Most Helpful Customer Reviews
78 of 78 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Superb & comprehensive model of individuals' learning styles, 30 Aug 2001
This review is from: Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (Paperback)
Central to this book is the question 'What is learning?'. The author addresses this question on a psychological, philosophical, and sociological level. The book is easy to follow, with many studies and other well known authors' work cited. Essentially, Kolb shows how learning is a dynamic process, that never ceases during one's life. Exactly how this process is balanced or perverted through the educational system is discussed, backed up with several surveys. The quality of the text shows the depth of thought that lies behind the book, which is above all a practical guide to help improve our learning. Considering the date when the book was published, it is extremely forward thinking - for only now have we began to adpot problem based learning and recognised the need for life-long learning. It is a gripping read and exceptional for its clear presentation of the learning process. Essential and, dare I say enjoyable, for anyone interested in how people learn.
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33 of 38 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
An indispensible and seminal text!!, 26 Aug 2001
By M. Pardee "Lifelong-Learner" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (Paperback)
Kolb's "Experiential Learning" is a masterpiece. In it, he deftly synthesizes the strands of learning theory and psychological research that inform his 4 stage learning cycle. All committed "experiential educators" should consult this book in order more deeply to understand the deep and rich conceptual foundation(s) of our potent pedagogical practice. In his "Foreword" to the volume, Leadership guru Warren Bennis positively hyperventilates in applauding Kolb's achievement in this work. And for good reason! From thence comes Kolb's elegant & powerful "Learning Styles Inventory" (or LSI), among other things. Even if you're a cynic or skeptic re: the merit of experiential education, you would do well to peruse this tour-de-force in order better to appreciate what you may be missing.
39 of 49 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Please pass the molasses, 14 July 2000
By Michael Collins - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (Paperback)
When one encounters the word " dialectic" while reading academic texts it should be as a clear signal as a fire to forest ranger that trouble is on the horizon. This statement may be a bit of an exaggeration but it would definitely be accurate to say that Kolb's Experiential Learning is no easy read. Of course, this does not diminish the value of the book, in spite of difficult passages. Ironically, this is the essence of the concept of "dialectic". Liberal doses of psychology are ladled throughout the book as the masters (Piaget, Jung, et. al) are consistently consulted to back up theory. Although not professing to have knowledge about psychology, it is clear that their work is essential to establish the interrelationship between cognition and experiential learning. Theory of learning and the opposing learning styles of apprehension and comprehension are explored. This book is clearly the cure for a stubborn case of insomnia. I can't say that the book is without merit, however, because it held some great information that will be useful now and in future applications when I have the chance to practice my current endeavors. Some passages even caused a sense of anticipation for the succeeding ones because there was a considerable amount of interesting information that I had not yet pondered. I would compare this book to putting molasses on pancakes on a winter day. It is thick and doesn't go down easily but great once you warm up to it
7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Definitive referenced work on experiential learning, 21 Oct 2006
By John Inman "Learning Conversations" - Published on Amazon.com
This review is from: Experiential Learning: Experience as the Source of Learning and Development (Paperback)
Not everyone is interested in a referenced text. This is not your sit down and breeze through popular book on a topic. However, if you are interested in understanding the foundation of the field of learning through experience, you absolutely must read, no study, this reference. For those of us who are practitioners, understanding theory is critical and this reference provides the foundation for much of the current work in the learning field. I highly recommend. This book will not go out of date as experiential strategies are not a fade and will not go out of style.
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