Know your learning style to succeed in college
Are you wondering if your learning style impacts how to learn new things in college? Do you find yourself struggling to retain information or keep up with lectures?
The problem might be with the way you’re trying to learn— not with how intelligent you are or how much effort you’re making.
Everyone has a unique way of processing information, and understanding your learning style can be key to succeeding in college.
Making sense of the different ways you learn new information most easily can help you develop study habits and testing strategies that reflect and support your predominant learning style.
In university courses, you have to absorb, understand, and master huge amounts of information quickly—then take challenging exams to prove that you know the material.
In higher education, the main teaching style is a lecture format. This is fine for students who like auditory learning, or learning by listening. But for many students, lectures aren’t the best way they learn.
Understand learning styles
By understanding your own learning styles and adapting your study strategies accordingly, you can unlock your full potential and make the most of your educational opportunities.
Identifying and understanding your preferred learning style will help you create note-taking strategies, visual aids, and study techniques to help you succeed in college.
In this blog post, we’ll explore the concept of learning styles, discuss different approaches to identifying your own learning style, and offer tips and strategies for adapting your study habits to align with your unique preferences.
Whether you’re a visual learner, an auditory learner, a reading/writing learner, or a kinesthetic learner, this post will help you understand your strengths and weaknesses, and offer practical tips for achieving your academic goals.
What are Learning Styles?
A learning style or learning preference refers to how an individual best learns new information. Students have different learning styles.
Your learning style or learning preference falls somewhere on the spectrum of your strengths and weaknesses, your personality, and all the other characteristics that make you you.
The theory of learning styles suggests that individuals have a dominant or preferred mode of learning, but it’s important to note that this isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.
Many people have a mix of learning styles and can adapt their learning approach to suit different situations.
By understanding your own learning style preferences, you can tailor your study strategies to align with your strengths and weaknesses, improving your chances of retaining and applying new information.
There’s no good or bad learning style. The goal behind understanding learning styles is for you to master the material being taught, so you can succeed in your college classes.
Know your learning style for college
If you understand your learning style, you’ll have an easier time learning everything you need to know in college courses.
Knowing your learning style will give you insight on how to learn in ways that will be most effective for you!
Sometimes you may feel like it’s very difficult to learn new things. Maybe that’s because you haven’t been approaching learning in the way that is easiest for you.
- If you are a social learner who learns best in group discussions, then group work might be more effective for you than studying alone.
- If you are a verbal learner, you might want to listen to college lectures multiple times.
- If you are a spatial-visual learner, you could learn better by studying charts, models, and maps.
- If you’re a reading/writing learner, you’ll love taking detailed notes about the subject matter.
Thinking about your learning preference will help you study more effectively and learn more. The best study techniques are the ones that help you retain the information.
There are multiple teaching methods, instructional strategies, note-taking tactics, and test-taking strategies for different styles of learning.
No matter what type of learner you are, there are various ways to create a better learning environment and more effective learning strategies specific to you and your own learning preferences!
What college students should know About different learning styles
Chances are, you will recognize your learning preference in several of these descriptions. Most people have two or three dominant learning styles.
Also, students sometimes find that they have different styles of learning in different disciplines. So you might have a different learning process or study style in a math class than in a history class.
different types of learning styles & how to use your learning style to your advantage in college
Social Learning style
Social learners like to learn by interacting with other people. They like to share their thoughts with others and hear others’ ideas. They like group projects and working with others.
Strategies for Social learners:
- Work and study with partners or in groups
- Discuss new material with classmates and learn from their perspectives
- Interact with TAs, professors, or tutors
Solitary Learning Style
Solitary learners prefer to process and refine their insights and perspectives on their own. They prefer to work through problems independently rather than getting outside help.
Strategies for solitary learners:
- Schedule time to work or study when they can focus without interruptions
- Study on their own
- Review research and complete projects independently
- Seek out lots of resources (books, online videos, etc.)
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Need help creating a study plan for college
Aural/Auditory Learning Style
Aural or auditory learners absorb knowledge by listening. Auditory learners benefit from listening to lectures (maybe more than once) and using the power of song, rhythm, and rhyme to remember concepts.
Strategies for Aural or Auditory learners:
- Listen to music, rhythms, or other sounds while they study
- Create mnemonic devices to remember information
- Record and relisten to lectures and discussions
- Discuss new information with others
- Read aloud
- Ask professors to re-explain information that’s hard to understand
Verbal or reading/writing Learning Style
Verbal learners process new information best by reading and writing. Reading books and writing notes helps them understand and retain course material.
Reading and writing learners like words, both written and spoken.
strategies for Verbal learners:
- Outline and summarize lecture content
- Participate in study groups and class discussions
- Take advantage of office hours to meet with professors and TAs
- Relisten to recorded lectures
Spatial-Visual Learning Style
Spatial-visual learners benefit from seeing pictures, charts, graphs, or even actual things. Spatial-visual learners prefer to color code things, draw diagrams, and create visual learning prompts. The use of maps and models will probably be helpful.
Strategies for Visual learners:
- Examine diagrams, photographs, blueprints, flow charts, or other visual guides
- Rewatch recorded lectures
- Create animations, flow charts, timelines, or concept maps of the material
- Use sketches, highlighters, or colored pens to enrich and organize your notes
- Use flashcards to isolate important concepts
Physical/kinesthetic Learning Style
Physical or kinesthetic learners process information by trying things, doing experiments, or seeing the information in action.
Kinesthetic learning styles include physical activity, movement, and hands-on learning.
Kinesthetic or tactile learners need to move around, touch things, and physically engage with the topic. They also like to talk through problems and solutions.
Strategies for Physical learners:
- Study with a study group
- Meet with the TA or professor to discuss difficult or confusing concepts
- Participate in all hands-on opportunities (labs, fieldwork, etc.)
- Create models
- Use fidget devices or sit on an exercise ball
- Change positions and take frequent breaks while studying
Reflective Learning Style
Reflective learners learn by thinking about what they’ve been taught. They prefer to study notes and think through the implications of what they’ve learned.
Strategies for Reflective learners:
- Take notes when reading and summarize each reading assignment
- Review class notes regularly
- Think about the material while doing other things
Sensing Learning Style
Sensing learners like practical information, proven facts, and concrete knowledge.
Strategies for Sensing learners:
- Make real-world connections with the material being taught
- Create charts, graphs, and diagrams
- Research topics of interest
Intuitive Learning Styles
Intuitive learners look at the big picture and broad ideas. They prefer to examine abstract concepts, theories, and overall patterns.
Strategies for Intuitive learners:
- Look for theoretical connections between material learned in different classes (history and science, for example)
- Discuss interpretations with classmates and professors
- Be careful not to overlook important details while focusing on the big picture
Logical/Sequential learning Style
Logical learners want to process information in a logical, step-by-step, systematic manner. They like structured lessons, ordered steps, and a linear process for learning new things.
Strategies for Logical or Sequential learners:
- Organize material in logical order
- Consider how the new material relates to already-known information
- If material is presented out of order, reorder notes and lecture outlines
- Create simulations to test theories
- Look for patterns and relationships between concepts
Global Learning Style
Global learners take in information in a holistic way, combining seemingly random concepts and topics to reach conclusions. They may seem disorganized, but they creatively make connections between broad ideas and often come up with out-of-the-box solutions.
Strategies for Global learners:
- Immerse themselves in topics of interest
- Find connections between new and familiar information
- Read summaries or comparisons before reading individual studies or articles.
What’s the Research say about Learning Styles?
Early Research
Early research in the United States on learning styles dates back to the 1950s and 1960s, when psychologists and educators began to explore how individuals process information and how this can be used to improve learning outcomes.
One influential researcher in the field of learning styles is Howard Gardner, who proposed the theory of multiple intelligences in the 1980s. Gardner suggested that individuals have different types of intelligences, including verbal-linguistic, logical-mathematical, spatial-visual, bodily-kinesthetic, musical-rhythmic, interpersonal, and intrapersonal. According to Gardner, each individual has a unique combination of these intelligences.
In the 1980s, David Kolb developed a model of experiential learning that included four different learning styles: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. Kolb’s model emphasizes the importance of experience in the learning process, and suggests that individuals cycle through these four learning styles as they engage with new information and experiences.
Peter Honey and Alan Mumford also made significant contributions to the study of learning styles in the 1980s. They proposed a model that identified four different learning styles: activist, reflector, theorist, and pragmatist. According to their model, individuals have a preferred learning style that is based on their personality type and cognitive preferences.
The VARK learning style model was developed by Neil Fleming and colleagues in the late 1980s. The VARK model is based on the idea that individuals have different preferences for how they learn best. Some people may prefer to learn by seeing (Visual), others by hearing (Auditory), while others may prefer to read and write (Reading/Writing), and still others may prefer to learn by doing (Kinesthetic).
Modern Research
Since then, the concept of learning styles has been further developed and studied by numerous researchers in the fields of psychology, education, and neuroscience. While the idea of learning styles has generated some controversy and debate, it continues to be a popular topic of research and discussion among educators and researchers alike.
While earlier research focused primarily on identifying and categorizing different types of learning styles, modern research is more focused on understanding how different factors, such as motivation and self-regulation, can impact learning outcomes.
Modern research on learning styles also focuses on understanding how personality traits can impact learning preferences. Research has found that certain personality traits, such as extraversion, neuroticism, and openness to experience, can influence the way individuals prefer to learn.
Modern research disputes the idea of being able to classify students’ learning styles into discreet categories, but has noted “it is undoubtedly the case that a particular student will sometimes benefit from having a particular kind of course content presented in one way versus another.” (Pashler, et al.)
Overall, modern research on learning styles is focused on understanding the complex interactions between individual differences, learning preferences, and educational environments.
Final Thoughts on Understanding Your Learning Style in College
Thinking about your learning style and understanding how you process information may help you get the most out of lectures, study more effectively, and do well in college.
The concept of learning styles is complex and multifaceted. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to identifying or accommodating different learning styles.
It’s totally normal for students to have different learning styles from each other. There is no one single way students learn.
Students’ learning styles may be similar or totally different, and that’s fine. Having different learning styles don’t mean a student isn’t smart enough for college or isn’t making an effort.
Students might have a single preferred learning style. However, it’s more likely that using a few different approaches will help students learn new material.
Most individuals likely have a combination of different learning preferences. They may switch between different modes of learning depending on the situation and context.
By understanding their preferred learning styles, a student will be able to use the right study strategies to learn, retain information, and do well on college level exams.
Remember, there are probably several learning preferences that work best for you. Use your understanding of how you learn to craft your study plan, test-taking strategies, and study habits!
Using effective learning strategies, depending on your own personal unique learning style, will give you a better chance of academic success in college!
