Peter Honey and Alan Mumford have
identified four main
learning style preferences. By thinking about your preferred
style, you can try and apply this to learning new things.
If you're able to use your natural style, you're likely
to find learning much easier and quicker.
Reflector
Theorist
Activist
Pragmatist
Activists: Activists like to be involved
in new experiences. They are open minded and enthusiastic
about new ideas but get bored with implementation. They
enjoy doing things and tend to act first and consider
the implications afterwards. They like working with
others but tend to hog the limelight.
Activists learn best when:
involved in new experiences,
problems and opportunities
working
with others in business games, team tasks, role-playing
being thrown in the deep end
with a difficult task
chairing meetings, leading discussions
Activists learn less when:
listening to lectures or long
explanations
reading,
writing or thinking on their own
absorbing and understanding
data
following
precise instruction to the letter
Reflectors Reflectors like to stand back and look at a
situation from different perspectives. They like to
collect data and think about it carefully before coming
to any conclusions. They enjoy observing others and
will listen to their views before offering their own.
Reflectors learn best when:
observing individuals or groups
at work
they have the opportunity to
review what has happened and thing about what they
have learned
producing analyses and reports
doing tasks without tight deadlines
Reflectors learn less when:
acting as leader or role-playing
in front of others
doing things with no time to
prepare
being thrown in at the deep
end
being rushed or worried by
deadlines
Theorists: Theorists adapt and integrate
observations into complex and logically sound theories.
They think problems through in a step by step way. They
tend to be perfectionists who like to fit things into
a rational scheme. They tend to be detached and analytical
rather than subjective or emotive in their thinking.
Theorists learn best when:
they are put in complex situations
where they have to use their skills and knowledge
they are in structured situations
with clear purpose
they are offered interesting
ideas or concepts even though they are not immediately
relevant
they have the chance to question
and probe ideas behind things
Theorists learn less when:
they have to participate in
situations which emphasise emotion and feelings
the activity is unstructured
or briefing is poor
they have to do things without
knowing the principles or concepts involved
they feel they're out of tune
with the other participants e.g. with people of very
different learning styles
Pragmatists Pragmatists are keen to try things out. They
want concepts that can be applied to their job. They
tend to be impatient with lengthy discussions and are
practical and down to earth.
Pragmatists learn best when:
there is an obvious link between
the topic and job
they have the chance to try
out techniques with feedback
e.g. role-playing
they are shown techniques with
obvious advantages e.g. saving time
they are shown a model they
can copy e.g. a film or a respected boss
Pragmatists learn less when:
there is no obvious or immediate
benefit that they can recognise
there is no practice or guidelines
on how to do it
there is no apparent pay back
to the learning e.g. shorter meetings
the event or learning is 'all
theory'
Most of us has elements of more than
one learning style.Think about your strongest
style and your weakest style to identify how you learn.
This excerpt has been taken from
the Honey and Mumford Learning Styles Questionnaire.
