Classes present many struggles: the cost of textbooks, the time it takes to finish projects, the planning of immaculate outfits every day so that cute person in your lecture notices you- okay so maybe this is just a me problem. Regardless, we all face challenges in going to school at any level of education, be it middle school or medical school. One particular issue we all encounter is finding out what learning style works best for you.
If you’ve ever noticed that a professor’s teaching doesn’t help you learn, you may want to evaluate why. Do they use too many diagrams? Is it just a straight up lecture? Are there moments you wish you could act out the concepts? If you can relate to any of these, that may relate to what your learning style may be.
There are four types of learning styles: auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and verbal. Auditory learners do best listening to someone explain a concept. Visual learners need a lot of pictures, diagrams, etc., to understand something. Kinesthetic learners generally need to use their body, either by gesticulating or acting the idea out. Verbal learners need to explain to concept back to the teacher to understand.
That being said, here is a questionnaire that assists in figuring out what type of learner you are: http://vark-learn.com/the-vark-questionnaire/?p=questionnaire.
Once you find out what type of learner you are, there are studying strategies specific to you that can help you learn better.
For visual learners
Use flowcharts, diagrams, photos, basically anything, well… visual. Utilize colors, symbols, and text differences (italics, bolds, underlining) to your advantage to distinguish ideas.
For auditory learners
For auditory learners, attend and record lectures as often as possible. If you don’t have that option, use videos of people talking to your advantage. Khan Academy? Your best friend. I’d give my kidneys to Sal Khan if he asked because of how much it helped me in my courses. Use mnemonics. Remember funny stories or jokes about the lecture/video.
For kinesthetic learners
Get up and explain that stuff. Become as mobile as possible. Learn by doing. Practice. Problems. Heck. Yes. Real life application is everything because it will give tangible context that you can relate to something you can do.
For verbal learners
Get a study buddy and talk about what you learned after lecture or whenever you both have time. Don’t get distracted. Use whiteboards to act as the lecturer. Discussions!!!
Hopefully, this helps you in your educational journey! At the very least, I hope I reminded you to pick out your outfit to look fly for your crush tomorrow.
All images/gifs are from giphy.com.