Poll: How do you learn?

[tklivory]

I was just wondering the variegation of learning styles we have here on the Escapist. When I studied pedagogy (the science of education... meh fancy word), the basic theory was that people had 1 of 3 major types of learning:

1) Sight - Visual Learner. The person learns by seeing something. In school this translates to learning best if the teacher writes on the board, or through reading a textbook.

2) Sound - Aural Learner. This person learns by hearing something. In school that translates to learning best when the teacher lectures, or by listening to the textbook on CD.

3) Touch - Tactile Learner. This person learns by doing something. In school this translates to learning best when writing notes down themselves, or by doing something physical (like a lab or a project of some kind).

Some people are really skewed one way. I learn mostly by touch, for instance - if I didn't take notes myself and tried to just read the chapter or listen to notes, I didn't do as well. Some people can learn in multiple ways.

Please pick your choice and post some musings on the topic. I'm also interested in how you think your learning style influences your every day life. For instance, I absolutely love driving manual transmission because it just feels right, and I ascribe that sensation to the fact that I learn mostly by touch.

 

[Julianking93]

I'm the 4th option: I only learn something if I want to learn it.

That's why, while I'm an intelligent and smart person, I never did well in school because I was never willing to learn the curriculum unless it was something I was interested in.

 

[Frequen-Z]

Visual. Every test I took about learning types has pointed to visual. 100%

 

[Flames66]

I need to learn by doing. I can't read how to do something and then just do it without a bit of practice and I can't easily pick up a skill by watching someone else do it. For this reason, theoretical work is virtually useless to me.

 

[ghirmeshk]

I learn by all sense personally.

 

[tklivory]

I'm the 4th option: I only learn something if I want to learn it.

That's why, while I'm an intelligent and smart person, I never did well in school because I was never willing to learn the curriculum unless it was something I was interested in.

Well, that's not a learning type, that's a mindset. I'm the same way. If I was interested, I did well. If I didn't see the point, I didn't try very hard.

I was using school as an example because it is most often studied in that context. However, it can apply to any aspect of life (life my car, for example). Or video games - I know that music/graphics in the video game means more to some people than to others, probably because those people react to sound/sight more than others.

Just wanted to clarify.

 

[crimson5pheonix]

I simply know. If I see the information it will be learned, or not. Studying does not help me.

 

[Bat Vader]

I learn the best if I read or see someone doing what I need to do. Someone could tell me what I need to do but if they don't show me I could get mixed up.

I learn best by reading personally. I like when I have a list of directions I can follow instead of being told the directions.

 

[BeeRye]

I was always an avid reader as a child, which has translated into an ability to soak up a lot of information from the initial reading of a piece. However, the way I best remember things is by making lists. Usually it is just a long list of short bullet points, with each triggering the memory of the bulk of the information regarding the subject. Once the lists are made I don't usually need to go back to them unless it's been a long time since I covered the topic, I'm pretty good at remembering every point on a list without ever needing to see it after writing it.

Does it translate into everyday life? Absolutely and without question. Most of the time I'm badly organized and meander between tasks, often forgetting about things. But when I make lists of what I have to do that day or week I never forget anything. Again, I don't have to refer back to the list, the action of creating the list is enough to cement everything that is on the list itself.

 

[Ibanez887]

Im a mix of all of them, mainly because I slack off in school and need to learn by some other means rather than reading or hands on. Most of my teachers seem to recognize this too, like my old Science teached who knew I could be half asleep during an important lecture and still ace the test

 

[Calobi]

Any of these work for me. However, I only learn things if when I see/hear/do them the first time I get it. I never understood how homework was supposed to help as doing something 20 times was boring if I got it and stupidly frustrating if I didn't. Sometimes having it reexplained a completely different way helps, but not always.

 

[Julianking93]

I'm the 4th option: I only learn something if I want to learn it.

That's why, while I'm an intelligent and smart person, I never did well in school because I was never willing to learn the curriculum unless it was something I was interested in.

Well, that's not a learning type, that's a mindset. I'm the same way. If I was interested, I did well. If I didn't see the point, I didn't try very hard.

I was using school as an example because it is most often studied in that context. However, it can apply to any aspect of life (life my car, for example). Or video games - I know that music/graphics in the video game means more to some people than to others, probably because those people react to sound/sight more than others.

Just wanted to clarify.

Oh, I know what you meant, I was just pointing out that I can't learn anything at all unless I'm 100% interested in it.

If I don't care, don't get it, don't see the point or just flat out couldn't care less about soemthing, I'm not going to learn it.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

Touch. I suck at learning from a book, but give me something to actually do and I'll have it down in no time. The only time I use books for learning is if I encounter a problem and I can't solve it myself, but it's never my first stop.

 

[Uncreative]

I'm the 4th option: I only learn something if I want to learn it.

That's why, while I'm an intelligent and smart person, I never did well in school because I was never willing to learn the curriculum unless it was something I was interested in.

I'm the same way.
It's really a pain sometimes.

 

[Banana Phone Man]

I'm a visual learner. I will right down the facts I need to know in a list (like the ones I'm learning about now in history, the list is nearly 100 facts long). I will split them up into catagories and then just read them over and over again until I can remember them off by heart.

Sound is alright but I will probably tend to fall asleep and I'm just too lazy for touch.

Spoiler: Although mind maps (a type of Visual learning)

They are just aweful, they don't help me at all. I can never find what I'm looking for. To me it looks like I was chewing pens and threw up and they are the result. Unfortunately our school teachers can see some sort of benefits to doing them where I can't. When I make my list of facts they have to be easy to read, plain and boring. That's the only way I can learn it.

 

[TheTaco007]

I'm not picky. That's why I learn faster than everyone else in the school. You don't have to explain every little detail to me, or teach me it in five different ways, or give me twenty examples.
Teach me, I'll know it.

 

[EMFCRACKSHOT]

I learn best form a combination of sight and touch.
If i read a page in a textbook i will be able to remember most if not all of the key points, and if i write it down after, i remember most of the page. As long as its interesting of course. If its not, it just disappears from my mind no matter how many times i read it or copy it down.

 

[tklivory]

Spoiler: Although mind maps (a type of Visual learning)

By Odin's beard! Those look terrible! Do they actually use those?

Scary.

 

[Criom]

I'm definitely more of a tactile learner, but I have a penchant for audio education as well. I'm in the midst of my teacher certification, so I'm all about this.