4MAT model

4MAT model . It is a model of learning styles based in part on the proposal made by David Kolb in the 70s, with a greater focus on brain function and its hemispheres .

Summary

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• 1 Origin of the model
• 2 Kolb’s model
  • 1 Learning cycle processes
  • 2 Learning styles
• 3 4MAT system
  • 1 Characterization of styles
• 4 Sources

Origin of the model

It was developed by Bernice McCarthy . In 1979, he received a grant from the McDonald Corporation to meet and work with various researchers on learning styles and brain function. Based on the exchange of ideas between these experts, she developed her own approach and explanation of individual differences in learning. She synthesized a variety of learning style models, but was based on the work of David Kolb , who she took as a global descriptor of the learning process and the different ways in which people learn.

Kolb model

Kolb says that learning is the result of the way people perceive and then process what they have perceived. He described two opposite types of perception . At one extreme, people who perceive through concrete experience, and at the other, those who perceive through abstract conceptualization. He also explored the differences in processing, and found examples at opposite ends of another continuum. There are people who process through active experimentation, while others do it through reflective observation. The juxtaposition of the two ways of perceiving and the two ways of processing led Kolb ( 1984 ) to describe a four-quadrant model of learning styles.

Learning cycle processes

1. Specific experience or preference for new experiences and activities that require expertise. Theoretical readings do not serve as ateaching method . The role of the teacher here must be that of an assistant who directs the tasks and who offers, in the teaching-learning process, laboratory practices, observations, films and field work.
2. Reflective observation or learning through observation and experience. In this case the readings serve as learning aids. It is judged according to external criteria and the teacher must mediate the learning with expert interpretations and activities that include presswork , workbooks.
3. Abstract conceptualization in which theories that explain what has been observed are used. It is preferred to study cases, theories and think alone. The teacher must offer readings, studies, analogies.
4. Active experimentation in which theories are used to solve problems, make decisions. Small group discussions and discussions, simulations, and homework are preferred. The teacher must be a professional model that allows the student to follow her criteria and make her own decisions.

The cycle begins, then, with a student’s inclination towards the concrete experience to later search for the meaning, later the student applies the meaning to obtain a logical conclusion and finally experiences similar problems, resulting in a concrete experience.

Learning styles

1. Divergent: they are comfortable with experiences and reflective observation. They have a lot of imagination; interested in people, they are emotional and creative. They are good as counselors, organizers and specialists in dealing with people.
2. Assimilative: they learn through abstract conceptualization and reflective observation. They know how to make theoretical models. They are more interested in abstract concepts than in their application. They are good researchers.
3. Convergent: they like the conceptualization of ideas and active experimentation, they put their ideas into practice. They prefer to work alone. They are inclined to study science and physics.
4. Accommodation: they prefer concrete experiences and active experimentation. They choose to put what they know into practice in new experiences. They know how to adapt and adapt to new situations and specific circumstances very quickly. They solve problems intuitively by linking various sources of information. They excel in marketing and business tasks.

4MAT system

This model studies the processing techniques according to brain dominance. Her long career as an educator, consultant and trainer of trainers led Bernice McCarthy to investigate the different ways that students learn and their individual differences due to styles.

Focusing on Kolb’s work and integrating the studies and findings of other researchers on learning style, McCarthy ( 1997 ) described four types of students. He used a kind of cartography or brain map to locate each of the four styles. Thus, in the upper right quadrant places Type One students, in the lower right quadrant places Type Two students, in the lower left quadrant are Type Three trainees, in the upper left quadrant are Type Four. Each of these students, as a consequence of individual differences in perception and processing, develops a unique pattern or type of learning.

4MAT model

McCarthy was especially interested in studies of the hemispheres and the discoveries that described how they specialized in certain types of tasks. This work led McCarthy to carefully observe each of her four types of students and to explore how the right and left hemispheres would function in these unique learning styles. The end result was the imposition of the specialization of the right and the left in each of the four learning styles, which she calls the 4MAT System.

Characterization of styles

• Type One students perceive in a concrete sensory / emotional way and process reflexively / observantly. Her right hemisphere seeks personal meaning through experience, and the left tries to understand it by analyzing it. These students in their effort to find personal meaning often wonder why. They must think about what they value and care about personally; They must understand how learning will affect them and how it relates to their beliefs, feelings, and opinions. These students are looking for a reason to learn and know something.
• Type Two students perceive in an abstract and reflective way and also process in a reflective and observant way. For them, the most important question is What? Their right hemisphere seeks to integrate the experience with what they know and clarify their need for more knowledge, while the left hemisphere seeks that new knowledge. Type Two students want to get accurate information.

They prefer to deal with correct facts and answers and to be able to develop concepts and theories in an organized system. They like accuracy and detail and have tremendous respect for authority and experience. For these students, the important thing about learning is identifying what can be known and seeking knowledge carefully and fully.

• Type Three students also perceive by thinking and reflecting, but they process by testing and doing. For these students, the most important question is “How do things work ?. Your right hemisphere looks for individual application and use of learning, while your left hemisphere looks for more general examples of “What have people done?” These students want to try, practice, be active. It is this act of participation that helps them develop a clear understanding and check information in the real world. They seek to do useful things, and value things that are practical and have a specific purpose. They are concerned with the general application of knowledge and how they will use what they are learning.
• Type Four students perceive through concrete feeling and emotion, and process through action. These students ask “Yes ..?”. Your right hemisphere seeks to develop extensions of your learning, and the left hemisphere seeks to analyze relevant and meaningful learning. Type Four students prefer to see relationships and connections between things; they want to be inspired to do the things that really matter in life. They seek to inspire other people and often become catalysts that make others feel motivated to learn. They seek to synthesize skills, knowledge, and personal meaning into something that creates a new experience for themselves and for others. These students understand and accept complexity.

The 4MAT model describes the learning process as a natural sequence of students’ personal interests. McCarthy thinks that all students and all educational experiences should start in Quadrant I.

In order for people to learn optimally, they need to traverse the four quadrants with their two modes (left / right). Starting with quadrant 1 and following these eight sequential steps, any content or process can be taught.

McCarthy states that the first thing is the personal meaning given to learning, as well as motivation. Subsequently it is the acquisition of new knowledge and concepts, followed by a practical application. Finally there is synthesis and extension.

4MAT model

Using this sequence any learning style has the opportunity to shine a part of the time . All students will be able to develop their natural abilities when working with their strong area and will also have the opportunity to develop other areas when working with their peers. In order for a student to learn successfully, she also needs experience in other learning styles.