Understanding Learning Styles
Learning can happen in different ways – formal, informal, active, passive, experiential, or subliminal. Understanding your learning style is the key to getting the most out of any training. When you know how you learn best, you can choose learning programs that fit your needs, adapt content to be more engaging for you, and connect with the material more, leading to increased learning outcomes.
Similarly, as a leader, trainer, or facilitator, understanding your learners' learning styles is what will set you apart. When you know the learning styles of those you train and work with, you can tailor your content and experiences to work for everyone and see the most significant learning impact.
The Benefits of Knowing Your Learning Style
- Improved self-awareness and personalization: Understanding preferences helps learners tailor study habits, such as using diagrams for visual learners or discussions for auditory ones, making studying more engaging and efficient.
- Better retention and performance: Aligning methods with preferences leads to better understanding, longer retention, reduced frustration, and higher motivation.
- Greater adaptability: It encourages experimenting with techniques, improving time management, communication, and professional skills by playing to strengths.
- Increased confidence: Learners feel more in control, reducing stress and building productive habits for school, work, or lifelong learning.
To know your style, take one of our learning style assessments. You’ll discover your style and what it means for you as you learn.
The Four Learning Styles
Your preference for a particular learning method and how you process new knowledge are related to your personal learning style.
Learning styles refer to the preferred ways individuals absorb, process, comprehend, and retain information. Understanding different learning styles can help tailor educational experiences to suit individuals better.
Knowing a preferred learning style puts people in a better position to select learning experiences that suit it.
There are four key learning styles that we highlight in our Style Suite products:
- Direct: Direct learners take charge of their own learning. They’re motivated, don’t procrastinate, and focus on the main point. They are terrific independent learners.
- Spirited: Spirited learners learn through informal methods. They are enthusiastic about learning, look for new learning experiences, and enjoy exploration and adventure. They prefer hands-on activities to those that require reflection.
- Considerate: Considerate learners learn well in groups, consider feelings and emotions, prefer to listen actively over being vocal, and make time for reflection. Considerate learners prefer to watch, listen, and reflect upon the experience.
- Systematic: Systematic learners use highly organized systems for learning, take an investigative approach, and pay attention to details. Being more thinking-oriented, they prefer reading or research to hands-on activities.
If you know what kind of learner you are, it will make it easier to absorb information and understand how you can best approach a learning situation.
Enhance Your Learning with HRDQ
The learning style assessments and tools available at HRDQ can help leaders and individuals identify learning styles to maximize training efficiency. Take a look at our collection of resources today to unlock greater growth!
