Unit

No: THE
LEARNING
03
CYCLE

Contents:
1.Examination of the learning cycle.
2.Models of Kolb and Taylor and how they impact
on learning.
3.Types of learning/styles.
 4. Problem solving and the learning cycle.The
Learning Cycle:
A learning cycle is a concept of how people learn from
experience. A learning cycle will have a number of stages or
phases, the last of which can be followed by the first.

Why use learning Cycle:

The learning cycle plays an pivotal role in learning as it allows

students to:

1. Students are more aware of their own reasoning.

2. They recognize shortcomings of their conceptions as a result
of being encouraged to try them out.
3. Can apply procedures successfully in other areas.
4. Can search more effectively for new patterns.
5. Can apply what they learn more often in new settings.

General Schemata for Most Learning Cycles

 1. Become aware of their prior knowledge.
2. Foster cooperative learning and a safe positive learning
environment.
3. Compare new alternatives to their prior knowledge.
4. Connect it to what they already know.
5. Construct their own new knowledge
6. Apply the new knowledge in ways that are different from the
situation in which it was learned.

Stages of learning cycle BY Karplus (1962)

Karplus (1962) and others, developed the original Learning

Cycle. Karplus believed that textbook-based science
teaching alone did not give students at any age the
integration of conceptual understanding the process skills
that he called scientific reasoning. Karplus expanded his
activities and contribution in science education. His learning
cycle is 3-pronged given as:

1. Exploration.
2. Concept Invention
3. Expansion/Concept Application.
1. Exploration:

Pupils learn through their own actions and reactions with

minimum guidance. The learners are expected to raise
questions they cant answer with their present ideas or
reasoning patterns.
A common weakness in this stage is not allowing sufficient
time, and that the time must be spent with the materials and
activities that will lead to the concept. A strong exploration
provides opportunities for students to assimilate the concept
from more than one activity.
2. Concept Invention:
The concept is introduced and explained with help from
teacher. The learner is introduced to some appropriately-
specific terminology in relation to the phenomenon being
investigated. The teacher uses this to assist the learner to
interpret what has been found.
Five factors to be included in a term introduction
include:
 1. The findings of the exploration need to be reviewed and
summarized.
2. All findings used must be the students.
3. The concept must be stated in the students own words.
4. The proper terminology of the concept should be
introduced.
5. One or more reasons for the importance of the concept
need to be given.
3. Concept Application:
The concept is applied to new situations and its range of
applicability is extended. Learning is achieved by repetition
and practice so that new ideas and ways of thinking have
time to stabilize.
The scientific terminology of the concept must be used
during the concept-application phase. The new ideas of the
learner are meshed with existing knowledge in order to
expand both that knowledge and the newly acquired idea.
Additional experiences to help this elaboration process are
an essential part of this stage.
These experiences would have some of the attributes of
experiments because the outcomes would not be known
even though the pupils know the concept that is the subject
of investigation.

Learning styles:
Ways and conditions in which learners most efficiently and
most effectively perceive, process, store, recall and
how they prefer to approach different learning task"
Information enters your brain three main ways: sight,
hearing and touch, which one you use the most is
called your Learning Style:

Types of learning styles:

1. visual learners:
 Learn through seeing... .

These learners need to see the teacher's body language and

facial expression to fully understand the content of a lesson. They
tend to prefer sitting at the front of the classroom to avoid visual
obstructions (e.g. people's heads). They may think in pictures and
learn best from visual displays including: diagrams, illustrated
text books, overhead transparencies, videos, flip charts and hand-
outs. During a lecture or classroom discussion, visual learners
often prefer to take detailed notes to absorb the information.

2. Auditory learners:

Learn through listening...

They learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking

things through and listening to what others have to say. Auditory
learners interpret the underlying meanings of speech through
listening to tone of voice, pitch, speed and other nuances. Written
information may have little meaning until it is heard. These
learners often benefit from reading text aloud and using a tape
recorder.

3. Tactile/kinesthetic learners:

Learn through, moving, doing and

touching...

Tactile/kinesthetic persons learn best through a hands-on

approach, actively exploring the physical world around them.
They may find it hard to sit still for long periods and may become
distracted by their need for activity and exploration.

Dun & Dunn learning style Model:

One of the oldest and most widely used approaches to learning

styles is that
Proposed by Rita and Kenneth Dunn (1978, 1992a, 1992b, and
Dunn, 1986). Through their work, they observed distinct
differences in the ways students responded to instructional
materials. Some liked to learn alone, while others preferred
learning in groups or from a teacher. Out of this preliminary work,
they identified five key dimensions on which student learning
styles differed:
1. Environmental,
2. Emotional support,
3. Sociological composition,
4. Physiological, and
5. Psychological elements.
The separate elements within each dimension are found in Table 1
and summarized
Below.
___________________________
Table

Dimensio Elements Key questions

ns

Environm Sound Do students prefer a noisy, busy, well lit,

ent Light warm environment or a quiet,
Temperature Subdued, cooler environment?
Seating Design Should the learning environment be formal
(e.g. desks and chairs) or informal (e.g.
pillows)?
Emotional Motivational Do students need a lot of emotional
support support? Will they persist on learning
Persistence tasks?
Individual Can they assume individual
Responsibility responsibility? Do they need lots of
Structure structure?

Sociologic Individual Do students learn best alone or working

Pairs or Teams With someone?
al
Adult How much guidance from adults do they
Varied want or need?

Physiolog Perceptual Is the student an auditory, visual, tactual,

ical Intake or kinesthetic learner?
Time Mobility Does the student like to
snack while
learning?
When is the optimal time for learning?
Does the student require freedom to move
during learning?
Psycholog Global How does the learner attack problem,
Analytical globally or analytically?
ical
Impulsive Does the student jump into problems or
Reflective pause to reflect before starting

Models of learning:
Two models of learning are present:

1. Kolbs Model of learning styles.

2. Tailors Model of learning.

Kolbs Model of learning styles

First Kolb showed that learning styles could be seen on a
continuum running from:
1. Concrete experience: being involved in a new experience
2. Reflective observation: watching others or developing
observations about own experience
3. Abstract conceptualization: creating theories to explain
observations
4. Active experimentation: using theories to solve problems
make decisions.
Although Kolb thought of these learning styles as a continuum
that one moves through over time, usually people come to prefer,
and rely on, one style above the others. And it is these main
styles that instructors need to be aware of when creating
instructional materials.

1. CONCRETE EXPERIENCE (CE):

A receptive, experience based approach to learning that relies
for a large part on
judgments based on feelings. CE individuals tend to be
empathetic and people
Oriented. They are not primarily interested in theory; instead they
like to treat each case as unique and learn best from specific
examples. In their learning they are more oriented towards peers
than to authority and they learn best from discussion and
feedback with fellow CE learners.
Labs, field work, videos, observations.

2. REFLECTIVE OBSERVATION (RO):

A tentative, impartial and reflective approach to learning.
They rely on careful
observation of others and/or like to develop observations about
their own experience. They like lecture format learning so they
can be impartial objective observers. Introverts.
Self-reflection exercises, journals, brain storming(?)
 3. ABSTRACT CONCEPTUALISATION (AC):

An analytical, conceptual approach to learning: logical thinking,

rational evaluation. These learners are oriented to things rather
than to people. They learn best from authority-directed learning
situations that emphasize theory. They dont benefit from
unstructured discovery type learning approaches.
Lectures, papers
4. ACTIVE EXPERIMENTATION (AE):
An active, doing approach to learning that relies heavily on
experimentation. These
learners learn best when they can engage in projects, homework,
small group
discussion. They dont like lectures, and tend to be extroverts.
Simulations, case studies, homework.

Summary of Learning Styles

1) ACCOMMODATOR Learning Style:

Accommodators dominant learning abilities are Concrete
Experience (CE) and Active Experimentation (AE). This
persons greatest strength lies in doing things and involving
oneself in the experience. This person can be more of a risk-taker
and tends to adapt well in specific circumstances. This person
tends to solve problems in an intuitive trial and error manner,
relying often on other peoples information rather than on own
analytic ability. Suited for action-oriented jobs (business,
marketing, sales). These learners are good with complexity and
are able to see relationships among aspects of as system.
A variety of methods are suitable for this learning style,
particularly anything that encourages independent discovery
allowing the learner to be an active participant in the learning
process instructors working with this type of student might expect
devil's advocate type questions, such as "What if?" and "Why
not?"
2) ASSIMILATOR
 Assimilators dominant learning abilities are Abstract
Conceptualization (AC) and Reflective Observation (RO).
They are motivated to answer the question, "what is there to
know?" They are good at creating theoretical models. Less
interested in people more concerned with abstract concepts. This
learning style is more characteristic of basic sciences and
mathematics. They like accurate, organized delivery of
information and they tend to respect the knowledge of the expert.
They aren't that comfortable randomly exploring a system and
they like to get the 'right' answer to the problem. Instructional
methods that suit Assimilators include:
lecture method, followed by a demonstration
exploration of a subject in a lab, following a prepared tutorial
(which they will
probably stick to quite closely) and for which answers should be
provided
These learners are perhaps less 'instructor intensive' than those
of some other
learning styles. They will carefully follow prepared exercises,
provided a resource
person is clearly available and able to answer questions.
3) CONVERGER
Convergers dominant learning abilities are Abstract
Conceptualization (AC) and Active Experimentation (AE).
They are motivated to discover the relevancy or "how" of a
situation and their greatest strength lies in the practical
application of ideas. Application and usefulness of information is
increased by understanding detailed information about the
system's operation. They are relatively unemotional and prefer to
deal with things rather than people. They like to specialize in the
physical sciences and this learning style is characteristic of many
engineers.
Instructional methods that suit Convergers include: interactive,
hands-on, not passive, instruction (labs, field work)
computer-assisted instruction
problem sets or workbooks for students to explore.

4) DIVERGER
 Divergers dominant learning abilities are Concrete
Experience (CE) and Reflective Observation (RO). Their
greatest strength lies in imaginative ability. This person is very
good at viewing concrete situations from many perspectives. They
prefer to have information presented to them in a detailed,
systematic, reasoned manner. Flexibility and the ability to think
on your feet are assets when working with Divergers. Counsellors,
managers are typical professions they are well suited to.
Instructional methods that suit Divergers include: lecture
method
hands-on exploration, brainstorming.

Taylors Model
It with others Marilyn Taylor (1987) suggests that
discomfort is a natural and necessary part of the learning
process. However, as her model of the learning cycle below
indicates, she believes students can work through the
discomfort with the support of the educator. Consists of four
phases given as:
1. Disorientation.
2. Exploration.
3. Reorientation.
4. Equilibrium.
 Stage 1 Disorientation: The learner is presented with
an unfamiliar experience or idea which involves new ideas
that challenge the student to think critically about his/her
beliefs and values. The learner reacts by becoming confused
and anxious. Support from the educator at this point is
crucial to the learners motivation, participation and self-
esteem.
 Stage 2 Exploration: The tutor assists the learner to
name (identify) the problem so that the learner will see
that the disorientation comes from an unresolved/complex
issue rather than any inadequacy on the learners part. The
tutor then assists the learner to search for information which
can be used in resolving the problem or issue experienced in
the Disorientation Phase.
Stage 3 Reorientation: This stage is characterized by
synthesis of the information gathered and reflected on
during the Exploration stage. The educators role in this
stage is to encourage and guide the learner through the
process of reflecting critically on the information. The role of
the tutor is also to assist the learner to achieve a degree of
acceptance of the idea that learning can evoke disorientation
and/or discomfort.
Stage 4 Equilibrium: The emotional intensity of the
previous three stages is markedly reduced by the time this
stage is reached and the learner displays an obvious sense
of comfort with/acceptance of the new knowledge/skill. The
role of the educator is to encourage the learner to
apply/extend the knowledge/skill it to new situations, as well
as to share.

Effects on learning:
i. Develops abstract thinking
ii. Provokes concrete conceptualization
iii. Organizes reflective observation
iv. Creates active experimentation

Problem Solving:

Critical Thinking enables a person to solve problems and make

decisions. Therefore -

Problem solving and decision making are practical application of

critical thinking skills.
 Problem Solving is a systematic process leading to
the achievement of outcomes

The ability to solve problems effectively contributes to the

delivery of safe, competent nursing care.

Definition: Problem

1. [Webster} a question raised for inquiry, consideration,

discussion, decision, or solution

2. Something difficult to solve or decide

3. Problems can be related to: patients, coworkers,

mechanical breakdown, or personal issues.

While problem solving Involves identifying the problem and

making choices Essential to the delivery of competent nursing
care.

Nursing problem solving process style

Problem solving is a generic process that can be applied to any

problem. Nursing Process differs from generic problem solving in
that it is patient centered.

The problem solving process is the foundation of the nursing

process. For nursing practice, problem solving is presented in a
nursing process format.

Decision Making is a step in the problem-solving process and is

the process of choosing among alternatives.

Steps in the Problem-Solving Process:

Assessment - the existence of a problem must be recognized

Data should be collected, compiled, and organized.

Analysis/Explore problem should be identified and defined

clearly
 Ask questions: Who? What is the problem? Why do you think
that there is a problem?
Determine priority of the problem.

Develop a list of possible strategies

o Focus on a range of solutions before selecting the best one

o Be creative!

Outcome Identification /Set Goals:

o clear, concise idea of the desired destination

o Measurable

o Positive and negative outcomes must be determined

Plan /Look at alternatives:

Select the alternative that has the best chance of success and
the least undesirable outcome.
 1. Know your resources: patients chart, nsg. Texts, medication
books, P&P books, individuals with expertise.

2. Identify actions/determine priority

3. Make decision.

Implementation

It involves implementation of the chosen solution

1. If actions have been delegated to personnel, clear and

thorough direction must be given.

2. In addition to delegation, this may require performing

nursing actions to achieve the est. goals.

Evaluation

1. Changes may occur in the problem that necessitate

immediate revisions

2. Compare the results obtained with the desired outcome

Problem solving strategies:

1. Do it yourself

2. Influence others

3. Assign someone

4. Do nothing.

Do it yourself

The problem solver should evaluate his/her capabilities and

expertise and determine whether this is the preferred option.

Influence Others:

1. Allow the person owning the problem to solve it

 2. E.g. Conflict between 2 employees: The nurse manager may
bring the parties together to discuss their issues

Interpersonal skills may be used to assist in conflict resolution,

but the employees would be allowed to work out their own
solution.

Assign someone

Delegation is the transferring to a competent individual the

authority to perform a selected nursing task in a selected
situation.

Do Nothing

1. Often a problem will subside on its own

2. The problem solver should recognize when a problem has the

potential to resolve by itself and should consider making a
conscious effort not to intervene.