Personal Development and Careers Assignment Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2750 words - 1

Personal Development and Careers - Assignment Example This is as it should be. Knowledge for the sake of knowledge is useless; it is the application of knowledge to everyday situations after sizing them up in an intelligent manner is what should be the objective of learning. The result of learning should be the outcomes it produces in the real world. The Relationship between Learning and Development From the above, it is clear that book knowledge is not what we are after, rather the knowledge that we get from books should be applied to real world problems connected to that branch of knowledge so that solutions are made possible. Experience is the result of having applied that knowledge in a certain way and seeing the outcome. If by a process of trial and error, we can eliminate what does not work and distill that which does, we have reached the path of self development. For learning is a path to self development. The knowledge translated into skill resides in the mind and body of man- it becomes an inseparable part of him. This is how t he continual development of skills leads to personal development. Discussion of a Learning Theory: Kolb’s Learning Circle When it comes to theories of learning, there has been a lot of work produced by different authors and thinkers over the ages. However I regard the work of David A. Kolb and his Learning Circle to be a good explanation of what occurs during the process of learning. It is a good expose into the way we learn. Kolb outlined his theory in a book called ‘Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development’ published in 1984. Kolb’s Learning Circle (developed in coordination with Roger Fry) consists of four steps: (1) concrete experience (2) concrete and abstract experience (3) forming abstract concepts and (4) applying to new situations. According to Kolb, humans basically learn to understand and process two different types of information- concrete and abstract. Our learning vocabulary is therefore filled with either C oncrete Experience or Abstract Conceptualization. Kolb maintains that following a learning session, if we want to capitalize on it, we convert our experience into either Reflective Observation or Active Experimentation. Kolb’s model indicates that we could use all four of these approaches in a learning experience, depending upon the situation we are confronted with. Over time however, Kolb maintains that individuals tend to prefer one experience grasping approach and one experience transforming approach. Kolb has mentioned four learning styles and these are to be regarded as created by the learner during the process of learning. The four styles are (1) Converger (2) Diverger (3) Assimilator and (4) Accommodator (Kolb, 1984). Convergers are characterized by abstract conceptualization and active experimentation. They are good at making practical applications of ideas and using deductive reasoning to solve problems. According to Kolb, divergers are geared toward getting concrete experiences and making reflective observations. Divergers are also imaginative and will be good at coming up with ideas or in seeing things from different perspectives. Most of our theorists and social thinkers would fit in this category (Houle, 1980). Kolb writes that assimilators can be singled out by their preference for abstract