Setting Your Goals Using Kolb's Model

In 1984 a man by the name of David Kolb created a model which was based on the different ways that people learn.  These learning styles have come to be known as “Kolb’s model” and are used today in order to determine the different ways in which certain personalities learn and absorb information.  When you are setting goals for yourself it can sometimes help you to understand a bit more about the ways in which you, as an individual, learn. Kolb believed that we all learn by using four different styles of learning: •    Learning through doing, or by experimenting with something. •    Learning through watching and being conscious of the observing of something. •    Learning through feeling, or by actively experiencing something, and •    Learning through thinking and conceptualizing something. These four styles of learning may be broken down even further by defining the type of “learner” a person is: •    The “activist” person.  This type of learner tends to use intuition and perception instead of reasoning to learn new things.  •    The “reflector” person.  The reflector learns through watching and looking at the world from an entirely different perspective than other learners.  These learners can be highly imaginative and use this imagination to observe their own experiences. •    The “theorist” person.  This type of learner tends to analyze things logically and methodically.  They look for precise explanations of things as they are presented to them. •    The “pragmatist” person.  The pragmatist is a learner who uses the information they absorb in a practical way in order to further their knowledge.  These types of learners are rather quick to get things done and are also willing to take risks that other learners are not willing to take. When you know which category of learning you best fit into, you will be able to determine what works best for you in order to achieve your goals.  You will have a better understanding of how you absorb information and what you can do with this processed information as it applies to goals. Bear in mind that Kolb’s model is just a sequence of learning theories and that many people can fall into more than one category when it comes to the way that they learn new things.  As you start to set more goals for yourself you will need to have a plan of how you are going to achieve these goals.  Having goals is necessary of course but having the tools and the knowledge to attain these goals is just as important.  After all, if you do not know what works best for you when it comes how you learn and grow how will you know which perceptions to follow and make a reality? Copyright © 2006-2008 SuccessNow4U.Net All Rights Reserved. This article may be reproduced provided that its complete content and links are kept intact and unchanged. No additional links permitted. Hyperlinks and/or URLs must remain both human clickable and search engine spiderable.