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Case Study

The document discusses the contrasting learning styles of a married couple. Through completing a Kolb learning styles questionnaire, the wife's style was identified as an assimilator, who learns best through watching and thinking, while the husband's style was an accommodator, who learns through doing and feeling. Their opposing styles present challenges when one wants to dive into a new experience while the other needs more planning time, but overall helps create a balanced learning process. Now with a child, they are interested in identifying his natural learning preferences as well.

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45 views

Case Study

The document discusses the contrasting learning styles of a married couple. Through completing a Kolb learning styles questionnaire, the wife's style was identified as an assimilator, who learns best through watching and thinking, while the husband's style was an accommodator, who learns through doing and feeling. Their opposing styles present challenges when one wants to dive into a new experience while the other needs more planning time, but overall helps create a balanced learning process. Now with a child, they are interested in identifying his natural learning preferences as well.

Uploaded by

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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Running head: CONTRASTING LEARNING STYLES 1

Contrasting Learning Styles in a Relationship

Breanna Carels

Brandon University
CONTRASTING LEARNING STYLES 2

Contrasting Learning Styles in a Relationship

My husband and I have been together for ten years and we have always recognized that

we are very different from each other. We have very different personalities, we have a unique

way of approaching new situations and challenges, and the way we learn and process

information varies. The saying that opposites attract holds true in our relationship. We both

completed the Kolb learning styles questionnaire and it was no surprise that our results were

opposite. My learning style is an assimilator and my husband is an accommodator. Our

opposing learning styles manifests as both a challenge and an asset in our relationship.

Reading the descriptions of each learning style ahead of taking the questionnaire, it was

no surprise to me that my learning style result was assimilator. To determine your learning style

you look at both the processing continuum and the perception continuum (McLeod, 2017,

“Learning Styles,” para. 2). I process information by watching, and respond by thinking about

this new knowledge. As a student I always enjoyed lectures because I could take notes as the

professor was talking and then find time later to review and reorganize this information (Terry,

2019, p. 3). Classes that had you actively discussing your thoughts as new information was

being presented, or immediately applying the knowledge in a hands on experiment made me very

nervous. Another thing that is important to me is to have a very clear explanation of assignment

expectations (McLeod, 2017, “Assimilating,” para. 1). When a teacher gave an assignment with

creative freedom, I would always be asking for clearer guidelines and I would never feel

confident in completing that assignment. In general, it is very important for me as a learner to

have time to watch and analyze a situation, which are the qualities of an assimilator learning

style.
CONTRASTING LEARNING STYLES 3

On the other hand, my husband received a learning style result of accommodator, which

is the polar opposite learning style. I learn through watching and thinking, where as he learns

better through doing and feeling. My husband has always been a hands on guy and he is not

afraid to try anything (McLeod, 2017, “Accommodating,” para. 1). There are many skills he has

now that he has acquired through a hands on approach. He built a wooden camper, wired a

projector and sound system in his homemade movie theatre, completed mechanic work on

machinery, and built many pieces of furniture primarily through a hands on trial and error

approach. He is always researching and using the information of others to help teach him how to

do just about anything he sets his mind to (McLeod, 2017, “Accommodating,” para. 2). If a

problem arises for him he does not waste time turning to other people or the internet to see how

others have approached the situation (Terry, 2019, p. 3). Another thing my husband loves is

carrying out plans or looking for new things to try and experience (Terry, 2019, p. 3). He

constantly has a house or yard project on the go and is always trying to plan our next adventure.

An accommodating learning style of doing and feeling definitely fits my husband.

Through the years, our relationship has been affected in different ways because of our

opposing learning styles. My husband and I each have learning preferences and we tend to focus

more on certain aspects of Kolb’s learning cycle (Peterson, DeCato, & Kolb, 2015, p. 229). This

is sometimes challenging when my husband is ready to dive right into a new experience and I

need time to process and plan. In general, we have found that our opposing learning styles

balance out and make our relationship stronger. Although individuals are not able to use all parts

of the learning cycle at once, together we use all four parts of the cycle and have a balanced

learning process (Peterson et al., 2015, p. 230). My husband has even helped me as a teacher in

developing assignments and projects for students. He has mentioned that he would have
CONTRASTING LEARNING STYLES 4

appreciated more hands on assignments and freedom in projects and I always keep that in the

back of my mind when making plans for my own classroom. It is very important for students to

have the opportunities to pursue interests and create without boundaries (Sanfelippo, 2017, p.

82). Recently we have entered a new stage in our relationship, parenthood. There is so much to

learn and new things are thrown our way daily, so we are happy to work through the experiences

of parenthood together. After completing this learning styles assessment, we had a discussion

about our son and what we thought his learning style might be. Learning style preferences are

developed in infancy (Peterson et al., 2015, p. 231) so it will be interesting for us to watch him

experience the world and learn in his own way.

All individuals have preferences in how they process and perceive new information,

which indicates their learning style. For myself it is important to have time to watch and think

about new information, which means I have an assimilating learning style. My husband on the

other hand has an accommodating learning style because he experiences new information by

doing and feeling. This has manifested itself as both a challenge and an asset in our relationship.

Recognizing we have different learning styles has been helpful in our relationship. Now

knowing that we learn differently we can use this information to become balanced learners in

situations we experience together.


CONTRASTING LEARNING STYLES 5

References

McLeod, S. A. (2017, October 24). Kolb’s learning styles and experiential learning cycle. Simply

Psychology. Retrieved May 8, 2019, from http://www.simplypsychology.org/learning-

kolb.html.

Peterson, K., DeCato, L., & Kolb, D. A. (2015). Moving and Learning. Journal of Experiential

Education, 38(3), 228-244. doi:10.1177/1053825914540836 Retrieved from SAGE

Journals database.

Sanfelippo, J. S. (2017). Hacking leadership: 10 ways great leaders inspire learning that

teachers, students, and parents love. Cleveland, OH: Times 10 Publications. Retrieved

from my home library.

Terry, M. (2019, Spring). Kolb’s experiential learning model. Graduate Scholarly Writing lesson

materials. Brandon University, Brandon, MB.

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