In Kolb's learning styles, which style is characterized by concrete experience and reflective observation?

• A. Assimilating
• B. Accommodating
• C. Diverging
• D. Converging

Answer: (C)

In Kolb's experiential learning theory, learning styles arise from two dimensions: concrete experience versus abstract conceptualization, and reflective observation versus active experimentation. The style that blends concrete experience with reflective observation is Diverging. This means learners prefer hands-on involvement first and then spend time thinking about what happened, often exploring multiple viewpoints and focusing on people and feelings. They’re typically good at brainstorming, noticing details and patterns, and appreciating different perspectives.

The other styles map to the remaining dimension combinations: Assimilating combines abstract thinking with reflection; Converging combines abstract thinking with action; Accommodating combines concrete experience with action. So the described pairing—concrete experience with reflective observation—fits Diverging best.