Primary care nurses’ learning styles in the light of David Kolb

Abstract

ABSTRACT Objectives: to identify primary care nurses’ learning styles in the light of David Kolb’s Experiential Learning Theory. Methods: a descriptive and exploratory qualitative study. A semi-structured interview script was used for data collection and content analysis for data processing. Results: primary care nurses showed different learning styles: diverging, which combines active experimentation and reflective observation; assimilating, which combines reflective observation and abstract conceptualization; converging, which associates abstract conceptualization and concrete experience; and accommodating, which unites concrete experience and active experimentation. Final Considerations: learning through experience requires that knowledge be understood and transformed. Nurses learn in different ways, as they have different learning styles. Therefore, recognizing nurses’ learning styles is important to foster ongoing professional development and ensure safe nursing care.