Learning Styles

 

In one of the lectures I took part in at university they suggested that we complete the Honey and Mumfords Learning Style questionnaire to establish what type of learner we are (https://www.ilfm.org.uk/cms/document/ILFM_Learning_Styles_Resource_TK_09Oct17_Ver1.0.pdf). Initially I thought this sounds like a waste of time but did it anyway. Now I feel completely differently because it really did help me through my degree to know what worked for me and how to get the best out of me.

I have found that I learn best when I am able to discuss what has been learnt through with someone because when I try to recall the information, I can link it to the discussion that was had at the time. An example of this would be how I revised for my law exam, instead of just writing and rewriting notes and a practice answer for the seen question I revised with someone else. We would test each other on different laws, legislations and what sat where. We also talked through our answers to the seen questions. For me this did two things, firstly it meant that it stuck in my head more and secondly it allowed me to bounce ideas off someone else. If she asked me about something I had written it would either encourage me to reword it because it didn’t flow or change it completely because it wasn’t saying what I needed it to. This technique definitely worked well because I came out with my highest score of my degree on that law exam.

I have attended a lot of training courses both prior to starting my degree when I was a nursery nurse and since then both whilst on placement and in post. Due to the pandemic a lot of these have been online for safety purposes and I have noticed that there seems to be two different styles of online teaching. One I get a lot from and really enjoy whereas the other I really struggle to maintain concentration and don’t get a lot from it. I found it was the same when I was at university, it depended on the lectures style.

I have found that when anything is presented to me in a way that I describe as “death by powerpoint” I get very little from it. By that I mean that when someone has created a presentation and basically just reads off it. I could get the same information from reading that in my own time so what do I gain from attending the course itself, other than potentially awkward icebreakers.

I much prefer a mixed approach where although the person does need to at times go through information on a presentation, they also add extra to it. They have activities that are interactive instead of just asking people for their opinions because I find a lot of the time when asked there are only a couple of people who every speak up and I am always one of them. Whereas if you are put into smaller breakout rooms and asked to discuss something even those people that are quieter are usually happy to talk in front of a small group or a couple of other people.

I am fortunate because I have a pretty good memory so I can retain information shared with me. This can be a hindrance and a help because if someone else is struggling to understand I sit back and spend that time just waiting for us to move onto the next thing but is also a help because I can then go share that with others. I can also explain it to people who maybe couldn’t get it from the training course itself.

I think it is important to learn what works for you in all areas of life but especially in how you best retain information because if you know then you can share that with others to help achieve better outcomes.