When I was young, I used to LOVE school. I would go home and do my homework straight away. I am unsure how I learned information, but I was a good student. It’s strange that I’m wondering what my learning style is two decades later. During university, I would rewrite notes over and over. With my coding journey, I have discovered that interactive learning is more enjoyable for me.

On that same journey, though, I ran into several issues. I kept on staring at the screen. I willed my brain to understand things before I changed to different resources. Eventually, it felt pointless. I started a course on ‘learning to learn’ and it suggested keeping a learning log.

It turns out that I need a ‘remember to keep a learning log’ course.

I am curious about what different learning styles exist, though. How is it that I can read about pointless movie drama (It Ends With Us, anyone?) and remember all the fluff, but complex topics have me squinting at my screen and clock-watching?

There are four types of learning styles: visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic.

Visual learners prefer to learn through visual aids like diagrams, charts, and videos.

Auditory learners learn best through listening and verbal instruction.

Reading/writing learners excel in written materials and note-taking.

Kinesthetic learners learn best through hands-on activities and physical experiences.

According to this ‘What type of learner are you?’ quiz from Arden University, I am a visual learner.

People who have a preference for learning in a visual way can choose to learn by reading or seeing pictures. You may feel that you understand and remember things by sight. You may picture what you are learning in your head and like to see what you are learning.

This is interesting but not surprising. One of my exam tricks was to picture my notes. Seeing the information in my handwriting made it easier to recall. And when I am trying to remember something, I am usually consulting images in my mind.

But, I tend to gravitate more to reading/writing when I actively want to learn something. This is how I have always done it. It has never occured to me that throwing in some visual aids would help me until recently. An example of this is SQL (structured query language). I started off reading about it. Then, I found an interactive learning tool. It allowed me to work with an example database and see how it worked in practice. We’ll talk more about SQL later because I am planning to document my current learning journey on data analysis.

There are more learning styles out there and it is doubtful that we only have one. Different tasks can be done using different styles. It is important not to become too attached to a particular learning style.

What kind of learner are you? Drop a line in the comments below!

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Learning styles