Honey and Mumford's Learning Styles

Different Approaches to Learning

When we learn something new, our first concern is generally what we have learnt - very few people stop to actually consider how they learn. 

• Learners often operate with the same learning methods for years, without any thought as to whether it is the most effective way to absorb and retain information.

There is no single "most effective" way of learning; it varies from person-to-person and also depends significantly on the task or the information. Once you know the different approaches to learning, you can consider which is most beneficial for you and when each style is appropriate.

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What are Honey and Mumford's Learning Styles?

Though there are many different theories and frameworks regarding learning styles, Peter Honey and Alan Mumford (1986) identified four different approaches people took to learning new information:

1. Activist
2. Theorist
3. Pragmatist
4. Reflector

In their view, most people generally stick to one of the styles, or vary between two depending on the scenario. Each of these styles comes with different educational activities which may be more appropriate to those individual learners, listed in the table below alongside attributes of each style.

Understanding your learning style - based on the attributes of each, or a questionnaire designed by Honey and Mumford - one can identify their specific style and therefore choose activities which are beneficial to their learning.

Learning Style	Attributes	Activities
Activist	Learn by doing, and happy to jump in Enjoy the challenge of new experiences, without bias Often guilty of acting before they think Do not learn well from teaching, theory, reading or analysing data	Puzzles Competitions Role-play Brainstorming Problem-solving
Theorist	Like to understand the theory behind actions Enjoy models, concepts and facts Analyse and synthesise testable hypotheses Not suited to learning without instruction Not good in situations that involve 'feelings' or when objectives or instructions are ambiguous	Models Statistics Stories Quotes Applying theories
Pragmatist	Need to be able to see how they apply their learning to the real world Abstract concepts are useless if they cannot see how it is applicable Enjoy trying new theories and techniques Do not happily engage when objectives and instructions are unclear, or when it is heavy in theory	Thinking about how to apply theories to reality Case studies Problem-solving Discussion
Reflector	Learn through observation and reflecting on results Prefer to watch from the sidelines Take information in from multiple perspectives and work to a conclusion Reflectors are not good at leading activities or being rushed, with no preparation	Observing activities Feedback from others Coaching  Interviews Paired discussions

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Applying Your Style

Individuals naturally show a preference for one (or perhaps two) of Honey and Mumford's learning styles. 

• Each of these styles is associated with a different set of learning activities. 
• Often, you will not have the luxury of being able to choose your learning activities; but if you do, you can pick those which best suit your learning style or tailor them as best you can. 
• It is possible to improve yourself in other learning styles, so often it is beneficial to practice them for future occasions when you have little choice.

If you are a teacher or coach - be understanding the learning styles of those under your supervision you may be able to tailor your activities to get the most out of their potential.