Peter Honey and Alan Mumford's learning model
Learning Styles were developed by Peter Honey and Alan Mumford, based upon the work of Kolb, and they identified four distinct learning styles or preferences: Activist, Theorist; Pragmatist and Reflector. These are the learning approaches that individuals naturally prefer and they recommend that in order to maximize one's own personal learning each learner ought to:
They also postulate that people prefer different methods of learning, depending upon the situation and their experience level, thus they move between the four modes of learning, rather than being dominantly locked into one mode.Honey and Mumford's learning cycle also slightly differs from Kolb's
Based on the result, the learners can then move around the cycle again, jump in any part of the cycle, and then quit when they deem them self as successful (learned the task or material). Their model looks similar to this:
Honey and Mumford identified four separate learning styles:
1. Activists learn by doing.They don’t want to hear what they should be doing, they want to dive in head-first and have a go.
Activists are likely to say:
“Let’s just give it a go and see what happens”
“Can I try it out?”
2. Pragmatists care about what works in the real world.They aren’t interested in abstract concepts, they just want to know if it works.
Pragmatists are likely to say:
“How will it work in practice?”
“I just don’t see how this is relevant”
3. Reflectors like to think about what they’re learning.They want to understand things thoroughly before they try them out.
Reflectors are likely to say:
“Let me just think about this for a moment”
“Don’t let’s rush into anything”
4. Theorists like to understand how the new learning fits into their ‘framework’ and into previous theories.They’re likely to be uncomfortable with things that don’t fit with what they already know.
Theorists are likely to say:
“But how does this fit in with [x]?”
“I’d just like to understand the principles behind this a bit more”
- understand their learning style
- seek out opportunities to learn using that style
They also postulate that people prefer different methods of learning, depending upon the situation and their experience level, thus they move between the four modes of learning, rather than being dominantly locked into one mode.Honey and Mumford's learning cycle also slightly differs from Kolb's
- Having an experience
- Reflecting on it
- Drawing their own conclusions (theorizing)
- Putting their theory into practice to see what happens
Based on the result, the learners can then move around the cycle again, jump in any part of the cycle, and then quit when they deem them self as successful (learned the task or material). Their model looks similar to this:
Honey and Mumford identified four separate learning styles:
1. Activists learn by doing.They don’t want to hear what they should be doing, they want to dive in head-first and have a go.
Activists are likely to say:
“Let’s just give it a go and see what happens”
“Can I try it out?”
2. Pragmatists care about what works in the real world.They aren’t interested in abstract concepts, they just want to know if it works.
Pragmatists are likely to say:
“How will it work in practice?”
“I just don’t see how this is relevant”
3. Reflectors like to think about what they’re learning.They want to understand things thoroughly before they try them out.
Reflectors are likely to say:
“Let me just think about this for a moment”
“Don’t let’s rush into anything”
4. Theorists like to understand how the new learning fits into their ‘framework’ and into previous theories.They’re likely to be uncomfortable with things that don’t fit with what they already know.
Theorists are likely to say:
“But how does this fit in with [x]?”
“I’d just like to understand the principles behind this a bit more”