04-014 Ch01 pp5

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Page 70

scores on each axis of the figure and joining those points

together, you will have produced some kind of kiteshaped profile. This profile identifies your learning style.
It is compared to about 1,500 practicing managers and
graduate students in management school. If your score
on the CE dimension is above 31, you score higher than
80 percent of these managers and graduate students. If
your score is below 19 on that same CE dimension, you
score below 20 percent of these managers and graduate
students. Using your plot, you can now identify your particular preference or inclination toward learning. The
quadrant in Figure 4 that takes up the largest area in your
kite profile is your strongest learning style. Research
over the last 30 years has identified four common types
of learners that encompass the vast majority of people
diverging, assimilating, converging, and accommodating
learning styles (Kolb, 1984, 1999).

approach it. They prefer, and even seek, decision situations and problem types that are consistent with their
own learning style (for example, individuals scoring
high on AC and AE prefer problems with a step-by-step
method of solution). In one study, managers who were
more RO and AC (lower-right part of Figure 3) than AE
and CE (upper-left part of Figure 3) implemented more
computer-based systems and rational procedures for
decision making. Managers in another study defined
identical problems differently depending on their learning styles (e.g., some thought the problem required
action, while others thought it required thoughtful
analysis). Another study found that differences in learning style led to significantly different decision-making
processes in managers (see Chenhall & Morris, 1991;
Henderson & Nutt, 1980; Ruble & Cosier, 1990).
Figure 4 provides you with a scoring profile upon
which you can plot your scores from the LSI. On the figure, find the point on the vertical CE axis that corresponds with your score. Do the same for your RO score,
your AC score, and your AE score. By plotting your

Figure 4

Diverging The diverging learning style has dominant scores on the concrete experience (CE) and
reflective observation (RO) dimensions. People with

Scoring Plot for the LSI

Concrete Experience (CE)
Experiencing
45
40
35
33
31
30

100%

29
28
27
26

80%

25
24

60%

23
22
21
20

Active
Experimentation (AE)
Doing

48

43 42 41 40 39 38 37

36 35 34

32 30 29 28 25

16
16
20

20%

19
18
17
16
13
14

40%
20%
21 23 24 25

27

28 29 30

22

31 32 33 34 35 37 40 46

Reflective
Observation (RO)
Reflecting

23

40%
60%
80%
100%

24
25
26
27
28
29
30

31
32
33
34
35
36
37
40
46

Abstract Conceptualization (AC)

Theorizing
Source: Copyright 1999 by David A. Kolb. Experience Based Learning Systems, Inc. All rights reserved.

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CHAPTER 1 DEVELOPING SELF-AWARENESS

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