Peer consultation as a complement to education and practice

Abstract

Armed with the knowledge about learning and learning styles gained in Part III, we can take another look at the practice of peer consultation. Where exactly does peer consultation fit in within Kolb’s learning styles? It has been suggested (e.g. in McGill and Beaty, 1992, or in Weinstein, 1995) that action learning stimulates the whole learning circle and stimulates every one of Kolb’s learning styles equally. Our own research (see Appendix E for a summary) has shown a rather different situation, where action learning seems to stimulate one learning style — divergence — more than the others.¹ Peer consultation consists primarily of reflection and an exchange of ideas on the basis of (previous) experiences in work situations, and this means that peer consultation is set primarily within the divergent learning style.