Learning styles differ between one person and another. Some people prefer studying in groups, others prefer individual work. While some students prefer visual and active learning, others may prefer abstract and conceptual ideas. These differences are what make us unique and help us work together to bring out the best results. In my learning style scoring sheet, the results were as follows: balanced between active and reflective learner, balanced between sensing and intuitive learning, visual learner, and sequential learner.
Active learners are more likely to gain and understand information by doing something active with it or working in groups, while reflective learners prefer to think about what they learned first, and prefer individual work. While studying during this semester, I tried studying with a group for the first time. It turned out to be the best learning style for me. Not only did I retain information better and explore various point of views of the same topic, but it was also enjoyable. I got more work done in a shorter period of time than usual. However, I would occasionally study the material alone first because that’s how I’ve been studying for as long as I can remember. After I go over the material on my own, I would join my group and study the material again. My grades improved drastically, and I was performing better than ever on my exams. When new ideas were presented, I could manage my way around them because I explored several point of views while discussing my work with my group during our study sessions.
A balance between sensing and intuitive learning means a balance between learning facts and problem solving, and discovering relationships and possibilities and innovation, respectively. Since I had a balance between the two, it was really hard to adopt one learning style. I like hands-on work, but I also love conceptual ideas and mathematical formulas. Therefore, I didn’t necessarily adopt or work according to the study tips mentioned. However, I did always ask professors about new ideas, even if they weren’t part of the lesson, and ask for real life examples relating to them.
As a visual learner, I remember what I see, such as pictures, charts, diagrams, or graphs. In order to accommodate for this learning style, I always drew sketches, schematics, and graphs to explain the ideas in the lesson. Considering I’m mainly enrolled in science classes, graphs and sketches were always available. If I find myself struggling with a class, videos were a very big help. I would also color-code my notes which was probably the biggest help. If I try to remember something on a test, I can visualize the notes and the colors. Verbal learning definitely didn’t work well for me because I have a hard time concentrating in class if the topic is of no interest to me. The only way I was able to balance between the two learning styles was while taking notes; I would draw graphs or charts, but I would also add small paragraphs that explain some ideas that may not be very clear to me by looking at the graph.
As a sequential learner, I gain understanding in linear steps, with each step following logically from the previous one. For most of my classes, professors would jump around from one topic to another. Therefore, when I would go back home, I would take my own notes. I would organize and outline the lecture materials for myself in a logical order. This helped me the most in this class, especially when I would relate each new topic I study to things I already knew. I would expand my notes by combining the notes in class with the study guide that would have a logical outline of the material.
These study tips were definitely a big help. At first, I adopted them only in this class, but then I expanded them to other classes. They worked the best with this class and the Physics class. As the semester progressed, I found new and innovative ways to combine the study tips and then help other people adopt the learning style that works best for them. I would partner up with people who learn the same way I do, and we would combine our ideas together whether they were abstract, or sketches, or even color coding styles for notes. Most of the time, we would meet at the library and exchange notes. Each person would explain the course material in their own way. We would correct each other and offer new ideas to expand our knowledge. Occasionally, when each person would ask a question, we would find a question that’s very similar to it on the test and sometimes the same one. Overall, at least in this class, I think that the study tips were extremely helpful. They helped improve my grades, except for one test which I performed poorly on, but that’s only due to personal issues. However, after that, my grades got even better.
Striving For Excellence In College
Active learning requires a lot of time and dedication. It’s also very hard to find people like yourself to study with. In order to do so, some of the tips are as follows. First of all, you must be realistic and realize that some people are not interested in active learning. Second, you must choose classes that active learning students would be enrolled in (like classes with challenging professors), and where they would ask questions frequently in class. Moreover, you can go to/work at places that active learners go to, such as the library or coffee shops, and get to know those people. You can also join student organizations and/or sponsor lectures that will help you learn something new and most probably meet new active people. Finally, you can help other students or friends become active learners, and thus you can study together. When they see your enthusiasm about the material, they’ll want to study like you and with you.
Unfortunately, sometimes professors encourage active learning. They try to avoid questions and prefer reading off of prepared power points. You can choose to drop the course. However, if you can’t, then you have to make the class work for you through some steps. The first thing to know is the type of professors. Professors can be “Tentative Professors” which means they’re difficult to read and actively interact with. The second type of professors is the “Disillusioned Professor” that have abandoned active learning because they were met with opposition in the past. Finally, there are “Knowledge Dispenser Professors” who emphasizes the importance of his/her lecture notes and expects the students to accumulate his knowledge. The first tip in dealing with professors is to put yourself in their shoes. A lot of students just want to pass a class with the least possible work. Knowing that, the professor would get upset that his/her students don’t share interest in their subject. Therefore, with that in mind, you can learn how to respond and deal with Tentative and Disillusioned professors. Second, you can shape the environment of the class by making it more active through asking complex and debatable questions, and defending the professor when they ask challenging questions that encourage active learning. This will help the Disillusioned Professor realize that there is at least one person in the class who cares about active learning. Moreover, asking questions will help the Tentative Professor interact with the students more. In addition to those tips, you can try reaching out to the professor after class or in their office. This will make them more active, especially the tentative kind. It will also help the Disillusioned Professor restore their faith in student’s interest in their subjects. It will also help you gain information from the “Knowledge Dispenser Professor” who would have great insight about your question. The fourth tip is to find other active learners in your class, and encourage them to ask questions in class and during office hours. Thus, this will put pressure on the professor to interact more with the students. Furthermore, you should definitely stay active in class by not simply writing down notes, but also thinking critically about them. When you do that, more questions will arise, and you will encourage your professor to be more active, and help you understand the material deeply. Finally, it is very important to do extra reading on your own. This will not only expand your knowledge, but also express interest in the professor’s course.
One of the biggest issues that arise while studying is knowing only one or two perspectives of the same concept, and believing that our perspective is the right one. The first way to deal with this is to understand that an expert has a perspective. Just like us, professors shaped their point of views from values, religion, family habits, and early schooling. Since each person grew up around different values, then several perspectives will arise. Second, you must realize that facts arise from personal perspective first. The person who came to the realization of those facts had to have seen the material from his own perspective when observing, selecting, stating, organizing, and interpreting information. Thus, these facts can be subject to different interpretations. They might mean different things to people. Third, you must not let your biases distort the information you receive. We tend to project what we are feeling or thinking, rather than trying to understand other unique perspectives that can shape the way we view things. In addition to that, you need to learn to be open-minded. We tend to seek people who have similar perspectives to ours and those who agree with what we say. To become an active learner, you must share your point of view with people who disagree with you, and learn to listen to them. If enough evidence is presented, you shouldn’t be scared to change your opinion or point of view on a certain topic. In order to put yourself in such debates, you need to find sources where multiple perspectives arise. This includes latest news, new legislation, articles from newsletters and editors, and books. You can choose a topic (like abortion or tax cuts) and then talk to your classmates about it. Multiple point of views will arise, and you will look at each issue from a different angle. Finally, you should study unassigned readings because when professors choose topics from your textbook, it’s hard to get exposed to different perspectives. You can check out more books about the same topic at the library, and thus you’ll explore a wider range of perspectives.
As I was studying this semester, I adopted some of the tips mentioned previously. I started studying at the library which helped me form a study group of active learners. Second, I helped my friends become active learners by making them join my study group. Once they saw how enjoyable it is and how much you can learn from it, they started doing the same. Moreover, I had a “Knowledge Dispenser Professor” this semester. He was really hard to deal with. The only thing I could do is go to his office hours and ask him questions. There isn’t much you can do when the professor is unwilling to change his teaching style. Furthermore, due to the study group that I formed, we were able to express our ideas and opinions on different subject materials. Several perspectives were explored, and that made the learning process way more interesting. Sometimes, we would refer to books to explore more point of views that none of us thought of before. In conclusion, these study tips have helped me enhance my learning style and get better grades. Now, I wouldn’t do it any other way.
