CHAPTER 1: DISCOVERING AND USING YOUR LEARNING STYLE

CHAPTER 1: DISCOVERING AND USING YOUR LEARNING STYLE

1.1. A definition of learning styles and learning strategies 1.2. Three kinds of learning styles 1.3. Environmental conditions 1.4. Your learning style

    This chapter is designed to give you insight into three kinds of learning styles. You will find out about:

- The learning strategies you prefer to use
- Your preferences for learning by visual, auditory, or kinesthetic means
- The environmental conditions under which you prefer to study.
- Your learning style

1.1. A DEFINITION OF LEARNING STYLES AND LEARNING STRATEGIES

    Learning styles are the general approaches - for example auditory or visual - that students use in acquiring a new language or in learning any other subject (Conrnette, 1983).

    Learning strategies are defined as specific actions, behaviors, steps, or techniques used by students to enhance their own learning (Scarcella and Oxford, 1992).

    Use exercises 1.1 and 1.2 to think about and analyze the learning strategies you use.

1.2. THREE KINDS OF LEARNING

    Most of what we learn we learn through reading, watching, hearing, touching or moving. When you read or watch, you use your sense of seeing; when you hear, you use your sense of hearing and when you touch and move, you use your senses of touch and kinesthesia. Kinesthesia is the sensory experience that comes from moving muscles, tendons, and joints.

    Some teachers provide students with visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning experiences. For instance, a swimming instructor would probably teach you a new stroke by demonstrating it, explaining it, and having you practice it. You would receive the instruction visually by watching the demonstration, auditorily by hearing the explanation, and kinesthetically by making the movements of the swim stroke.

    Though we all learn by these means, some students have a definite preference for one of them.

Visual learners prefer to learn by reading and watching demonstrations. Because they would rather read a textbook than listen to a lecture, they enjoy lecture courses more when they take many notes to study after class. Auditory learners prefer to learn by listening and discussing. Because they would rather listen to a lecture than read a textbook, they enjoy reading more after they listen to a background lecture on the subject matter. Kinesthetic learners prefer to learn by being physically involved, such as by doing something or by handling and manipulating things. Because they prefer to learn by experimenting on their own, they benefit most from listening to lectures and reading textbooks when they understand how these activities benefit them in their experimentation.

    The primary advantage of knowing your instructional preference is that it will help you in adjusting to the demands of college study. For instance, a student was dissatisfied with his history professor's lectures because he preferred learning by reading rather than by listening. He adjusted to the history course by taking more notes and comparing what his teacher said to what was written in course reading material.

    Use Exercises 1.3, 1.4 to analyze whether you prefer to learn visually, auditorily, kinesthetically, or by using a combination of these means.

1.3. ENVIRONMENTAL CONDITIONS

    Over the past twenty-five years, educational psychologists have studied learning style in a variety of ways. For instance, one area of research investigates how students' performance is affected by studying at times they prefer rather than at other times. This branch of research, called chronobiology, has produced clear evidence that students perform much better when they study or take courses at the times of day when they are most alert than when they study or take courses at other times.

    It used to be commonly believed that everybody learns best when they study in a quiet place, seated at a desk. Today, these assumptions are questioned. Researchers have found that some students study better with the
distraction of background music and that others learn just as well when they study sitting in an easy chair as they do when they study sitting at a desk.

    Some of the other environmental conditions that affect studying include room temperature and the presence or absence of noise, food, or other people. Exercise 1.5 provides an opportunity for you to think about the environmental conditions under which you prefer to study.

1.4. YOUR LEARNING STYLE

Do exercise 1.6 to discover your learning style.

EXERCISES

Exercise 1.1: Learning Strategy Checklist

    Following is a list of fifty-four learning strategies that are explained in College Study Skills. Check the boxes next to the strategies that you actually use and total the boxes you check in each category. You will use the totals when you do exercise 1.1.

	I use this strategy
A. Basic Strategies
1. At the beginning of each term, I find out exactly what teachers require.
2. I attend all classes unless I am sick.
3. I purchase all required books and other materials at the beginning of the term
4. I keep up-to-date with course work.
5. I have all assignments ready on time.
6. I am always prepared for tests.
Total checks
B. Time Management
7. I schedule time for doing assignments and preparing for examinations.
8. I keep a daily list of things that I need to do.
9. I keep a record of the assignments for all of my courses in one convenient place.
10. I set priorities for the order in which I do assignments.
11. I schedule the study of difficult subjects at the time of day when I am most alert.
12. I schedule major projects to complete them a step at a time over as long a period as possible.
Total checks
C. Preparing for Tests
13. I use class notes as a guide about what to study for tests.
14. When studying for tests, I emphasize information teachers said was important or difficult to learn.
15. I use learning goals and review questions in textbook chapters as a guide in deciding what to learn in them.
16. I always learn the meanings of important terminology in textbooks.
17. I master skills by doing exercises and problems in textbooks.
18. I always attend test reviews when they are offered.
Total checks
D. Class Notes
19. I read about topics in textbooks before class lectures on them.
20. I begin each day's notes with a heading that includes the date and lecture topic.
21. I make major thoughts stand out clearly in my notes.
22. I use simplified handwriting and abbreviations to write notes quickly.
23. I review class notes immediately after class.
24. I study class notes thoroughly before tests.
Total checks
E. Previewing Textbooks
25. I know how to determine if a book is sufficiently up-to-date for a specific purpose.
26. I read the table of contents in books to get an overview of the topics in them.
27. I read prefaces and introductions in preparation for studying books.
28. I locate and use appendixes.
29. I locate and use glossaries.
30. I locate and use subject indexes and name indexes.
Total checks
F. Previewing Chapter
31. I use the title, introduction, and headings in a chapter to learn the topics in it.
32. I use learning goals or chapter previews as guides for studying chapters.
33. I study tables, graphs, diagrams, and other visual materials in a chapter before reading it.
34. I read a chapter summary before reading the chapter.
35. I identify the important terminology introduced in a chapter.
36. I use review questions, exercises, and problems to check my learning.
Total checks
G. Marking Textbooks
37. I underline, highlight, or otherwise mark information I want to learn in a book.
38. I read a section of a book before I mark it.
39. I use a variety of techniques to avoid underlining or highlighting too much.
40. I try to mark information in a book that will help me make good notes later.
41. I mark definitions of terminology in books.
42. I mark examples in books.
Total checks
H. Making Notes for Books
43. I make notes for information I want to learn in my textbooks.
44. I use a variety of formats for notes.
45. I begin notes with a title that accurately describes the information in them.
46. I make major thoughts stand out in notes.
47. I include examples in notes.
48. I make notes in the classification chart or time-line format when appropriate.
Total checks
I. Remembering and Recalling
49. I learn information by reciting it over and over.
50. I learn information by analyzing it into its parts to study the parts and understand how they are related.
51. I learn information by relating it to information I already know.
52. I review information to guard against forgetting it.
53. I use effective methods to learn virtually all kinds of information.
54. I use a variety of effective techniques to recall information when I take tests.
Total checks

Exercise 1.2: Analyzing Your Learning Strategies

    Put a check in each box under the number of items you checked in each category in exercise 1.1. For example, if you checked four of the basic strategies, put a check in the box under "4" for "A. Basic Strategies".

	Number of Checks in Exercise “ Learning Strategy Checklist”
	1	2	3	4	5	6
A. Basic Strategies
B. Time Management
C. Preparing for Tests
D. Class Notes
E. Previewing Textbooks
F. Previewing Chapters
G. Marking Textbooks
H. Making Notes for Books
I. Remembering and Recalling

    The checks you placed on
the lines create a profile of the strategies you use for studying. The checks farthest to the right indicate areas of relative strength, and the checks to the left signify areas of relative weakness. There is room for improvement in any category for which you checked fewer than six items.

Exercise 1.3: Auditory and Visual Learning

    Check one answer for each question

1. I prefer to learn by
 a. reading a textbook
 b. listening to a lecture

2. I prefer to learn by
 a. watching a demonstration
 b. listening to an explanation

3. I like to read maps.
a. true
 b. false

4. When listening to a lecture
 a. I take many notes.
 b. I take few notes.

5. I tend to remember people's
 a. faces but forget their names.
 b. names but forget their faces.

6. I don't mind studying with noise in the background.
 a. false
 b. true

7. I like a classroom seat from which I can
 a. see what is going on.
 b. hear what is said.

8. Graphs, charts, and diagrams
 a. are interesting to me.
 b. confuse me.

    The a responses are usually checked by visual learners and the b responses are usually checked by auditory learners. If you checked about the same number of visual and auditory responses, you are probably one of the majority who prefer visual and auditory methods of learning about equally.

Exercise 1.4: Kinesthetic Learning

    Check the boxes in front of statements that describe you or that you believe are true.

 If I bought a new VCR, I would probably try to figure out how it works by playing with it rather than by reading the owners' manual.
 I prefer a job that keeps me on my feet, moving from place to place, rather than one that gives me a chance to sit most of the time.
 The best part of studying sciences is doing experiments in a lab.
 Engineering and construction work interest me.
I usually don't enjoy sitting in a classroom listening to a lecture.
 I like to cook meals.
 I get great enjoyment from typing or using a computer.
 When I was in grade school, I could usually find an excuse to get up and move around the room.
 When I'm in an airplane, I prefer to sit on the aisle so I can get up when I want rather than to sit by a window so I can see out.
 When I study, I need to take frequent breaks.

    Most students check four or five of these statements; if you checked seven or more of them, you are strongly oriented toward learning kinesthetically.

Exercise 1.5: Your Environmental Preferences

    Check the answers to the following questions that best describe you.

1. I am most alert for learning difficult subjects
 in the morning
 in the afternoon
 in the evening

2. I study best in a
 dormitory room
 bedroom
 living room
 library
 kitchen
 lounge
 cafeteria

3. I prefer to study
 at a desk, sitting in a chair
 in an armchair or on a sofa
 on a bed or on the floor

4. I like to study in a place with
 bright overhead light
 medium light
 dim light

5. I prefer to study in a room that is
 hot
 warm
 cool
 cold

6. I learn best when I study with
 loud background music playing
 soft background music playing
 no background music playing

7. When I study, the sound of voices or noise
 doesn't bother me
 bothers me a little
 makes it impossible for me to study

8. When studying, I like to
 drink a beverage
 smoke
 chew gum
 eat candy
 eat snack food
 eat a meal
 avoid eating or drinking

9. I prefer to study
 by myself
 with one other person
 with a group of people

10. I study most efficiently
 when I am under the pressure of a deadline
 when there is a little pressure
 when there is no rush to meet a deadline

    From time to time, reevaluate the conditions under which you study best. Some students believe they study best late at night in a hot room under a dim light, only to later find that, in fact, they study more efficiently early in the day in a moderately cool room with bright sunlight flooding through a window. Experiment with a variety of environmental conditions to find the optimal study conditions for yourself.

Exercise 1.6: Your Learning Style

    On notebook paper, write a description of the procedures that you prefer to use when you study. Include the following:

- a summary of the learning strategies you prefer to use when you study.
- an explanation of your preference for visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learning.
- a description of your environmental preferences when you study.

    Use your answers to the Exercises 1.1 though 1.5 as the primary source of information in writing your description. Include a discussion of ways you might improve your learning style.