7 Types of Learning Styles: What suits you best?
If you have been following my blog, you must know by now Pragmatic Product Leader Course is built on a scientifically backed and structured pedagogy to help make the learning process fast, easy and efficient. (If you missed my previous blog post on lesson planning, please read it here- Good Lesson Planning Improves Learning Outcomes)
In this post, I will build on how the our course builds in itself 7 different approaches of learning with the sincere expectation that this will help further your decision regarding the suitability and applicability of this course for you.
We all have come across this phrase in middle school biology- “human mind is a complex machinery. Each mind has different lock and a different key”.
Based on this simple philosophy, psychologists and scientists have classified the process of learning as having 7 major categories such as visual, aural, physical, etc., each associated with a different part of our brain. When it comes to transfer of knowledge, each of these processes of learning have a different effect on different individuals. Whereas one individual might be more more receptive to visual modes of learning such as PPTs, videos and flowcharts, another might prefer aural learning using audio books.
In the following section, we have attempted to highlight how the Pragmatic Product Leader Course incorporates each of these techniques to ensures that each student is provided ample learning opportunities and is able to fully exploit them to their strengths.
Let’s begin to learn about learning!
Visual Learner
Students most comfortable with visual techniques enjoy learning using PPTs, flowcharts, videos, infographics, etc. Our course does just that, we provide you with ample visual learning material to aid your learning process. Each topic has PPTs within which are incorporated flowcharts after every 2–3 topics, to help you retain as much information as possible. The pre-recorded videos available for each topic further help the process of visual learning.
Here’s a peek into what your learning material will look like!
Aural/ Verbal Learner
Few students are more comfortable learning with music and audio or even speech and writing. We build by using two points here. First, we provide ample resource material, both written (research papers, ppts, etc.) and verbal/ visual (videos, live sessions, flow charts, etc.). Second, you have flexibility of time- you can study whenever and wherever! So all you have to do is, chose a time that suits you most, pick your most favoured resource for learning, put on your headphones, play your music or your pre-recorded session or tune in to our live session and voila! You are all set to achieve your maximum potential.
Physical Learner
A few amongst us like learning using gestures, motions and other physical movements. I would like to emphasise here that the course is entirely digital and you have complete privacy. It completely depends upon you how you use this technology to your benefit. You can use virtual highlighters, stickies to make notes or doodle apps to create your own personal learning material. You must prioritise what suits you best and helps you grow!
If you can’t find your preferred resources to do your job, don’t worry, our team will always be there to help you find an application that most suits your needs! Rest assured, we won’t rest till we have gotten you through this journey!
Logical Learner
Some amongst us like taking quizzes and exercising our brains to make learning more fun and practical. Infact, a research published in Psychological Science in Public Interest very strongly argues that practice learning, i.e. learning by writing assignments, taking quizzes, exams, etc. is highly effective when compared to other learning techniques and almost doubles free recall in real life situations. Keeping this in mind, we have included several quizzes as well as made assignment submissions a prerequisite for course completion. Given the scientific evidence backing this particular type of learning method, we suggest you to take these quizzes even if this isn’t your preferred means. And if you feel this isn’t enough, we are always there to help you find more.
Solitary Learner
Some of us, including myself, prefer self-study over group study. Rest assured, we give you ample space and time to study on your own, using your own personal methods and processes- weather it is taking notes or repeating loudly to self or just re-reading the material. One of the special features of online schools is that they do not force participation as in traditional schools. Although, we have taken utmost care to balance the two components when it comes to participation, it isn’t mandatory. So if you would like to be the queen bee, we got your back! We will make sure you are always updated with what’s latest in the course and what your peers have been upto so you never miss out on anything.
Social Learners
Social learners are natural group workers and are kind of people who seem to have a presence everywhere- weather it is a workshop or a webinar or a community forum or even just socialising- they are always ready to give and take something back in return. There is ample evidence now that supports that individuals are likely to learn more with others than when they are alone. Johnson (2006) published a meta-analysis of 164 studies of cooperative learning methods which concluded that there are undeniable benefits of cooperative learning. Keeping this in mind, we have incorporated live classes to enhance student-teacher interaction as well as a specialised community sharing program (VoC) similar to Stackoverflow to boost peer-to-peer learning, collaborative learning and learning through problem solving.
Active Learners
Now, this is not a choice. And here’s why.
Collins and O’Brien (2003) define “active learning” as the process of having students engage in some activity that forces them to reflect upon ideas and how they are using those ideas. Active construct of the meaning by the learner (student) can lead to increased motivation to learn, greater retention of knowledge, deeper understanding, and more positive attitudes towards the subject being taught.
While building an effective pedagogy, we were overly mindful that learning facts (the “what” of it) and learning to do something (the “how” of it) are two completely different things. As Ryle (1994) put it “If you expect students to use knowledge to solve any kind of problem, you must provide them with opportunities to practice the needed skills and receive feedback about their performance. Moreover, a study conducted using Force Concept Inventory (FCI) by Hestenes (1995, 1992) shows that students in the interactive-engagement courses outperformed students in the traditional courses by 2 standard deviations (SDs).
This certainly looks like evidence that active learning works!
Building on this evidence, we incorporated an exclusive experiential learning component in our course. The component is designed especially to help imbibe the process of decision making, innovating, analysing, implementing, etc. to help our students develop comprehensive ability to rethink, redesign, criticise and develop a 6th sense when it comes to building a successful project. To this end, we will be teaming you up with our in-house development team, who will not only helps you build the product, but also ship it!
To learn more about experiential learning and how it improves learning outcomes please read my previous blog post 4 Proven Ways to Learn Faster, Better!
You can Download the Complete Syllabus here.
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