Your learning style is the way you acquire information. Students learn
faster and retain more when information is presented to them in their
learning styles of choice. Most people have a dominant learning style,
but they can still learn when information is presented in another learning
style. Teachers should present information in ways that appeal to all
learning styles, but they may not always have the time to do so. When
you know what your student’s learning style is, you can tailor information
so that they can understand and process it better.
The Seven Learning Styles
Verbal (linguistic): Verbal students prefer using words to communicate,
both in speech and writing. They like to read and take notes.
Physical (kinesthetic): These students prefer using their body, hands and
sense of touch. They enjoy learning that is action-based like science
experiments, making projects and working with their hands.
Visual (spatial): Spacially-oriented students prefer using pictures, images,
and spatial understanding. They work well when information is presented
in graphs, pie charts, infographics, pictures or video.
Aural (auditory-musical): These students prefer using sound and music.
They like listening to lectures or talks.
Solitary (intrapersonal): These are independent learners who prefer to
work alone and use self-study.
Logical (mathematical): These students prefer using logic, reasoning and
systems. They are great with math and science.
Social (interpersonal): Social students prefer to learn in groups or with
other people. They love organizing study groups and collaborative projects.
Consult your Teachers and Tutors
Ask your teacher or
tutor to help to determine your student’s dominant learning styles. Most
students use a combination of styles to assimilate information. While
they will have a dominant style, it’s important to remember that
styles are dynamic. That means that with practice, your student can adjust
to any style of learning.
Once you know what your student’s preferred learning style is, you
can teach them to arrange material to suit their style. For example, if
your student prefers a visual learning style, organize information that
they need to understand into graphs, infographics, mind maps and pictures.
Let them watch videos on the subject and allow them to create videos and
visually-oriented presentations for their projects. Presenting information
in their learning style will help them to understand and remember.
Your tutor can help to teach your students how to arrange information into
a more favorable format and how to tailor study skills to suit different
subjects. Ask your tutor to give a brief test to determine learning style
preferences.
Here are some resources for finding out your learning style online. Most
of these resources are short tests which help you to see which learning
style suits your student best. Do two or three to get a better idea of
the learning styles that your student prefers:
NC State University
Vark
How to Learn
Education Planner
LDPride
Edutopia
Accelerated Learning
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