Which Learning Style Are You ?
There are three main types of learning styles: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.I have always thought I learned better when I took a hands-on approach. This type of learning is called kinesthetic. After taking a short questionnaire, I also found that I prefer to learn by listening or that I am an auditory learner. Many people learn between a combination of these three learning styles, but everybody is different.Visual learners like to see a demonstration of things. Auditory learners learn by hearing things being explained to them, and kinesthetic learners like to have an “hands on” experience with what they are doing. Only you know which type of learning styles work best for you. Even though I think at when it comes to certain subjects I am a combination of all three.
Learning style awareness allows people to learn things in ways that appeal to their strengths. This can result in an increased capacity to retain information, which can lead to success in learning a subject. Visual learners can use the following to maximize learning: pictures, handouts, maps, graphic organizers, multimedia, note taking, flashcards, books,and highlighters. Auditory learners benefit from discussions, presentations, recording verbal notes, reading aloud, storytelling, mnemonic devices or techniques to help them remember things and verbal analogies. For kinesthetic learners, these strategies can make learning easier: skimming printed material, playing background music while working or studying, chewing gum, standing or pacing, taking several short breaks and using Post-Its or brightly colored writing tools.
My preferred learning style is auditory, but like I said before some people can be a combination of all three types of learning styles, it just may depend on what you are learning. For me, when I’m doing math I have to see it being done, and then I have to do it by myself. I won’t understand it if someone reads it to me and then tells me to do it. When it comes to studying or reading a book, the room has to be very quiet. I have to read the information aloud so I can fully comprehend what I am trying to learn. Often times it helps by writing, or repeating studying material over and over again. Sometimes I often try to come up with funny little sentences that I can remember on test day. I also like to highlight things that I feel like are important and that could possibly be on the test. Even though I said my preferred learning style is auditory, its hard to just have one because I often have different ways of studying instead of just one.
It is very important that everybody knows their learning styles. It will make learning so much easier. Especially for people who are in college. Don’t make it hard on yourself, find what works for you and stick with it. There is no right or wrong way of learning, people vary. Don’t get discouraged when you are studying because sometimes the way you study for one thing may not be a good way for you to study something else. Taking that quiz before I wrote this essay helped me to verify what type of learning style fit me, because I didn’t know at first and many people don’t.