Learning Styles and Strategies
The importance of learning styles for adult students
Knowing your Learning Style can help you plan Learning Strategies to better study, read effectively, and get more out of your education.
Everyone has a learning style, and as an adult student it may be of great benefit for you to know what your particular style may be. Knowing how to absorb and retain information may help you recognize your strong points as well as your not-so-strong areas. The benefit? It can help you when it comes to deciding how best to study for an exam, for example, read a book or write a paper. You can look here for a page of definitions that describe learning styles in different ways.
You may in fact already have a good idea of what yours is. Do you take a lot of notes during a lecture? Do you get more information by just listening without interruption? Do you prefer to do something hands-on in order to better understand it?
School teachers are well aware of the importance this has on a child’s success in the classroom. Based on each individual child’s needs, they develop strategies and techniques for learning that can help each student succeed. As an adult student, you too can benefit from taking a look at what works best for you, and what "clicks" when it comes to processing new information.
Experts agree that there are three basic types of Learning Styles:
- Visual: Students who learn best from images and graphic representations such as diagrams or maps.
- Auditory: This type of learner benefits from hearing information such as lectures, speeches, or lessons.
- Kinesthetic: Learners of this type learn best from hands-on applications, tending to benefit most from actually doing .
As an adult learner, you are probably highly motivated to be successful in continuing your education. Your background and experience may have already given you an idea of how you receive and process information. Being familiar with your learning style is just one more weapon in your educational arsenal!
