David Allen Kolb (born December 12, 1939, in
Moline, Illinois
Moline ( ) is a city in Rock Island County, Illinois, United States. With a population of 42,985 in the 2020 census, it is the largest city in Rock Island County and the List of municipalities in Illinois, ninth-most populous in Illinois outside ...
) is an
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, p ...
educational theorist whose interests and publications focus on
experiential learning
Experiential learning (ExL) is the process of learning through experience, and is more narrowly defined as "learning through reflection on doing". Hands-on learning can be a form of experiential learning, but does not necessarily involve students ...
, the individual and social change, career development, and executive and professional education. He is the founder and chairman of Experience Based Learning Systems, LLC (EBLS), and an Emeritus Professor of Organizational Behavior in the
Weatherhead School of Management
The Weatherhead School of Management is a private business school of Case Western Reserve University located in Cleveland, Ohio. Weatherhead offers programs concentrated in sustainability, design innovation, healthcare, organizational behavior, g ...
,
Case Western Reserve University
Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...
,
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...
. Kolb has collaborated with his daughter Alice on research related to experiential learning and has co-authored several works with him.
Kolb earned his BA from
Knox College in 1961 and his MA and Ph.D. from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
in 1964 and 1967 respectively, in
social psychology
Social psychology is the methodical study of how thoughts, feelings, and behaviors are influenced by the actual, imagined, or implied presence of others. Although studying many of the same substantive topics as its counterpart in the field ...
.
Experiential learning
In the early 1970s, Kolb and Ron Fry (now both at the
Weatherhead School of Management
The Weatherhead School of Management is a private business school of Case Western Reserve University located in Cleveland, Ohio. Weatherhead offers programs concentrated in sustainability, design innovation, healthcare, organizational behavior, g ...
) developed the Experiential Learning Model (ELM), composed of four elements:
*concrete experience,
*observation of and reflection on that experience,
*formation of abstract concepts based upon the reflection,
*testing the new concepts,
*(repeat).
These four elements are the essence of a spiral of learning that can begin with any one of the four elements, but typically begins with a concrete experience.
While this model is used widely in fields such as management education, it has been criticised for its inflexibility and over-simplification.
Learning Style Inventory
Kolb is known in educational circles for his Learning Style Inventory (LSI). His model is built upon the idea that learning preferences can be described using two continuums:
* Active experimentation ↔ Reflective observation
* Abstract conceptualization ↔ Concrete experience.
The result is four types of learners: converger (Active experimentation - Abstract conceptualization), accommodator (Active experimentation - Concrete experience), assimilator (Reflective observation - Abstract conceptualization), and diverger (Reflective observation - Concrete experience). The LSI is designed to determine an individual's learning preference.
Experience Based Learning Systems, LLC (EBLS)
/ref>
Bibliography
* Kolb, D.A., Rubin, I.M., McIntyre, J.M. (1974).
''Organizational Psychology: A Book of Readings, 2nd edition.''
Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice-Hall.
* Kolb, D.A., Fry, R.E. (1974). Toward an Applied Theory of Experiential Learning
* Kolb, D. A., Kolb, A.Y. (2011)
''The Kolb Learning Style Inventory 4.0''
* Peterson, K., & Kolb, D. A. (2017). How You Learn Is How You Live: Using Nine Ways of Learning to Transform Your Life. Berrett-Koehler Publishers.
See also
*Experiential learning
Experiential learning (ExL) is the process of learning through experience, and is more narrowly defined as "learning through reflection on doing". Hands-on learning can be a form of experiential learning, but does not necessarily involve students ...
*Constructivism (philosophy of education)
Constructivism in education is a theory that suggests that learners do not passively acquire knowledge through direct instruction. Instead, they ''construct'' their understanding through experiences and social interaction, integrating new infor ...
References
External links
Kolb's Faculty Profile at Case Western University
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kolb, David A.
21st-century American psychologists
Knox College (Illinois) alumni
Harvard University alumni
Living people
Case Western Reserve University faculty
1939 births
20th-century American psychologists