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!