The debate about segregating boys and girls in classrooms to accommodate their different learning styles rages on. Now David Kolb, the father of experiential learning and leading psychometric tests, has widened the learning divide with the recent introduction of a Learning Flexibility Index (LFI). Women, concludes the test, have a higher LFI than men. In the workplace, however, we cannot separate the sexes so who do we hire? The person with the highest LFI will function better in today's cross-functional and multidisciplinary workplace, concludes the Learning Flexibility Index study.It is widely recognised that one's approach to learning can tell us a lot about his /her suitability for, and potential performance on, a job. Learning is the process of creating knowledge through transformational experience. According to Kolb's Experential Learning Theory (ELT), we do not have one fixed learning style but rather learning is a dynamic state, which Kolb captures in his cycle of learning — Concrete Experience, Reflective Observation, Abstract Conceptualization and Active Experimentation. In the dynamic state, one will fall within a dual dialectic between different learning modes.
Advancing on the Adaptive Learning Index (ALI), the LFI takes a closer look at how context influences learning flexibility. "Individuals who are men, older, highly educated, and specialists in abstract, paradigmatic fields are more assimilative in learning and have less learning flexibility," concludes the study. Those who tend to be abstract and reflective learners are more likely to be inflexible.
Age, however, is only one of many factors influencing learning flexibility. The study compares the learning styles of two males — a mid-forties executive with a high LFI and a minister in his thirties with a low LFI. Taking one dimension, evaluating an opportunity, the minister uses a reflective style whereas the executive uses an accommodating, concrete and active style. To influence someone, the minister uses a balancing style whereas the executive uses an abstract style.
The executive is more likely to excel in today's dynamic workplace. A female executive may fare even better. Women and those in concrete positions are even more flexible.
Here's an interesting development. Kobe's learning theory has been supported through tests undertaken in over 3000 studies. In coming years, will it be possible to forego learning tests altogether for a brain scan? In a recent study by the University of California, cognitive tests mapping the brain and aptitudes were performed on 6,000 volunteers. Aptitude and traits could be assessed in the areas of learning, math and memory, concludes the study.
Read more about the Learning Flexibility Index
