Although not everyone agrees, many educators believe that the way we learn roughly falls into three or four broad categories. If you have a
classroom education instructor whose teaching style falls primarily into a category that does not match your learning style, it’s very possible that you will learn almost nothing. The opposite is true as well: your most effective teachers simply may have zeroed in on the way you naturally take in information.
The styles are:
1.
Visual. You learn from watching demonstrations, seeing pictures and taking in body language.
2.
Auditory. You’re a good listener and do well with a lecture tape and headphones.
3.
Kinesthetic. You’re a hands-on learner and have to try it yourself to learn it.
4.
Tactile. You concentrate best when you’re taking a lot of notes and drawing diagrams.
To some degree, most people’s style combines a couple of these, but you still probably gravitate toward one category above others. What I like about
online learning is that it delivers education in a manner that lets you choose how to absorb it. You can sit and watch (visual), close your eyes and listen (auditory), have a mannequin at hand and follow instructions (kinesthetic) or write out the lesson with pictures to jog your memory (tactile). So before you take an online class, think about how you learn and make the most of the lesson.