Personal Learning Styles

Personal Learning Styles

University of Phoenix

Everyone learns differently. This is something that we all discover at a young age. Some of us absorb information from a Professor's lecture very easily, while others will need to go back and read or recite this same information. Everyone has a learning style that is unique to them, developed over time by their own learning experiences. By examining our personal learning style, we are able to gain valuable insight on how we learn best, which allows us then to convert study material from it's offered format into one that is more palatable for us as individuals. After a thorough assessment, I have developed a detailed understanding of my own learning style and personality, as well as a strategic plan to improve my time management and study skills.

Especially as children, we all have our favorite subjects in school. Typically, we simply choose subjects we have a natural aptitude for as our favorites Ð'- we enjoy things better when they come easy to us. My favorite subjects in school were always math and science related; subjects where everything made logical sense. I learn best when I can bring logical order to the information presented to me. Not surprisingly, I also learn best when working on my own, so that I am able to organize my thoughts in a logical manner.

After completing the "Pathways to Learning"1 assessment, I discovered, somewhat unsurprisingly, that I am most strongly developed in the Logical-Mathematical and Intrapersonal intelligences. I then completed the "Personality Spectrum"1 and learned that my personality type is that of a Thinker.

The results I received from these two assessments complement each other well. I discovered that while I learn best through problem solving, my best study practices are to study in a quiet place, organize material logically (when possible writing outlines or developing charts and graphs), read text and highlight important points, write or rewrite notes, analyze information, and teach or explain the material to someone else. I am highly skilled at: Recognizing abstract patterns, reasoning inductively and deductively, discerning relationships and connections, performing complex calculations, reasoning scientifically, understanding myself in relationship to others and thinking and reasoning on higher levels2. In short, I am a problem solver. I learn best by being presented with a problem, analyzing the situation, and developing the logical solution. When learning calls for more conventional studying, I should approach the material as the problem itself. In a quiet area, I should analyze all available information, writing out or highlighting important points, and then implement the solution