Learning Style

Last night my teacher, Ken, wanted us to take a learning style test.

Here are the results!

modified for my enjoyment...From LEARNING STYLES AND STRATEGIES

ACTIVE <> REFLECTIVE(1)

Active learners tend to

• retain and understand information best by doing something active with it--discussing or applying it or explaining it to others. 
• like group work more
• "Let's try it out and see how it works" is an active learner's phrase

Reflective learners prefer to

• think about it quietly first.
• working alone.
• "Let's think it through first" is the reflective learner's response.

Sitting through lectures without doing anything but take notes is hard for both learning types, but particularly difficult for active learners.

Everybody is active sometimes and reflective sometimes. A balance of the two is desirable. If you always act before reflecting you can jump into things prematurely and get into trouble, while if you spend too much time reflecting you may never get anything done.


SENSING <> INTUITIVE(7)
Sensing learners tend to

• like learning facts
• like solving problems by well-established methods 
• dislike complications and surprises
• resent being tested on material that has not been explicitly covered in class
• be patient with details and good at memorizing facts and doing hands-on (laboratory) work
• be more practical and careful
• don't like courses that have no apparent connection to the real world

intuitive learners

• prefer discovering possibilities and relationships.
• like innovation
• dislike repetition
• may be better at grasping new concepts 
• often more comfortable with abstractions and mathematical formulations.
• tend to work faster and to be more innovative than sensors
• don't like "plug-and-chug" courses that involve a lot of memorization and routine calculations

Everybody is sensing sometimes and intuitive sometimes. To be effective as a learner and problem solver, you need to be able to function both ways. If you overemphasize intuition, you may miss important details or make careless mistakes in calculations or hands-on work.

How can intuitive learners help themselves?
Many college lecture classes are aimed at intuitors. However, if you are an intuitor and you happen to be in a class that deals primarily with memorization and rote substitution in formulas, you may have trouble with boredom. Ask your instructor for interpretations or theories that link the facts, or try to find the connections yourself. You may also be prone to careless mistakes on test because you are impatient with details and don't like repetition (as in checking your completed solutions). Take time to read the entire question before you start answering and be sure to check your results


VISUAL(7) <> VERBAL Visual learners remember best what they see--pictures, diagrams, flow charts, time lines, films, and demonstrations. Verbal learners get more out of words--written and spoken explanations. Everyone learns more when information is presented both visually and verbally.

In most college classes very little visual information is presented: students mainly listen to lectures and read material written on chalkboards and in textbooks and handouts. Unfortunately, most people are visual learners, which means that most students do not get nearly as much as they would if more visual presentation were used in class. Good learners are capable of processing information presented either visually or verbally.


How can visual learners help themselves?
If you are a visual learner, try to find diagrams, sketches, schematics, photographs, flow charts, or any other visual representation of course material that is predominantly verbal. Ask your instructor, consult reference books, and see if any videotapes or CD-ROM displays of the course material are available. Prepare a concept map by listing key points, enclosing them in boxes or circles, and drawing lines with arrows between concepts to show connections. Color-code your notes with a highlighter so that everything relating to one topic is the same color.


SEQUENTIAL  <> GLOBAL(9)

Sequential learners tend to

• gain understanding in linear steps, with each step following logically from the previous one.
• follow logical stepwise paths in finding solutions

Global learners 

• tend to learn in large jumps, absorbing material almost randomly without seeing connections, and then suddenly "getting it."
• global learners may be able to solve complex problems quickly or put things together in novel ways once they have grasped the big picture, but they may have difficulty explaining how they did it.

Many people who read this description may conclude incorrectly that they are global, since everyone has experienced bewilderment followed by a sudden flash of understanding. What makes you global or not is what happens before the light bulb goes on. Strongly global learners who lack good sequential thinking abilities may have serious difficulties until they have the big picture. Even after they have it, they may be fuzzy about the details of the subject.

How can global learners help themselves?
Realize that you need the big picture of a subject before you can master details. If your instructor plunges directly into new topics without bothering to explain how they relate to what you already know, it may cause problems for you. There are steps you can take that may help you get the big picture more rapidly. Before studying the first section of a chapter in a text, skim through the entire chapter to get an overview. Doing so may be time-consuming initially, but it may save you from going over and over individual parts later. It may be more productive to immerse yourself in individual subjects for large blocks. Try to relate the subject to things you already know, either by asking the instructor to help you see connections or by consulting references. Keep faith in yourself! Eventually you will come to understand the new material. Once that happens, your ability to see connections to other topics and disciplines may enable you to apply it in ways that most sequential thinkers would never dream of.