Abstract:

As more adult learners transition from the traditional learning in a physical classroom over to the more popular form of online learning, the understanding of learning styles will be critical to all instructors in order to understand the learning needs of this new breed of academic learner. While the online learner may not be in the physical classroom, this does not negate the fact that instructor must know more about his or her learners and their learning style. Further, the educator needs to understand how to make classroom and learning activity changes in order to meet the learning needs of today’s adult learner. Therefore, some educators are reverting back to assessment instruments offered in the 1980s, in particular, the works of Kolb have become useful, but with some limitation in contract to the growing technology now used in today’s modern classroom, as well as the classroom used for online learning. In his various works on learning styles and cycles of learning, Kolb (1984) introduced a 4-step cycle of learning, which consisted of: (1) concrete experience; (2) reflective observation; (3) abstract conceptualization; and (4) active experimentation. However, many academic universities have focused on these cycle of learning and his application of learning styles. However, with the onset of many technological advancements, especially with the growing market and institution of online learning, perhaps these learning cycles and learning styles need to be updated with another layer. The purpose of this paper is to focus on another layer known as “Value Decision-Making (VDM)”. While the focus of Kolb’s work has been on concrete, reflective, abstract, and active frameworks; ultimately, in this age of technology, learners have to use a variety of data and give a value to it in the framework of their own learning style and background in order to use it for decision-making, which may affect not only their learning, but the lives of others and their learning styles and abilities to process such information. Further, we can propose that this final stage of value decision-making can play a role on the current learning styles used in the Kolb Learning Styles Inventory (LSI). Consequently, all types of assessments must have an ultimate goal and set of learning objectives to help reinforce its reliability and validity to properly measure the intended use of such assessment instrument. However, as with any proposed change, further discussion and evaluation must occur in order to determine if such a change is worth of further discussion, implementation, and evaluation. Therefore, the purpose of this paper will be not only be to propose such a change, but to further analyze the need for change, how such a change can be effectively introduced for further discussion and debate, and how evaluative results may be either skewed or similar in reaching the end result as intended by many educators to under style the learning styles of their students and how it applies to learning in the classroom, as well as what necessary changes may occur to help increase the likelihood of improved educational instruction, as well as student retention and academic achievement.

Keywords:

Learning style, adult learning, online learning, learning cycle, educational technology.