People use diverse learning techniques which affect their lives at school and work setting. This Report studies the effects of visual learning mode, and gives details about how it helps a certain individual in studying and completing a degree as well as applying one's own learning style to succeed at work environment.
Introduction:
There are different learning styles, i.e. VARK (visual, auditory, read/write and kinaesthetic). Individuals have one or more preferred learning styles. Although there is no exact combination, one can develop in less dominant style. There are advantageous and drawbacks to these learning styles. The compatibility of learning style and task is an important factor. It also will examine how a preferred learning style would help someone with their studies and at work place.
Main Body:
Learning starts from the womb to the day we depart this life, and it shapes up our disposition in communicating with people and entities in our surroundings and it is important for us to know explicitly what kind of learning style we prefer and how it benefits us in our life.
Understanding about our tendency for certain learning styles is essential in order for us to develop ourselves either in a school or work setting. It is also beneficial as we comprehend our certain traits and relate it to others so that we can learn and communicate effectively on a daily basis while working or studying.
My learning style is multimodal, however I have a tendency towards visual learning according to a VARK learning style assessment test that I took. It is easier for me to remember information that was presented to me via visual medium. However I am better at memorizing things that I see as a picture or a drawing. I like images and good at visualizing situations that helps me seeing the bigger picture of any task.
Every learning style has positive and negative aspects. It habitually takes longer for me to complete certain tasks, and I tend to be distracted by how things look as well as not having good attention to detail. Being aware of the disadvantages for my learning style is important. Once I know my drawbacks, In order to complete my foundation degree successfully, it will be easy for me to focus on those areas to develop my learning skills. The best way to study for me is through underlining key words when I read notes, and drawing diagrams in order to comprehend key concepts, and to associate what I learn with an image in my mind.
At work, as a Driving Instructor, it is significant to identify the learning style of my pupils to help them to achieve their level best. So I will ask them to take the VARK test to discover their preferred learning style. They will have a better learning experience and success by offering to them tasks in the way that will match their learning style.
People with multimodal tendency can be more flexible about how they absorb and convey information than those with a single tendency such as visual or kinaesthetic. However individuals with multimodal tendencies require having in any case two to four distinct styles involved in learning, and this can be a major drawback in effective learning. For instance, an individual with a bimodal Auditory and Read/write outline may need to read about it and convey about it to others prior to the incoming information in which they would trust. A person with a single tendency would acquire the information from their inclined mode assuming it was obtainable in that particular style.
It will be easier for colleagues to work along each other if they know each other's learning style and how it affects the way they are, once they know the drawbacks then they can get along better. This is clearly addressed in the following statement by Wyman;
'So, for example if your friend, ......is a high visual.....learner, he or she will be neat and organized ..... However, if you are a high kinaesthetic roommate, you will tend not to be so organized and be much more impulsive. While that can be attractive in the beginning, ultimately, unless you understand each other's different learning styles, you will actually get on each other's nerves and your relationship as roommates may not fare well' (Wyman, 19 June 2011)
Also the distinction between what students learn and how they prefer to learn is addressed clearly in the following paragraph.
'Stewart and Felicetti, (1992) define learning styles as those "educational conditions under which a student is most likely to learn." Thus, learning styles are not really concerned with what learners learn, but rather how they prefer to learn' (Clark, 2004).
Conclusion:
Finally, knowing one's preferred learning style will yield the best possible efficient outcome for a student's success, and will pave the way to reach higher career goals quickly.
List of References:
Clark, D. R. (29 May 2000), Visual, Auditory, and Kinaesthetic Learning Styles, online at http://www.nwlink.com/~donclark/hrd/styles/vakt.html [accessed 26 May 2012]
Wyman, P (19 June 2011), How Different Learning Styles Affect Your Life, online at http://www.howtolearn.com/2011/06/how-different-learning-styles-affect-your-life [accessed 21 May 2012]
