Kolb tells us that learning takes place as a constant exchange between our experiences and our existing concepts/schemas. Siemens's ideas expands upon that by stating that knowledge is a collective human enterprise and it constantly changes as we - the individual knowledge makers - experience the world. Both Kolb and Siemens talk about learning as a process. The outcomes don't matter because knowledge is always changing. What matters is preserving and nurturing your "ability to learn" (Siemens).
I've drawn a rough diagram of how these two theories mesh together in my head. The circle in the middle represents collective human knowledge. The yellow circles represent the individuals and the blue E's represent our individual experiences. So individuals experience the world and make meaning. They "reflect on their experiences" and then contribute to this ever-changing repository of human knowledge (Kolb 30).
In a lot of ways, this also looks like a crude diagram of the internet, where I spend a good chunk of time trawling for new pottery techniques. Let me explain - I'm currently an amateur potter. I took about 3 months of classes and I'm learning on my own by watching Youtube videos. What you have to understand about pottery is that there are so many ways to do one thing (like in so many creative fields). For example, every potter has their own way of centering the clay on the wheel. I was frustrated in the beginning because what worked for one potter, didn't always work for me. I had to spend time in the studio trying out different centering techniques until I found one that worked for my hands and my particular type of clay. In other words, first I tapped into this collective knowledge and through experience, I figured out what worked for me.
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