Learning Styles

“Some people may find that they have a dominant style of learning, with far less use of the other styles. Others may find that they use different styles in different circumstances. There is no right mix. Nor are your styles fixed.” ~ advanology.com Learning styles are a guide to help programmers understand how they learn and how to optimize their ability to learn new materials and keep up on trends in the industry. Will has found that he is primarily a kinesthetic learner whereas BJ is primarily a visual learner. However both enjoy listening to podcasts when driving because the content of the shows and the situation of driving lends itself to auditory learning. The episode begins with where the metaphor of learning styles originated and an overview of the different models. Then the guys delve into the most common model (VARK) discussing the best ways to learn for each style and covering some of the distractions to be avoided. Next they discuss the different settings for learning and how setting adds complexity to the concept of learning. A brief talk on learning mindsets and the ideal style and setting for each follows. Finally the episode ends with a discussion on how individual programmers can use this metaphor to their advantage. Episode Breakdown * 18:40 What Are Learning Styles? Originally for Teachers and Presenters The concept of learning styles comes from the differences in learning modalities. Individuals have a prefered modality and by addressing that modality teachers and presenters should be better able to communicate with students. Several Different Models There are several different models for understanding learning styles. Of the various models Felder and Soloman’s Index of Learning Styles and Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences are the most widely recognized. The model that BJ learned in school is the VAK or VARK model. That stands for Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing, and Kinesthetic. “Learning styles theory says that an auditory learner will learn things better when they are presented aurally. But there are many types of knowledge which are hard to grasp aurally – for example the shape of a country or how to ride a bike. Just about everyone will learn the shape of a country by seeing that shape, that is visually. Just about everyone learns how to ride a bike by doing it, that is kinaesthetically. It is the type of information that drives how we should present it – not the learning style of the learner.” ~ Olivia Mitchell * 23:45 Styles of Learning Each of these represents a different modality of learning. Individuals generally have a prefered modality or multiple prefered modalities. However depending on the situation or material some modalities are better suited for learning than others. Visual Visual learners learn by visualizing information and the relationships between different sets of data. They prefer charts and graphs or infographics and can become distracted by too much visual stimuli in their environment. Auditory Auditory learners prefer hearing and reciting information. They learn best through lectures, podcasts, or discussion groups. Environments with a lot of noise can be distracting. Tactile Kinesthetic learners take in information by movement. Activities like labs and roleplaying benefit this style. They prefer to be hands on and experimental but have more difficulty with less practical and more conceptual learning. Read/Write This is more than just a visual-tactile combination, they learn by reading and writing. They prefer to interact with text, test their understanding, and fill out handouts or take detailed notes. They will take notes when no written material is presented. * 35:47 Settings for Learning Social Social learners prefer to interact with the presenter...