Approaching studying is not a one-size fits all matter. Knowing your learning style will help you develop the study habits suited to your strengths. Your learning style determines how you retain information the best, increasing your chances of getting through school.
The most common learning styles are visual learning, auditory learning, and kinesthetic learning. You can have one or the other, or even a combination of both in terms of memorization. The difference between each though, is based on the senses used for retaining information. Using these study techniques suited for each style may help you breathe easy when you take your next test.
Visual learner
The visual learner relies on visual aids. Notes are the best visual aids since they give you the most information on hand. Unlike other types of learners, visual learners have a hard time recalling what was said, making note-taking very important. However, while the lecture is ongoing, organizing notes can be difficult. The best approach is to read your notes after class, and rewrite them and organize them in a way that would help you understand the topic better.
Outlining your material is a good way for visual learners to organize their notes. Outlines help create the flow of how the information is stored in their mind. The way it is arranged gives them a visual pattern of the information, which is easily remembered.
To further create a visual stimulus for better recall, visual learners can mark up their lecture notes or material. Marking up information and topics with different colors can enhance the visual pattern. Associating different sections or topics in lecture notes with different colors will help with not only organization but also for retrieval when you are trying to think of an answer to a specific question.
Auditory learner
Auditory learners, as the name suggests, rely on what they hear. If you are an auditory learner, you can better absorb information through the sense of hearing and listening to lectures is the best way for you to retain information. It would help to record lectures on your smartphones or recording devices if allowed. By recording your sessions, you can listen to the lecture again, just if you missed important details of the lecture.
The use of mnemonics is a great technique for auditory learners. Songs, rhyming patterns, or other word association techniques is a fun way to memorize terms. These word association techniques create patterns that the brain can easily store for retrieval because it makes the terms associated with them unique.
Another way to recall notes or lectures is to hear them out loud. Even while taking your test or quiz, you can better retrieve information by reading the test aloud. Hearing the terms can trigger recall because your mind will remember the information associated with the words or even the rhythmic patterns you created when you hear them out loud.
Kinesthetic learner
If you are a kinesthetic learner, you can retain information better when you are doing other activities while studying. Simple activities such as listening to music while studying or even typing out your lecture notes will help you retain information because your mind will associate the lecture content you were thinking about and what your body was doing at the time.
These are just a few of the many techniques you can use while matriculating school. Finding your learning style will help you find the best way to study. You can be one of these types of learners or a combination of both. Try them out and find the studying technique that is best for you.
What did we miss?
