So what type of a learner are you?
Sometimes learning is difficult but if you know what makes you study easier then it can help a lot. Learners are divided into three divisions:
- SEEING
- HEARING
- DOING
Everyone can learn in each of the following three ways. (SEEING, HEARING or DOING) One type is usually your strongest method to help you learn and remember. It is important to study using your strongest sense first. If you do, you will learn faster and remember longer.
Read through the following and decide where you fit in:
SEEING LEARNERS (VISUAL LEARNERS)
If you are a seeing, or visual learner you will remember best when you use your eyes. You may be able to picture in your mind things that you hear about. You memorize how words are spelled by how they “look.” Seeing learners understand material better if they read it to themselves rather than when they listen to it. They tend to write things down, to help them remember what to study. Seeing learners prefer using words or pictures to put something together. Seeing learners are more organized, neat and pay attention to details.
BEST STUDY METHODS FOR SEEING LEARNERS
- Read through the work first.
- Highlight or underline main ideas in books.
- Make your own flash cards. Use them for spelling words, important facts or vocabulary. You can color-code them or put them into categories. Separate them into “know” and “don’t know yet” piles. Play a memory game with them.
- To study for a test, do something you can see: draw pictures, make a map, and copy your notes.
- Visualize: Picture in your mind!
- Don’t limit yourself to paper: Write on a white board, or even on the computer.
- If you cannot remember a fact by writing it down, draw a picture to associate the fact.
- Focus! Visual learners are easily distracted!
AUDITORY LEARNERS (HEARING LEARNERS)
If you are a hearing learner you remember information best by using your ears. Hearing learners tend to be good talkers and listeners. They tend to remember what the teacher says and usually like class discussions. These learners would prefer to listen to an audio book instead of reading the book. Hearing learners can remember names and songs after only listening to it a few times. If you are a hearing learner, a good idea is to read the work out loud to yourself so that you can hear it. They can be distracted by background noise.
BEST STUDY METHODS FOR HEARING LEARNERS
- Try to study your work whenever possible, directly after the teacher has discussed the material.
- Read out loud instead of silently.
- Make your own recordings so that you can listen to it repeatedly.
- Use music to help you learn. Make up a song or a jingle. Creating a poem or a rhyme will help you to remember the work.
- Get in the help of a friend. Set your own quiz so that your friend can ask you questions and you can answer them out loud.
- Always study in a quiet place. Hearing learners are easily distracted by any sounds.
TACTILE OR KINETHETIC (DOING) LEARNERS
Doing learners learn well when they are active. If you are a doing learner, you like movement and can concentrate best when you are active. Doing learners find it hard to sit still for long periods of time. Doing learners like class projects. They prefer to DO something rather than to just read, write or listen. Doing learners have a hard time with organization.
BEST STUDY METHODS FOR DOING LEARNERS
- Have a parent or teacher help you develop a system to get and stay organized.
- Use things you can touch (like coins, beans, blocks, etc.) to help you understand math concepts.
- MOVE while you study: Jump, walk, do knee bends, or hop, while you talk about the information or quiz yourself.
- Trace your finger on maps, globes and diagrams to study.
- When you do have to sit down to study, set goals for yourself and then take breaks. For example, plan to study for 10 minutes, then get up and get a drink. Plan to read 3 pages before you get up and do 20 sit-ups.
- Teach someone else your material using a chalk or whiteboard.
Where do you fit in?
Now that you know where you fit in, studying might become a bit easier for you.
If you want to read more about the above please use the following links to gather more information:
http://www.basicknowledge101.com/subjects/learningstyles.html
http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0747563294900388
I hope you enjoyed learning more about learning methods. Tomorrow we can look a little at the different methods of studying.
