This study is focused on investigating the usefulness of the Kolb Experiential learning theory as well as the affiliated Learning Style Inventory, in the Confucian Heritage culture of Taiwan. It was predicted that learners from different academic backgrounds would differentiate along the two pairs of dialectical learning modes of the Kolb Experiential Learning model: Abstract Conceptualization vs. Concrete Experience and Active Experimentation vs. Reflective Observation. Additionally, it was predicted that Taiwanese learners, as a result of cultural influences on the education style, would, on a whole, prefer more abstract and reflective learning styles. A survey, based on the Kolb Learning Style Inventory – version 3.1, was distributed to 394 Taiwanese undergraduate students enrolled at National Cheng Kung University. The results, support Kolb's theory that learners from similar academic areas prefer similar learning styles whereas those from distinctly different academic areas prefer different learning styles. However, as predicted the sample of Taiwanese learners differentiated from prior samples not from Taiwan, especially Western samples. Overall, the study affirms the usefulness of the Kolb Learning Style Inventory as a tool to evaluate one’s learning style. The hope is that this study will create a dialogue around learning how to learn.

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