A guide to learning styles

Click on the links below or scroll down to read more about these topics:

Visual_Learner:_Learns_by_seeing_and_writing
   Visual_Learner:_Strengths
   Visual_Learner:_How_to_study_in_class
   Visual_Learner:_How_to_study_from_a_book
   Visual_Learner:_How_to_study_from_notes
   Visual_Learner:_Optimal_study_environment
   Visual_Learner:_Writing_a_paper

Kinesthetic_Learner:_Learns_by_experience_and_doing
   Kinesthetic_Learner:_Strengths
   Kinesthetic_Learner:_How_to_study_in_class
   Kinesthetic_Learner:_How_to_study_from_a_book
   Kinesthetic_Learner:_How_to_study_from_notes
   Kinesthetic_Learner:_Optimal_study_environment
   Kinesthetic_Learner:_Writing_a_paper

Auditory_Learner:_Learns_by_hearing_discussing
   Auditory_Learner:_Strengths
   Auditory_Learner:_How_to_study_in_class
   Auditory_Learner:_How_to_study_from_a_book
   Auditory_Learner:_How_to_study_from_notes
   Auditory_Learner:_Optimal_study_environment
   Auditory_Learner:_Writing_a_paper

Reflection_Questions

Learning_Style_Links

I.  Visual Learner: Learns by seeing and writing

A. Strengths:

1. Remembers what they read, write and re-write.
2. Enjoys visual projects and presentations.
3. Can remember diagrams, charts, maps well.
4. Writing information helps them orient and remember information. Back to top.

B. In class you should:

1. Take notes! Write everything down! Write down what is on the board, as well as EVERYTHING the teacher says.  Underline and star the important points as you go.  (You will need to go back and rewrite and reorganize the notes, and underline and star important points).
2. If you miss something a teacher says or do not understand, ask politely if they could repeat or explain. Also indicate in your notes parts of the lecture that you do not understand.
3. Even when you are not writing, still have a pen in your hand - it will activate your thinking.
4. Sit close to the front of the room so you can:
   1. See the notes on the board, so you can write them all down.  You can see how the teacher is structuring the lecture - which points they think are important.
   2. See the person who is speaking to you; it will help you focus.  Also, visual learners are good at picking up facial mannerisms, as visual learners understand visual cues from others.
   3. Visual learners will get distracted if see other things happening in classroom - minimize distractions by sitting in front of room, away from windows, and away from the door. Back to top.

C. When studying for test—studying content from the book:

1. Before reading a chapter or a book, preview it first by scanning the pictures, heading and so on to get the main ideas and understand how the chapter is organized.  This is a whole-to-part approach when you scan the pictures, then read heading, then read the first and last paragraphs and try to get a feel for the book.  
2. Read-underline book, star important points, use colored sticky notes and take notes on important things in the book (use pencil if the book is not yours.  It is important to identify main points in book when reading-use pencil and erase when turn book back in.) Picking out important points activates your brain and causes you to interact with the material.  Critical for visual learners.  Write down both main points and important details.
3. May want to look at visual representations of material—diagram or charts that may organize the information for you in a different way.
4. Go through your notes and figure out what you do not understand from the book.  Write down your questions and go to the teacher to talk about the marks/topics you do not understand.  Make sure to write down the teacher's response-do not try to remember what they say. Back to top.

D.  When studying for a test—studying class notes:

1. Go through class notes, underline important terms, topics or points.  Make stars for important points, big question marks for topics you do not understand, or write other comments on your notes.  May want to use highlighters, or different colors for different terms/classifications.
2. Figure out what you do not understand, write down your questions or make question marks in your notes.  Then, go back and ask questions to teacher about the marks/topics you do not understand.
3. Re-organize and re-write notes after you have spoken with the teacher.  Re-organizing and re-writing is critical for your brain to organize the material.
4. Keep re-writing your notes.  Make one-page study sheet of information you need to remember.  If the teacher has given you a review sheet, make sure to include all of the information in the re-writing of your notes and of your final review sheet.  Develop ways to remember important lists (i.e. 5 important reasons for WWII.)  Use the first letter from each term and come up with a word or a sentence.
5. Then write down the headers/important topics from your review sheet and questions from a review sheet (if the teacher gives you one.)  Put away your notes and try to recreate your review sheet—answering the questions.  Figure out what you do and what you do not remember, then focus on creating a way to remember that material (i.e. new word/sentence.)
6. You may also want to try your own flashcards.  Look at them often and write out the main points, then check. Back to top.

E.  Environment you should study in:

1. Because you need to see the material to remember it, it is best to learn along, focusing on individualized ways to remember material.  May work together to develop ways to remember the material and understand the material, but reading, taking book-notes, and re-writing notes is better done alone.
2. Work in a place where you are not distracted by anything you see.  This is why working in places where there are visual distractions like people, TVs, computers, or moving things will be very difficult.
3. Try to work in a quiet place.  Wear earmuffs or earplugs if necessary.  Some visual learners do, however, like soft music in the background (baroque music is best – as opposed to heavily rhythm-based music.) Back to top.

F.  When Writing Paper:

1. Put prompt at top of paper, separate out the questions or the structure of the paper, and outline what needs to be covered, in the structure that the teacher expects.  You should brainstorm with pen/pencil and paper, not on a computer, to get your hand moving and your brain moving.
2. May want to keep this format, even on the computer until close to the editing process.
3. Write outline-brainstorm on paper – hard for visual learners to just sit down and write a paper.  May want to use diagrams, or write out questions and leave space to answer them.
4. Show teacher outline.  Bring concerns/frustrations/challenges about the paper to the teacher so you can talk about them.  Make sure these concerns are written down.  Any suggestions the teacher makes write them down – do not try to remember them.
5. Make suggested corrections.
6. Print out paper and edit hard copy – do not only edit online.  Visual learners need to mark it up because they will see errors more easily on paper. Back to top.

II.  Kinesthetic Learner: Learns by experience and doing

A.  Strengths

1. Remembers what they DO, what they experience with their hands or bodies (movement and touch).
2. Enjoys using tools or lessons which involve active/practical participation.
3. Can remember how to do things after they've done them once (motor memory).
4. Often have good motor coordination – often good at sports, dancing, musical instruments, or other skills that require actively using your body. Back to top.

B.  In class:

1. Take notes!! Write down everything!!  Write down what is on the board, as well as EVERYTHING the teacher says.  Underline and star the important points as you go.  (You will need to go back and rewrite and reorganize the notes, and underline and star important points.)  Writing will activate the kinesthetic learner's brain – the learner should be moving while learning.
2. If you miss something a teacher says or do not understand, ask politely if they could repeat or explain.  Also indicate in your notes parts of the lecture that you do not understand.
3. Even when you are not writing, still hold a pen in your hand, it will activate your thinking.
4. Ask questions and participate in class discussions.
5. Sit close to the front of the room so you can:
   • See the notes on the board, so you can write them down.  You can see how the teacher is structuring the lecture – which points they think are important.
   • See the person who is speaking to you; it will help you focus.  You will also be closer to the moving teacher.  Kinesthetic learners are good at picking up on teacher's body movements, and understanding what the teacher is emphasizing based on body language.
   • Kinesthetic learners will get distracted if they see other things happening or moving in the classroom.  Because the kinesthetic learner's brain is activated by movement, his/her attention will focus on movement – even if it is not the teacher.  Minimize distractions by sitting in the front of the room, away from windows, away from the door, and away from chatty friends
6. If you need to fidget, try doing so in a way that will not disturb others or endanger         yourself or others.  Try jiggling your legs or feet, try hand/finger exercises, or         handle a koosh ball, tennis ball or something similar.  Do not do anything that might     be a moving distraction to others. Back to top.

C.  When studying for a test – studying content from the book:

1. Before reading a chapter or a book, preview it first by scanning the pictures, headings and so on to get the main ideas and understand how the chapter is organized.  This is a whole-to-part approach when you scan the pictures, then read headings, then read the first and last paragraphs and try to get a feel for the book.
2. Read and underline book, star important points, use colored sticky notes, and take notes on important things in the book (use a pencil if the book is not yours.  It is important to identify main points in book when reading – use pencil and erase when turn back in book.)  Picking out important points activates your brain and causes you to interact with the material.  Critical for kinesthetic learners.  Write down both main points and important details.
3. Go through your notes and figure out what you do not understand from the book.  Write down your questions and go to the teacher to talk about the marks/topics you do not understand.  Make sure to write down the teacher's response – do not try to remember what they say.  Talking about the material is important for kinesthetic learners, especially when they are trying to understand something. Back to top.

D.  When studying for a test – studying class notes:

1. Go through class notes, underline important terms, topics or points.  Make stars for important points, big questions marks for topics you do not understand, or write other comments on your notes.  May want to use highlighters, or different colors for different terms/classifications.
2. Figure out what you do not understand, write down your questions or make question marks in your notes.  Then, go ask questions to teacher about the marks/topics you do not understand.  Talking about your questions is important for kinesthetic learners because the information is now moving – not staying on the page.
3. Re-organize and re-write notes after you have spoken with the teacher.  Reorganizing and rewriting is critical for your brain to organize the material.
4. Keep re-writing your notes.  Make one-page study sheet of information you need to remember.  If the teacher has given you a review sheet, make sure to include all of the information in the re-writing of your notes and of your final review sheet.  Develop ways to remember important lists (i.e. 5 important reasons for WWII).  Use the first letter from each term and come up with a word or sentence.
5. Then write down the headers/important topics from your review and questions from a review sheet if your teacher gave you one.  Put away your notes and try to recreate your review sheet – answering the questions.  Figure out what you do not remember, then focus on creating a way to remember that material (i.e. new word/sentence).
6. You may also want to try to write your own flashcards.  Look at them often and write out the main points, then check.  Writing out and reviewing flash cards is a great moving way to study.
7. To memorize, pace or walk around while reciting to yourself or using flashcards or notes.
8. When trying to memorize information, try closing your eyes and writing the information in the air or on a surface with your finger.  Try to picture the words in your head as you are doing this.  Try to hear the words in your head, too.
9. Later, when you try to remember this information, close your eyes and try to see it with your mind's eye and to hear it in your head.
10. May use colored paper, or colored markers to classify different topics and remember different categories – on flashcards, notes, book, etc. Back to top.

E. Environment you should study in:

1. Because you need to experience the material to remember it, it is best to learn alone, focusing on ways to experience the material – by re-writing it and doing flashcards.  It may be helpful to work together to develop ways to remember the material and understand the material, but reading, taking book-notes, re-writing notes and doing flashcards are better done alone.
2. Work in a place where you are not distracted by anything you see – minimize the movement around you.  This is why working in places where there are visual distractions like people, TVs, computers or moving things will be very difficult.
3. Some kinesthetic learners do like soft music in the background (baroque music is best – as opposed to heavily rhythm-based music).
4. You might not study best while at a desk.  Try lying on your stomach or back.  Try studying while sitting in a comfortable lounge chair or on cushions or a bean bag, unless you find it makes you less alert, or even sleepy.
5. While studying, take frequent breaks, but be sure to settle back down to work quickly.  A reasonable schedule would be 15-25 minutes of study, 3-5 minutes of break time. Back to top.

F.  When writing a paper

1. Put prompt at top of paper, separate out the questions or the structure of the paper, and outline what needs to be covered, in the structure that the teacher expects.  You should brainstorm with pen/pencil and paper, not on a computer, to get your hand moving and your brain moving.  Kinesthetic learners may need to brainstorm with someone else—to talk it out so that their brain is activated.
2. May want to keep this format, even on the computer until close to the editing process.
3. Write outline-brainstorm on paper-hard for kinesthetic learners to just sit down and write paper.  May want to use diagrams, or write out questions and leave space to answer them.
4. Show teacher outline.  Bring concerns/frustrations/challenges about the paper to the teacher so you can talk about them.  Make sure these concerns are written down.  Any suggestions the teacher makes.  Write them down-do not try to remember them.
5. Make suggested corrections.
6. Print out paper and edit hard copy—do not only edit online.  Kinesthetic learners need to mark it up because they will see errors more easily on paper.  Also, having a pencil in one's hand while actively making corrections engages the brain.  Back to top.

III.  Auditory Learner:  Learns by hearing/discussing

A.  Strengths:

1. Remembers what they hear and say.
2. Enjoys classroom and small-group discussion.
3. Can remember oral instructions well.
4. Understands information best when they HEAR it.
5. Also helpful to talk about it. Back to top.

B.  In class:

1. Take notes!  Listen carefully! Write down what is on the board, as well as EVERYTHING the teacher says.  Underline and star the important points as you go.  (You will need to go back and rewrite and reorganize the notes, and underline and star important points.)
2. If you miss something a teacher says or do not understand, ask politely if they could repeat or explain.  Also indicate in your notes parts of the lecture that you do not understand.  
3. You may want to bring a tape recorder to class and record important lectures so you can listen again to them later.
4. Ask questions and participate in class discussions.
5. Sit close to the front of the room so you can:

1. See the notes on the board, so you can write them down.  You can see how the teacher is structuring the lecture—which pointes they think are important.  
2. Hear the person that is speaking—if you cannot hear them, it will be difficult for you to understand or memorize the material.  Also, auditory learners are good at picking up on a teacher's tone, and identifying important parts of the lecture.
3. Auditory learners will get distracted if he/she hears any noise inside or outside of the classroom.  Because the auditory learner's brain is activated by noise, his/her attention will focus on noise—even if it is not the teacher's voice.  Minimize distractions by sitting in front of room, away from windows, doors and people who talk—chatty friends. Back to top.

C. When studying for test—studying content from the book:

1. Before reading a chapter in a book, preview it first by scanning the pictures, headings and so on to get the main ideas and understand how the chapter is organized.  This is a whole-to-part approach when you scan the pictures, then read headings, then read the first and last paragraphs and try to get a feel for the book.
2. Then say out loud what you think this book could be about.
3. Read out loud when possible.  You need to HEAR the words as you read them to understand them well.
4. Read-underline book, star important points, use colored sticky notes and take notes on important things in the book (use a pencil if the book is not yours.  It is important to identify main points in book when reading-use pencil and erase when turn back in.)  Picking out important points activates your brain and causes you to interact with the material.  Take notes on important points and details.  
5. Go through your notes and figure out what you do not understand from the book.  Write down your questions and go to the teacher to talk about the marks/topics you do not understand.  Make sure to write down the teacher's response—do not try to remember what they say.  Talking about and hearing others talk about the material is important for auditory learners, especially when they are trying to understand something. Back to top.

D. When studying for a test—studying class notes

1. Go though class notes, underline important terms, topics and points.  Make stars for important points, big question marks for topics you do not understand, or write other comments on your notes.  May want to use highlighters, or different colors for different terms/classifications.  
2. Figure out what you do not understand, write down your questions or make question marks in your notes.  Then, go ask questions to teacher about the marks/topics you do not understand.  Talking about your questions is important for auditory learners because you will hear yourself and your teacher talking about the material.
3. Re-organize and re-write notes after you have spoken with the teacher.  Re-organizing and re-writing is critical for your brain to organize the material.
4. Make one-page study sheet of information you need to remember.  If the teacher has given you a review sheet, make sure to include all of the information in the re-writing of your notes and of your final review sheet.  Develop ways to remember important lists (i.e. 5 important reasons for WWII.)  Use the first letter from each term and come up with a word or a sentence.
5. Then write down the headers/important topics from your review sheet and questions from a review sheet (if your teacher gave you one) Put away your notes and try to recreate your review sheet-answering the questions.  Figure out what you do and do not remember, then focus on creating a way to remember that material (i.e new word/sentence).
6. Say out loud the important points.  Explain your notes verbally to someone else, or to yourself.
7. Make flashcards of important points, then recite them aloud.  Explain each one out loud.
8. Study with a friend so you can talk about the information and HEAR it too.
9. Recite out loud the information you want to remember several times.
10. Make your own tapes of important points you want to remember and listen to, if repeatedly.  This is especially useful for learning material for tests. Back to top.

E. Environment you should study in:

1. Because you need to hear the material to remember it, it is important to hear yourself and others explain the material.  It may be helpful to work together to develop ways to remember the material and understand it but reading, taking book-notes, re-writing notes and doing flashcards are better done alone.
2. Work in a place where you are not distracted by anything you hear—minimize the noise around you.  This is why working in places where there are noisy distractions like people, TVs, computers, people or moving things will be difficult.  
3. Some auditory learners do like soft-music in the background (baroque music is best – as opposed to heavily rhythm-based music.) However, other auditory learners are distracted by music. Back to top.

F. When writing a paper

1. Put prompt at top of paper, separate out the questions or the structure of the paper, and outline what needs to be covered in the structure the teacher expects.  You should brainstorm by yourself talking out the questions and ideas, then record the ideas.  It may also be helpful to brainstorm with someone else—to talk it out, so that your brain is activated.
2. Show teacher outline.  Bring concerns/frustrations/challenges about the paper to the teacher so you can talk about them.  Make sure these concerns are written down.  Any suggestions the teacher makes, write down—do not try and remember them.
3. Make suggested corrections.
4. Print out paper and edit hard copy—do not edit online.  Read your paper loud so you can hear your mistakes.  You may need to do this a few times until the paper is at its best. Back to top.

Reflection Questions

1. What is your top learning style?
2. What is your second top learning style?
3. What are your strengths—discuss first and second learning styles.
   1. First learning style:
   2. Second learning style
4. According to your learning style:
   1. In class, what should you do that you do not?  Why should you do these things?  (Please remember to number things you don't do)
   2. When studying from the book, what should you do that you don't?  Why ?

Sources: Suzanne White, M.Ed., Harvard University; PhD candidate, Harvard University; Abiator Online Education; LD Online, About.com.

Back to top.

Learning style links

Online learning styles tests
Abiator's Online Learning Styles Inventory offers learning styles
tests, an Analytical/Global Thinker Test" and the Multiple Intelligences Assessment." The tests are intended to help people better understand ways they process information according to their learning styles.

Learning Styles and Multiple Intelligence
LD Pride offers examples of how people with learning disabilities and ADD can adapt how
they study to match their learning styles.

Strategies, assessments and profiles
About.com offers several links to learn more about Learning Styles. At this site, find
links for Learning Style strategies, assessments, how teachers use learning styles to increase effectiveness in the classroom and profiles of kinesthetic, auditory and visual learners.

Back to top.