Activity 3.
Learning Styles
In this activity you will know more about the learning styles and the activites that probably would help you the most while learning English.
1. Click on the link below. Answer the test and find out your learning style.
2. Now read the following scheme and reflect on your learning style:
3. Once you know your learning styles, read some strategies that can help you while learning.
a. How can active learners help themselves?
If you are an active learner in a class that allows little or no class time for discussion or problem-solving activities, you should try to compensate for these lacks when you study. Study in a group in which the members take turns explaining different topics to each other. Work with others to guess what you will be asked on the next test and figure out how you will answer. You will always retain information better if you find ways to do something with it.
b. How can reflective learners help themselves?
If you are a reflective learner in a class that allows little or no class time for thinking about new information, you should try to compensate for this lack when you study. Don't simply read or memorize the material; stop periodically to review what you have read and to think of possible questions or applications. You might find it helpful to write short summaries of readings or class notes in your own words. Doing so may take extra time but will enable you to retain the material more effectively.
c. How can sensing learners help themselves?
Sensors remember and understand information best if they can see how it connects to the real world. If you are in a class where most of the material is abstract and theoretical, you may have difficulty. Ask your instructor for specific examples of concepts and procedures, and find out how the concepts apply in practice. If the teacher does not provide enough specifics, try to find some in your course text or other references or by brainstorming with friends or classmates.
d. How can intuitive learners help themselves?
Many college lecture classes are aimed at intuitors, but if you are an intuitor in a class that deals primarily with memorization and rote substitution in formulas, you may have trouble with boredom. Ask your instructor for interpretations or theories that link the facts, or try to find the connections yourself. You may also be prone to careless mistakes on test because you are impatient with details and don't like repetition (as in checking your completed solutions). Take time to read the entire question before you start answering and be sure to check your results.
e. How can visual learners help themselves?
If you are a visual learner in a class in which visual material is scarce (if, for example, most course content is presented in textbooks and slides filled with words and equations), try to find diagrams, sketches, schematics, photographs, plots, flow charts, or any other visual representation of course material that is predominantly verbal. Ask your instructor, consult reference books, and see if course materials are available online. Prepare a concept map by listing key points, enclosing them in boxes or circles, and drawing lines with arrows between concepts to show connections.
f. How can verbal learners help themselves?
Write summaries or outlines of course material in your own words. Work in groups to improve your understanding of material by hearing classmates' explanations and trying to explain material to them. Pay attention to visuals and seek them if they are rare in your class (see advice to visual learners)—for some material a picture truly is worth a thousand words.
g. How can sequential learners help themselves?
Most college courses are taught in a sequential manner, but if you are a sequential learner in a class with an instructor who jumps randomly from topic to topic or skips steps, you may have difficulty following and remembering. Ask the instructor to fill in the skipped steps, or fill them in yourself by consulting references. When you are studying, take the time to outline the lecture material for yourself in logical order. In the long run doing so will save you time. You might also try to strengthen your global thinking skills by relating each new topic you study to things you already know. The more you can do so, the deeper your understanding of the topic is likely to be.
h. How can global learners help themselves?
If you are a strongly global learner without good sequential thinking skills, it can be helpful for you to realize that you need the big picture of a subject before you can master details. If your instructor plunges directly into new topics without bothering to explain how they relate to what you already know, it can cause problems for you. Fortunately, there are steps you can take that may help you get the big picture more rapidly. Before you begin to study the first section of a chapter in a text, skim through the entire chapter to get an overview
Record an opinion where you comment on your learning styles and the apps or websites that may help you the most when learning English. Use your mobile device to record an audio and then upload it to Podomatic: https://www.podomatic.com/login . Add the link to your portfolios.
References:
