Cooper Experience Learning Theory Horizon, Adult Learning Model Building Research

In one’s lifelong learning progress, learners, especially adult learners, may meet various ofproblems and difficulties. No matter which the stage it is or what the environment looks like,there is a common issue that is overcoming all negative factors and making full use of favorablefactors to explore adult learners’ potential to the utmost extent for successful and efficient study.Kolb’s experiential learning Theory offers us a feasible learning model.Most adult learners have taken jobs for many years which enable them to accumulateabundant life, work, and learning experiences. Those experiences, which make adult learnerseasier master and absorb knowledge, perform great function in their relearning progress.Consequently, we should attach great importance to the life, work, and learning experiences ofadult learners and regard those experiences as valuable learning resources. In this thesis, Kolb’sexperiential learning model, try to improve learning efficiency based on the experience of adultlearners. This learning pattern which respectively based on the theories of Dewey, Lewin andPiaget, can be divided into four stages-concrete experience, reflective observation, abstractconceptualization as well as active experimentation. In addition, kolb also think that the adultlearners should create a circle in those four stages, so that the learners can get furtherdevelopment.In order to make readers have a clear understanding about kolb’s experiential learning, thefirst part of this thesis mainly introduces the definition, characteristics and major viewpoints of it.Then, the second part states the importance of adults’ experience in learning progress. In anotherword, adults’ experience is a valuable learning resource, not only contributes to touchinglearning target, but also provides us a new viewpoint for the research of learning style. The nextpart discusses the learning model in detail. It is discussed from four angles, the goal of learningmodel, operating principles, four stages of experiential learning and its practices. Then comes tothe last part, it narrates the problems paid attention to, mainly including the definition of adults’experiences, the accurate position of adult teachers,the learning styles of adult students, and theindigenization of experiential learning model.