Learning cycle

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A learning cycle is a concept of how people learn from experience. A learning cycle will have a number of stages or phases, the last of which can be followed by the first.

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John Dewey

In 1933, John Dewey described five phases or aspects of reflective thought:

In between, as states of thinking, are (1) suggestions, in which the mind leaps forward to a possible solution; (2) an intellectualization of the difficulty or perplexity that has been felt (directly experienced) into a problem to be solved, a question for which the answer must be sought; (3) the use of one suggestion after another as a leading idea, or hypothesis, to initiate and guide observation and other operations in the collection of factual material; (4) the mental elaboration of the idea or supposition as an idea or supposition (reasoning, in the sense in which reasoning is a part, not the whole of inference); and (5) testing the hypothesis by overt or imaginative action.

—  John Dewey, How We Think , 1933 [1]

Kurt Lewin

In the 1940s, Kurt Lewin developed action research and described a cycle of:

  1. Planning
  2. Action
  3. Fact finding, about the result of the action

Lewin particularly highlighted the need for fact finding, which he felt was missing from much of management and social work. He contrasted this to the military where

the attack is pressed home and immediately a reconnaissance plane follows with the one objective of determining as accurately and objectively as possible the new situation. This reconnaissance or fact-finding has four functions. First it should evaluate the action. It shows whether what has been achieved is above or below expectation. Secondly, it gives the planners a chance to learn, that is, to gather new general insight, for instance, regarding the strength and weakness of certain weapons or techniques of action. Thirdly, this fact-finding should serve as a basis for correctly planning the next step. Finally, it serves as a basis for modifying the "overall plan."

—  Kurt Lewin, Action Research and Minority Problems, 1946 [2]

Kolb and Fry

In the early 1970s, David A. Kolb and Ronald E. Fry developed the experiential learning model (ELM), composed of four elements: [3]

  1. Concrete experience
  2. Observation of and reflection on that experience
  3. Formation of abstract concepts based upon the reflection
  4. Testing the new concepts

Testing the new concepts gives concrete experience which can be observed and reflected upon, allowing the cycle to continue.

Kolb integrated this learning cycle with a theory of learning styles, wherein each style prefers two of the four parts of the cycle. The cycle is quadrisected by a horizontal and vertical axis. The vertical axis represents how knowledge can be grasped, through concrete experience or through abstract conceptualization, or by a combination of both. The horizontal axis represents how knowledge is transformed or constructed through reflective observation or active experimentation. These two axes form the four quadrants that can be seen as four stages: concrete experience (CE), reflective observation (RO), abstract conceptualization (AC) and active experimentation (AE) and as four styles of learning: diverging, assimilating, converging and accommodating. [4] The concept of learning styles has been criticised, see Learning styles § Criticism.

Honey and Mumford

In the 1980s, Peter Honey and Alan Mumford developed Kolb and Fry's ideas into slightly different learning cycle. [5] The stages are:

  1. Doing something, having an experience
  2. Reflecting on the experience
  3. Concluding from the experience, developing a theory
  4. Planning the next steps, to apply or test the theory

While the cycle can be entered at any of the four stages, a cycle must be completed to give learning that will change behaviour. The cycle can be performed multiple times to build up layers of learning.

Honey and Mumford gave names (also called learning styles ) to the people who prefer to enter the cycle at different stages: Activist, Reflector, Theorist and Pragmatist. Honey and Mumford's learning styles questionnaire has been criticized for poor reliability and validity. [6]

5E

In the late 1980s, the 5E learning cycle was developed by Biological Sciences Curriculum Study, specifically for use in teaching science. [7] The learning cycle has four phases:

  1. Engage, in which a student's interest is captured and the topic is established.
  2. Explore, in which the student is allowed to construct knowledge in the topic through facilitated questioning and observation.
  3. Explain, in which students are asked to explain what they have discovered, and the instructor leads a discussion of the topic to refine the students' understanding.
  4. Extend, in which students are asked to apply what they have learned in different but similar situations, and the instructor guides the students toward the next discussion topic.

The fifth E stands for Evaluate, in which the instructor observes each student's knowledge and understanding, and leads students to assess whether what they have learned is true. Evaluation should take place throughout the cycle, not within its own set phase.

Alistair Smith

In the 1990s, Alistair Smith developed the accelerated learning cycle, also for use in teaching. [8] The phases are: [9]

  1. Create the supportive learning environment – safe but stimulating
  2. Connect the learning – useful knowledge we already have
  3. Give the big picture
  4. Describe the learning outcomes we want to achieve
  5. Input – new information to enable the activity
  6. Activity
  7. Demonstrate the findings of the activity
  8. Review for recall and retention

Unlike other learning cycles, step 8 is normally followed by step 2, rather than step 1.

ALACT

In the 2000s, Fred Korthagen and Angelo Vasalos (and others) developed the ALACT model, specifically for use in personal development. [10] The five phases of the ALACT cycle are:

  1. Action
  2. Looking back on the action
  3. Aspects of essential awareness
  4. Creating alternative methods of action
  5. Trial

As with Kolb and Fry, trial is an action that can be looked back on. Korthagen and Vasalos listed coaching interventions for each phase. [10]

Levels of reflection

Korthagen and Vasalos also described an onion model of "levels of reflection" (from inner to outer: mission, identity, beliefs, competencies, behavior, environment) inspired by Gregory Bateson's hierarchy of logical types. [10] In 2010, they connected their model of reflective learning to the practice of mindfulness and to Otto Scharmer's Theory U, which, in contrast to a learning cycle, emphasizes reflecting on a desired future rather than on past experience. [11] : 539–545 

See also

Related Research Articles

Organization development (OD) is the study and implementation of practices, systems, and techniques that affect organizational change. The goal of which is to modify a group's/organization's performance and/or culture. The organizational changes are typically initiated by the group's stakeholders. OD emerged from human relations studies in the 1930s, during which psychologists realized that organizational structures and processes influence worker behavior and motivation.

Leadership development is the process which helps expand the capacity of individuals to perform in leadership roles within organizations. Leadership roles are those that facilitate execution of an organization's strategy through building alignment, winning mindshare and growing the capabilities of others. Leadership roles may be formal, with the corresponding authority to make decisions and take responsibility, or they may be informal roles with little official authority.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action research</span> Methodology for social science research

Action research is a philosophy and methodology of research generally applied in the social sciences. It seeks transformative change through the simultaneous process of taking action and doing research, which are linked together by critical reflection. Kurt Lewin, then a professor a MIT, first coined the term "action research" in 1944. In his 1946 paper "Action Research and Minority Problems" he described action research as "a comparative research on the conditions and effects of various forms of social action and research leading to social action" that uses "a spiral of steps, each of which is composed of a circle of planning, action and fact-finding about the result of the action".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Experiential education</span> Philosophy of education

Experiential education is a philosophy of education that describes the process that occurs between a teacher and student that infuses direct experience with the learning environment and content. The term is not interchangeable with experiential learning; however experiential learning is a sub-field and operates under the methodologies of experiential education. The Association for Experiential Education regards experiential education as "a philosophy that informs many methodologies in which educators purposefully engage with learners in direct experience and focused reflection in order to increase knowledge, develop skills, clarify values, and develop people's capacity to contribute to their communities". Experiential education is the term for the philosophy and educational progressivism is the movement which it informed. The Journal of Experiential Education publishes peer-reviewed empirical and theoretical academic research within the field.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Service-learning</span> Pedagogy combining learning objectives with community service

Service-learning is an educational approach that combines learning objectives with community service in order to provide a pragmatic, progressive learning experience while meeting societal needs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Experiential learning</span> Learn by reflect on active involvement

Experiential learning (ExL) is the process of learning through experience, and is more narrowly defined as "learning through reflection on doing". Hands-on learning can be a form of experiential learning, but does not necessarily involve students reflecting on their product. Experiential learning is distinct from rote or didactic learning, in which the learner plays a comparatively passive role. It is related to, but not synonymous with, other forms of active learning such as action learning, adventure learning, free-choice learning, cooperative learning, service-learning, and situated learning.

Learning styles refer to a range of theories that aim to account for differences in individuals' learning. Although there is ample evidence that individuals express personal preferences for how they prefer to receive information, few studies have found any validity in using learning styles in education. Many theories share the proposition that humans can be classified according to their "style" of learning, but differ in how the proposed styles should be defined, categorized and assessed. A common concept is that individuals differ in how they learn.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Donald Schön</span>

Donald Alan Schön was an American philosopher and professor in urban planning at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He developed the concept of reflective practice and contributed to the theory of organizational learning.

David Allen Kolb is an American educational theorist whose interests and publications focus on experiential learning, the individual and social change, career development, and executive and professional education. He is the founder and chairman of Experience Based Learning Systems, Inc. (EBLS), and an Emeritus Professor of Organizational Behavior in the Weatherhead School of Management, Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, Ohio.

Reflective practice is the ability to reflect on one's actions so as to take a critical stance or attitude towards one's own practice and that of one's peers, engaging in a process of continuous adaptation and learning. According to one definition it involves "paying critical attention to the practical values and theories which inform everyday actions, by examining practice reflectively and reflexively. This leads to developmental insight". A key rationale for reflective practice is that experience alone does not necessarily lead to learning; deliberate reflection on experience is essential.

Constructivist teaching is based on constructivist learning theory. Constructivist teaching is based on the belief that learning occurs as learners are actively involved in a process of meaning and knowledge construction as opposed to passively receiving information.

Cooperative inquiry, also known as collaborative inquiry, is a form of action research that was first proposed by John Heron in 1971 and later expanded with Peter Reason. The major idea of cooperative inquiry is to "research 'with' rather than 'on' people". It emphasizes that all active participants are fully involved in research decisions as co-researchers. Cooperative inquiry creates a research cycle among four different types of knowledge: propositional knowing, practical knowing, experiential knowing and presentational knowing. The research process iterates these four stages at each cycle with deepening experience and knowledge of the initial proposition, or of new propositions, at every cycle.

Student development theory refers to a body of scholarship that seeks to understand and explain the developmental processes of how students learn, grow, and develop in post-secondary education. Student development theory has been defined as a “collection of theories related to college students that explain how they grow and develop holistically, with increased complexity, while enrolled in a postsecondary educational environment”.

An adult educator or AE is one who practices the profession of facilitating the learning of adults by applying the principles of andragogy. The broader term of trainer is sometimes used for an adult educator when listing job categories. However, a trainer is not necessarily an adult educator. As Malcolm Knowles proposes, to be a successful adult educator, one must recognize that adult learners are self-directed. That is, they know basically what they need to learn at a given point in their career and seek to engage in the process of their learning through active participation.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reflective writing</span> Analytical practice used in scholarship and education

Reflective writing is an analytical practice in which the writer describes a real or imaginary scene, event, interaction, passing thought, or memory and adds a personal reflection on its meaning. Many reflective writers keep in mind questions such as "What did I notice?", "How has this changed me?" or "What might I have done differently?" when reflecting.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Medical simulation</span> Medical training and evaluation technique

Medical simulation, or more broadly, healthcare simulation, is a branch of simulation related to education and training in medical fields of various industries. Simulations can be held in the classroom, in situational environments, or in spaces built specifically for simulation practice. It can involve simulated human patients, educational documents with detailed simulated animations, casualty assessment in homeland security and military situations, emergency response, and support for virtual health functions with holographic simulation. In the past, its main purpose was to train medical professionals to reduce errors during surgery, prescription, crisis interventions, and general practice. Combined with methods in debriefing, it is now also used to train students in anatomy, physiology, and communication during their schooling.


Learning by doing is a theory that places heavy emphasis on student engagement and is a hands-on, task-oriented, process to education. The theory refers to the process in which students actively participate in more practical and imaginative ways of learning. This process distinguishes itself from other learning approaches as it provides many pedagogical advantages to more traditional learning styles, such those which privilege inert knowledge. Learning-by-doing is related to other types of learning such as adventure learning, action learning, cooperative learning, experiential learning, peer learning, service-learning, and situated learning.

David A. Kolb published his experiential learning theory (ELT) in 1984, inspired by the work of the gestalt psychologist Kurt Lewin. The approach works on two levels: a four-stage learning cycle and four distinct learning styles. Kolb's experiential learning theory has a holistic perspective which includes experience, perception, cognition and behaviour. It is a method where a person's skills and job requirements can be assessed in the same language that its commensurability can be measured.

Reflective learning is a form of education in which the student reflects upon their learning experiences. A theory about reflective learning cites it as an intentional and complex process that recognize the role of social context and experience. The goals of the process are the clarification and the creation of meaning in terms of self, which then lead to a changed conceptual perspective.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Coaching psychology</span> Field of applied psychology

Coaching psychology is a field of applied psychology that applies psychological theories and concepts to the practice of coaching. Its aim is to increase performance, self-actualization, achievement and well-being in individuals, teams and organisations by utilising evidence-based methods grounded in scientific research. Coaching psychology is influenced by theories in various psychological fields, such as humanistic psychology, positive psychology, learning theory and social psychology.

References

  1. ↑ Dewey, John (1933). How we think: a restatement of the relation of reflective thinking to the educative process . Boston; New York: D.C. Heath and Company. p.  107. OCLC   603884.
  2. ↑ Lewin, Kurt (November 1946). "Action research and minority problems" (PDF). Journal of Social Issues . 2 (4): 34–46. doi:10.1111/j.1540-4560.1946.tb02295.x. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-08-10.
  3. ↑ Kolb, David A.; Fry, Ronald E. (1975). "Towards an applied theory of experiential learning". In Cooper, Cary L. (ed.). Theories of group processes. Wiley series on individuals, groups, and organizations. London; New York: Wiley. pp. 33–58. ISBN   978-0471171171. OCLC   1103318.
  4. ↑ Abdulwahed, Mahmoud; Nagy, Zoltan K. (July 2009). "Applying Kolb's experiential learning cycle for laboratory education". Journal of Engineering Education . 98 (3): 283–294. doi:10.1002/j.2168-9830.2009.tb01025.x. S2CID   8515507.
  5. ↑ Mumford, Alan (1997). "Putting learning styles to work". Action learning at work. Aldershot, Hampshire; Brookfield, VT: Gower. p. 121. ISBN   978-0566078903. OCLC   35777384.
  6. ↑ Klein, Britt; McCall, Louise; Austin, David; Piterman, Leon (January 2007). "A psychometric evaluation of the Learning Styles Questionnaire: 40-item version". British Journal of Educational Technology . 38 (1): 23–32. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2006.00599.x.
  7. ↑ "5Es Overview: The 5E instructional model". nasa.gov. NASA. 24 February 2012. Archived from the original on 23 September 2008. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  8. ↑ Wegerif, Rupert. "Review of Accelerated Learning in the Classroom, by Alistair Smith" (PDF). University of Exeter. Archived from the original (PDF) on 17 May 2014. Retrieved 16 May 2014.
  9. ↑ Smith, Alistair (1996). Accelerated learning in the classroom . School effectiveness series. Stafford; Williston, VT: Network Educational Press. ISBN   978-1855390348. OCLC   36747433.
  10. 1 2 3 Korthagen, Fred A. J.; Vasalos, Angelo (February 2005). "Levels in reflection: core reflection as a means to enhance professional growth" (PDF). Teachers and Teaching. 11 (1): 47–71. doi:10.1080/1354060042000337093. S2CID   18032926. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2015-03-09.
  11. ↑ Korthagen, Fred A. J.; Vasalos, Angelo (2010). "Going to the core: deepening reflection by connecting the person to the profession". In Lyons, Nona (ed.). Handbook of reflection and reflective inquiry. New York: Springer. pp. 529–552. CiteSeerX   10.1.1.486.6428 . doi:10.1007/978-0-387-85744-2_27. ISBN   9780387857435. OCLC   664583984.
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