What’s up! Appreciate you for checking in with us as we get closer to the end of this wild calendar year! There has been so much going on in this world, it is important that we take a step back and process it all. How should we do it? This is a great question! It all starts with how you process or learn.
Let’s keep it REAL, we can all agree with the fact that we all have different ways of learning. Some of us are visual learners, some of us need to listen to learn, others need to actually do something in order to learn and some of us even have to reflect and retain the information we’ve learned in our own way after or outside of the classroom. So… how do you learn?
Before we unpack this extremely important question, we need to recognize the importance of understanding how you learn. When you become aware of how you learn, you’re able to use this strategy to your advantage. For example, if you’re a visual learner, you understand that you need to be able to see whatever it is that you’re learning. When you understand this about yourself, you can apply it to whatever you need to learn about. Without understanding how you learn, you fall victim to the content becoming irrelevant and uninteresting. Let’s keep it REAL, a lot of what we learn about, especially in school, might not be the most interesting… but it can be when you understand how you learn. Remember our blog about REAL Educational Tips? Check it out if you haven’t, because one of the tips is relating to what you learn… which can only be done when you know how it is that you need to learn about something.
Again, if you are a visual learner, you need to see the content. Sometimes this might also include watching someone do something or watching the process of something happen. Regardless, if this is your learning style, then you have to put yourself in a position where you can visually interact with the learning content so that you are learning the way you need to. Further, if you are aware that this is how you learn, then it might be a good idea to let your teacher, professor, mentor, etc. know this so they can cater to your learning style.
If you need to listen in order to learn something, then again, you need to set yourself up for greatness. This might mean using audiobooks to help you learn what you need to. A great audiobook that we highly recommend, due to its great price, is Learning How To Learn, which gives you an in-depth approach to learning and the various ways you can go about doing it. Check it out if you need to figure out how it is that you like to learn.
Some of us need to actually be doing something in order to learn. A lot of times, people will discuss this as an athlete’s preferred learning style, however, this may also be a learning style that a musician or an actor might benefit from as well. The point is that if you are active and prefer to remain active when you learn then this might be the way you learn best. When you’re doing something that involves the content you’re learning about, you become immersed with and interact with the content, which should naturally make it more relatable to you.
Finally, some of us are reflective learners. This approach involves taking the content, regardless of how it was given to you, and reframing it in a way that makes it relatable to you. This may take several minutes, hours or even days, the timing doesn’t matter. The point here is to allow for the reflective process to take place so that you can learn the way you need to. Let’s keep it REAL, some of us are too impatient to allow for this style of learning to fully enhance our understanding, however, this style could be the most powerful because not only are you allowing yourself to learn the way you need to, but you’re also giving time for a nuanced way of thinking about the content, which could lead to innovation or change in the way the content is perceived.
We hope this post gives you some insight into what style of learning works for you. This is just a brief review of each of the different styles listed, but there is much more we can learn about each. If you are a new parent or teacher, try Discover Your Child’s Learning Style and if you are a student, try Understanding Learning Styles. Each of these books has so much value! Thank you again for your continued support! As we enter the new calendar year and the second half of our academic year, how will you develop a new way of learning?
Keep it REAL.
Recognize Education And Learning 