{"id":836,"date":"2019-03-25T15:59:22","date_gmt":"2019-03-25T15:59:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/isc-med.flywheelsites.com\/?p=836"},"modified":"2019-03-25T16:59:50","modified_gmt":"2019-03-25T16:59:50","slug":"benefits-experiential-learning-kolbs-learning-cycle-training","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/blog\/benefits-experiential-learning-kolbs-learning-cycle-training","title":{"rendered":"The Benefits of Experiential Learning and Kolb&#8217;s Learning Cycle for Training"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Experiential learning is exactly what the name implies &#8211; learning from experience. The experiential approach is learner-centered and allows the individual participants to manage and share responsibility for their learning with their trainer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Recall and retention<\/strong> <\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To research the impact of the training\nstyle on recall and retention, a group of people were divided randomly into\nthree subgroups each of which were taught something quite simple, the same\nthing, using three different approaches. The results are shown in the table and\nit shows how dramatically recall declines when people are only told something.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<table class=\"wp-block-table\"><tbody><tr><td>\n  &nbsp;\n  &nbsp;\n  <\/td><td>   <strong>Told   <\/strong><\/td><td><strong>Told, shown<\/strong>   <\/td><td><strong>Told, shown, <\/strong><br><strong>experienced<\/strong><\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Recall after 3 weeks   <\/td><td>\n  70%\n  <\/td><td>\n  72%\n  <\/td><td>\n  85%\n  <\/td><\/tr><tr><td>Recall after 3 months   <\/td><td>\n  10%\n  <\/td><td>\n  32%\n  <\/td><td>\n  65%\n  <\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Kolb&#8217;s Learning Cycle<\/strong> <strong><br><\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kolb\ndeveloped a theory of experiential learning which gives us a useful model by\nwhich to develop training practice. This is called The Kolb Cycle. The cycle\ncomprises four different stages of learning from experience. This can be entered\nat any point but all stages must be followed in sequence for successful\nlearning to take place. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Effective training strategies which\nincorporate experiential learning approaches provide opportunities for a person\nto engage in an activity, review this activity critically, draw some useful\ninsight from the analysis, and apply the result in a practical situation.\nRemember the poem \u2013 I hear and I forget, I see and I remember, I do and I\nunderstand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Kolb\u2019s experiential model can be\nrepresented graphically as follows: <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"402\" height=\"308\" src=\"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/kolb-experiential-model-cycle.png\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-838\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.medical-interviews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/kolb-experiential-model-cycle.png 402w, https:\/\/blog.medical-interviews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/kolb-experiential-model-cycle-300x230.png 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 402px) 100vw, 402px\" \/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>experience<\/strong> <strong><em>(Concrete Experience)<\/em><\/strong> phase is the\ninitial activity and data-producing part of the experiential learning cycle. This\nphase is structured to enable participants to become actively involved in\n&#8220;doing&#8221; something. Doing, in this instance, includes a range of\nactivities such as the following:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Case studies.<\/li><li>Role plays.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/li><li>Simulations. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;<\/li><li>Lectures. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/li><li>Films and slide shows. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/li><li>Skill practice. &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/li><li>Completing an instrument.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; <\/li><li>Games.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This sample list indicates that the\nrange of training techniques varies from the more passive and artificial\n(lectures) to the more active and real (skill practice). Which technique you choose\nwill depend largely on the goals of the training session.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Once the experience stage is completed,\nthe trainer guides the group into the <strong>process<\/strong>\n<strong><em>(Reflection)<\/em><\/strong>\npart of the cycle. During this phase, participants reflect on the activity\nundertaken during the experience phase, and share their reactions in a structured\nway with other members of the group. They may speak individually, in small\ngroups, or as a full training group. They discuss both their intellectual and\nattitudinal (cognitive and affective) reactions to the activities in which they\nhave engaged. In addition, with the trainer&#8217;s assistance, they try to link\nthese thoughts and feelings together in order to derive some meaning from the\nexperience.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The trainer&#8217;s role as facilitator is\nvery important during each phase of the cycle. During the process phase, he\/she\nshould be prepared to help the participants think critically about the\nexperience and to help them verbalize their feelings and perceptions, as well\nas draw attention to any recurrent themes or patterns which appear in the\nparticipants&#8217; reactions to the experience. The trainer&#8217;s role involves helping\nthe participants to conceptualize their reflections on the experience so that\nthey can move towards drawing conclusions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The <strong>generalisation <em>(Abstract\nConceptualisation<\/em>)<\/strong> stage is the part of the experiential learning\ncycle in which the participants form conclusions and generalizations which\nmight be derived from, or stimulated by the first two phases of the cycle. During\nthis phase, participants are helped to &#8220;take a step back&#8221; from the\nimmediate experience and discussion, and to think critically in order to draw\nconclusions that might generally or theoretically apply to &#8220;real\nlife.&#8221; <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">This stage is perhaps best symbolized\nby the following questions:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>What did you learn from all this?<br><\/li><li>What more general meaning does this have for you?<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The trainer structures this part of the\nexperiential learning model so that the participants work alone first, and then\nare guided into sharing conclusions with each other, In this way, participants\nexchange thoughts and ideas so that they may act as catalysts to one another. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The trainer helps to facilitate this\nstep by:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Asking and helping <g class=\"gr_ gr_5 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar only-ins doubleReplace replaceWithoutSep\" id=\"5\" data-gr-id=\"5\">individual<\/g> to summarize what they have learned into concise statements or generalizations<br><\/li><li>Pushing back at people to help make their thinking more rigorous<\/li><li> Relating the conclusions reached and integrating them into a theoretical model <\/li><li> Making sure, within reasonable time boundaries, that everyone who wishes to share a significant insight is given a chance to contribute<br><\/li><li>Helping the group compare and contrast different conclusions, identifying patterns where they exist, and identifying legitimate areas of disagreement <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">After participants have formed some\ngeneralizations, they are guided into the <strong>application<\/strong>\n<strong>(<em>Active\nExperimentation)<\/em><\/strong>stage of the\ncycle. Drawing upon insights and conclusions reached during the previous phase\n(and other phases), they can begin to incorporate what they have learned into\ntheir lives by developing plans for more effective behaviour in the future. In\nan ideal educational or training event, participants would be able to apply\nwhat they have learned immediately after the workshop ends. The applications\nthat they plan may relate to their profession or personal life, depending on\nthe background and needs of the specific groups.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Techniques used to facilitate the\napplication stage can include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Individual work to develop a thoughtful action plan which puts &#8220;thought into action&#8221;<\/li><li> Participants review each other&#8217;s plans and assist in formulating ideas for action<\/li><li> Parts of individual action plans are shared with the whole group in order to create a sense of joint effort<\/li><li> Additional learning needs are identified by participants <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">One of the ways the trainer assists\nduring this process is by helping participants be as specific as possible in\ndeveloping their action plans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">It is important to stress two other\npoints about the experiential learning model. First, the exact nature of each\nphase of the model is determined by the goals of the training session or\nprogram. Once the goals are defined, then the session can be designed using the\nmodel as the framework. &nbsp;Second, theory\ncan come in two different places &#8211; either before the experience, in which case\nthe experience becomes a way to test the theory or try out the skills implied\nby it, or after, when it is interwoven into the generalization phase as\nparticipants develop their own &#8220;theory&#8221;.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In order for this model to be\neffective, it must be rigorously applied, both in the design and delivery\nstages. &#8220;Experiential training is frequently misused in practice where it\nseems to mean letting people participate in a presentation, having a question\nand answer session after a lecture, or a role play or case study by itself\nwithout the subsequent steps in the model. Most frequently, -the generalizing and\napplication stages are left out of the design of the program. As a result, the\npower of experiential learning is significantly diminished or is negated\naltogether.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Although the model, when correctly\nexplained, looks very clear, its practical application is not always as clear. There\nare transitions between phases, and occasionally (especially if the trainer is\ngoing too fast), the group will return to a phase until it is \u2018finished\u2019. Also,\nindividuals within the group may not approach the learning process in such a\nlinear fashion, which is perfectly legitimate. The model is meant to serve as a\nguide for the trainer or instructor who is trying to design and carry out an\neducational experience for the group.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The model is especially useful for skill training because most of its techniques are active and are designed to involve the participants in skill practice. The experiential model helps people assume responsibility for their own learning because it asks them to reflect on their experience, draw conclusions and identify applications. The effective instructor or trainer does not do this for the participants. Thus, they are not spoon-fed, nor are they led to be dependent on experts. Of course, this model requires a special trainer or instructor style for it to be implemented effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you want to learn more about different teaching styles, read more on our 2 <g class=\"gr_ gr_54 gr-alert gr_gramm gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim Grammar multiReplace\" id=\"54\" data-gr-id=\"54\">day<\/g> <a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" aria-label=\"Teach the Teachers course for doctors (opens in a new tab)\" href=\"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/product\/teach-the-teachertrain-the-trainer-course\" target=\"_blank\">Teach the Teacher \/ Train the Trainers course for doctors<\/a>, <g class=\"gr_ gr_15 gr-alert gr_spell gr_inline_cards gr_run_anim ContextualSpelling multiReplace\" id=\"15\" data-gr-id=\"15\">recognised<\/g> for portfolio and for CCT purposes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/product\/teach-the-teachertrain-the-trainer-course\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"350\" src=\"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/train-the-trainers-course-for-doctors-cta.jpg\" alt=\"Train the Trainers Course for Doctors\" class=\"wp-image-843\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.medical-interviews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/train-the-trainers-course-for-doctors-cta.jpg 800w, https:\/\/blog.medical-interviews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/train-the-trainers-course-for-doctors-cta-300x131.jpg 300w, https:\/\/blog.medical-interviews.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/03\/train-the-trainers-course-for-doctors-cta-768x336.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 800px) 100vw, 800px\" \/><\/a><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Experiential learning is exactly what the name implies &#8211; learning from experience. The experiential approach is learner-centered and allows the individual participants to manage and share responsibility for their learning with their trainer. Recall and retention To research the impact of the training style on recall and retention, a group of people were divided randomly [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":845,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[128],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-836","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-teaching-communication-skills"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=836"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/836\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/845"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=836"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=836"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.medical-interviews.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=836"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}