Volume 5 Winter 2011 Number 2 - Charleston Law Review

CHARLESTON LAW REVIEW [Volume 5and assessment of student outcomes at different levels of theeducational system, including law schools. 61 Interestingly,despite its apparent acceptance in some law school circles, 62 theDunn and Dunn model has very little influence in highereducation generally.2. Experiential Learning TheoryDavid Kolb’s 63 experiential learning theory, upon which hebases his learning styles model, posits that learning occurs in “afour-stage cycle involving four adaptive learning modes—concrete experience, reflective observation, abstractconceptualization, and active experimentation.” 64 In his scheme,“concrete experience/abstract conceptualization and activeexperimentation/reflective observation are two distinctdimensions, each representing two dialectically opposed adaptiveorientations.” 65 Higher learning, and the acquisitionof knowledge, requires both grasping and transformingexperiences. 66 One’s heredity, past life experiences, andsocialization through family, education, and occupationalexperiences shape a person’s learning style preferences. 67Kolb’s theory does not have a major biological component, butinstead presents learning styles as continually subject to changeand development, depending upon circumstances and theconscious efforts of the learner. 68 Rather than suggest that61. Dunn and Dunn assessments are designed for different age groups.See http://www.learningstyles.net/en/our-assessments (last visited Oct. 22,2010). The “BE” or “Building Excellence” Survey is designed for individualsaged seventeen and above. See id.62. See Boyle, Minneti & Honigsfeld, supra note 12, at 156; Boyle & Dunn,supra note 12, at 223.63. David Kolb received his Ph.D. in social psychology from HarvardUniversity. He is a long-time faculty member at Case Western ReserveUniversity’s Weatherhead School of Management. See http://learningfromexperience.com/media/2010/08/David-Kolb-curriculum-vitae-2009.pdf.64. KOLB, supra note 15, at 40.65. Id. at 40–41.66. Id. at 26–29, 41.67. Id. at 76–77.68. Id. at 206; see also Coffield, Learning Styles and Pedagogy in Post-16Learning, supra note 10, at 64.148