Discussion Related To Different Types Of Learning Strategies

Daniel T. Willingham, a psychologist at the University of Virginia and author this article, “Are You a Visual or an Auditory Learner? It Doesn’t Matter”, discusses whether different types of learning strategies matter or not. In the classroom, many teachers are persuaded to try different leading strategies to leave more options for the students to pick up. According to this article, some students maybe visual learners or auditory learners. Some individuals may prefer pictures over words. In the work environment, the boss may relay the same information in different ways, such as through email, text or in person.

In a study conducted, researchers tested the visual and auditory theory. The researchers asked their participants their own mental strategies. The questions asked, “Do you spell an unfamiliar word by sounding it out or visualizing the letters? Do you give directions in words or by drawing a map?”(Willington, 2018). The researchers read statements out loud as the participants determined whether the statement created a mental image a visual learning experience or an auditory learning experience. The researchers concluded that the the theory isn’t accurate because the auditory learners didn’t remember the statements better based on the sound and the visual learners didn’t remember the statement based on a mental image. Individuals perform tasks better when the stimuli matches their own learning style. In another experiment conducted, researchers used pictures in a blue-striped triangle and verbal descriptions in a green, dotted or in a square as stimuli to test the visual-auditory theory. Researchers concluded that some learning strategies are best suited for certain tasks. The article concludes that one must not change the task to match their learning strategy, but to change one’s mind to fit the task.

The area of Psychology this article focuses on is cognitive psychology. Cognitive psychology incompasses mental processes such as perception, thinking, memory, and learning strategies. The take home message of the article was that one may use different learning strategies for different sorts of tasks at hand. There is no set rule for learning since people develop their own techniques for studying and understanding new concepts. Even though learning can go wrong, as long as the information is correct and the strategies ensure a positive outcome, it is safe. Some behavioral changes someone can make based on this research is that one should not limit their learning to one set strategy. Expanding and thinking abstractly to help solve real world problems will be highly beneficial. The research in this article used participants to distinguish between visual and auditory learning. The real difference was whether they were intuitive learners because “intuitive thinking is better for problems demanding creativity, and reflective thinking is better for formal problems like calculations of probability. An intuitive thinker who mulishly sticks to his supposed learning style during a statistics test will fail” (Willingham, 2018).

The findings are important to give hope for options of learning strategies not being limited and to open up to new alternatives for any predicament, large or miniscule. My overall opinion on this article, is relatively good since it expresses an important issue. I struggle with finding the best study habits to retain information. I have several different study strategies that i must do to ensure my success in the class. Making flash cards, study guide, going over the notes, listening to audio-recording of the class, and touching the equipment in lab. The only flaw with this article is that it did not discuss tactile learning which is very important that deals with our special senses that could help with memory and retaining the information in a new perspective. In conclusion, visual, auditory and tactile strategies are all beneficial for learning for all different sorts of tasks.

References

Willingham, D. T. (2018). Are You a Visual or an Auditory Learner? It Doesn’t Matter. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/04/opinion/sunday/visual-learner-auditory-school-education.html?rref=collection%2Ftimestopic%2FPsychology%20and%20Psychologists&action=click&contentCollection=health®ion=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=6&pgtype=collection