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Articles of Interest

Monday, August 25, 2003

What is your Learning Style?

If you have ever sat under a teacher that you ‘connected’ with and you were able to learn by leaps and bounds most likely the teacher taught with the same learning style the you learn by. Or if you can remember listening to a teacher that tried everything he knew to teach a good class but you still felt lost or uninterested then, most likely, that person did not have your learning style.
Knowing what your style of learning is not only helps you know how to learn best, but also it will show you what style your teachers teach by and you can adjust to make it fit yours.
There are 4 main learning styles that were brought out by Dr. Anthony Gregorc. There are two ways of perceiving information and two ways you use information you perceived. The two perception forms are concrete and abstract and the two ordering forms are sequential and random. These 4 make up the various combiations.
Let’s look at the various combinations so that you can deduce which style is yours. Everyone does use each one of these in various amounts but there will be a more dominant combination for each person.
The concrete quality is strongly connected with the five senses. These people deal with the here and now and things that are tangible. This quality likes ideas that are right out there and obvious. They don’t like to figure out hidden meanings and like it said like it is meant. They often like to work with their hands and experiencing life themselves rather than vicariously through someone else.
The abstract quality allows people to visualize or conceptualize ides that aren’t real. Some call this intuition, or imagination. It helps one to go beyond what he may see to what it might be or become. The hidden meaning and innuendoes are just as important if not, at times, more important than what is actually said or seen.
Sequential and random seem to be self-explanatory. People either like to have items, thought processes or plans to have an obvious step by step progression or they like to have the information come in a random way. Sequential people like to start at the front and work to the back and random people can start in the middle, move to the front and then hop to the back without losing a beat. Plans are made to be followed by the sequential and to be adjusted while using by the random.
Now, even though we all can find some of each of these qualities we usually fall into one of four combinations; concrete-sequential; concrete-random; abstract-sequential; and abstract-random. These combinations almost create distinct personality traits because the way a person reacts to life defines how they and others see them.
The concrete-sequential person usually likes to take charge of a situation, and has the plan and no-nonsense ability to keep others moving. They say what they mean and expect others to do the same which usually makes them perceived as blunt and uncaring. They need information to be direct and do not like to study for the pleasure of studying. Everything is done for a purpose and done in an orderly way. They get stifled in a disorganized room and get lost with a random teacher.
The concrete-random person still likes things that are real and can be experienced with the 5 senses but it is linked with the random ordering process. This person tends to be flamboyant and for some reason, very strong-willed. He rarely believes something just because he is told; he usually has to experience the pain, joy, or excitement himself first hand. He doesn’t like to sit still and long lectures are the death of him. This person will stand his ground whether he is right or wrong. The teacher that has this student will need to keep his lessons light, varied and add alot of hands-on projects.
If you are abstract-sequencial you will want to deal with thoughts, and processes in a very straight foreward way. These people have the intuition also, but tend to seem aloof and 'above' other people because they do deal more with ideals. They are the ones who ponder and create ideas on paper and also tend to be perfectionist. They will only enjoy their work if they have ample enough time to research and get it 'just right'. They do not need alot of rules to keep them going and would rather work alone then with a large group.
Abstract-random people tend to deal with ideas, plans, and processes that are intangible rather than experiencing them through the senses. Hidden meanings are the norm rather than an exception. Everything is done with little to no order at all. But to the random mind this is the best way to order anything anyway. They can not understand why someone couldn’t skip around a page of problems, doing the ones that they want to do rather then in a direct order. They envy the orderliness of the sequential, but only to a point. When asked to make an outline or other school project that requires sequential ordering they struggle to stay tuned in. Their minds are already way ahead of the sequential teacher and don’t want to wait for them. These people tend to be more compassionate than the others, due to their constantly sensing the conversation or situation for hidden meanings and feelings of others that aren’t actually said.
Here is a quiz my daughter and I made that you can test to see what your learning style is...
~Learning Styles~

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