The Kolb Learning Style Inventory—Version 3.1 2005 - Whitewater ...

simulation intended to measure clinical management skills: the CBX consists of eight patient management simulations,
each involving a patient with an unknown surgical problem. The simulation allows the student to obtain results
of the history and physical examination, to order laboratory studies, to request radiology procedures, and to perform
invasive/interventional procedures of surgeries. Beyond the presenting complaint, management is unprompted, and
the student must balance the clinical evaluation with the acuity and progression of the clinical problem. Time advances
during the simulation in proportion to the time necessary to perform each examination, laboratory study, or intervention
(1998: 63). Of the 227 participants in the study, 102 (45%) were Converging learners, 59 (26%) Assimilating,
48 (21%) Accommodating, and 18 (8%) were Diverging learners. The result indicated that Converging and Assimilating
learners scored signifi cantly higher on the two multiple-choice performance measures, while no learning style
difference was found on the CBX computer simulation. The authors concluded that the results support the Kolb
(1984) and Newland and Woelfl (1992) assertions that Converging and Assimilating learners may have a performance
advantage on objective, single-best-answer, multiple choice examination. They also concluded that the absence of
relationships between learning style and CBX simulation suggests that multiple- choice examination and clinical case
simulations measure different capabilities and achievements. Clinical management may require not only an abstract
orientation supporting the acquisition, organization, and synthesis of preclinical basic science data, but also a concrete
orientation involving pattern recognition and instinct. The data demonstrate the importance of evaluating learning
outcomes by applying more than one type of examination format. Multiple-choice examinations favor abstract
learners; however, clinical performance requires additional cognitive skills and abilities, and behaviors that are not
adequately refl ected in objective measures of performance.
Oughton and Reed (2000) measured the relationship between graduate students’ learning styles and performance outcome
in a hypermedia environment in which students were required to structurally map out their acquired knowledge
and grasp the interrelationships among various ideas and concepts. The dependent measures included the number
of concepts, number of nodes, number of links, number of bidirectional links, number of multiple concept nodes,
number of nodes with multiple links, levels of depth, preserved concepts, omitted concepts, and added concepts on
each student’s map. The results showed that Assimilating and Diverging learners were the most productive on their
concept maps. The authors concluded that this result can be attributed to the common traits shared by the two learning
styles: the ability to see many perspectives and the ability to generate many ideas.
Holley and Jenkins (1993) examined the impact of learning style on four different accounting exam question formats:
multiple-choice theory (MCT), multiple-choice quantitative (MCQ), open-ended theory (OET), and open-ended
quantitative (OEQ). Their results indicated that there was a signifi cant performance difference by learning style for all
but the multiple -choice quantitative format. On the active-refl ective learning style continuum, there was a signifi cant
difference in students’ performance on the multiple choice theory format (p< .01) and the open-ended quantitative
format (p< .05) with active students performing better. On the abstract-concrete learning style continuum, abstract
students performed better on the open-ended theory format (p< .062). The authors concluded that students with
different learning styles perform differently depending on the examination format, and that performance cannot be
generalized for similar subjects if the testing format varies.
This research suggests that educators need to exercise caution in evaluating performance based on a single outcome
measure. Diverse assessment strategies are required to adequately measure student overall competence and performance.
Experiential Learning in Teams
Current research, involving different methodologies and different educational and workplace populations, has shown
that ELT is useful for understanding team learning and performance (Adams, Kayes, and Kolb 2005a). A number of
studies support the proposition that a team is more effective if it learns from experience and emphasizes all four learning
modes. Summarized below are studies of team member learning style, team roles, and team norms.
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