YOUR LEARNING STYLE
Individuals learn things in many different ways. It’s important to identify your particular
learning style as this can help you determine the learning and study strategies that will be most
effective for you. Take a look at this table and see where you best belong:
Auditory Learners
•process information by hearing
and discussing
•like to talk about information
•remember conversations easily
•are very articulate and have
strong vocabularies
Visual Learners
•process information by seeing
•remember numbers, words and
phrases; visual information such
as pictures and diagrams
•easily intrepret body language
•have well-developed visualspatial skills
Kinesthetic Learners
•process information by doing
•remember hands-on experiences
•learn information well through
role-playing
•enjoy movement activities, such
as dancing or acting
•have excellent coordination
Now that you have identified your own learning style, take a look at the strategies below to find out what might
work best for you in your university studies:
STRATEGIES FOR AUDITORY LEARNERS
Lecture learning
 Be an active member of class discussions; organize and participate in study groups
 Paraphrase what you learned in your class lectures; ask questions in class
 Repeat information silently in your head or out loud
 Record lectures (if permitted) and play them back
Textbook learning
 See if you can obtain an audio recording of your course textbook
 Work in a quiet place and keep music at a low volume
 Read your textbook, notes, questions and instructions out loud
 Summarize what you read out loud; record your summaries and play them back
 Talk to a classmate about textbook material, material covered in class
 Create a rhymes or jingles to remember important information for tests
STRATEGIES FOR VISUAL LEARNERS
Lecture learning
 Choose a spot in the class where you can easily see the instructor and visual aids,
but away from visual distractions, such as bulletin boards
 Ask instructor to if other visual info is available (ex: website)
 Write notes during class; take mental pictures during class
 If typing notes in class, rewrite them in your own handwriting
(consider colour-coding your class notes)
Textbook learning
 Highlight as you read through your textbook, using different colours for different
categories of info
 Make charts and graphs to organize information
 Write notes as you read through your textbook; specifically key words in the left margin
 Add pictures to your notes
 Practice memorizing your notes: look at your notes, look away, visualize what you saw,
and then check
 Minimize visual distractions
 Practice writing solutions/responses to problems/questions
 Use mind mapping: draw circles around terms/concepts and lines or arrows to see how
they are related
STRATEGIES FOR KINESTHETIC LEARNERS
Lecture learning
 Ask questions and participate in class discussions
 Think about how the information is relevant to your life
 Stand up and stretch during class breaks
 Try to find course sections that offer 1 hr sections several times a week rather than one
long, 3-hour class
Textbook learning
 Interact with the text: create charts, diagrams; cut the sections and try to put them back
together in the right order; highlight, underline, or take notes
 Practice writing and solving problems on a board
 Use tools, objects, computer applications and a laptop as much as possible
 Do physical activity before sitting down to read/study
 Break reading tasks into small chunks; after each chunk, write a brief summary
 Take regular breaks when studying
 Use discussion or practice questions in textbook
 Repeat answers while walking or jogging
For more information, visit our website: http://www.mcgill.ca/osd/
Prepared by: Amanda Saxe (Learning Resources Intern) & Patricia Diaz del Castillo (Learning Resources Advisor)
McGill Office for Students with Disabilities
Sources:
Diaz del Castillo, P. & Pantel, S. (2012). How do I learn best? [Powerpoint Presentation].
Wong, L. (2012). Essential study skills. (7th ed.). Boston, MA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.
Make sure to check out:
Diaz del Castillo, P. (2012). Create your own toolbox to manage your academic anxiety. [Powerpoint Presentation].
Diaz del Castillo, P. & Pantel, S. (2012). Work hard play hard. [Powerpoint Presentation].
Diaz del Castillo, P. & Saxe, A. (2013). Testing made easy. [Powerpoint Presentation].