What Kind of Learner are You?

During these stressful times students, like myself, have to take on new challenges as they arise. For instance, trying to teach themselves a concept because school has gone virtual and administrators aren’t too tech savvy. Although some schools are teaching through zoom and google meets, the students won’t grasp on to the lesson as fast as they would in class. It took a pandemic for some students to figure out what kind of learner they are because their High School Diploma depended on it. It is crucial that you are aware of how YOU learn best.

There are three main types of learners; visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Visual learners are the most common. If you were a visual learner, you’d learn by reading or seeing pictures. You understand and remember things by sight. You can picture what you are learning in your head, and you learn best by physically seeing it play out in front of you. Some things visual learners can do to better comprehend a concept is asking teachers for demonstration or handouts. Visual learning students often create their own outlines with space in between so they can incorporate symbols or even pictures. Others prefer flashcards, drawing graphs, or even creating their own practice tests to further understand. After taking a short quiz on the Education Planner, I discovered that I am a visual learner. I began to follow some of the tips for better comprehension and my grades were positively affected.

Auditory learners are different, they rely on listening and speaking as a main way of learning. Only about thirty percent of the population is made up of auditory learners. Although not ideal, Zoom calls, google meets meetings, and pre-recorded videos help these learners grasp information. A lot of auditory learners enjoy taking light notes during a lecture that consist of just keywords because listening is their main way to get information. Some tips for success directed to auditory learners include, working in quiet areas to reduce distractions, avoiding areas with conversation, music, and television. Listening to music can interrupt your mind process and can often end up causing stress. Take multitasking as an example, you are physically doing multiple assignments, well that is what goes on with auditory learners when hearing distractions while working. It is often hard, especially now during a pandemic, to find a quiet place to work. If you work from home, you can be distracted by your parents taking or your brother playing a video game. If you go to a coffee shop or cafe, you have the background noise of people ordering their pastry or a group having a small meeting. I suggest heading on to your local library, and if you haven't already, get a library card. Libraries were intended to have work environment settings, such as study rooms or meeting rooms if you do not like public spaces. Study rooms are secluded, private rooms for roughly four people that were made for studying, reading quietly or out loud. Their purpose is to make you as comfortable as possible so you can learn without disrupting others or others disrupting you.

Kinesthetic learners are people who learn best using tactile strategies. If you are a tactile learner, you learn by touching and doing. You understand and remember things through physical movement. You are a "hands-on" learner who prefers to touch, move, build, or draw what you learn, and you tend to learn better when some type of physical activity is involved. Aside from college visits and guest speakers, my class consisted of presentations and videos meaning it was easier for visual and auditory learners. Less than one third of my class were tactile learners, so to help out my classmates I bought an interactive book and donated it to my class. It included a 3-dimensional figure with organs, muscles, cells, tumors and more. This book allowed the tactile learners to further understand how anatomy and physiology worked by touching and feeling the anatomy figure. People who have a kinesthetic learning style often struggle learning through traditional means and sedentary activities, like lectures and conferences. Their minds simply can't make the connection that they're doing something when listening or observing. Some ways teachers can help is by allowing students to stand or move while learning, allow frequent short breaks, teach with real life objects or even dress in costume. Many teachers encourage arts and crafts, teach using science experiments, and are animated in their teaching for example they sing, dance, are loud, and use lots of energy.

Auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learners are being heard louder than ever under these unprecedented times. Figuring out what type of learner you are can impact you greatly. That being said you should head on to the Education Planner site and start your pathway to success. Tag a friend!