Learning styles refer to the ways you prefer to approach new information. Each of us learns and processes information in our own special ways, though we share some learning patterns, preferences, and approaches. Knowing your own style also can help you to realize that other people may approach the same situation in a different way from your own.
Take a few minutes to complete the following questionnaire to assess your preferred learning style. Begin by reading the words in the left-hand column. Of the three responses to the right, circle the one that best characterizes you, answering as honestly as possible with the description that applies to you right now. Count the number of circled items and write your total at the bottom of each column. The questions you prefer will offer insight about how you learn.
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1. Concentrating
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Does seeing untidiness or movement distract you? Do you notice things in your visual field that other people don’t?
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Are you distracted by sounds or noises? Do you prefer to manage the amount and the type of noise around you?
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Are you distracted by activity around you? Do you shut out conversations and go inside yourself?
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2. Visualizing
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Do you see vivid, detailed pictures in your thoughts?
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Do you think in sounds and voices?
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Do the images you see in your thoughts involve movement?
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3. Talking
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Do you dislike listening for a long time? Do you often use words such as see, picture, and imagine?
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Do you enjoy listening? (Or, maybe, you’re impatient to talk?) Do you often use words such as say, hear, tune, and think?
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Do you like to gesture and use expressive movements? Do you often use words such as feel, touch, and hold?
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4. Contacting people
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Do you prefer direct, face-to-face, personal meetings?
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Do you prefer the telephone for intense conversations?
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Do you prefer to talk while walking or participating in an activity?
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5. Meeting someone again
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Do you forget name but remember faces? Can you usually remember where you met someone?
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Do you tend to remember people’s names? Can you usually remember what you talked about?
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Do you tend to remember what you did together? Can you almost feel your time together?
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6. Relaxing
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Do you prefer to watch TV, see a play, go to a movie?
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Do you prefer to listen to the radio, play music, read, talk with a friend?
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Do you prefer to play sports, knit, build something with your hands?
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7. Reading
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Do you like descriptive scenes? Do you pause to imagine the action?
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Do you enjoy the dialogue most? Can you “hear” the characters talk?
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Do you prefer action stories? (Or, maybe don’t even enjoy reading for pleasure?)
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8. Spelling
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Do you try to see the word in your mind? Do you imagine what it would look like on paper?
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Do you use a phonetic approach to sound out the word? Do you hear it in your thoughts or say it aloud?
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Do you write down the word to find out if it feels right? Maybe you run your finger over it or type it out?
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9. Doing something new at work
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Do you like to see demonstrations, diagrams, and flow charts? Do you seek out pictures or diagrams?
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Do you find verbal and written instructions helpful? Do you like talking it over? Do you ask a neighbor?
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Do you prefer to jump right in and try it? Do you keep trying? Do you try different ways?
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10. Putting something together
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Do you look at the picture and then, maybe, read the directions?
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Do you like reading or talking with someone about it? Do you find yourself talking aloud as you work?
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Do you usually ignore the directions and figure it out as you go along?
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11. Interpreting mood
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Do you primarily look at facial expressions?
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Do you listen to the tone of voice?
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Do you watch for body language?
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12. Teaching people
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Do you prefer to show them?
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Do you prefer to tell them? Write it out?
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Do you demonstrate how it’s done? Ask them to try it?
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Total
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Visual:
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Auditory:
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Tactile/Kinesthetic:
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The column with the highest total represents your primary processing style. The column with the second-most choices is your secondary style.
Your primary learning style:
Your secondary learning style:
Now that you know which learning style you rely on, you can boost your learning potential when working to learn more. For instance, the following suggestions can help you get more from reading a book.
If your primary learning style is visual, draw pictures in the margins, look at the graphics, and read the text that explains the graphics. Envision the topic or play a movie in your thoughts of how you’ll act out the subject matter.
If your primary learning style is auditory, listen to the words you read. Try to develop an internal conversation between you and the text. Don’t be embarrassed to read aloud or talk through the information.
If your primary learning style is tactile/kinesthetic, use a pencil or highlighter pen to mark passages that are meaningful to you. Take notes, transferring the information you learn to the margins of the book, into your journal, or onto a computer. Doodle whatever comes to mind as you read. Hold the book in your hands instead of placing it on a table. Walk around as you read. Feel the words and ideas. Get busy—both mentally and physically.