What is Your Learning Style?

When you learn something new, how do you do it? Would you be able to put that new gadget together without reading the instructions, or is it easier for you to understand something when you hear it spoken aloud? If you're thinking of pursuing a college degree, you should set aside a few minutes to answer these questions.

Learning Styles

Conventional approaches to education present information in very limited formats. Those who can understand the information presented are typically labeled "smart," while those who cannot are frequently considered "less than." It has taken quite some time, but educators are finally beginning to realize that the learning methods that might work for some people will not work for others. It is also true that one person may have several different learning styles, and each depends upon what is being taught. The most common learning styles include:

• *Visual* - You can learn it as long as you can see pictures of it. A variation of this learning style is reading about the subject and learning from what you've read.
• *Auditory* - If you can discuss it or if someone tells you how to do it, you can learn how to do it.
• *Kinesthetic* - A big word for "learning by doing."
• *Logic* - When everything makes logical sense, or you can reason out the problem, you are able to learn.

Two other important, related pieces of learning are whether you learn better (a) by yourself, or (b) in a group. If you are a logical, visual, or kinesthetic learner who learns best alone, you will doubtless find Internet learning a good match. But if you need to bounce thoughts off of others, or must hear and talk about a subject in order to learn, you might want to think about attending a college in person. If this is not an option because of an uncooperative schedule, maybe you should sign up for just one Internet learning course at first in order to "get your feet wet" in online education and gauge whether this type of education will work for you. You may find others with learning styles like yours who are also pursuing their higher education online. If this is the case, could organize some phone calls to discuss the subjects and appeal to your auditory learning style.

However you decide to go for your education, you will find that a college degree is well worth the time and effort required to get it. A college degree can open many doors that would otherwise remain closed, and the confidence you gain from finishing a course of study can change your entire point of view about life.