The Learning Cycle

Developing new skills and capabilities effectively is not only about formal training but is also about profiting from your everyday work experience. It involves:

• Doing: carrying out and being aware of all the activities you are participating in
• Reflecting: reviewing and summarising what has just taken place
• Linking: making links and connections with previous knowledge
• Planning: using what you have learnt to make improvements, which involves planning, structuring what you do in a new way, and setting targets.

We naturally cycle through each of these stages in the course of our daily lives, however, most of us tend to focus on one or two areas more than the others.

The Four Stages of the Learning Cycle

Doing involves activity, participation and engagement with experience. People who are most comfortable in this stage emphasise practical achievement and involvement.

Reflecting involves impartially gathering information about activities that have taken place. People who are most comfortable in this stage emphasise discussion, exploration and playing back experiences in their minds.

Linking is the stage during which we make connections between experiences and ideas, and see how the experience ties in or conflicts with other concepts and models. People who are most comfortable in this stage emphasise knowledge, conceptual thinking, and abstract ideas.

Planning enables us to modify our actions by deciding how we will do them differently the next time. It involves reviewing and summarising what we have learnt, and deciding the next steps. People who are most comfortable in this stage emphasise decision making, categorising, applying judgements and organising.

Learning is an ongoing process that can be seen as a cycle of continual improvement. Depending on our natural preferences we tend to be most comfortable at one particular stage of this cycle, and least comfortable at another. To learn fully from all our experiences however, it is important to engage in each stage of the cycle.

Learning From Experience

Traditionally, learning has been associated with reading books, attending courses and lectures, etc. However, real learning is not just about acquiring information, but about engaging with it and integrating it so that it affects not only your thinking but also your behaviour. It has been shown that there are many different ways to learn, some more suitable to particular Personality Patterns than others.

The Learning Cycle can be applied at a general level and at a specific level.

To give an example of the former, more general level, a highly qualified manager in an aerospace company was made redundant, and was unable to find suitable work. To remedy the situation he decided to undertake a Strategic Management course at University. He chose this route because he has a naturally preference for the Thinking stage of the cycle, and is more comfortable learning ideas and theoretical knowledge.

However, on seeking the advice of a professional career consultant, he realised that his best course of action would be to improve his personal and interpersonal skills by taking part in a series of shorter presentation skills workshops in which activity, role play and participation are required. He found this uncomfortable at first, but saw that this was exactly what he needed in order to become a more convincing and persuasive manager. The Learning Cycle showed him the area that he needed to develop most.

To give an example of the latter, more specific level, most of us use the telephone at work. After you have made a call, write down or discuss with a colleague precisely what happened during the call. This is the Reflecting stage of the cycle. Next, read up about effective telephone techniques and/or talk to a colleague whose telephone manner impresses you. This is the Linking stage. Finally, using the information you have gathered write down precisely what you will do differently next time you have a similar call. This may seem a simple thing to do, but you will be surprised how effective it can be to make a small change to the way we normally do things.

We naturally cycle through each of these stages in the course of our daily lives, however, most of us tend to focus on one or two areas more than the others.

The Four Stages of the Learning Cycle

Doing involves activity, participation and engagement with experience. People who are most comfortable in this stage emphasise practical achievement and involvement.

Reflecting involves impartially gathering information about activities that have taken place. People who are most comfortable in this stage emphasise discussion, exploration and playing back experiences in their minds.

Linking is the stage during which we make connections between experiences and ideas, and see how the experience ties in or conflicts with other concepts and models. People who are most comfortable in this stage emphasise knowledge, conceptual thinking, and abstract ideas.

Planning enables us to modify our actions by deciding how we will do them differently the next time. It involves reviewing and summarising what we have learnt, and deciding the next steps. People who are most comfortable in this stage emphasise decision making, categorising, applying judgements and organising.

Learning is an ongoing process that can be seen as a cycle of continual improvement. Depending on our natural preferences we tend to be most comfortable at one particular stage of this cycle, and least comfortable at another. To learn fully from all our experiences however, it is important to engage in each stage of the cycle.

Learning From Experience

Traditionally, learning has been associated with reading books, attending courses and lectures, etc. However, real learning is not just about acquiring information, but about engaging with it and integrating it so that it affects not only your thinking but also your behaviour. It has been shown that there are many different ways to learn, some more suitable to particular Personality Patterns than others.

The Learning Cycle can be applied at a general level and at a specific level.

To give an example of the former, more general level, a highly qualified manager in an aerospace company was made redundant, and was unable to find suitable work. To remedy the situation he decided to undertake a Strategic Management course at University. He chose this route because he has a naturally preference for the Thinking stage of the cycle, and is more comfortable learning ideas and theoretical knowledge.

However, on seeking the advice of a professional career consultant, he realised that his best course of action would be to improve his personal and interpersonal skills by taking part in a series of shorter presentation skills workshops in which activity, role play and participation are required. He found this uncomfortable at first, but saw that this was exactly what he needed in order to become a more convincing and persuasive manager. The Learning Cycle showed him the area that he needed to develop most.

To give an example of the latter, more specific level, most of us use the telephone at work. After you have made a call, write down or discuss with a colleague precisely what happened during the call. This is the Reflecting stage of the cycle. Next, read up about effective telephone techniques and/or talk to a colleague whose telephone manner impresses you. This is the Linking stage. Finally, using the information you have gathered write down precisely what you will do differently next time you have a similar call. This may seem a simple thing to do, but you will be surprised how effective it can be to make a small change to the way we normally do things.