hello and welcome to today's lesson where we're looking at the honey and mumford learning styles now if you're anything like me then when you plan to learn a new subject you'll begin by thinking about what it is you want to learn you might even set some goals for what you hope to learn over the next few months and work backward from there setting out what you plan to learn each week but have you ever stopped to consider not just what you should learn but how you should learn it maybe if you learned in the way that's best suited to you then you could learn not only more effectively but in a more enjoyable way too well that's what the honey and mumford model is all about so let's take a look at it now it was published by peter honey and alan mumford in 1986 and in it it defines four different styles that people use to learn something new and those styles are activists theorist pragmatist and reflector now if you're familiar with kolb's learning cycle which is another model then you might have spotted that this model is heavily based on that one if you're not familiar with kolb's model then i'll include a link to it below this video but as you can see from the diagram then the honey and mumford learning styles are plotted on two axes so firstly we have the horizontal axis called the processing continuum and that refers to how we approach a task so that is do we prefer to learn by watching or doing and the vertical axis is called the perception continuum and refers to our emotional response to the task or how we think and feel about it so honey and mumford state that most people prefer to use one or at maximum two of these styles and they've produced a questionnaire to help you find out which is the style you prefer again i'll include a link to that questionnaire but for now let's jump in and take a look at each of the distinct learning styles so in this table you can see on the left hand side the four different learning styles and across the top you can see how each of these styles learns best learns least well and what activities can help this style learn the suitable activities so let's take a look at activists now activists are people who learn best by doing they like to get their hands dirty and they're enthusiastic about being thrown in at the deep end and trying new things they love to tackle problems using brainstorming sessions with others to figure things out they're more than happy to lead these sessions themselves and when their enthusiasm for an experience begins to wane then they immediately start to look for the next challenge so activists learn best when they're thrown in at the deep end or when they're working with others or trying out new experiences they learn least well when they're reading or thinking about a problem on their own or they're just listening to lectures they find both of those pretty boring and uninspiring and activities suited to activists include brainstorming group discussions role play puzzles and even hands-on problem solving so next we have theorists now these are people who learn best by understanding the theory behind something is the way it is they need models concepts and facts to be able to learn effectively they enjoy analyzing and assimilating information to form their own theories so in essence they value logic and rational thinking what they are learning must have a logical purpose in order for them to engage with it they like to be able to ask questions so that they can form their own opinions now theorists learn best when there's as we said a logical theory or logical model behind everything they learn and they have the opportunity to ask questions they learn least well when conclusions are ambiguous or there are feelings and emotions involved or they're asked to jump in and do something without understanding the underlying theory now activities suited to theorists include models facts and figures quotes applying a theory or storytelling next we have pragmatists now pragmatists learn best when they can see how what they are learning can be put into practice in the real world they like to take a new idea that they've learned and immediately try it out put it into practice they want to seek new ways to use what they've learned now these are practical down-to-earth types who like to get on and get things done they learn best when they can see the connection between what they're learning and it's practical use they also learn best when they can see that what they are learning is practically superior superior to their current way of doing things they learn best when they can get feedback on how what they are doing is going well or wrong from an expert and they like it when there's a practical example they can copy or build upon they learn least well when they can't see the practical application for what they're learning and activities suited to pragmatists include case studies problem solving and discussing how to translate theory into practice finally we have reflectors and these are people who learn best when they can observe others and think about what they've just observed they are people who will avoid jumping straight in and prefer to watch first they like to collect data from many sources and perspectives then think about it thoroughly before reaching any conclusion they are typically cautious and like to consider all the angles before committing to action so reflectors learn best when they're given time to think they also like to be given time to investigate before they have to take any action they learn at least well when aggressive deadlines rush them when they have to do things without having adequate time to prepare and when they're forced to take the lead in a group situation now activities suited to reflectors include observing others perform activities paired discussions receiving feedback from others and one-on-one coaching now there are a number of advantages and disadvantages to the learning styles and some of the advantages include learning using the most suited style to you can make your learning faster easier more effective and even more fun also by increasing your awareness of how you like to learn then you create the foundation for improving your learning skills and all this means is that you can't address your weak areas if you don't know what they are but if you do know what they are then you have what you need to become a more well-rounded learner now in terms of disadvantages then there are several criticisms that have been leveled at the model including it's inconclusive whether the questionnaire really measures your preferred learning style or whether it's merely a personality test also it's not always easy to learn a subject in the manner that's most suited to you so for example you know it's pretty much impossible to learn the law simply by practicing the law and it's pretty impossible too to become a carpenter simply by watching someone else do carpentry so in summary the honey and mumford learning styles are based on club's work and proposes that there are four different learning styles and provides the learning activities best suited to each style now according to the theory each of us will prefer one or at most two learning styles and so given what we've discussed today can you recognize which of the honey and mumford learning styles is best suited to you if not then why not take the questionnaire which i'll include a link to below this video so that's it for me really hope you enjoyed it and i look forward to speaking to you again soon