the past, and perhaps more importantly, may help you make more informed decisions about what learning methods to primarily engage in going forward, for best results for you. In honor of Mr. Kolb’s generous decision to make this test and theory freely available. Enjoy the selftest under the heading ‘Support’!

Importance of the right balance
If there is a balance between all these types, a joint assignment will be completed successfully. If there is an imbalance, it becomes difficult.

• If no decision maker is present, it will take longer to make a decision.
• If there are too many decision-makers, they will fight each other.
• If there are no doers, one gets stuck in a process of thinking for a long time and there is no quick action.
• If there are too many doers, people just do something and all kinds of things can happen along the way that they had not foreseen.
• When there are many dreamers, people keep fantasizing about the approach.
• If there are too few dreamers, little creativity will emerge.
• If there are too many thinkers, it is not easy to get started.
• If there are few thinkers, the thinking process for the right approach does not get going.

3. Evaluate, reflect and coach
Evaluating, reflecting and coaching are important facets of learning. Evaluation is about the retrospective judgment in terms of good or less good. An essential contribution of Kolb to learning theory is the awareness that reflection is a necessary phase in learning. In his division into learning styles, reflection is important: how do I learn, how do the other learn? Reflection is about restructuring experiences and / or knowledge with the intention of influencing future actions in a similar activity. Reflection helps to provide the evaluation with a personal depth.
We know from research that the average trainee has the greatest difficulty with self-reflection and at the same time has a great need for it. We always say: “Where it gets exciting for yourself, learning begins!” Just think of a statement by Peter Senge, an American scientist in the field of knowledge management: “True self-reflection leads to mastery”.
Coaching is a way to tap into and develop talents. Not by instructions or compelling advice, but by analyzing situations, exploring solutions and putting them into practice on the basis of equality and in mutual interaction situations.
A coaching skill is: the talent to improve the performance and learning ability of the trainees, by creating a situation that makes the talents and ideas of the other visible. John Whitmore, author of coaching and management books, defined coaching as: “Freeing up someone’s potential qualities so that he or she performs to the best of their ability. It is not teaching, but promoting learning ”. And in view of the latter, it is therefore essential that you understand how someone learns. Only then can you offer the most effective form of letting someone learn something and release their potential qualities.