How to Make the Most of Your Learning Style
Understand different learning styles., Find your style., Identify a topic you want to learn., Understand the scope of learning styles.
Step-by-Step Guide
-
Step 1: Understand different learning styles.
Education scholars continue to debate whether learning styles are useful teaching and learning practices, or even how we can define what a learning style is.
While it is difficult for researchers to scientifically test and analyze how useful learning styles are, they can help us think about how we retain and process information.
The three most common learning styles are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.
These three appear in the majority of different theories about learning styles and are broad ways to understand how we process new information.
It is important to understand that we may use different learning styles for different tasks and at different times.Visual learners learn best when they can read and look at pictures and charts.
Auditory learners learn best when they are able to listen to information.
Kinesthetic learners learn best when they are able to be hands on by touching and doing.
Learning styles are not set in stone.
Your learning style will change over time as you develop new habits and come across skills that you learn in different ways. -
Step 2: Find your style.
To identify your learning style, spend time thinking about a lesson or skill that you recently learned.
This should be a skill that you feel that you learned very well in a short period of time.
How did you go about learning it? If you learned the skill by reading about it and looking at pictures that relate to the topic, you may be a visual learner.
If you learned the skill by listening to a lecture or an expert presenting on the task, you may be an auditory learner.
If you learned the skill by doing experiments or other hands on activities, you may be a kinesthetic learner.
We all receive and process information in different ways.
You may favor one learning style in some subjects and favor a different learning style in a different subject. , In order to learn how to make your learning style work best for you, it is helpful to work through the process with a goal in mind.
Pick a topic that is relatively small in scope.
If you pick something like learning a new foreign language, it will be difficult to gauge your success.
You could pick a topic like learning how to sew, learning about a particular battle in a war, or learning about a historical site in your city.
This will help you to think through your learning style and gives you an opportunity to try out new learning techniques. , Learning styles are not set in stone.
The ways that we learn change over time, can be influenced by the topic that we learn, and are influenced by our environments.
It is important to remember that while you may identify closely with one learning style, we can all benefit from practicing good study methods and dedicating time to learning new topics.
We will not be able to tailor our learning environments exactly to our learning styles.
Whether you are in school or out of school, we learn in environments that are influenced by other learners and the people who teach us.
We tend to have the most autonomy over our learning when we are outside of a classroom.
This could mean studying on your own or in a non-school environment, like at home or at work.
These are the environments where we can use study skills that are tailored to complement our learning styles. -
Step 3: Identify a topic you want to learn.
-
Step 4: Understand the scope of learning styles.
Detailed Guide
Education scholars continue to debate whether learning styles are useful teaching and learning practices, or even how we can define what a learning style is.
While it is difficult for researchers to scientifically test and analyze how useful learning styles are, they can help us think about how we retain and process information.
The three most common learning styles are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.
These three appear in the majority of different theories about learning styles and are broad ways to understand how we process new information.
It is important to understand that we may use different learning styles for different tasks and at different times.Visual learners learn best when they can read and look at pictures and charts.
Auditory learners learn best when they are able to listen to information.
Kinesthetic learners learn best when they are able to be hands on by touching and doing.
Learning styles are not set in stone.
Your learning style will change over time as you develop new habits and come across skills that you learn in different ways.
To identify your learning style, spend time thinking about a lesson or skill that you recently learned.
This should be a skill that you feel that you learned very well in a short period of time.
How did you go about learning it? If you learned the skill by reading about it and looking at pictures that relate to the topic, you may be a visual learner.
If you learned the skill by listening to a lecture or an expert presenting on the task, you may be an auditory learner.
If you learned the skill by doing experiments or other hands on activities, you may be a kinesthetic learner.
We all receive and process information in different ways.
You may favor one learning style in some subjects and favor a different learning style in a different subject. , In order to learn how to make your learning style work best for you, it is helpful to work through the process with a goal in mind.
Pick a topic that is relatively small in scope.
If you pick something like learning a new foreign language, it will be difficult to gauge your success.
You could pick a topic like learning how to sew, learning about a particular battle in a war, or learning about a historical site in your city.
This will help you to think through your learning style and gives you an opportunity to try out new learning techniques. , Learning styles are not set in stone.
The ways that we learn change over time, can be influenced by the topic that we learn, and are influenced by our environments.
It is important to remember that while you may identify closely with one learning style, we can all benefit from practicing good study methods and dedicating time to learning new topics.
We will not be able to tailor our learning environments exactly to our learning styles.
Whether you are in school or out of school, we learn in environments that are influenced by other learners and the people who teach us.
We tend to have the most autonomy over our learning when we are outside of a classroom.
This could mean studying on your own or in a non-school environment, like at home or at work.
These are the environments where we can use study skills that are tailored to complement our learning styles.
About the Author
William Hayes
A passionate writer with expertise in cooking topics. Loves sharing practical knowledge.
Rate This Guide
How helpful was this guide? Click to rate: