Group Assignment - Seneca College - 2014

1. Observations about Learning Styles
in Adult Learners
DU-TEAC1980JUN: Adult Learning
Group #2: Sheri Abreu, Claire Leyland, Erin Malanych, Jason Shea
August 17, 2014

2. • Each learner that comes into the classroom is unique and has a different way of taking in new information
and/or ideas.
• It’s important as a teacher/instructor to be able to recognize the existence of the four preferred learning
styles and to understand the learning cycles that David A Kolb identified. By doing this, sessions can be
designed to accommodate each individual learner and their preferred learning style.
Introduction:

3. The Learning Cycle:
A learner may start the learning
process in any one of the four
phases, however an instructor will
want to ensure that when they
teach, they cycle through all of the
four phases whenever possible.
It is ideal to begin the learning
process starting with Concrete
Experience, then move to
Reflective Observation, Abstract
Conceptualization and ending with
Active Experimentation.

4. How Learners Learn:
Kolb identified the four following learning styles:
1. Accommodating – combines Concrete Experience (doing or having an experience) and Active
Experimentation (trying out what has been learned).
2. Assimilating – combines Reflective Observation (reviewing and reflecting) and Abstract
Conceptualization (analyzing and learning from the experience).
3. Converging – combines Abstract Conceptualization (analyzing and learning from the experience)
and Active Experimentation (trying out what has been learned).
4. Diverging – combines Concrete Experience (doing or having an experience) and Reflective
Observation (reviewing and reflecting).

5. Case Study:
Recently, a call centre that was primarily a “customer service” focused call centre has now become a “sales”
focused call centre. Because of the recent changes, management has decided to have all front line agents
attend a mandatory two day sales training session.
The first session includes twelve front line agents who are all coming to the session with a different level of
knowledge regarding the topic as well as with their own preferred learning styles.
Because some of the learners have similar learning styles, we are going to take a closer look at four of the
participants to identify some of the characteristics, challenges and possible solutions for the session.

6. Description of Employee #1:
Meet Alfredo LaRizza,
Alfredo is a recent Network Administration graduate with a passion for Information and Technology.
Alfredo has worked with the technical support team for the past two and a half years. He is excellent
at solving technical problems and providing solutions to practical issues.
Alfredo excels at troubleshooting where he can use hypothetical, deductive reasoning and can focus
on specific problems. He is well trained and often can provide solutions faster than his peers. He
does find himself on the phone with both clients and other co-workers providing solutions and this
would be the least favorite part of his job.
Jaz represents the converging learning style.

7. Description of Employee #2:
Meet Emily Brown:
Emily is 28 years old and has been with the company for 6 years. She is people-oriented and known to
always volunteer to be in focus groups at work as she likes to be part of group discussions. She is also on
the social committee where she helps organize team and departmental events and outings. She likes
personal attention and feedback from her Supervisor but can be a bit sensitive at times. Emily is excited to
attend the two day sales training session and is hoping that during the session there will be time to
brainstorm ideas on how to better her sales skills and how to effectively handle objections from customers.
Emily’s preferred learning style is “Divergent”.

8. Description of Employee #3:
Meet Andrew Johnson:
Andrew joined the Call Centre at Bell Canada last year, after having worked at a Bell Mobility store for
five years. He has developed strong IT skills, and is a wizard at solving technical problems for
customers. He is excited for the training session so that he can learn more about sales, especially
techniques that will be useful for customer interactions over the phone, as he sometimes struggles
with developing strong relationships with customers. Andrew is at the course representing those
employees with an “Assimilating” learning style. This is what we know about Andrew and his preferred
learning style:
• He’s good at understanding a wide range of information and putting it into concise, logical form
• He really appreciates when a manager provides a clear explanation for what he is required to do,
rather than practical opportunities
• He is sometimes more focused on ideas and concepts, rather than people
• He likes to think things through, and prefers being taught through readings, lectures, and exploring
analytical models

9. Description of Employee #4:
Meet Loretta Wong:
Loretta is a recent college graduate and has just commenced her career at Bell Canada working as a Call Centre
Representative. During her eight months with the company, Loretta has demonstrated her strengths as both a team player
and a leader. She has adjusted well to the announcement that her job is being transformed to a sales-focused position
and is embracing the new challenge. She is very ambitious and is looking forward to attending the mandatory training to
develop and learn new skills, but she is concerned that the sales course may be lecture-based rather than providing
practical, hands-on experiences.
At this course, Loretta represents the attendees who have been identified with an ‘Accommodating’ learning style. Here is
what we know about Loretta and her particular learning style:
● She is action-oriented and prefers to learn through hands-on training (Durham College, 2010-11).
● She enjoys working in groups and is generally at ease with people (Srinivasan, 2008).
● She is adaptable to change (Clark, 2011).
● She thrives on new challenges and experiences (“Kolb Learning Styles,” n.d.).
● She likes to take the initiative to get the ball rolling (“Kolb Learning Styles,” n.d.).
● She often uses her intuition to make decisions (Durham College, 2010-11).
● She is a risk taker (Cherry, 2014).
● She needs to discover and understand the significance in her learning experiences
(“Concrete/Reflective/Abstract/Active – David Kolb,” n.d.).

10. Instructor
Meet Abdul Mohammad:
Abdul Mohammad is a certified Call Centre facilitator and coach. He is a skilled curriculum developer
and has designed, developed and delivered numerous courses over his 15-year career as a trainer.
Abdul also has his certificate in Adult Learning/Staff Training and appreciates the importance of the
different adult learning styles. Over the course of his career, he has become an enthusiast of Kolb’s
Learning Styles and tends to consider these four styles (Diverging, Converging, Accommodating,
Assimilating) when developing various training strategies in order to provide a memorable and
meaningful learning experience.

11. Challenges with Convergent Learning Style:
1. Prefer to work solo
2.. They tend to be inflexible and may lack team skills (http://www.lifecircles-
inc.com/Learningtheories/constructivism/kolb.html)
3. Convergent learners may end up solving the wrong problem because they did not consider all the alternatives and
because they did not want to waste time chewing things over- strength -decision making, problem solving and practical
application of ideas.
- Kolb says convergent learners need to work on/improve their “valuing skills”-listening with an open mind
and imaging the implications of a situation
Skills that are ideal to develop
1. Listening with an open mind
2. Gathering information
3. Imagining the implications of situations

12. Challenges with Divergent Learning Style:
● Learners may become frustrated if the class session is lecture based
● These learners are more comfortable watching rather than doing
● Divergent learners prefer to work in small groups having discussions and brainstorming ideas
● These learners can be sensitive
● They may find it hard to draw conclusions or make decisions; they may need a push to make a decision

13. Challenges with Assimilating Learning Style:
• A focus on concepts and theories and looking at things from a very logical perspective could be at
the expense of not putting enough focus on other people’s opinions or on the ‘human side’ of learning;
these learners may have a hard time interacting with learners who have stronger soft skills, or those
that rely more on intuition in decision making vs. logical facts
• Practical, hands-on opportunities for learning are not going to work as well
• These learners prefer lots of written materials, analytical models, and need time to think things
through. This type of learning is appropriate in the science and information technology industries, but it
may be hard to facilitate a sales or training seminar at work for this type of learner
• In a seminar setting, these learners may have a tendency to hold up the group by asking a lot of
questions to ensure that the concepts being discussed have logical soundness. They may question
the facilitator of the seminar a lot if they do not understand or agree with the material being discussed

14. Challenges with Accommodating Learning Style:
While the ‘Accommodating’ learning style has many strengths, it also has its challenges.
The following is a list of potential obstacles for Loretta:
● She may become very frustrated when she is forced to read instructions or rules and isn’t able to
perform hands-on experiences right away (“Kolb Learning Styles,” n.d.).
● She is sometimes perceived as being impatient or pushy (Srinivasan, 2008).
● When problem solving, she tends to rely on other people rather than her own analysis (Swinton,
n.d.).
● She acts on instinct rather than logical investigation (Swinton, n.d.).
● She tends to lose interest or procrastinate if she isn’t engaged

15. How Abdul can assist those with a Convergent Learning Style:
Skills that are ideal to develop
1. Listening with an open mind
2. Gathering information
3. Imagining the implications of situations
How Instructor Will Help:

16. How Abdul can assist with the Divergent Learning Style:
If the instructor recognizes there are divergent learners within the session he can create an activity
where the participants will break into smaller groups. They would be assigned a specific topic as a
group and would brainstorm ideas or thoughts regarding their assigned topic. They would then teach
back what they have brainstormed, to the rest of the group. This would allow everyone to collaborate
and work together as a team assigning roles such a scribe and presenter(s).
How Instructor Will Help:

17. How Instructor Will Help:
How Abdul can assist with the Divergent Learning Style (cont’d):
Since the Divergent learners prefer to observe, reflect and experience when learning, the instructor could
play videos that are specific to a behaviour or process they would like to see implemented. In order for the
diverging learner to be able to experience what that behaviour or process feels like, the instructor could
break the participants into 4 groups of 3. One person would be assigned the role of the observer, the next
would be the representative and the third would be the customer. The observer would watch the interaction
between customer and representative and record strengths and opportunities. Then the group would switch
roles until each person has had the chance to play each role. Because the diverging learners prefer
personal attention and feedback, this type of activity would also address that.

18. How Abdul can assist those with an Assimilating Learning Style:
• Present training material with facts and evidence that support what is being discussed; Provide written
materials and any kind of research or findings in graphs and charts
• Allow time for quiet self-reflection; time to process the information being presented
• Set up a designated Q&A time for the group at the end of various sessions so that the group doesn’t lose
focus or go off track with a lot of questions being asked throughout the presentations
• If hands-on role play activities need to be used in the training sessions, make sure they are followed up with
written summaries of what was demonstrated so that the Assimilators can take in the information more
effectively
How Instructor Will Help:

19. How Instructor Will Help:
How can Abdul ‘accommodate’ the Accommodating Learning Style?
● Include the learner in decision making
o Present some topics in the form of questions to allow the learner to get involved by providing responses
o Provide group brainstorming/discussion opportunities
 Divide the trainees into small groups. Have tables set up with different thought-provoking question
related to the topic. Allow the group 10 minutes to discuss answers and solutions and then have
the group rotate to the next table for the next question.
 Post questions on the wall around the room. Each person is provided with sticky notes to write
their answers and then post them on the wall. The idea is to post as many ideas/solutions as
possible
● Let them explore (self-discovery)
o Allow time to review material on their own and reflect on new information
o Have participants identify three weaknesses and create an action plan to help develop their call centre
skills

20. Summary

21. References
Cherry, K. (2014). Kolb’s Learning Styles. Retrieved July 24, 2014, from
http://psychology.about.com/od/educationalpsychology/a/kolbs-learning-styles.htm
Clark, D. (2011, July 13). Kolb’s Learning Styles and Experiential Learning Model. Retrieved July 18, 2014, from
http://nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles/kolb.html
Concrete/Reflective/Abstract/Active – David Kolb (n.d.). Retrieved July 24, 2014, from
http://web.cortland.edu/andersmd/learning/Kolb.htm
Durham College. (2010-11). Unit 2, How Adults Learn. Retrieved July 18, 2014, from the OntarioLearn Moodle site for
DU-TEACHJUN.
Kolb Learning Styles (n.d.). Retrieved July 23, 2014, from http://www.businessballs.com/kolblearningstyles.htm

22. References
McLeod, S.A. (2010). Kolb – Learning styles. Retrieved from
http://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html
Srinivasan, B. (2008, April 17). Learning Styles for Better Leadership. Retrieved July 23, 2014, from
http://leadershipchamps.wordpress.com/tag/learning-styles/
Swinton, L. (n.d.). Kolb's Learning Style Inventory and Kolb's Learning Cycle Explained
- no fluff, no filler, just facts. Retrieved July 23, 2014, from http://www.mftrou.com/kolb-learning-style-inventory.html
Symmons, Janet. (2011). Kolb's learning style inventory - Accommodators and Divergers.
Retrieved April 11, 2011, from
http://www.janetsymmons.ca/kolbs-learning-style-inventory-accommodators-and-divergers/