Kolb’s Model of Learning and Experiental Learning in Examples

Introduction 

Kolb’s learning model is a theory invented by David Kolb and published in 1984. The theory mainly focuses on the learner’s internal cognitive processes. Learning entails obtaining abstract concepts which can be applied flexibly in various circumstances. According to Kolb, learning takes place when experiences are transformed to create knowledge. The experiential theory includes a four-stage learning cycle and another four separate learning styles (Kolb, 2014). Single parenting is one of the situations through which learning can be facilitated using the Kolb’s model. The challenges encountered by single parents are highly complex and cannot be understood by observes who are not immersed into the actual situation. Learning can take different forms depending on one’s experiences, but it is important to point out important aspects of the model that aid it. Therefore, in this paper, Kolb’s model is employed in discussing experiential learning through a case of a single mother. 

The upbringing of children determines their adulthood behavior and the manner in which they treat those around them. Reflecting on my own experiences, I can ascertain that my parents understood the importance of parenting and how it shaped the future of an individual. My mother was condescending and my father was strict but compromising. He was not authoritarian in his approach and made family decisions collaboratively with my mother. This allowed everyone in the family some leeway, but only within the set rules. This was contrary to authoritarian parenting style that emphasizes on obedience and punishment over discipline. Parents who use authoritarian style have a misconception that kids should be seen and not heard, hold on their rules as the only proper way, and do not consider children’s feelings (American Psychological Association, 2018). I also noted that their accommodating approach was not a depiction of a permissive or neglectful parenting style that operates on the assumption that kids should be left to be kids. In fact, my parents were very involved in my upbringing and showed interest in my school work, children and people I spent time with, and provided me with their companionship. I believe my own parenting style descended directly from these experiences. Like my parents, I put a lot of effort into creating and maintaining a positive relationship with my daughter. This authoritative parenting style requires the parents to explain the rationale behind their rules, a process that involves consideration of the child’s feelings. As an experienced single mother, I hold the belief that parents need to adopt the authoritative style or approach in raising their children regardless of the situation they find themselves in. 

Concrete Experience (CE) 

Concrete Experience explains a new situation encountered by an individual. Through such experiences, one gets an enhanced ability to interpret and integrate sensory information such as hearing, touch, and sight. For example, musical training heightens the brain's ability to pick out specific sounds, like a voice in a crowd or a particular melody or harmony. This ability helps the brain to become more adept at learning new languages (Lipman & Boyle, 2005). A person may experience this in the course of learning. It is worth noting that the most fundamental thing, in such a case, is not the mistakes or the perfection by the individual. However, it is the memory of whatever is being learnt that is important. Therefore, a person ought to concentrate on developing his memory so as to progress in his/her learning. 

My parents were keen not to interfere with my academics since I had developed an interest in the field of neurosurgery. My uncle Josh had been involved in an accident and the scan of the brain had revealed that he had a clot in the brain, and it could only be removed through surgery. This successful procedure on him had inspired me to pursue the profession to continue saving lives of such victims. My parents had supported it, and they were willing to do anything to help me towards that direction. This explains why my dad's strictness about me doing a lot of piano at the expense of my academics. My piano playing continued over the weekend for seven years, thanks to my dad for his kindness. I also kept sitting close to our church pianist, observing him keenly and asking questions at times. Therefore, this paper will indicate how experience helps in the learning process throughout the life of a person. 

My adulthood experiences differed from those of childhood. I am 31 years and a single parent bringing up my daughter in the most difficult circumstances because I had to serve the roles of mother and father. In my opinion, this has been the most daunting and exciting experience at the same time. As a single mother, there were times I found myself backed to the wall because the experience is emotionally, physically, and economically draining. At times I felt like giving up, especially during the early years when my daughter was very young. The early experiences as a single young mother were scary. I was naive and scared at the beginning because I tried comparing my upbringing to what my daughter faced at my hands as a single mother. I did not remember my early childhood years very well, but I can recall that my parents were always there for me, with my dad specifically showing interest in every little thing that I did. My mother was always at hand to guide me through rebukes and encouragement. Therefore, I was fearful that my daughter was not going to experience the same level of love and care from her single mother. How am I going to perform the dual role of a mother and father? This was one question that kept disturbing me since I saw it as an uphill task. In fact, the experience was so overwhelming during these early years that I had to seek counseling to help me cope with the challenges of being a single parent. 

Reprieve came when my daughter was 5 years old and started attending kindergarten. My first reaction was to use the little spare time gained constructively because I was now able to achieve some balance between parenting and work. However, the challenges of the last five years had drained all my finances and I was in no position to afford a nanny. Therefore, I had to make sure I took up a job that allowed me to work during the day and be off in time to pick my daughter from school. Such was life until my daughter was in the later grades. I found myself facing the inevitable. My daughter became inquisitive and wanted to know why we were not living with her dad as most of her friends did. I was at a loss on how to broach the subject and sought professional advice where I was told to handle the matter delicately but truthfully. I painstakingly explained to my daughter that sometime parents had disagreements and this may make them live separately, but I advised her to worry less because I was capable of handling the situation as a single parent. 

Today, I am not sure whether she was convinced or not, but she never brought the subject up again until when she was ready to go to college when she inquired if she could make contact with her dad. At that point I accorded her some freedom because I thought she was old enough to make some of the decisions by herself. It proved to be the best choice because my daughter became very lively, confident, and determined in the years that followed. Nevertheless, she always consulted me on all decisions she made in her life until she got her first job and moved out of our house. 

Reflection and Observation (RO) 

Parenting as a single mother reinforced by belief in the theory that one learns better through experience. The initial years were particularly eye opening as I strived to learn from every single experience. This is crucial because it helps in avoiding repeating parenting mistakes. The need for thoroughness was informed by self-doubt because it is difficult to know when one is doing a mistake. A single parent does not have the privilege of being corrected by their partner when they err. I believe my self-doubt at the time was inspired by comparisons of my upbringing with what my daughter faced. According to Kotwal and Prabhaka (2009), the role of a single parent is challenging particularly in scenarios where the family head is a woman. Problems experienced by single mothers are linked to upbringing of children, their future, and settling down. I was alive to the fact that until my daughter gets a job or settles down in marriage, she would be dependent on me. My doubts to see my daughter through these developmental stages were informed by fears of being alone with no one to pass the baton to even when experiencing bad parenting moments. 

Caccavo of “The Seleni Institute” that deals with women’s mental health matters posited that single motherhood has a unique set of emotional challenges that can at times be overwhelming. Any single mother can vouch for this as being true. Most single mothers get extremely stressed and anxious about making all decisions on their own. In my case, the situation was worsened by childhood experience where I had both of my parents present. However, with time, one gets to learn to trust in herself and perceive solo decision making as an honor. In fact, being forced to have the responsibility inspired me to have independence and confidence. 

However, the extent of the challenges one faces as a single mother has no end and new-found happiness and independence can be short-term. Caccavo (2015) observed that stress and anxiety about money can be overwhelming, which I acknowledge. When my daughter was in her teenage years and our financial burdens grew, I would cry sometimes at night, but I did not want my daughter to see me like that as I was not willing to let her worry about stuff like money. I used to tell myself we were fine as long as we had food on the table. In addition, I constantly worried about how my daughter would deal with knowing that her dad was not around. The problems when put together can have undesirable effects on any single mother such as constrained financial situation which may lead to depression. According to Kotwal and Prabhaka (2009), single mothers reported financial problems and single status being the main stressors with majority feeling lonely, hopeless, as well as lacking identity and independence. However, I was not ready to take that route of avoiding social gatherings, neglecting self-care or develop poor eating habits. As remedy to these things, I opted to visit a counsellor. Despite evidence in Lipman and Boyle (2005) showing that community-based group programs offering social support and education to single mothers had positive short term effects on mood and self-esteem that did not extend to social support and parenting, most single mothers are willing to engage in such programs because they are able to share their experiences and inspire one another. 

Abstract Conceptualizations (AC) 

The US has faced an increase in the number of single parent families headed by mothers or fathers, but the number of single mothers is significantly high. Data by the US Bureau of the Census cited in Carey et al. (2009) shows that there were 3 million single mothers in 1970 and 10 million in 2006 compared to 393,000 and 2.3 million single fathers respectively. The implication is that a progressively high number of households continue to face unique circumstances associated with single parenting. According to Carey et al. (2009), one parent being consistently present implies they must be the sole source of economic and parenting resource and must adjust to cover both domains. Under the circumstances, a single parent has less regular interaction and involvement in their child’s daily activities. 

Consequently, the child may have the opportunity to develop resilience by assisting in necessary household chores and developing the motivation to succeed. However, the family may experience greater financial concerns in providing material needs of the children, a problem Kotwal and Prabhaka (2009) argued to be the main stressor among single mothers. The situation is exacerbated by data showing that single parent households are disproportionately poor, with 28% of households with children and a female head with no husband, and 13% with a male head and no wife living below the poverty level as of 2005 (Kotwal & Prabhaka, 2009). The data serves to contextualize the difficulties faced by single mothers, and points to the fact that some of these problems are not of their own making, but rather a general trend in the overall population. 

The decision by single parents to take up the role of parenting solo can be explained from the behavioral perspective. Parents are concerned about their children behavioral development and want to create the best environment that facilitates their learning process. Cherry (2011) observed that such concerns are captured using Bandura’s social learning theory that emphasizes on development being a reciprocal influence of the external or social environment, behavior influenced by prior learning and an individual’s internal characteristics. According to American Psychological Association (2018) observation, “learning would be exceedingly laborious, not to mention hazardous, if people had to rely solely on the effects of their own actions to inform them what to do . ” Similar approaches may be adopted by single parents in deciding the learning processes of their children. The theory postulates that learning occurs through imitation models with social and environmental antecedents having behavioral consequences. Therefore, the decision to be a single parent may be informed by the argument that it is better to have one strong parent as a model rather than two parents who are constantly fighting. The approach ensures the child does not imitate aggressive behavior of parents for use as a problem-solving tool. 

Active Experimentation (AE) 

Recently, Whitaker, Whitaker and Jackson (2014) corroborated evidence earlier cited by Cherry (2011) by observing that the percentage of female-headed-African American families increased significantly from 1960s. Researchers estimate that more than half of African-American children would grow up in a female-headed household, a trend that can be extrapolated to other ethnic groups in the country because of its generalizability. With the experience of being a single mother and being able to raise my child regardless of the challenges, I am ale to handle any situation in life. This has even prepared me for the future. The assertions take into perceptive Kolb’s argument that learning entails obtaining abstract concepts, which can be applied flexibly in various circumstances. Therefore, a single mother with prior experience is better placed to deal with the challenges of single parenting than a mother facing the situation for the first time. One can plan in advance to ensure that they are emotionally and financially ready for the daunting task that is single parenting. In addition, having knowledge of the child development processes and needs can influence decisions on whether to include the other parent in the upbringing of the child to relieve some of the burden where necessary. 

The fact that we should always do everything to our level best can be applied to almost every facet of life. This is especially useful for activities we do, the assignments, duties, and positions we hold. Unless everything is done to its level best, an inspiration to the future generation will seize to exist. It is because of good leadership experienced from the various role models that young ones get inspired to live their kind of life. It is paramount that such a desire ought to be ignited at a tender age. Therefore, discovering ourselves and our most profound desires sometimes require exposure. This is particularly beneficial to parents who are trying to nurture their children’s abilities. The children need to be exposed to different situations in life as part of their learning. This would let them see how people do things, allow them to be inspired by other people, teach them how to move out of their comfort zones and allow them to think about their lives to find where their deepest desires lie. 

Conclusion 

The way that an individual learns involves various theoretical methods and specific styles of learning. Kolb's model process is a well-defined mechanism through which people learn through life. In this paper, the model is used to demonstrate the importance of experiential learning through parenting as a single mother. Empirical evidence shows that single parenting is a phenomenon on the rise with more women likely to find themselves in this situation. Application of the Kolb’s model to the case study reveals that mothers with single-parenting experience have higher chances of succeeding in similar future endeavors. However, first time single parents encounter emotional, physical, and financial challenges that can have negative effects on their health and ability to parent. Under the circumstance, it is imperative to explore the best parenting style that suits one’s situation. As illustrated in the case, I learned that an authoritative parenting style can be beneficial because it gives one as single mother control of their life and that of their child. The approach allows one to be the sole decision maker, thus plays a crucial role in the development of independence and resilience. Society faces a future where many men and women are at a higher risk of becoming single parents. Therefore, learning from those with first-hand experience can facilitate extension of Kolb’s model to theoretical application. This can prepare individuals for experiential learning. 

References 

American Psychological Association. (2018). Parenting styles. ­Act. Retrieved from: http://www.apa.org/act/resources/fact-sheets/parenting-styles.aspx 

Caccavo, N. (2015). Seven challenges of being a single mom and solutions from women who understand them. Psychology Today. Retrieved from: https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/women-s-mental-health-matters/201507/seven-challenges-being-single-mom 

Carey, W. B., Crocker, A. C., Elias, E. R., Feldman, H. M., & Coleman, W. L. (2009).   Developmental-Behavioral Pediatrics E-Book . Elsevier Health Sciences. https://books.google.co.ke/books?hl=en&lr=&id=OlWaMWGS01AC&oi=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=Developmental-Behavioral+Pediatrics+E-Book&ots=YRCX7ZA0M8&sig=O5ASFGPf57dnJxUlI8wGdHdJgRI&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q=Developmental-Behavioral%20Pediatrics%20E-Book&f=false 

Cherry, K. (2011). Social learning theory: An overview of Bandura’s social learning theory.  The New York Times Company. http://cepd610101dfa2012.wiki.westga.edu/file/view/Social+Learning.docx?responseToken=edde6d41b987af897ec3d0be7076dbe9 

Kotwal, N., & Prabhakar, B. (2009). Problems faced by single mothers.  Journal of Social Sciences ,  21 (3), 197-204. Retrieved from: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242143638_Problems_Faced_by_Single_Mothers 

Lipman, E. L., & Boyle, M. H. (2005). Social support and education groups for single mothers: a randomized controlled trial of a community-based program.  Canadian Medical Association Journal ,  173 (12), 1451-1456. Retrieved from: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1316160/ 

Whitaker, I. P., Whitaker, M. M., & Jackson, K. (2014). Single parenting in the African American community: implications for public policy and practice.  Journal of Human Behavior in the Social Environment ,  24 (2), 230-249. Retrieved from: https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/09718923.2009.11892771