What Are the Different Learning Styles?
Everybody has a unique learning style, which refers to the way they learn best and how they process and retain new information.
Understanding more about your unique learning style enables you to adapt the way you teach yourself new things and form new memories. You can enhance your education and improve your academic performance.
You can learn more about your unique learning style by taking a learning style test, which you can find online. These tests are quick and easy to complete and enable you to learn more about yourself and how your brain works. In turn, you can optimise your learning and revision processes to ensure you get the most out of your studies.
Note that you might enjoy a combination of all three of the following learning styles. They aren’t mutually exclusive! It’s best to try a variety of learning methods, including some visual, some auditory, and some kinaesthetic, to figure out which combination and potential tutoring style are the most effective for you.
Although there are many different ways to categorise learning styles, the most common divisions are visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic. Let’s take a look at what a visual, auditory, or kinaesthetic learner is, and how each type of learner approaches their education.
Visual Learners
Visual learners are those that rely on visual stimuli to absorb and memorise information. This type of learner likes to use images, colours, charts, and diagrams to take in new information.
They may enjoy creating cue cards, colourful posters, and tables to act as visual aids for learning and revision. These visual aids can help them to create mental pictures and connect various ideas and concepts together in a memorable way.
Visual learners tend to be skilled at reading and writing and will happily use textbooks and complex diagrams to supplement their learning.
Auditory Learners
As the name suggests, an auditory learner prefers to learn new information through listening and speaking. They prefer spoken instructions and explanations, and often thrive in discussions, debates, and lectures.
This type of learner tends to enjoy listening to educational podcasts or recorded lectures to learn new information and memorise it. They enjoy making spoken rhymes and pneumonias that enable them to retain information effectively.
Auditory learners may prefer to work in groups as opposed to on their own. They retain more information by discussing things with friends or family and bouncing ideas off other people.
Kinaesthetic Learners
Kinaesthetic learners, also known as tactile learners, retain information through practical work, physical engagement, and hands-on experiences. They enjoy active learning environments where they can participate in role-play, simulations, and hands-on practical work.
A kinaesthetic learner may not do very well sitting in a lecture hall or watching a video online and taking notes. They might not enjoy creating posters and revision notes, as they may not find visual or auditory methods of learning effective.
