Original Piece By: Noah H.
Updated By: Isabella S.
Editor's Note: This "throwback" post from 2010 is worth the read, especially before starting a new semester. Take a few minutes to find out what your learning style is and make studying for all of your classes easier!
There are several generalized categories of learning styles and all influence how a student learns. Understanding them is the best way for a student to better their classroom experience and the effectiveness of their studying.
Updated By: Isabella S.
Editor's Note: This "throwback" post from 2010 is worth the read, especially before starting a new semester. Take a few minutes to find out what your learning style is and make studying for all of your classes easier!
Learning styles are the fingerprints of the mind; they are as unique as the person using them and as varying as all the people in the world.
There are several generalized categories of learning styles and all influence how a student learns. Understanding them is the best way for a student to better their classroom experience and the effectiveness of their studying.
A learning style is the way in which a person learns. There are several different theories as to how learning styles work, but the most common divides them into four categories: visual, auditory, reading/writing-preference, and kinesthetic/tactile learners.
The most common learning style is visual. This learning style focuses on pictures, diagrams, movies, and other forms of visual media, even visual demonstrations are helpful. The second most common learning style is auditory. These learners benefit from listening to someone talk to them and from lectures or video/audio setups. Reading/Writing-preference learners are most comfortable learning from books and texts. These students may retain more information from a textbook than a lecture and often benefit from taking written notes. Lastly, kinesthetic/tactile learners are people who learn through “hands-on” experience and interaction with classroom material.
One element to consider when examining learning styles is their ability to coexist within a single individual. No student is wholly auditory, visual, tactile, nor reading-writing preference when it comes to learning. Someone may be a 10% reading, 30% visual, 50% auditory and 10% kinesthetic learner; however, you should try to study the best way for you. The person above would most likely want to watch a video in order to capitalize on their ability to retain information they have heard and seen (visual and auditory). Another meaningful feature of learning styles is their ability to change over time. Usually babies start out learning through touch (tactile), but as they grow they will learn to use visual and auditory learning more and more.
Knowing your learning style is important, because as soon as an individual discovers which type of learner they are they can begin to adjust their studying to utilize their strengths. For example, if a student knows they learn well from videos then they should look for tutorials on YouTube or some other video site rather than trying to decipher a Wiki. Another way a student can better their learning experience is in the way they ask for help. An auditory learner may want to call their teacher over the phone for assistance while a reading/writing-preference learner will want to send an e-mail. All these factors lead to an easier online class experience.
To find your learning style visit EducationPlanner.org.
Reading/Writing-preference Learners: We hope you enjoyed this essay!
Visual Learners: Check out this graphic about learning styles!
Auditory Learners: Click here to install a free Google Chrome extension that reads-aloud any online text, including this article!
Tactile Learners: Check out this free online tool for creating three-dimensional models!
Thanks Isabella for revisiting this topic about learning styles. In my Success 101 class, learning preferences are in an upcoming module so I will be sharing this awesome information with my students! Keep up the great work, Ms. Loudermilk
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool comparison of a learning style to a “fingerprint of the mind!” I like how you have offered resources for further exploration into learning styles, and the way in which you have chosen to write the article appeals to visual learners! As a teacher, I enjoy helping my students think meta-cognitively; learning about how they learn. It makes a huge difference, especially if we ever encounter coursework that is not presented in our best learning style. Great job Noah H. and Isabella S.
ReplyDeleteGreat article on learning styles! I love how you added links at the end of the article to help reach visual, auditory and tactile learners. It's also important for teachers to understand their student's learning styles so they can offer different types of assignments that reach all of their students. Thanks for sharing!
ReplyDelete: I like this article it is not only helpful to the students but to teachers, parents and stakeholders. It helps us to understand the different rates that students learn at in each of the 4 areas. Many times we try to make a learner fit in only one area which is not always true. Finally once students learn their learning style “they can adjust their studying to utilize their strengths”
ReplyDelete: I like this article it is not only helpful to the students but to teachers, parents and stakeholders. It helps us to understand the different rates that students learn at in each of the 4 areas. Many times we try to make a learner fit in only one area which is not always true. Finally once students learn their learning style “they can adjust their studying to utilize their strengths”
ReplyDeleteExcellent commentary on learning styles. Two things stood out for me: the combined learning styles (no one is purely one style), and that the learning style can change over time. I had not really realized or considered this. It is so important to develop curriculum to reach all styles and the material works best when the styles of presentation are combined just as the recipient may want the information presented in multiple ways.
ReplyDeletehi its a nice article, i have also written on learning, here is the link- https://journeyandgoal.blogspot.in/2018/04/extent-of-learning.html and one more link-https://journeyandgoal.blogspot.in/2018/03/learning-is-essence-of-life.html. please do read.
ReplyDeleteVery interesting article. Thank you! It had never occurred to me that a person's learning style evolves over time. Fantastic example about a baby. I also really like the idea that no one has simply one type of learning style. Thank you for expanding my mind! It is important we use this knowledge to make our classes more accessible for everyone!
ReplyDeleteI can relate to this article because I had to go through each learning style to figure out which style was best for me. I also like the idea that it explains each of the styles and what they pertain to.
ReplyDeleteIn the article I have learned that everyone has a different learning style. It has taught me about the different learning styles. I think I am a kinesthetic/tactile learner which means I like hands-on. I like hands on because I can see what is happening and I am involved.
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ReplyDeleteThank you for sharing information with us.
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Your perspective on learning styles was interesting. I never really thought about how our styles evolve as we grow. Your example of an infant being tactile and then moving to auditory and visual learners was powerful to me. I also like the way you describe how different learning styles can 'coexist' within a person. I find that to be very true for myself. Figuring out the best way you learn and then applying that to how you study is such a simple concept, but completely overlooked. I can't wait to take this back to my classroom!
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