How identifying your learning style can improve the effectiveness of studying time. By Jackie Durham, education and traning consultant, CIMA.
Everyone has their own learning style, so identifying and developing yours can help you to make the best use of your study time.
For example, learning in the way that suits you may make it easier to:
- make better choices about the type of tuition that will work best for you
- choose between different learning providers
- improve your approach to study and revision, especially if you are a self studier
- identify strengths and weaknesses in your approach to work-based learning and academic study.
Educational researchers have identified up to eight classifications of different learning styles. But most of us do not fit neatly into any one classification ' we're usually blends of one or more and may vary between different tasks.
Researchers tell us that each learning style uses a different part of the brain. So by developing different ways of learning, we can engage more of our brain and increase our chances of success.
We will be giving you examples of different learning styles over the next few issues of Velocity.
To give you a flavour, in this article we look at VAK analysis.
What kind of VAK learner are you?
VAK analysis describes learning in terms of biologically-based reactions to the physical environment. In other words, this style is based upon the main ways our bodies take in information, like seeing (visual), hearing (auditory) and touching (kinesthetic).
We learn visually by looking at images, demonstrations and body language. So if you're a visual learner, you may give verbal clues to your preferred learning style. You might say: 'Yes, I can see that' or 'from my perspective'.
Auditory learning takes place through hearing the spoken word. So if you're an auditory learner, you may use phrases like: 'I hear what you're saying' or 'that strikes a chord with me'.
Kinesthetic learning is more practical, and takes place through performing actions and interacting. If you're a kinesthetic learner, you may say: 'It certainly feels right' or 'how does that grab you?'.
Some theorists add an extra category on to VAK ' tactile learning, which occurs through writing notes and drawing diagrams.
Visual learners
If you learn best by seeing, one way that helps is to highlight key points in texts and notes. You may also benefit from:
- brainstorming
- Mind mapping
- studying away from noise and visual distractions
- using visual cues to help you absorb information, like flow charts, graphs and diagrams
- skim reading to get an overview before focusing in on detail
- organising information under key headings.
Auditory learners
Playing soothing music while studying often helps those who learn best by hearing. Music with a tempo of 58 to 60 beats per minute generates relaxed-but-alert beta brain waves which help you learn effectively.
However, even for auditory learners, very fast music with strong lyrics can have a distracting effect.
You may also benefit from these suggestions:
- discuss your studies with others, possibly in a study group or online student forum
- identify a work based mentor with whom you can discuss your studies
- record key points on tape and play it back just before sleep
- use rhymes, raps, jingles and songs to help you remember key information
Kinesthetic learners
Kinesthetic learners are better off varying their study topics. In other words, if you learn better practically, it's advisable not to spend an entire two-hour study block on one paper.
You may find it helps to:
- read one paper for about 20 minutes. Then try a practice question to test your knowledge, and then go on to a new paper
- take frequent short study breaks, and then go on to a new paper
- read at the gym, while pounding the treadmill or peddling the exercise bike
- skim read to get an overview before focusing in on the detail.
Contact us
You can contact us with your feedback and suggestions for Velocity at velocity@cimaglobal.com.