This paper will analyze the various concepts and lessons which I learned from some personal "life-learning" experiences. Each of this paper's three parts will explore a different aspect of a specific life-learning experience. In analyzing each aspect of a life-learning experience, this paper will examine the four elements of Kolb's Model of Experimental Learning. Thus, the development of the concepts learned from each aspect of the life-learning experiences will include a discussion of the concrete experience, followed by some reflective observations about that concrete experience and the application of abstract concepts to the experience. Each aspect of the life-learning experiences will include a final section in which new principles are applied to show how I used the learned concepts in other areas.
The first aspect of the lessons I learned while playing tennis is how I learned the rules of the game. Anyone who wants to compete in a tennis tournament must be thoroughly familiar with the rules. I will also show how a complete understanding of the rules led to my winning three tennis championships.
I began playing tennis at the age of 8. Lessons were given at my grammar school, and I fervently pursued learning the rules. Within two years, I learned all of the important rules of the game. I learned that the "choice of ends and the right" of who shall be server and who shall be receiver is decided by toss before the first game begins (Sloane, 1984, p. 263). I also learned how service is to be delivered, how to avoid a "foot fault" and a "service fault," and the rules of service (Newcombe, 1992, pp. 10-11). Also, I learned when players should change ends, what to do when the ball is in play, and how servers and receivers win or lose points (Sloane, 1984, pp. 265-266). Finally, I learned what happens when the ball falls on the line, when one player hinders an opponent, when a ball touches a permanent fixture, what ...