Learning Styles

In my experience, strategies that involved problem solving and applying knowledge to physical problems work best for my learning. Lecture based teaching was never very effective for me, because I have a tendency to space out, no matter how hard I concentrate. This point was proven yet again today in church when I sat through three catholic masses and have very little recollection of what the sermons were about. However, when combined with something physical, like taking notes, my concentration improves exponentially. Things that also help me are drawing, doodling, or simply playing with something in my hands. I think a lot of times, people think of the things that help learners like me concentrate as distractions and require them to stop. What is the result? By the end of the lecture, or sermon, I am kicking myself because somewhere along the line, I started thinking about flying airplanes. I am not joking.

Also, being able to apply what I have learned as soon as possible after learning it is crucial. Even for this class, I occasionally read a lecture and then wait a couple of days to do the assignment. By then, I have to re-read everything because I didn't have anything to connect the information to in my head, and it didn't stick. While we can't teach every lesson according the all learning styles, we can try to include as many as possible and vary them. Even if a student is excellent in a lecture setting and can remember everything spoken out loud, it couldn't hurt to take notes, or apply the information soon after the lecture to a project. It is not redundant, but reinforcement. Even if a given learning style isn't the best for a student, that doesn't mean it can't help in some way.