Learning Types
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
I’ve been doing a lot of reading on the train to and from work, and this morning’s selection was How to Learn Anything Quickly. This sounds really all-encompassing, but it’s really just a learning style assessment that groups you into one of eight categories: visual-left brain, visual-right brain, auditory-left brain, auditory-right brain, tactile-left brain, tactile-right brain, kinesthetic-left brain, and kinesthetic-right brain. There are two quizzes of about 40 questions each that purport to determine whether you are visual/auditory/tactile/kinesthetic, or left/right brain.
According to the quizzes, I am a visual left-brain learner. I am a bit resistant to this classification. It makes me sound really boring, like a machine or something. But when I read the description, a lot of it sounded like me – likes to read books from front to back, likes step by step instructions, good at skimming a lot of information and fishing out what I need.
I guess since my mom and brother and many of my mom’s side of the family are artists, I was hoping I’d be grouped with the “cooler” right brainers. But that would have required me choosing responses like “when spelling or speaking, you often mix up the letters or words but it sounds right to you.” As if right-brained people are dyslexic!
Of course there are more subtleties and variations than just these 8 types. There are combinations of the traits and many people have developed different learning styles out of necessity. Like in law school, I had to get really good at listening since all my classes were straight lecture. The teachers weren’t good enough at using PowerPoint to teach effectively so it was always better to take my own notes.
I also disagree that I am a pure visual learner. The book makes pure visual learners sound like people who are most comfortable seeing information in visual forms but don’t need to write anything down. The need to take notes and do something with your hands, like hold a pen or type on a keyboard, are characteristics of a tactile learner. I guess that’s why I scored second highest on tactile (learning by sensations and emotions). The book acknowledges that there are combinations among the four senses, like visual-auditory, auditory-tactile, but it doesn’t go into every possibility.
More later when I finish the book. I’m not sure I’d recommend it at this point. Might be too general.