Turning employees into better learners.

Training can be a black art to the uninitiated and, and without an immediate and measurable ROI KPI, it can be problematic to build a compelling business case. So, when budget is released, how do you ensure your employees make the most of the training they do receive?

David Kolb (educational theorist) released a model in 1984 based on experiential learning that can help.?The Learning Styles and Experiential Learning Cycle evaluates the learning experience; and then uses the outcome to tailor individualistic employee learning strategies.

The process begins by having a competent trainer run an employee through the four-stage methodology (see below). When this technique is correctly applied it identifies the learning style(s) that best suit the individual in question. This generally results in a blended approach, whilst also highlighting styles that do not suit their specific learning needs (very important).

These insights can then be applied to an experiential learning cycle (see below) to map a bespoke Learning Style Inventory (LSI). The east-west axis (processing continuum) shows how the individual approaches a task; with the north-south (perception continuum) showing emotional response. Both were necessary as it was thought a student couldn't simultaneously perform both variables at the same time, and that a learning style was a product of the two.

What we find is that those with a 'diverging' style prefer to work in groups and have an open mind; whereas the 'assimilating' style involves a concise approach (prevalent in the science community). A 'converging' style matches learning to practical issues (more technical than social); whereas 'accommodating', prevalent in general population, relies more on intuition.

My own style lies towards the south of the perception continuum, and hovers over the middle of the processing continuum. This insight, which is effectively a person's 'learning DNA', can then be given to a trainer in advance of them delivering a course to ensure that the content and format is suitably tailored to optimize the individual's learning experience.

In summary, this highlights that information attrition must be factored in to any meaningful training (especially safety critical) if it is delivered in a broad brush format to a room of unique professionals (all of which have their own optimal learning style). It also reinforces: understanding an employee's learning style is a pre-condition to any training value creation.

If you'd like to talk about how to recognize learning styles, the importance of that in terms of safety critical tasks in high hazard industries, or the application of any other training theories and methods (Blooms Taxonomy, The CIRO Approach, Kirkpatrick Four levels or Jack Philip's Five levels of training evaluation, etc.) then drop me a DM for a virtual coffee.

“Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” David Kolb (1984)