My learning style
I first heard of the concept of different learning styles during a three day ACA kayak instructor’s course. We were asked to think of the 4 types of learners in Kolb’s model in terms of how we would teach kayak skills like paddling and skulling, but the concept is valid for anyone in any situation. I think my learning style could best be described as a combination of “active experimentation” and “abstract conceptualiazation,” making me a type 3 “converger.” For example, when I took up whitewater kayaking this spring I spent a fair amount of time in the pool trying to learn the combat roll, a necessary skill. I found it remarkable that very few people, particularly other students, could explain how to execute the roll without simply saying “watch me.” Eventually I found another person who had been kayaking for 25 years and who gave me a dvd that explained how to do it. I watched the dvd several times and thought about the concepts of resistance and center-of-gravity with respect to the movement I was trying to execute. Thinking through complex movements helps me learn physical skills because, frankly I’m uncoordinated. If I understand the various components of the movement at the intellectual level then I’m better able to diagnose what I am doing wrong when I try to actually perform the movement. The “active experimentation” came when I actually tried to execute the combat roll over and over until I eventually got it. This didn’t come in the winter pool sessions, but rather later on through actually running whitewater with more experienced kayakers who could retrieve my boat if I couldn’t execute the roll and had to wet exit. I think I eventually learned the roll because I understood the mechanics of it at an intellectual level and tried it again and again when I was on the water until I had it down.
