In this blogpost I will look at what Kolb’s experiential learning cycle is, and I will use it to reflect on my last module where I had to postpone my creative project and hand in a new one.
What is Kolb’s experiential learning cycle?
Kolb’s experiential learning cycle is a learning style model that was published in 1984, this is where he developed his learning style inventory. (McLeod, 2017). Kolb learning theory consists out of four learning styles, Feeling, Watching, Thinking and Doing (Kolb’s Learning Styles and Experiential Learning Model, 2000), each of these learning styles is needed to be able to successfully use Kolb’s learning cycle.
Using the experiential learning cycle.
We know that if we want to use the experiential learning cycle from Kolb we will have to use these four different learning styles. To use the cycle you start with the experience that you want to reflect on, it can be anything that one would like the reflect on, this is the concreter experience. Secondly you will ask question about how this experience went, what you learned and if it went well, this is called the reflective observation. Then you start the abstract conceptualization, this consists out of answering the following questions: How could you interpret these events? And what might they mean?. Lastly with active experimentation you talk about how you can use what you learned in the future. (Sedgwick, 2019)
My reflective cycle
Concrete Experience
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic my creative project was indefinitely postpones and I was forced to move back to The Netherlands. Viggo’s parents came to pick us up with a van, we loaded our belongings in the van and went to the ferry to start our journey back. Once I was back home I got a replacement assignment. The assignment was to hand in an other creative project that was not yet handed in for academic purposes.
Reflective Observation
So the postponing of the project was sad, I had been working on my short film for the better part of a year and mere weeks before the filming would start it got delayed. I have learned that no matter how much preparation you do there can always be things that come out of nowhere and you will have not control over the situation. The move back to The Netherlands was hectic but manageable, we had three days to pack our stuff and only a few hours to load it onto the van, what I learned from this situation is that if something is really needed it can be done. For example we notified our landlord only two days before us leaving and he was willing to come by and inspect our house on a short notice and he made sure we would get our full deposit back, even though he had every right to not do that. He went out of his way to help us. The replacement assignment was filled with obstacles, I decided to hand in an old video profile I did on a professional fisherman, the editing of the video went well until the very last few days, files got corrupted and the video was irretrievable. I had to make the decision to hand in an other unfinished commercial I had on my computer. What I learned from the replacement assignment is that sometimes you just get unlucky, I worked very hard on the first video and did everything I could to retrieve the footage once it got corrupted. But there was just nothing I could do.
Abstract Conceptualisation
What could these events mean? It seems to me that I was very unlucky with the cards that were dealt this year. I am sure everyone feels that way with everything that is going on, but the fact that I had to move back on such a short notice or otherwise I would not have been able to get back with all my belongings for the foreseeable future seems like extra unlucky. Then add what happened with the video I was working on for weeks, it seems I just could not catch a break this year.
Active Experimentation
There are a few things I can do to at least make some of the things less likely to happen. I cannot control a global pandemic but I can reduce the impact it has on me. One thing I can do is store the footage of my projects on multiple hard drives, so when one of these gets corrupted I have a back up that I can access with ease. What is also something good to take with me into the future is the believe that people will try their best to help you if they can. Our landlord understood our troubles and was willing to help us on a short notice. Viggo’s parents were able to rent a van and go to Newcastle upon Tyne in just three days. These people wanted to help us out of the kindness of their hard, no matter the cost to their self.
My thoughts on the experiential learning cycle.
I tend to do reflecting within myself, I do not feel the need to use a method of reflecting, but I can see the clear use of one. It forces one to really think about situations and dissect them. I am willing to try to use the cycle more in my professional career as it is useful to present to others and have them understand your thought and progression throughout your career.
References
McLeod, S., 2017. Kolb’s Learning Styles And Experiential Learning Cycle. [online] Simplypsychology.org. Available at: <https://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-kolb.html> [Accessed 31 May 2020].
Nwlink.com. 2000. Kolb’s Learning Styles And Experiential Learning Model. [online] Available at: <http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles/kolb.html> [Accessed 31 May 2020].
Sedgwick, L., 2019. Introduction to Reflective Models.