Lesson 1: The Principles of Learning

5 - The Power of Personal Learning Styles

How do people acquire information and learn about their world? People use their senses to gain information about events around them. Individuals store the information they acquire in certain kinds of memory tapes as they are learning about their world. However, individuals receive and process data about the world in different ways. You may have an entirely different learning style than your best friend or your family members.

Neurolinguistic programming or NLP is the study of the structure of learning experiences. What individuals sense externally is translated into internal memory systems. The way information is absorbed and stored has great significance in the way that information is recalled and used.

Of our five senses, only three are widely used by individuals as major input channels for collecting data about our surroundings. These sensory channels are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic/tactual. Visual and auditory are self-explanatory. Kinesthetic refers to whole body experiences involving feelings, emotions, and motion itself. Tactual, which is the other part of that channel, means learning by touching.

Everyone uses all channels to some degree, but each individual has a preferred channel. The most highly valued channel is the one that the person typically uses to bring information into the conscious. It is the one used to represent the world and the individual’s experiences. What is your preferred channel? Probably by the end of this section you will have a very clear picture of your learning style. It is easy to get in tune with your own preference after you understand the basic data. Then you will have a feel for the learning style that is most comfortable for you.

Different types of learners include the following:

The Visual Learning
The Kinesthetic or Tactual Learner
The Auditory Learner

Individuals have a primary communication channel they rely upon during times of stress or when problem solving. Besides having a dominant or favoured learning style, the learner also has a secondary choice. People have widely different preferences. For example, some may have two sensory channels that are almost equally comfortable. Others may have one very dominant channel, and they may seldom use the remaining channels.

How can one’s learning style be determined?
Learning preferences can be detected by taking the "What is Your Learning Style?" Quiz

Summary of Learning Styles

• take numerous detailed notes
• tend to sit in the front
• are usually neat and clean
• often close their eyes to visualize or remember something
• find something to watch if they are bored
• like to see what they are learning
• benefit from illustrations and presentations that use color
• are attracted to written or spoken language rich in imagery
• prefer stimuli to be isolated from auditory and kinesthetic distraction
• find passive surroundings ideal

• sit where they can hear but needn't pay attention to what is happening in front
• may not coordinate colors or clothes, but can explain why they are wearing what they are wearing and why
• hum or talk to themselves or others when bored
• acquire knowledge by reading aloud
• remember by verbalizing lessons to themselves (if they don't they have difficulty reading maps or diagrams or handling conceptual assignments like mathematics).

• need to be active and take frequent breaks
• speak with their hands and with gestures
• remember what was done, but have difficulty recalling what was said or seen
• find reasons to tinker or move when bored
• rely on what they can directly experience or perform
• activities such as cooking, construction, engineering and art help them perceive and learn
• enjoy field trips and tasks that involve manipulating materials
• sit near the door or someplace else where they can easily get up and move around
• are uncomfortable in classrooms where they lack opportunities for hands-on experience
• communicate by touching and appreciate physically expressed encouragement, such as a pat on the back