Learning
style is the way you tend to learn best. It involves your preferred
method of taking in, organizing, and making sense of information.
Learning styles do not tell us about a person's abilities or
intelligence, but they can help us understand why some tasks seem easier
for us than others.
“Learning
style is sometimes defined as the characteristic cognitive, affective,
social, and physiological behaviors that serve as relatively stable
indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the
learning environment.” (MacKeracher, 2004).
Everyone
has a mix of learning styles. Learners differ in their abilities,
interests, and background knowledge and also may have different learning
preferences. Some learners remember best materials they have seen
(Visual Learner); some remember things they have heard (Auditory
Learner), while others remember things they have experienced (Tactile
Learner). Many children prefer tactile stimulation when young but will
eventually switch to another learning style. Often children rely on
others for direction during the learning process and their learning is
future-oriented and mostly they depend on their parents to design their
learning. Unlike young learners, adult are self-directed learners who
are involved actively in the decide-making process regarding what to
learn and how to learn it; and they validates the information based on
personal beliefs and past experiences. Psychologist Abraham Maslow
categories human needs into hierarchical levels in his 1943 paper "A
Theory of Human Motivation": physiological needs; safety needs; needs of
love, affection and belongingness; needs for esteem; and needs for
self-actualization. These levels influence the motivation of adults to
learn.
In
Conclusion, learners have to find out their best learning preference so
they can learn very easy and natural way. Once you know your own
natural learning preference, you can work on expanding the way you
learn, so that you can learn in other ways, not just in your preferred
style. And, by understanding learning preferences, you can learn to
create an environment in which everyone can learn from you, not just
those who use your preferred style.
Reference
- http://www.learningrx.com/learning-styles.htm
- http://adulteducation.wikibook.us/index.php?title=Learning_Styles
- http://berryslearningstyles.com/generalLS.cfm
- http://www.changemag.org/Archives/Back%20Issues/September-October%202010/the-myth-of-learning-full.html
- Learn More Now, Marcia L. Conner, 2004
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