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Learning Styles

College students spend much time trying to learn and understand new material. But did you ever think about how you learn? Do you know that each of us has a cognitive preference, an individualized way in which we take in information, process it, understand it and store it? This cognitive preference, or learning style, is well-engrained and automatic. Studies have shown that students who are aware of their cognitive preference show greater mastery and achievement in college.

We can talk about learning styles or cognitive preferences in different ways. One way is to think of them as sensory preferences. Do you learn best from visually presented material? Material that you listen to? Material that you can touch or physically manipulate? Another way to think of learning styles is as organizational preferences. Do you like to start at the beginning of new material and work in a linear fashion, step by step, through it? Or do you prefer to have the big picture first and then fill in information as you need it? The first might be thought of as learning in a sequential fashion and the second as more global learning. A third way of thinking of learning styles is in terms of social preferences. Do you learn or think most effectively when you are alone or with others in a group? Finally, what are your environmental preferences? Do you need a completely quiet space when you study or do you prefer music or noise or activities going on nearby? What about light, temperature of the room or the time of day? Is it easier for you to do your work while sitting in a chair at a table or on the floor or on your bed? Is it easier for you to organize your thoughts, do critical thinking, accomplish what you need to do more readily in some of these conditions than in others?

Formal and informal studies of college students have shown:

• Students learn differently from one another and that is okay. No one style is better than another.
• Students often use a variety of learning styles but most have preferences. These preferences may be strong, moderate or mild.
• Student performance in different subject areas may be related to their cognitive preferences. One study showed that students who took a learning style assessment and engaged in a session to help them interpret their scores, showed improved grades and greater mastery in their courses.
• When the style of teaching complements a student’s learning style, student achievement (grades) usually improves. One study gave students learning style assessments; the experimental group was then taught in ways consistent with their learning styles while the control group was taught without regard to student learning style. Grades in the experimental group improved almost a full standard deviation as compared with grades in the control group.