Tag: Learning Style
Study Tips for Solitary Learners
You may know that there are a number of different ways that people learn. Some prefer to listen to a lecture, while others would rather be involved in group discussions. Some students understand best when they are able to read the material. Others want to be more involved or hands-on in their pursuit of education. You may not know your precise learning style, but you probably have an idea of whether you are more of a solitary or a social person. If you identify more with the idea of being alone, you are probably a solitary, or intrapersonal, learner. Knowing your preferred learning style and the study techniques that work best for that style can help you to become a more successful and satisfied student. Read on to learn more about this preference and some study tips solitary learners.
About Solitary Learners
As someone who leans toward the solitary style, you are probably quite independent with a preference for having a great deal of quiet time for private introspection. You enjoy taking the opportunity to reflect on a topic and to analyze various aspects of it. This reflection likely applies to yourself, as well as outside situations and information. Solitary people tend to be quite aware of themselves and their inner workings. You may keep a diary or journal as a method of collecting your thoughts. Alone time means a great deal to you. If you have a problem, you retreat to a quiet space to reflect upon it by yourself, rather than hash it out with others. You are probably a planner, someone who likes to set goals and follow a map. It’s probably upsetting to you if you are feeling unsure about something in your life or the direction in which you should go.
Careers for Solitary Learners
Solitary learners tend to pursue certain careers. While this is not always the case, those with an intrapersonal style may be best suited for professions such as an author or researcher. Both of these are careers that thrive on the collection of and reflection on ideas. There are numerous jobs in the allied health field that may appeal to more solitary folks. Medical billers, coders and transcriptionists are all positions that work primarily behind the scenes to obtain information and input it into computer systems, then sending it along to the appropriate recipients like insurance companies, medical providers, laboratories and patients. Frequently, these types of professionals can even work from home. There are countless other kinds of careers that work well for those who enjoy a more introverted lifestyle such as archivists, court reporters and security guards.
Study Strategies
There are lots of ways you can personalize your approach to studying in order to suit your solitary tendencies. First, it makes sense that you’ll probably want to set up a nice, quiet place to serve as your basecamp. Being able to retreat to this secluded space on a regular basis will help to put you in the right frame of mind for focusing on your academic work. It will become routine, and your mind will soon adapt to entering “study mode” when you are in your study space. You’ll benefit from this time away from the hectic pace of daily life in order to focus, reflect and analyze the material in front of you. Journalism is a tactic that often works well for intrapersonal learners. If you enjoy writing, you may benefit from taking time to scribble down your thoughts regarding the topic you’re currently learning. This method will make the information more relatable to your personal life and knowledge of the world. When we can relate to a topic, we are better able to to understand and remember it.
Solitary learners tend to be organized individuals who enjoy planning, making lists and sticking to an agenda. Such personality traits can be used to your advantage when studying. At the beginning of each study session, take time to write down your goals and set deadlines for completing them. For example, you can determine how many pages or what portion of a chapter you’d like to complete, write down the ways in which you intend to review the material such as with flashcards or outlines and set a deadline for when you’ll finish the session. This kind of planning may help to motivate you and to increase your productivity.
These are just a few suggestions of study tips for solitary learners. You can incorporate them into your own preferred method in order to come up with a system that is uniquely successful for you.
Get in touch with a Brighton College representative to learn more about the kinds of careers that may appeal to your learning style. You may also call us at (602) 212-0501
Study Tips for Visual Learners
Having an idea of your learning style can help you to grasp material more easily and to remember it for longer periods of time. If you’ve determined that you are a primarily visual learner, that means that your preferred method for obtaining new information and concepts is through seeing words, figures, graphics, diagrams or other visual representations. Listening to a lecture is probably not a sufficient way for you to understand something. As an online student, it is to your advantage to be a visual learner. Reading class discussions or activities on a computer screen will be something that likely comes easily to you. There are a number of ways that you can utilize your preferred method of learning to your advantage while you’re pursuing your degree. Follow these study tips for visual learners in order to make the most of time you spend on school work and to increase your chances of academic success.
Use Images Often
The utilization of any kind of visual representation will benefit a learner such as yourself. That’s why it’s important to take advantage of things like diagrams, charts, graphs, infographics or other methods whenever possible in your study sessions. If there are not many visuals in your textbook or supplemental materials, go online to see if you can locate some. Many visual learners prefer to create their own tools. Doing so allow them to conceptualize the organization of the material in their mind and to make it personally relative in some way. Using colors or other visual markers is great, too, for things like categorization or highlighting notes. Draw symbols like stars or asterisks in your notes to create visual cues of importance.
Many online courses will incorporate videos or other digital media tools in the curriculum. Definitely take time to view these tools, as they cater specifically to yuor preferred learning style. Again, don’t be afraid to go out on your own to find supplemental ways to meet your needs. The internet is full of learning tools like video lessons, TED talks or slide presentations. A quick search will likely net you a treasure trove of materials.
Visualize Your Words
With regard to study tips for visual learners, you can take the idea of creating your own visuals one step further. In addition to developing your own tools like graphs, diagram and color coded systems, you can actually get a little creative and find ways to put words together visually in a way that makes sense for you. One example of how to do this is to add words, short paragraphs or concepts to small pieces of paper. Then you will be able to place those papers in the correct order, creating a visual trail that aids in the retention of information for a learner such as yourself who likes to see the formation of concepts or, in this case, actual words. Making flash cards may work in this way for you also. The act of writing the words on the flash cards, and maybe using different colors for various categories of information, might be helpful to your visual stimulation.
Create All Kinds of Maps
Those of you who take in information through the eyes usually love maps. Maps can be tremendously helpful for all kinds of topics, not just geography. An outline can be a kind of map because it lays out information in a spatial order. Mind maps are tools in which you organize information by writing down different aspects of an argument or concept and showing with lines or arrows the ways in which they relate.
Customize Your Notes
Taking notes is an effective method of studying for almost every type of learner. As a visual person, you can truly benefit from the note taking process by creating your own system to add visual representations to your notes. While long streams of text might be just fine for you, as you do tend to process the written word with ease, you’ll likely find it even more effective to add dimension to your notes. As was mentioned earlier, symbols or colored highlights are great ways to draw attention to information and to add an organizational component to your notes. You might want to take it a step further by using a consistent system all your own, adding a dimension of personalization and organization to your notes. Consider making a key that indicates what each symbol or color stands for. You’ll soon instinctively know when seeing a pink highlighted section of text that this is something important and likely to be on the exam. Get creative and have some fun with it!
There are lots of strategies to meet the study needs of every type of learner. Using these study tips for visual learners will make your college experience a bit easier and increase your chances of earning the kind of grades you want. Get in touch with a Brighton College representative to learn more about which programs might be best for your learning style and interests.