Learning
Styles Paper
According to the
Multiple Intelligence Inventory test, my strongest suits are interpersonal
(44), intrapersonal (37), linguistic (35), and naturalistic (35). An
interpersonal person has lots of friends, enjoys leading others, and likes
cooperating and sharing. This is a really accurate description of me for the
most part; I love being with friends and large groups of people and being in
the spotlight. If we are to do group work, I would prefer to be the speaker or
leader of the group and have a lot of influence in the group’s work. The next
style of learning for me is intrapersonal, which is characterized by working
alone and being in tune with one’s self. I find nothing more helpful and
soothing than some quality alone time, such as driving around, reading a book
or taking a bubble bath. When it comes to studying for a test, I want no one
around me and no one to study with. I have learned a lot of techniques that
help me remember information for a test and I would prefer to work solo to
prepare for an exam. As a linguistic learner I am good at memorizing names,
dates and trivia; this is also part of the reason why I like to study alone.
Linguistic learners also like to read, write and tell stories. As a
naturalistic learner I like to find out how things work and I am good at
organizing and categorizing information.
According
to the Index of Learning Styles test, I am a reflective (3), sensing (9),
verbal (7) and sequential learner (3). As a reflective learner I prefer to work
alone and follow the “let’s think it through first” method. I would rather take
some time and think about a problem or task so that I can complete it only
once, rather than jumping into it and making mistakes. I am almost in the
middle of the spectrum regarding active and reflective learning styles, and
thus sometimes enjoy working in a group and can be a little impulsive. As a sensing learner I am good at memorizing
details and doing hands-on work. I am very practical and like courses that have
connections to the real world. I find it a huge waste of time to learn about a
subject that has no purpose and will not be used in my future. As a verbal
learner I prefer written and spoken explanations; the best way for me to learn
is to talk it out and write it down. I make to-do lists everyday and am very
successful in completing what I need to do. I am almost in the middle of the
sequential/global spectrum, but lean a little more to the sequential side. As a
sequential learner, I tend to follow linear steps and logical pathways. I
prefer to learn the pieces in order and not jump all over the place.
I
took the VARK test also and found the following results: Visual: 1, Aural: 10, Read/Write: 6, Kinesthetic: 8. As an aural learner it
helps me to attend class, discussions, and tutorials. I would also benefit from
discussing topics with others and explaining the information to other people. I
find that after helping others understand the topic, I have a better
understanding of the material.
All
of these tests described me fairly accurately and had similar results when
compared to each other. For these tests I found that I do not really have one
strong learning style. There are a few learning styles that I do not favor, but
I have some tendencies of most of them. For example, in the Multiple
Intelligences test, my lowest number is 22 but most of my numbers varied from
32-44. This will help me as a teacher because I am not strong in only one
style. I benefit from many techniques and will be able to help students who learn
in all different ways. Sometimes I like to read the information, sometimes I
like to write the information, sometimes I like to play games to help me learn,
sometimes I like to make up rhymes or songs, and sometimes I like to visually
intake the information. Like most people, I do not like to do the exact same
thing over and over and over; I want to change things up and try new and
different techniques. These tests have also made me think more about the styles
of learning and how they affect students. Teachers should keep this in mind and
maybe even have their students take the tests to help both themselves and the
teacher.