Remember More of What You Learn

Remember More of What You Learn

Knowing what your learning style is will help you to process, integrate, and access information more effectively. Some people learn best by listening, some have to see something done or read it for themselves, and others have to do it to learn it. Most everyone is strongest in one of these areas: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. 

Once you discover what your learning style is, you can adjust your study habits and classroom experience to make learning easier and more fun. And knowing how to recognize other people’s learning styles can help you communicate with them more effectively. 

The Visual Learning Style

People with a visual learning style, myself included, prefer using images, pictures, colors, and maps to organize information. Visual learners love to make lists, take notes, draw out plans on a whiteboard, and color-code things. They tend to have a good sense of space and direction, and it is often easy for them to see where things fit.

Visual learners have an easier time integrating new information when they can see it, read it for themselves, watch the video, or see the maps and diagrams. When these things aren’t available, when in a meeting or on a phone call, they tend to doodle or draw. The doodling activates those visual areas of the brain, creating associations that make the information easier to remember.

Visual learners talk about things using phrases like:

• Let's look at it differently.

• See how this works for you.

• I can't quite picture it.

• What does that look like?

• I'd like to get a different perspective.

Recalling learned information is easier when we associate the information with something else. As a visual learner, create images and scenes about the things you want to remember. Add an emotional element to the association to make it funny, or scary, or happy.

The Auditory Learning Style

Auditory learners prefer to hear things out loud. They retain more information from podcasts, lectures, and audio books. The radio is on while they study, and they may hum, whistle, or tap out a rhythm while trying to learn. Like all the learning styles, this activity helps activate that center of their brain and make stronger associations with the new material, helping them learn more effectively and efficiently.

Auditory learners may work well in collaborative groups and in-person forums where the spoken word is used to convey information and ideas. They use phrases like:

• That sounds about right.

• That rings a bell.

• I hear you loud and clear.

• Tune in to what I'm saying

• That's music to my ears.

If you are an auditory learner, create memory associations by using sound, rhyme, and music. Try setting the information into a jingle or part of a song. And bonus points for adding in the emotional associations.

The Kinesthetic Learning Style

For Kinesthetic learners, it’s all about how things feel. People who have a strong kinesthetic style learn well by doing hands-on work, taking things apart, making models, and touching things. Like the other learning styles, kinesthetic learners process information more effectively when they activate that physical part of their brain. They may be very good at working through problems while they do something physical like running, exercising, gardening, or cooking.

Kinesthetic learners also tend to fidget more. They may find it hard to sit still, and the movement is actually helping them integrate and retain new information, in the same way that doodling does for visual learners, and humming or whistling does for auditory learners.

Kinesthetic learners use phrases like:

• That feels right to me.

• I can't get a grip on this.

• Stay in touch.

• Smooth things over

• That doesn't sit right with me.

• That was rough

When studying or learning new information, kinesthetic learners can form stronger associations by touching the things they are learning about, by creating images in their mind about the object including their texture, color, and how they feel. Also, keep in mind that writing and drawing diagrams are physical activities. Tapping fingers or feet, tensing and relaxing muscles, and using your hands will help create those connections in your mind, making the information easier to recall.

As the new school year begins, whether in person or online, there are new challenges to learning this year. Give yourself and your students an edge by tapping into your learning style.◼