COULD YOU ACCELERATE KNOWLEDGE TRANSFER TO TEAM MEMBERS BY APPLYING LEARNING STYLES THEORY?
Managers often need to train team members to execute delegated tasks. Managers maybe skilled in their particular area but not necessarily in the subject of teaching others. If the task of knowledge transfer is poorly executed it can lead to mistakes, increased costs and relationship strain. If you have no formal training in training others then a useful theory to consider relates to learning styles.
Honey and Mumford developed a methodology to identify learner preferences or learner styles. There is no right or wrong learning style, it simply relates to an individual’s preference for learning in a particular way. Having an insight into learner styles enables you to accelerate learning by engaging in learning activities that suit a particular style.
The four styles identified by Honey and Mumford are: activist, reflector, theorist and pragmatist. An individual does not necessarily fit exactly into one of the four learner styles and may be a hybrid of several. However, some individuals may strongly correlate with a particular learning style and be reluctant to embrace any of the benefits of the other styles.
In order to identify the learning style of an individual they are required to complete a questionnaire containing eighty questions. Based on the results a learning style can be identified.
Activists prefer to learn by engaging in learning activities. They are open to new ideas and enjoy activities such as brainstorming. They enjoy variety and tend to want to move on quickly to the next learning task at hand. A drawback of this style can be impatience and the tendency not to fully consider issues.
Reflectors prefer to learn in a slow and considered fashion. They like to ponder and evaluate material. In order to fully understand they need time to collect and collate as much information as possible to obtain a broad overview. Reflectors tend to be cautious and would rather not be the focus of attention. A drawback of this style can be the length of time they require to learn new material due to their desire to have a comprehensive insight into material before they are willing to move on.
Theorists prefer learning in a logical manner and respond well to a step-by-step approach. They need to be able to fully interpret the principles of a topic to gain an insight into it. They are interested in specifics and seek to validate explanations given to them. A drawback of this learning style can be the tendency to over-analyse.
Pragmatists prefer to learn material that has a specific and practical application. They tend to avoid the intricacies of theory and focus on what works. They enjoy learning activities that validate the practical application of learning and want to know how they will benefit from what they are learning. A drawback of this style can be a dismissive attitude to material that does not have an obvious practical application.
As with any theory, the best arbitrator of its usefulness is you, the individual. Can you identify your own learning style and is your learning style imposing on how you transfer knowledge to team members? Are you currently being successful with your approach to knowledge transfer amongst your team members? Would you be willing to test out the learning style theory to establish if it brings improvements?
