How to learn more effectively?

It’s no surprise that as individuals, we have different learning and working styles. Some people learn better by discussing things in groups, or by jumping into a project straightaway. Others prefer to work alone or have time to think things through before starting something new.

How can you ensure that whenever you learn something – or when you present information or conduct training – you maximise learning effectiveness? Here are a few tips:

Understand your learning style
There are numerous theories about learning styles. A simple and often-used model categorises people as visual learners (65 percent of population), auditory learners (30 percent) or physical/tactile learners (5 percent). Other theories feature a more complex model, with each person tending towards one style or another along a continuum.

Knowing your preferred style of learning is a good starting point to get the most out of any learning experience. For example, if you know that you are a primarily visual learner, then you can supplement reading, lectures or other types of non-visual instruction or information with graphs, flowcharts, diagrams or video, so that you stimulate the main learning centres in your brain. When note-taking, you can also use mind map methods, draw arrows, symbols and shapes to show connections, or use different coloured highlighters.

Similarly, if you are more of a verbal or auditory learner, summarise the material in your own words, or discuss it with a group; explaining it and then hearing it in other people’s words can help you better understand and retain the information. Tactile learners will find it helpful to have something at hand that they can knead or touch; when you read or study, listen to background music, and take frequent breaks. As often as possible, use magnetic letters, maps, globes, note cards or anything tactile to supplement learning.


Get out of your comfort zone
It is also good to develop the areas where you are weaker. This is so that you don’t become too reliant on only one style of learning, limiting your ability to effectively take in new information.

For visual learners, relying solely on visual information can weaken your ability to understand or communicate verbal and written information. So it is important to improve your verbal skills, such as by practising explaining information to a colleague or reading the newspaper. Likewise, verbal learners can practise skills such as reading graphs and maps; and tactile learners should work on improving their verbal and/or visual abilities.


Mix it up
Research shows that on average, students who learn from reading alone only retain about 10 percent of the content. Whereas they retain 26 percent of what they hear, 30 percent of what they see, 50 percent of what they see and hear, 70 percent of what they say themselves, and 90 percent of what they say while doing something.

These statistics support the idea that by learning using different methods, you can retain more information, with people who have to explain or demonstrate something to others being the most successful at learning a topic.

In other words, the best way to learn is to use a variety of methods for each learning experience; no matter your learning style, you can benefit from different types of stimuli and input. Think of it as cross-training for your brain.

Edited from: HP.com

Posted for you By:
S.Grace Paul Regan