Unit 1: Components of Decision Making System
Understanding the Learning Process, Kolb’s Learning Styles, Assessing and Interpreting.
Remembering Memory: Understanding the Memory process, Problems in retention, Memory
enhancement techniques.
Emotions: Experience & Expression: Understanding Emotions: Experience & Expression,
Assessing Empathy, Application with Peers.
Understanding the Learning Process,
Design Thinking is a problem-solving approach that emphasizes understanding users’ needs,
redefining problems, and creating innovative solutions through a collaborative process. It's often
used in product design, service design, and other fields where innovation and user experience
are key.
Key Stages of Design Thinking
1. Empathize: Understand the users and their needs.
2. Define: Clearly articulate the problem you are trying to solve.
3. Ideate: Generate a range of ideas and potential solutions.
4. Prototype: Build tangible representations for a subset of ideas.
5. Test: Refine prototypes based on user feedback and testing.
Kolb’s Learning Styles are part of David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory, which emphasizes
learning through experience. Kolb identified four primary learning styles, each reflecting different
approaches to processing and understanding experiences. Here’s a detailed look at Kolb’s
Learning Styles, along with how to assess and interpret them.
Kolb’s Learning Styles
Kolb’s model proposes that learning is a process involving four stages:
1. Concrete Experience (CE): Experiencing something firsthand.
2. Reflective Observation (RO): Reflecting on the experience and observing it from
different perspectives.
3. Abstract Conceptualization (AC): Forming theories or concepts based on the
reflections.
4. Active Experimentation (AE): Applying concepts to new situations and experimenting
with different approaches.
Assessing Kolb’s Learning Styles
1. Self-Assessment Questionnaires: Kolb developed the Learning Style Inventory (LSI), which
includes a self-assessment questionnaire designed to identify an individual's preferred learning
style based on their responses to various situations and experiences.
2. Reflection: Individuals can reflect on their learning experiences and preferences. By
analyzing how they approach learning tasks, they can determine which learning style aligns with
their behavior.
3. Feedback from Others: Input from teachers, colleagues, or mentors can provide insights
into an individual’s learning style. Observations of how someone engages with learning activities
and problem-solving can offer clues.
Interpreting Learning Styles
1. Tailoring Learning Approaches:
● For Divergers: Use brainstorming sessions, group discussions, and creative exercises
to leverage their strengths in generating ideas and seeing different perspectives.
● For Assimilators: Provide structured lectures, theoretical frameworks, and detailed
explanations. Incorporate case studies to help them understand concepts deeply.
● For Convergers: Focus on practical problem-solving activities, simulations, and real-
world applications. Provide clear objectives and opportunities for decision-making.
● For Accommodators: Offer hands-on activities, fieldwork, and practical exercises.
Allow them to experiment and explore solutions actively.
2. Designing Learning Environments:
● Diverse Learning Materials: Incorporate a variety of learning materials and activities to
cater to different styles. For example, use lectures, case studies, simulations, and
hands-on projects.
● Flexibility: Adapt teaching methods based on the learning styles of the students or team
members. Provide opportunities for different types of learning experiences.
3. Personal Development:
● Self-Awareness: Understanding one’s learning style can help in personal development.
Individuals can seek opportunities that align with their strengths and work on areas
where they may be less comfortable.
● Continuous Improvement: By being aware of different learning styles, individuals can
develop strategies to strengthen areas where they may not be as strong and become
more versatile learners.
Remembering Memory: Understanding the Memory process, Problems in retention,
Memory Enhancement techniques.
Understanding the Memory Process
Memory consists of three primary stages:
● Encoding: The process of converting information into a format that can be stored in the
brain. This could involve visual, auditory, or semantic encoding.
● Storage: The process of maintaining information over time. This includes short-term
memory (STM) and long-term memory (LTM).
● Retrieval: The ability to recall or recognize information stored in the brain when needed.
During the empathize phase of Design Thinking, understanding user experiences with memory
—such as challenges people face with retention or recalling information—can provide insights
into the problems that need solving.
Identifying Problems in Retention
In the define phase, we articulate the core problems related to memory retention:
● Memory Overload: Too much information at once can overwhelm short-term memory,
limiting retention.
● Interference: New information can interfere with old memories (retroactive interference)
or vice versa (proactive interference).
● Stress and Anxiety: High levels of stress impair memory retention, especially affecting
the hippocampus(a part of brain), which is vital for memory formation.
● Lack of Repetition: Without rehearsal, new information is likely to be forgotten due to
lack of reinforcement.
By defining these issues, we narrow the focus to specific problems that need innovative
solutions.
Exploring Memory Enhancement Techniques
In the ideate stage, we brainstorm potential techniques to enhance memory based on research
and experimentation:
● Chunking: Breaking information into smaller, meaningful groups can help overcome
memory overload.
● Mnemonics: Associating new information with familiar concepts (e.g., acronyms,
rhymes) aids in retention.
● Spaced Repetition: Repeated exposure to information over spaced intervals improves
long-term retention.
● Mind Mapping: Creating visual representations of information helps reinforce
connections between concepts.
● Active Recall: Testing oneself by retrieving information instead of just reviewing it
strengthens retrieval pathways.
● Mindfulness and Meditation: Techniques like mindfulness help reduce stress and
improve focus, leading to better memory encoding and retention.
Implementing Memory Enhancement Solutions
In the prototype phase, we create and test methods for enhancing memory:
● Flashcards (Spaced Repetition): Developing flashcards that implement spaced
repetition for learning.
● Mobile Apps (Gamified Learning): Tools like mobile apps that offer mnemonic games
or recall exercises.
● Environmental Cues: Using environmental reminders (colors, sounds) to trigger
memory recall.
● Iterative Improvements: Based on feedback, we can make iterative changes to
improve the memory tools and techniques.
Emotions: Experience & Expression: Understanding Emotions: Experience & Expression,
Assessing Empathy, Application with Peers.
Understanding Emotions
● Emotional Experience: We all feel emotions like happiness, sadness, or anger in
different situations.
● Emotional Expression: We show our emotions through words, facial expressions, or
actions.
● Empathy: Empathy is when we try to understand how others feel by listening or
observing.
Emotional Challenges & Assessing Empathy
We identify problems people face with emotions:
● Struggling to Express Emotions: Some people have a hard time showing how they feel.
● Misunderstanding Emotions: Others may misunderstand us if we don’t express
emotions clearly.
● Lack of Empathy: Sometimes people find it difficult to understand how others feel.
● Emotional Overwhelm: Too many emotions at once can make it hard to communicate.
Generating Ideas to Improve Emotion & Empathy
We come up with ideas to help express emotions and understand others better:
● Learning Emotion Words: Knowing more words for emotions helps explain how we
feel.
● Active Listening: Listening carefully without interrupting helps us understand others’
emotions.
● Role-Playing: Acting out situations helps us practice empathy and emotional
understanding.
● Mindfulness: Being aware of our emotions helps us stay calm and focus.
Testing Ways to Improve Emotional Understanding
We try out different tools to practice emotions and empathy:
● Emotion Journals: Writing down how we feel each day helps us track our emotions.
● Empathy Circles: Small group discussions help us understand each other’s feelings.
● Workshops: Group activities can teach us how to express and understand emotions
better.
● Feedback from Peers: Friends can help us by giving advice on how we express
emotions.
______________________________________________________________
