Learning-Style Inventory

The Learning-Style Inventory describes the way you learn and how you deal with
ideas and day-to-day situations in your life. We all have a sense that people learn
in different ways, but this inventory will help you understand what learning style
can mean to you. It will help you understand better:

- How you make career choices

- How you solve problems
- How you set goals
- How you manage others
- How you deal with new situations

Instructions

On the next page you will be asked to complete 12 sentences. Each has four
endings. Rank the endings for each sentence according to how well you think
each one fits with how you would go about learning something. Try to recall
some recent situations where you had to learn something new, perhaps in your
job. Then, using the spaces provided, rank a “4” for the sentence ending that
describes how you learn best, down to a “1” for the sentence ending that seems
least like the way you would learn. Be sure to rank all the endings for each
sentence unit. Please do not make ties.

Example of completed sentence set:

0 When I learn. 4 I am happy. 1 I am fast. 2 I am logical. 3 I am careful.

REMEMBER: 4 = most like you

3 = second most like you
2 = third most like you
1 = least like you

AND: You are ranking across, not down.

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Learning-Style Inventory

1. When I learn: _____ I like to deal _____ I like to _____ I like to think _____ I like to be
with my feelings. watch and listen. about ideas. doing things.

2. I learn best _____ I trust my _____ I listen and _____ I rely on _____ I work
when: hunches and watch carefully. logical thinking. hard to get things
feelings. done.

3. When I am _____ I have _____ I am quiet _____ I tend to _____ I am

learning: strong feelings and and reserved. reason things out. responsible about
reactions. things.

4. I learn by: _____ feeling. _____ watching. _____ thinking. _____ doing.

5. When I learn: _____ I am open to _____ I look at all _____ I like to _____ I like to try
new experiences. sides of issues. analyze things, things out.
break them down
into their parts.

6. When I am _____ I am an _____ I am an _____ I am a _____ I am an

learning: intuitive person. observing person. logical person. active person.

7. I learn best _____ personal _____ observation. _____ rational _____ a chance
from: relationships. theories. to try out and
practice.

8. When I learn: _____ I feel _____ I take my _____ I like ideas _____ I like to
personally involved time before acting. and theories. see results from
in things. my work.

9. I learn best _____ I rely on my _____ I rely on my _____ I rely on my _____ I can try
when: feelings. observations. ideas. things out for
myself.

10. When I am _____ I am an _____ I am _____ I am a _____ I am a

learning: accepting person. reserved person. rational person. responsible
person.

11. When I learn: _____ I get _____ I like to _____ I evaluate _____ I like to be
involved. observe. things. active.

12. I learn best _____ I am _____ I am careful. _____ I analyze _____ I am

when: receptive and ideas. practical.
open-minded.

TOTAL the
scores from Column 1 Column 2 Column 3 Column 4
each column:
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THE CYCLE OF LEARNING

The four columns that you have just totalled relate to the four stages in the Cycle
of Learning from Experience. In this cycle are four learning modes: Concrete
Experience (CE), Reflective Observation (RO), Abstract Conceptualization (AC),
and Active Experimentation (AE). Enter your total scores from each column:

Column 1 (CE) Column 2 (RO)

Column 3 (AC) Column 4 (AE)

In the diagram below, put a dot on each of the lines to correspond with your CE,
RO, AC, and AE scores. Connect the dots with a line so that you get a “kite-like”
shape. The shape and placement of this kite will show you which learning modes
you prefer most and which you prefer least.

CONCRETE EXPERIENCE (CE)

(“Feeling”)
45
40
35
33
31
30
29
28
27
26 100%
25
80%
24

23
60%
22
21 40%
20
ACTIVE REFLECTIVE
19
EXPERIMENTATION (AE) 18 20% OBSERVATION (RO)
17
(“Doing”) 46 43 42 41 40 39 38 37 36 35 34 16 (“Watching”)
32 30 29 28 25 16 13

16 14 22 23 24 25 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 37 40 46
20
22

23
20%
24
25
40% 26
27
28
60%
29
80% 30

100% 31
32
33
34
35
36
37
40
46
ABSTRACT
CONCEPTUALIZATION (AC)
(“Thinking”)

The Learning-Style Inventory is a simple test that helps you understand your
strengths and weaknesses as a learner. It measures how much you rely on four
different learning modes that are part of a four-stage cycle of learning. Different
learners start at different places in this cycle. Effective learning uses each stage.
You can see by the shape of your profile (above) which of the four learning
modes you tend to prefer in a learning situation.
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Learning-Style Type Grid

Take your score for the four learning modes, AC, CE, AE, and RO and subtract
as follows to get your two combination scores:

– = – =
AC – CE AC-CE AE – RO AE-RO

A positive scores on the AC-CE scale indicates that your score is more abstract.
A negative score on the AC-CE scale indicates that your score is more concrete.
Likewise, a positive or negative score on the AE-RO scale indicates that your
scores are either more active or more reflective.

By marking your two combination scores. AC-CE and AE-RO, on the two lines of
the following grid and plotting their point of interception, or data point, you can
find which of the four learning styles you fall into. These four quadrants, labelled
Accommodator. Diverger, Converger, and Assimilator, represent the four
dominant learning styles.

Percentiles
0
27

10
15
14
13
12
20 11
10
Accommodator -9
-8
Diverger
-7
-6
30
-5
-4
-3
-2
1
40
0
1
2
3
28 21 20 19 18 17 16 15 14 13 12 11 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1 0 -1 -2 -3 -4 -5 -6 -7 -8 -10 -13 -15 -21
AE-RO50
4
5
6
7
60 8
9
10
11

12
70
13
14
15

80
Converger 16
17
Assimilator
18
19
20
21
22
90 23

23

100 90 80 70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0
 Percentiles
AC–CE
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The quadrant of the Learning-Style Type grid into which you data point falls
shows your preferred learning style. For example: If your AC-CE score was -8
and your AE-RO score was +15, your style would fall into the Accommodator
quadrant. An AC-CE score of +7 and an AE-RO score of +10 would fall into the
Converger quadrant. The closer the data point is to the center of the grid, the
more balanced is your learning style. If the data point falls near any of the far
corners of the grid, you tend to rely heavily on one particular learning style.
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The chart below pinpoints the strengths and weaknesses of each learning style
with notes for improvement.

Concrete Experience
ACCOMMODATOR DIVERGER
Strengths: • Getting things done Strengths: • Imaginative ability
• Leadership • Understanding People
• Risk Taking • Recognizing Problems
• Brainstorming
Too Much: • Trivial Improvements Too Much: • Paralyzed by Alternatives
• Meaningless Activity • Can’t Make Decisions
Too Little: • Work not Completed Too Little: • \No Ideas
A on Time • Can’t Recognize Problems R
c • Impractical Plans and Opportunities e
t • Not Directed to Goals f
i To develop your Accommodative To develop your Divergent learning skills, l
v learning skills, practice practice e
e • Committing yourself to objectives • Being sensitive to people’s feelings c
t
• Seeking new opportunities • Being sensitive to values
E i
• Influencing and leading others • Listening with an open mind
x v
• Being personally involved • Gathering information e
p
e • Dealing with people • Imagining the implications of uncertain
r situations O
i CONVERGER ASSIMILATOR b
m s
e Strengths: • Problem Solving Strengths: • Planning e
n • Decision Making • Creating Models r
t • Deductive Reasoning • Defining Problems v
a • Defining Problems • Developing Theories a
t t
Too Much: • Solving the Wrong Too Much: • Castles in the Air i
i
o
Problem • No Practical Application o
n • Hasty Decision Making n
Too Little: • Lack of Focus Too Little: • Unable to Learn from
• No Testing of Ideas Mistakes.
• Scattered Thoughts • No Sound Basis of Work
• No Systematic Approach
To develop your Convergent learning To develop your Assimilative learning skills,
skills, practice practice
• Creating new ways of thinking and • Organizing information
doing • Building conceptual models
• Experimenting with new ideas • Testing theories and ideas
• Choosing the best solution • Designing experiments
• Setting goals • Analyzing quantitative data
• Making decisions
Abstract Conceptualisation