Learning is one of the major processes that help many students to grasp important concepts that are elucidated by the teacher while in class and when reading. There are different learning styles that are used by different students although the most common forms of learning include visual, aural, read and write, and kinesthetic. The learning style that is adopted by the student depends on personal abilities of the learner, subject being studied, and the teaching strategy that is used by the teacher. This paper seeks to examine the learning style that I prefer and also compare my it with the identified learning styles.
Summary of The Preferred Learning Style
The most preferred style of learning is reading while taking notes. This style acts as one of the best ways of ensuring that the learner grasps
... the most important contents as elucidated by the author. In this case, the learner only considers the most relevant ideas in the book. The major objective of learning is to ensure that the student understands what he or she is reading and at the same time recall and apply the core ideas when they are needed. This objective is better fulfilled when the learner uses the reading-note taking technique as this process improves the comprehension of the reader. When reading, the learner must ensure that he links the points and at the same time recognize the snippets of the information in the book. Writing notes in one’s words also ensure that the learner is forced to reflect on the ideas that are elucidated in the given text (Clarke & Chesher, 2014).
By doing so, the learner is able to explain what has been
learnt coherently. Furthermore, reading while making few notes enhances memorization of the key academic and professional knowledge. This is based on the fact that the student is able to capture the key issues as part of the objective of learning. It is also important to note that the student ought to keep his or her notes in an organized and well-structured manner. This ensures that one can easily find the topic of interest from the notes. For example, this can be done by using notebook or creating folders on the computer. Apart from taking notes, the learner can also highlight and underline various sections of the text. Even if highlighting texts is not a process of note-taking, it is always a significant step.
The Preferred Learning Strategies
The learning strategies that are preferred include taking few notes while reading, continuous reading and analysis of other books and materials on the same subject, rewriting the key ideas, and drawing diagrams and charts.
Taking few notes while reading; this is the first strategy that is used when learning. It serves an important purpose of ensuring that the learner is able to grasp key issues that are elucidated in the text. According to Tennent (2015), the effectiveness of this strategy can be enhanced by ensuring that every point is summarized and does not exceed fifteen words.
- Continuous reading and analysis of other related materials; this strategy ensures that the learner gets more information on the topic from other authors. In some cases, the book that the student is using might not have enough information and this will require the student to search for more information from related materials.
- Rewriting the key
ideas; the main purpose of this strategy is to emphasize on what was previously read. It involves reconsidering what the author has written through a critical analysis. When the learner rewrites the key ideas, they are in a position to understand what was previously read.
The above strategies help in ensuring that every part of the relevant information is noted and recorded for current and future use. For example, taking notes from the relevant materials such as text books and manuals is the best way of getting an in-depth information concerning the issue in a simple way. It is also a way of revealing concealed information and this serves as a way of knowledge acquisition.
Comparison of Preferred Learning Strategies
As compared to the other forms of reading, reading while taking notes serves a better purpose because it engages the learner to the maximum. Visual learning works by creating images that students can easily remember while auditory learners thrive well in classes that enhance knowledge through verbal communication. Unlike these forms of learning, reading while taking notes allows the student to critically analyze the contents and grasp important ideas from the text. Furthermore, human beings tend to understand more when their senses work in unison (Willon, 2014). It is the connection in the brain that allows human beings to make sense out of their world. Therefore, embracing individual forms of learning as suggested
in the VAK (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic) learning model tends to separate the human senses and this can be detrimental.
Awareness of Individual Learning Styles
The awareness of the above learning styles plays an important role to the educator and the learner. The educator is able to understand the problems that the student may be experiencing and focus on establishing the procedure that favors the student. This makes the learning process effective. Secondly, the awareness on the learning styles plays an important role to the student. The student is able to understand the learning style that suits him or her and the strategies that can be embraced in that learning style.
Conclusion
As indicated above learning style is an important process that affects education. There are different learning styles that are embraced by different student. The selection of the style depends more on the abilities and needs of the student. The strategy that I have been using is reading while taking notes. As discussed above, the strategies that are embraced in this style include taking few notes while reading, continuous reading and analysis of other books and materials on the same subject, rewriting the key ideas, and drawing diagrams and charts. As compared to VAK style, this technique is better because it engages the student’s senses. The awareness on the learning style allows the teacher to meet the needs of the student. The student also gets an opportunity to determine the learning style that better suits him or her.
References
- Clarke, P. J., & Chesher, D. (2014). Developing reading comprehension. Hoboken: Wiley-Blackwell, 2014.
- Tennent, W. (2015). Understanding reading comprehension: Processes and practices. Los Angeles: SAGE.
- Willon, H. (2014). The process
of learning and understanding. Journal of Consciousness Studies, 25(36), 90-94.
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