CHAPTER 1

Learning Styles

Focus on Learning Styles
Learning Styles & You
Left/Right Brain Self-Assessment
Left/Right Brain Dominance Characteristics
Suggested Aids for Left/Right Brain Learners
Learning Modalities
Self-Assessment of Modality Strengths
Characteristics of Learning Styles
Suggested Aids for Learning Modalities
Elements for Better Learning
Some Facts on Learning Styles

FOCUS ON

Learning Styles

1. Know how you learn.

2. Combine HOW and WHY with WHAT you learn.

3. Be aware of the time and environment where you learn best.

4. Apply various learning activities to meet your needs.

5. Utilize all your senses in learning something.

6. Apply how you learn to all new situations.

7. Be flexible in your thinking and learning.

8. Intentionally decide which learning modality to use.

9. Analyze your teacher's teaching style and apply appropriate learning strategies.

10. Creatively adapt materials to best fit your personal learning strengths.

Learning styles & you

You are what you are! You are unique. Each individual brain has a natural movement toward learning. But different people learn differently. The way you learn is called your learning style.

You'll do the best job of learning how to learn if you understand how you already take in and process new ideas. This book begins with some information about learning styles. Finding out about your learning style is the first step toward maximizing your brainpower! If you know your learning strengths, you will be able to make adjustments as you learn. This can help you reach your fullest potential in whatever you wish to learn or do. It's also helpful to learn about teaching styles. You can then adapt your learning to help you learn from any teacher.

Although a healthy brain functions as a whole, different parts of the brain are responsible for different functions. The brain has two hemispheres, or halves. Both of them act and react, think and process, and solve problems differently from each other. There is a general belief that one hemisphere is usually dominant in a person. However, the best brainpower is a result of the two hemispheres integrating with almost equal balance

People learn primarily through three basic modalities — ways in which you physically take in, process, and remember information. These are visual (seeing), auditory (hearing), and kinesthetic (feeling and doing). Like brain dominance, one of the three modalities is usually dominant for a person.

Left/right brain self-assessment

Read the following statements and circle the numbers of statements that describe you. Make quick decisions and trust your first responses. The scoring table at the end of the list will help you determine your "dominance." You may find that you are fairly balanced between the two hemispheres.

1. I have no trouble making decisions about the correct thing to do.

2. I see problems or pictures as a whole rather than in parts or details.

3. I follow written directions best and prefer to write and talk.

4. I often think of many things at once rather than thinking through one idea at a time.

5. I'm usually aware of the time.

6. When I'm introduced to someone for the first time, I pay particular attention to the person's face. I later forget the person's name, but I remember his or her face.

7. I attack most problem-solving activities analytically and logically.

8. When comparing things, I usually look for ways they are alike rather than ways they are different.

9. I'd rather take a true/false, multiple-choice, or matching test than an essay test.

10. Most often, I use my imagination and think in an abstract manner.

11. If I have a problem, I break it down into smaller, more manageable parts in order to arrive at a solution.

12. I seem to learn best if I can observe a demonstration or read the directions.

13. Generally, I like to be in control of a situation and I do not like to take too many risks.

14. I like assignments that are open-ended rather than more-structured assignments.

15. I learn best by seeing and hearing.

16. I learn best by touching or doing.

17. I usually think in concrete patterns and solve problems with a step-by-step approach.

18. If I try to remember information, I generally picture it in my mind.

19. Although I sometimes get upset, I am a rational person.

20. I don't mind trying anything once; I take risks when it is necessary.

21. Sometimes I talk to myself in order to think or learn something.

22. I can let my feelings "go." I am considered to be somewhat emotional.

23. I solve problems on an intellectual basis rather than an intuitive one.

24. People have told me that I'm creative.

25. I prefer to plan things and to know what's going to happen ahead of time.

26. I like to act in a spontaneous manner.

27. I prefer to think of one thing at a time.

28. I can easily remember melodies and tunes.

29. I am usually in control of my feelings.

30. I do well in geometry and geography.

31. I usually can recall information I need quickly and easily.

32. I enjoy reading and writing poetry; it comes to me easily.

33. I can really concentrate when I want to.

34. When I work in a group, I can "feel" the moods of others.

35. I understand mathematical concepts.

36. When solving problems or taking tests, I rely on one idea leading to another in order to come to a conclusion.

37. I can learn new vocabulary words easily.

38. When I plan a party, I "hang loose" rather than plan all of the details.

39. I usually can learn easily from any teacher.

40. In class I'm generally aware of what everyone is doing.

41. I notice and remember details.

42. I can easily see the whole picture when only a few puzzle pieces are in place.

43. I don't mind practicing something repeatedly in order to master it.

44. I communicate best with someone "in person" rather than on the phone.

45. I can remember jokes and punch lines.

46. I have trouble concentrating when I know I should.

47. I can write directions in a clear and logical manner.

48. I sometimes rely on my intuition when making decisions.

49. I basically have a day-to-day routine.

50. I sometimes can remember things according to where I "saw" them on the page.

Remember, this inventory is only an informal indication of which hemisphere is probably dominant for you. Both sides work together and cannot be totally separated.

Left/right brain dominance characteristics

LEFT RIGHT

• sequential • holistic

• intellectual • intuitive

• structured/planned • spontaneous

• controls feelings • lets feelings go

• analytical • creative/responsive

• logical • more abstract

• remembers names • remembers faces

• rational • more likely to act on
emotions

• solves problems by • solves problems by
breaking them apart looking at the whole

• time-oriented • spatially oriented

• auditory/visual learner • kinesthetic learner

• prefers to write and talk • prefers to draw and handle objects

• follows spoken directions • follows written or demonstrated
directions

• talks to think and • "pictures" things to
learn think and learn

• prefers T/F, • prefers essay tests
multiple-choice and
matching tests

• takes few risks (more • takes more risks (less
control) control)

• looks for the • looks for similar
differences qualities

• controls right side of • controls left side of
body body

• thinks • musical abilities
mathematically

• thinks concretely • emotional

• language abilities • thinks
simultaneously

• thinks of one thing
at a time

Suggested aids for left/right brain learners

Use these activities to encourage the success of left/right brain dominant learners. Integrating both hemispheres increases learning potential and more effective use of your brain.

Learning modalities

A learning modality is a way of using sensory information to learn. Basically, there are three modalities you use to process material into your memory. They are as follows:

• visual — learn from seeing

• auditory — learn from hearing

• kinesthetic — learn from touching, doing, moving

As stated before, almost every individual has one dominant modality. However, many people have a "balance" between two or even all three modalities. It is very important to know your primary mode of learning so that you will know how to approach learning and how to apply certain methods that will aid you the most.

First, complete the self-assessment on pages 23–25 to find out what your strongest modality is. Then, refer to the chart of Suggested Aids for Learning Modalities on page 27 for specific hints and methods you can use to increase your learning power.

Self-assessment of modality strengths

Read each question or statement and circle the most appropriate answer. Some will be difficult to answer, but try to respond according to how you would react most often.

1. I usually remember more from a class lecture when:

a. I do not take notes but listen very closely.

b. I sit near the front of the room and watch the speaker.

c. I take notes (whether or not I look at them again).

2. I usually solve problems by:

a. talking to myself or a friend.

b. using an organized, systematic approach with lists, schedules, etc.

c. walking, pacing, or some other physical activity.

3. I remember phone numbers (when I can't write them down) by:

a. repeating the numbers orally.

b. "seeing" or "visualizing" the numbers in my mind.

c. "writing" the numbers with my finger on a table or wall.

4.I find it easiest to learn something new by:

a. listening to someone explain how to do it.

b. watching a demonstration of how to do it.

c. trying it myself.

5.I remember most clearly from a movie:

a. what the characters said, background noises, and music.

b. the setting, scenery, and costumes.

c. the feelings I experienced during the movie.

6. When I go to the grocery store, I:

a. silently or orally repeat the grocery list.

b. walk up and down the aisles to see what I need.

c. usually remember what I need from the list I left at home.

7.I am trying to remember something, so I:

a. hear in my mind what was said or the noises that occurred.

b. try to "see" it happen in my mind.

c. feel the way "it" affected my emotions.

8. I learn a foreign language best by:

a. listening to records or tapes.

b. writing and using workbooks.

c. attending a class in which I read and write the language.

9. I am confused about the correct spelling of a word, so I:

a. sound it out.

b. try to "see" the word in my mind.

c. write the word several different ways and choose the one that looks right.

10. I enjoy reading most when I can read:

a. dialogue between characters.

b. descriptive passages that allow me to create mental pictures.

c. stories with a lot of action in the beginning (because I have a hard time sitting still).

11. I usually remember people I have met by their:

a. names. (I forget faces.)

b. faces. (I forget names.)

c. mannerisms, motions, etc.

12. I am distracted most by:

a. noises.

b. people.

c. environment (temperature, comfort of furniture, etc.).

13. I usually dress:

a. fairly well (but clothes are not very important to me).

b. neatly (in a particular style).

c. comfortably (so I can move easily).

14. When I have some free time, I prefer to:

a. talk with a friend.

b. watch TV or look out a window.

c. build something, create something, dance, or move around.

Characteristics of learning styles

Three of your five senses are used primarily in learning, storing, remembering, and recalling information. Your eyes, ears, and sense of touch play essential roles in the way you communicate, perceive reality, and relate to others. Because you learn from and communicate best with someone who shares your dominant modality, it is a great advantage for you to know the characteristics of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning styles and to be able to identify them in others.

Students who have equal modality preferences are more flexible learners and are already using many studying techniques rather than just a few.

Suggested aids for learning modalities

Depending on which learning modality you determined is dominant for you, use these aids to sharpen your particular dominant learning modality or to strengthen a weaker one. Try to be aware of the different activities you do daily that can develop all three modalities.

Elements for better learning

Be aware of all elements when you study and learn. Become knowledgeable about the characteristics of your learning style and apply them to create an effective learning environment. Increase focused concentration, efficient use of time, and brain power by considering the following important aspects:

Watch Your Environment

• Have the Right Attitude:

* Be motivated to learn.

* Be persistent in pursuing short-term and long-term goals.

* Keep a positive "CAN DO" attitude.

* Accept responsibility for your own learning.

* Vary working alone, with peers in a study group, and with mentors/tutors.

* Apply your strengths of left/right brain dominance, auditory, visual, and kinesthetic learning modalities to everything you study.

* Understand the need for organization and structure when you study.

• Avoid Distractions:

* watching or listening to TV

* listening to music

* sitting or lying on the bed

* eating or drinking

* using areas in traffic/active living areas of family members (kitchen, family/recreation room)

* talking on the telephone

* playing with unnecessary items on desk or table

* positioning desk or table in front of windows

• Use the Right Tools:

* a quiet study environment

* a well-organized desk or study box stocked with appropriate supplies (see page 45)

* appropriate lighting and room temperature to meet your needs

* the best time of day when you feel the most motivated and able to concentrate

* a scheduled routine of studying at the same time in the same place

* a 10-minute active break time after each 30-minute study block

Some facts on learning styles

• Once you understand your learning style, you are more likely to know how to meet your own needs.

• Students can accurately predict their learning modalities.

• Students who are matched with teachers of the same learning style learn best. Students who can accurately predict their teachers' learning/teaching styles learn better than students who cannot make this prediction.

• A student's learning style is the same no matter what the subject area.

• Students score higher on tests when they are tested in the environments best suited to their personal learning styles — bright versus dim lighting, silence versus sound, etc.

• Persistent and responsible students achieve higher grades and score higher on tests.

• A key to quick learning and memory is to change the information to be learned into the form that the brain can learn most easily.

• The more a student can utilize learning through the combination of senses (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic modalities), the more permanent the information will become.

• Remember, to become an active learner:

HEAR IT

SEE IT

SAY IT

WRITE IT

DO IT

CHAPTER 2

Time Management & Organization Skills

Focus on Time Management & Organization
Time Management
How Well Do You Study?
Study-Habits Inventory
Eliminating Excuses
Organize Your Materials!
Hints for Getting Organized
Handy Supply Checklist
The Wonders of Color Coding
Use a Daily Assignment Sheet
Attacking an Assignment
Assignment Sheet
What to Do If You Missed an Assignment
Take Control: Use a "To Do" List
Use a Monthly Calendar
Sample: Monthly Calendar
Use a Monthly Assignment Calendar in Your Binder
Monthly Assignment Calendar
Study Time
Scheduling Your Study Time
Sample: Daily Schedule
Rules for Study Time: The Backbone of Success
Appropriate Study-Time Activities
Study-Time Warmup
Study-Smart Vocabulary
Study-Smart Vocabulary Form
Weekly Review
Weekly Review (All Courses)
Before-You-Leave-School Checklist
Causes of Poor Concentration
Good Habits for Better Concentration
I'm Done — Now What?
Target the Problems & Prescribe the Solutions
Study-Prescription Worksheet
Great Study Tips
Steps to Easier Learning