Advancing Practices in Management Pedagogy Through Kolb’s Learning Style Theory

Abstract

For nearly half a century, management educators have utilized Kolb’s (1984) learning style theory to inform their teaching and learning practices. However, certain elements have been misapplied, including the matching hypothesis (e.g., meshing), the belief that teaching should be tailored to align with learners’ learning styles, and the predictive hypothesis, the belief that learning styles predict academic performance. We argue that when Kolb’s original theory is applied as intended, it offers substantial pedagogical value. Kolb describes learning styles as preferences across the learning cycle. He characterizes learning styles as mental categories, emphasizes within-person variance in learning, and treats them as developmental tools that promote reflection, flexibility, and self-awareness. Learning styles remain an effective instructional tool because they can support multimethod instruction, frame lessons across the learning cycle, and foster situational interest by helping learners connect course material to their experience.