Learning Style – What Is Yours?
By Mickie Hayes, M. Ed.
If you want to be a successful college student, you need to have a studying plan. Your old habits from high school will probably not work in college. You should begin your college career with a complete understanding about how you learn. Many students have not really thought much about their own learning style, but you should take a minute and examine your approach to your day-to-day experiences.
Do you prefer to be given your working assignments in writing or would you rather have someone just tell you what to do? That can make a big difference in your successful completion of a job! If you are a visual learner, you like to see a written explanation of your assignment. If you are an auditory learner, you prefer to just be told what to do. A visual learner with an auditory boss must make an adjustment to the situation. A good way to establish a balance is to carry a notepad or jot the information down on a sticky note for later. A visual learner in college needs to make sure that notes are good, and handouts and PowerPoints are printed and organized. Taking notes on the actual PowerPoint is a very effective way of learning your material.
An auditory learner in college should plan to tape record lectures on a digital recorder, so that he or she can listen to the lecture over and over again on the computer or MP3 player. The auditory learner should also make sure to study aloud. Hearing the information will reinforce the details into your memory.
Some people are tactile/kinesthetic learners. Those people need to handle equipment to see how it works, try things out for themselves, and generally stay active and physical whenever doing anything. If you are a tactile/kinesthetic learner, then you need to figure out a way to study that enables you to use your energy when you study. One way a tactile/kinesthetic learner can study is by getting a white board or chalk board at home to use for working through problems. This is especially effective for math classes where the work can be especially challenging. A tactile/kinesthetic learner can also benefit from a sticky note collection of important facts stuck to a wall or mirror!
The ideal college student will blend all of these approaches when going to class and studying for tests. We all have a learning style preference, and using that learning style to study will lead to an A in student success at college.
