Transcript Learning Styles

Learning Styles
The Citadel
Academic Support Center
2010
Which Is Best For You?
How Do You Learn?
Do you prefer to work in study groups or on your own?
Do you like to learn by doing something?
Do you learn by memorizing facts and details?
Do you like to learn by sitting back listening and thinking?
Do you learn best by seeing pictures, graphs and diagrams?
Do you enjoy reading?
Do you retain what you have read?
Do you enjoy lectures?
Do you retain information from lectures?
Active vs. Reflective
Learning Styles
Active Learners
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Active Learners tend to retain and understand
information best by doing something active with
it.
They like to “try it out and see how it works” by
discussing, applying or explaining the topic or
concept to others
They like to work in study groups and discuss
concepts with others
Lecture Classes where they sit and do nothing
but take notes are particularly difficult for them.
Reflective Learners
Reflective Learners prefer to listen to
information and concepts and then gain
understanding by thinking about it quietly
 They tend to like to work alone where they
can think through concepts
 While lecture style classes can be painful
for everyone, reflective learners do much
better in them then active learners
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Sensing vs. Intuitive
Learning Styles
Sensing Learners
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Sensing learners like to learn and memorize facts and
details.
They like to solve problems using well established logical
methods
They do not like to be tested on material that was not
explained in detail in class.
They have difficulty understanding abstract concepts
They work slowly and are practical.
They generally check the details of their work carefully.
They do not like courses where they cannot see the real
world applications of what they are learning
Intuitive Learners
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Intuitive Learners like to look for relationships and
possibilities in and between the concepts and facts they
study
They like innovation and dislike repetition
They do not mind being tested on material only
tangentially covered in class
They tend not to struggle with abstract concepts
They tend to work quickly through task by trying to find
faster innovative ways of doing things
They do not like course that require a lot of memorization
of facts and concepts
Verbal vs. Visual
Learning Styles
Verbal Learners
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Verbal learners like to learn from words
They understand concepts best when given
written or spoken explanations
They like and prefer to absorb information and
concepts explained in books
Most people are not Verbal learners, but the
format of most college classes favors verbal
learners
Visual Learners
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Visual Learners retain best things that they can
see.
They like to learn from visual material like
diagrams, flow charts, time lines, and videos
Most people are visual learners
Most college classes are not geared towards
visual learning, but that is changing (with
PowerPoint).
Global vs. Sequential
Learning Styles
Sequential Learners
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Sequential Learners gain understanding through
linear steps
They tend to understand concepts by following
logical steps from one stage to the next.
They like to work slowly, following logical
stepwise paths to solve problems because they
gain understanding through the process of
taking all the steps to find the solution.
Global Learners
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Global Learners tend to learn in huge jumps,
absorbing material almost randomly without
seeing connections, and then suddenly “getting
it.”
They may be able to solve complex problems
quickly, but cannot explain the steps or process
by which they did it.
Put simply, they grasp the big picture first, but
struggle with details.
The Great Trap
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Everyone gets confused by new concepts, so do
not assume that because you have been
confused you are a global learner
Even if Sequential Learners do not understand
the larger concept, they generally can
understand details and apply them in some way.
Global learners struggle with details even after
they solve a problem
The
Learning Styles
Index
Understanding Your Results
and
Your Learning Style
Index of Learning Styles: Understanding Your Results
ACT
11 9
SEN
11 9
7
7
5
5
3
3
1

1

1

1
3
X
3
X
5
7
INT
5
7
X
7
5
3
1

SEQ
11 9
1
3
5
7
5
3
VRB
9 11
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X
7
9 11
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VIS
11 9
REF
9 11
GLO
1

1

3
5
7
9 11
Active Learners
Create applications or problem solving
activities while studying. (i.e. study guides
with questions)
 Study in groups where you can ask one
another questions about the material. It
forces you to formula answers to one
another
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Reflective Learners
Stop periodically when you are reading to
think about, and digest what you have
read.
 Right out summaries of your reading and
class notes to help you organize your
thoughts.
 When Studying try to work alone and in a
quiet place.
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Sensing Learners
If you are in class where most of the
material is abstract or theoretical…
 Ask the professor specific examples of
concepts and procedures.
 Ask about the practical application of the
concept or theory
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Intuitive Learners
Try to memorize facts and details by
thinking about connections between them.
 Take the time to read the whole question
on test and quizzes. Take care to answer
all parts of the question
 Try to take extra care to check your work
because intuitive learners tend to be
impatient with details.
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Verbal Learners
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Verbal learners can help themselves by writing
out summaries and outlines of course material in
their own words.
Another way verbal learners can help one
another is to have small group discussions
amongst one another about course material.
Explaining things to classmates will make help to
retain and understand information.
Visual Learners
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Visual Learners should try and find visual
representations of the course material (i.e.
diagrams, pictures, or flow charts)
If the professor uses PowerPoint, ask them for
the slides.
If the are videos or CD-ROMS on the material try
and get them.
Concept Maps which visually link ideas can be
very helpful.
Sequential Learners
If you have an instructor who jumps
around from topic to topic or skips steps,
You should ask them to fill in the blanks
for you. If they do not then consult other
references
 When studying take the time to outline
material from your reading and lectures in
a logical order.
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Global Learners
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Try not to study daily in short blocks of time. Try
and immerse yourself in the material for long
periods of time.
Try to skim over the whole chapter of a text to
get an overview before trying to study a
particular section in depth.
Try to relate subjects to things that you already
know and look for ways to connect it to other
topics and disciplines.
References
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Felder Richard M. and Barbara A.
Soloman. “Learning Styles and
Strategies.” North Carolina State
University, 2009. June 1, 2009.
<http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users
/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm>.