Learning styles

You may have heard about learners being basically Visual or Auditory or Kinesthetic (learning by seeing, hearing or doing). The theory goes that different people learn in different ways and that there are many different ways to take in information; everyone has their own preferred ways for different types of information. This is useful to know, but is only partly true, as I'll explain in a minute:

Whole mind - and body: Learning accelerates and deepens when the whole body and mind are involved. Movement, images, sounds, feelings - using these will accelerate learning and create stronger memories. When you read about the learning activities and note-taking, you'll see what I mean.

Patterns and pictures: The brain is more of an pattern maker than a word processor, so you should try to transforming information into patterns such as images, stories, tables and time-lines, and use word and letter patterns such as mnemonic memory aids for learning lists.

Sounds: Some people like to learn by listening. You can buy videos, CDs, tapes, watch relevant TV programs. You can even tape-record your notes and listen to them anytime you want - such as before you sleep.

Collaboration: Learning works well when you learn with others. We are social animals and our brains simply work at a 'higher' level when we're with others. If you are not so sociable and like to work on your own, this may not be for you.

So, is it important to find out what kind of learner you are? I suggest that it is not. It's almost always a distraction. Everyone can learn in different ways, even though some might be a little better at visualising accurately, some might enjoy acting out, or imagining acting out, a thing or idea. When it comes to learning effectively, I suggest that you try a wide variety of ways using the ideas in the next few sections. Find out what works for you. Try seeing, hearing and feeling as much as you can, rather than sticking to what you might think of as your preferred learning style - otherwise you'll miss such a lot. The important thing is to recognise that most of the time you are not simply trying to remember a fact, you are trying to understand something - to find meaning. That is beyond seeing, hearing and feeling.

Here is a YouTube link that explains, briefly, the pitfalls of paying too much attention to learning styles.

[-> next, go to the first section on learning cycles - Using learning cycles ]

top of page