at school (and even now), what kind of learner are/ were you?

for me it's a mixture of telling me what ever it is, and actually doing something practical with it

visual works to an extent, though I tend to get more engrossed in the programme (if it's a video/ tv show), and forget about the fact I'm meant to be learning from it.

[WishfulThinker66]

There is nothing more annoying to me than to have someone read off a power point slide verbatim word by word point by point. I get it. I can read it myself.

I am the person reading the manual or how-to instructions.

[TishaBuv]

If I’m interested, I am a sponge, then I lose interest and move on to something else, maybe sabotaging my success. If I’m not interested, there is no approaching the task and I am out the door.

[WishfulThinker66]

Originally Posted by TishaBuv

If I’m interested, I am a sponge, then I lose interest and move on to something else, maybe sabotaging my success. If I’m not interested, there is no approaching the task and I am out the door.

I agree entirely, a trainer needs to be engaging and interesting enough for me to pay any attention to. Maybe this is why I am the person bored and reading ahead the manual and instructions then.

[Velvet Lounger]

For me, learning through the practical.

[eskielover]

When I was doing firmware computer engineering I would read the requirements over & over until I had page & paragraph memorized & figured out how to design & implement.

Musical instruments & soorts & learn by physically repeating & practicing until it is muscle memory. I spent hours on the racquetball court just hitting the ball.

Since moving to my farm & living alone & having to do the repairs I can physically handle I usually watch a YouTube "how to" before attempting anything. That method helped my replace the EGR valve on my truck, repair my lawn tractor, & do some plumbing around my house.

Sometimes just my logical thinking & reasoning is all it takes. Had a friend whose shifter handle on her van was just dangling. I got under the hood & asked her to just move it so I could see where what was going on. I fugured out what had come apart & got it back together well enough for her to make the 20 minute drive to her mechanic where the worn out part was replaced.

Many times I can just look at things & figure out how they work logically.

I always need to understand how things work in order to learn something. That was my problem with calculus in college. I just got through it but never understood the concepts.....so never learned it.

I think that my psychologist teaching how the brain functions was why I really learned the DBT besides working on it for 2 intense years. It just became a part of me at that point.

I also do a lot of research on topics I want to know a lot about. Internet articles & all the research I can find on a topic....looking at the whole topic not just a narrow part of it.

[Mountaindewed]

I learn best by being shown how to do something. I also learn best if there’s not a lot of background distraction going on. I’ve never been diagnosed with ADD, but I’m sure I have it.

I cannot follow written directions. Especially if it’s building instructions. I get blurry vision and anxiety and I can’t focus.

[guilloche]

Originally Posted by eskielover

I always need to understand how things work in order to learn something. That was my problem with calculus in college. I just got through it but never understood the concepts.....so never learned it.

I think that my psychologist teaching how the brain functions was why I really learned the DBT besides working on it for 2 intense years. It just became a part of me at that point.

Ooh! Thanks for posting this - I think I'm a little like this too. I was just thinking about this today re: therapy. Therapy has been awful for me and not helpful (just ended it with another therapist) - but if I had a therapist who could actually talk intelligently about how the brain is functioning and processing things, in a way that helped me make sense of what feels like "craziness", I think it would go a LONG way in making things work better (I think I'd trust them more, listen to them more, maybe be willing to try more things, understand better what things are making me better vs worse, etc.)

Thanks for posting!

Ah, and regarding the question - I do feel like I learn in different ways. I think I'm more "audio-oriented" (I tend to hear myself think) rather than visual. I like to understand concepts, how things work, and be able to interact with them. And, I think that there's a physical component that can help too - I'm studying Russian on Duolingo right now, and really struggled with remembering the letters/words, until I started picking a couple words and writing them out (over and over) by hand. It seemed to set them better in my brain than just seeing them on the computer or trying to type them.

Brains are fun!

[TishaBuv]

Eskie— “I always need to understand how things work in order to learn something.”

I am just the opposite of this! When you mentioned it, I remembered incidents with my step dad where I needed him to show me a procedure with a computer, or some other instrument, and he started by teaching me how the whole darn thing is made and works! I couldn’t stand it! I was begging him to please just show me which buttons he needed me to press.

[cloudymind]

I think I am both a visual and practical learner. For example, with my sketching, I observe how a figure is formed with strokes of the lines, emphasis on volume, and details. I put what I see in practice and I do it religiously.

[saidso]

Thanks Eskielover, you speak to my experience also.
My best learning is through putting myself into situations where I want something but have to find out how to go about it. That finding out means asking people around me, researching on the net, trying things out, taking notes (should do more of that). I keep hammering to get closer to meeting my needs.

My worst learning is "being told" with no context whatsoever. I start by following the instructions faithfully but over time my brain starts working around the context, I get bored and lose focus.

Interesting how opposite people's learning patterns can be. Good thread!

[Ford Puma]

Great poll, I read insistently and as a result, being regarded as something of a polymath.

[saidso]

It also depends what I am learning. For learning languages my brain requires both visual feedback and oral repetition. For cooking, I read suggestions and experiment. For physical skills, positive reinforcement and repetition.

Things that require huge amounts of stored information: like law or computer programming, or playing card games - I have to find a way round the fact that my brain stores contextually and not procedurally.

[eskielover]

Originally Posted by TishaBuv

Eskie— “I always need to understand how things work in order to learn something.”

I am just the opposite of this! When you mentioned it, I remembered incidents with my step dad where I needed him to show me a procedure with a computer, or some other instrument, and he started by teaching me how the whole darn thing is made and works! I couldn’t stand it! I was begging him to please just show me which buttons he needed me to press.

For me understanding doesn't have to be knowing all the gory details. Sometimes it is just knowing the overview of the system so I kinda know how things work together. That way I don't have to keep asking the same question over again & I can usually figure it out the next time I have a question.

Lol....I save the knowing the gory details for the people I have to hire to do the deeper level work that I can't possibly do or don't have the equipment to do. But knowing what I do helps me figure out the things I can & saves me from having to hire help for every little thing that ends up needing fixed or figured out & saves me money I don't have.

Different minds work differently & that is a very good thing because that is what makes people good at different things....important for all societies.

[CepheidVariable]

I genuinely don't seem to have one that is stronger or weaker than the others in terms of ability.

Learning has never been a problem for me. Thank goodness. It makes up for other problems I have.

Unless truly appropriate to the material, I try to avoid video tutorials because they are so painfully slow compared to just reading the material (with diagrams if needed). I seriously hate wading through 30 minutes to an hour of drivel to get to the part I need -- or worse find out the video doesn't contain enough useful information. And annoying voices and dreadful background music.

I much prefer to have an overview and context to what I'm learning. I dislike rote learning. But then I like problem solving.

If you want to really learn something, teach it to someone else. One day a week I go and teach computer lessons to people. The following day I reverse roles and go to my piano lesson. We all do that to some extent, but this is more formal and so seems kind of funny.


Um, so what have we learned here today?

[Nammu]

I'm primarily a reader. I too am reading the manual and am irritated that new tech doesn't come with instructions any more, just audio direction. Of course I'm deaf and audio is useless. If you need help it's a phone number!

[eskielover]

If you want to really learn something, teach it to someone else.

so very true. When you know something well enough to teach it to someone else.....you REALLY have learned it especially when they ask questions you have to answer.

[88Butterfly88]

I'm a visual learner.

[CepheidVariable]

Originally Posted by eskielover

so very true. When you know something well enough to teach it to someone else.....you REALLY have learned it especially when they ask questions you have to answer.

You might enjoy this ...

I have been in a volunteer position giving individual instruction and assistance to people. It is computer and tech stuff, because that is what I know and am comfortable with. It's been a fascinating endeavour. I have no teaching credentials or experience as such -- just some common life experiences. Oh, and I have social anxiety and big self-esteem issues -- so it's been a pretty wild ride. I typically don't even know ahead of time what they are coming in for and what they will be asking. I often have to improvise like heck. (Eek! )

I had assumed -- and my experience so far has confirmed this, that despite the fact I am the one conveying the information -- listening is a huge factor in being a good teacher.

I recognize that people learn differently, and so try to observe how they are reacting and change my approach and content accordingly. So mostly it's a matter of talking back and forth and engaging with them.

Not surprisingly, my own fight with social anxiety has helped considerably with setting people at ease. Many are retirees, who are a little embarrassed to be coming in for help, worried about possible mental decline, "don't want to be a bother", and so forth. My own struggles have helped me to be friendly, understanding, patient, encouraging, and re-assuring.

Despite the stress, I find it all intellectually and emotionally rewarding.

[eskielover]

CepheidVariable.....what a wonderful experience.

I recognize that people learn differently, and so try to observe how they are reacting and change my approach and content accordingly. So mostly it's a matter of talking back and forth and engaging with them.

Yiu are definitely correct. If they don't grasp an explanation it is important to find a different way of expressing they will understand.

Lol....I had a math prof in college that just stoodvat the chalk board & spoke everything he wrote with his back to the class. No one could even say they didn't understand a word he was saying.

I was actually married to someone who basically never understood any directions or teaching so I tried often to find different ways of expressing what I was trying to get across. It taught me a lot (frustrated theb#@[[ out of me when nothing got through though. It was nice working in the computer engineering group I was in because they were all easier to communucate with & teach at times.

Yes, teaching is a challenge but very rewarding when they "get it"

[Taylor27]

Im more visual on most, i like to read out of a manual too

[Calypso2632]

I'm primarily a reader, followed by hands on practicality. Video learning about kills me. As someone else said it's usually to long and drawn out and sometimes useless in the end.
In school staying with the class and not skipping ahead was a major issue and in a tiny community there was no advanced classes or skipping grades so I was stuck, bored, and usually failing because of it.
Now when I need to figure something out I try to get to the heart of the matter. And then work outward.