by Mriga Williams

Created on: February 24, 2011

Learning Styles –  

From the process of learning some educationalists tried to identify the ways in which different people learn. These they called learning styles of people. Honey and Mumford (1982-cited Dennison, 1990:24)) identified these as activists, reflectors, theorists and pragmatists.

Activists

Individuals who use this learning style involve themselves in the new experience without any bias. These people are open-minded and happy to face the challenge of the new experience. As they are not sceptical, they tend to be enthusiastic about new concepts. Their outlook is open and believe in trying anything once. They throw themselves wholeheartedly into the new experience and revel in short term crisis. They generally tackle any problem by brainstorming. They move on from one activity once the excitement has died out and so they are easily bored if involved with long term work. They tend to be extroverts and are constantly involving themselves with others, often being the center of all activities.

Reflectors

These individuals like to stand back and contemplate about the new experience from different angles. They will gather all relevant information and reflect over it before reaching any decision, which means they delay definitive conclusion for as long as possible. They are cautious and so leave no stone unturned. They are thoughtful, preferring to weigh the pros and cons of any issue before reaching any conclusion. This means they generally take a back seat in any discussion and spend time in observing others and listening to them. Though they adopt a low profile, they will take into account the past, present and give importance to everybody's views, when they act.

Theorists

Individuals using this style will adapt and integrate their observation into complex yet logically sound theories. They do so by using logic and working through a problem step by step. They can assimilate different facts into understandable theories by analysing and synthesising the information. They are perfectionists with a philosophy of rationality and logic underpinning all their actions. They will be detached, analytical, objective and dedicated, which makes them keen about basic assumption, principles, theories, models and systems thinking. They will reject anything that does not fit into their logical outlook. This makes them uncomfortable when dealing with subjective or ambiguous judgments and lateral thinking.

Pragmatists

These type of individuals like to try out

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