As a business owner, you’re required to take in a lot of information, process it, and decide how to apply it to your business. This happens on a daily basis whether you realize it or not.
Many people are able to just sit down and read a book and come out of it with a defined plan for the future, while others prefer to immediately pull something out of the box (e.g. software) and work with it to gain true understanding.
However, there are a number of different models to understanding your learning style, which all touch on similar themes but take different approaches. It is important to recognize your own learning style so that you can accommodate your own distinct learning needs; it is also critical to know the learning styles of others when teaching or working with them to capitalize on strengths and improve weaknesses.
Learning Styles 101
Learning styles are simply various ways of learning. Though most people learn through a combination of the three primary styles (auditory, visual, and kinesthetic), everyone has a preferred style that works the best for them.
Visual learners learn through seeing.
These are the students who need to see the teacher’s body language as he or she teaches; they are assisted greatly by the use of diagrams and videos. It is often best for visual learners to sit in the front of a classroom, boardroom, or auditorium, where they won’t be distracted by people’s heads or other activities going on. Visual learners benefit greatly from taking detailed notes during a presentation, which helps them absorb the information even further.
Auditory learners learn through listening.
Discussions, special speakers, and lectures from the teacher – these are things that really appeal to an auditory learner. Usually, auditory learners interpret the speaker’s meaning by focusing on their tones of voice, speed, and other nuances of speech. Auditory learners often benefit from reading the text aloud, since written information does not have much meaning until it has been spoken and heard.
Kinesthetic learners learn through doing.
They need the hands on approach. Touching things, trying them out, and moving around while discussing an issue – these are all ways that kinesthetic learners are able to actively explore the subject at hand and discover its meaning. Kinesthetic learners are likely to relate experiences with strong feelings and know that they have truly grasped something once they feel it.
Understanding the learning style of others is important for anyone who ever teaches or works with other people (which includes almost everybody). Even if you are simply trying to tell someone about your upcoming deadline, you can greatly enhance the probability of them understanding what you’re saying if you work with their learning style.
For further information, including a questionnaire to better understand your own learning style, visit:
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire
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