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One way to determine your learning style is to take the VARY QUESTIONNAIRE 7. 0. This questionnaire was created by Neil D. Fleming in 1987. This is a learning style inventory, which determines different learning styles and the ways you can utilize different study strategies. VARY is an anagram for Visual, Auditory, Read/ write, and Kinesthesia. Visual learners use diagrams, charts, graphs, and other visual means. Auditory learners respond to hearing information, or perhaps reading aloud. Read/write learners see information displayed as words and process that information effectively.
Kinesthesia learners prefer to utilize all of their senses in the learning process. Once you ascertain your learning style, you can improve your study habits by taking notes that compliment your specific mode of learning, there-by becoming a more successful student. Making and using flash cards is one of the most traditional strategies a student can implement when taking notes. Flash cards contain key terms on one side and the definition or explanation of the term is on the other side. This method can work exceptionally well for those that learn best by reading and writing.
Review sheets are kind of like flash awards only instead of being on index cards, your notes are condensed into a list of key terms and ideas that you need to remember. The most traditional method is highlighting. Many people tend to get carried away and highlight too much. They will lose perspective in a flood of highlighted text if they don’t practice some restraint when highlighting. If reading and writing is not the best way for you to comprehend and retain information, perhaps alternative note-taking techniques will compliment your learning style.
The aural learner can use bedposts, audio books, or read notes aloud while recording them to lay back at a later time. Diagrams, charts, and video are good resources for a visual learner. All of the above mentioned strategies are complimentary to the kinesthesia learner. Kinesthesia learners benefit from using all of their senses. Video entertains sight and sound. Audio entertains sound and perhaps the kinesthesia learner could read along with the audio, mimic, or gesture and move about the room while listening.
In 2001 , with the use of the Study Habits Inventory( SHIH; Jones and Slate 1994) there was a study conducted evaluating the strengths and weaknesses of study skills of a group of graduate students. They found that the method in which notes were taken was related to the understanding of the information the students were studying. According to those conducting the study, Ingenious, Slate, and Schwartz (2001 the more successful students were observed to do the following, “With respect to taking notes, the students tended to report that they used notebooks rather than loose paper.
The students also were unlikely to use a tape recorder as a replacement for, rather than as an adjunct to, taking notes. In addition, the students tended to take notes as they read material, rather than waiting until they had completed their reading assignments. The students took notes on any material that they considered important, even if they were confident that they would remember it. Finally, when taking notes in class, the students were more apt to use abbreviations and phrases. ” (up. 40-241 The least successful students were observed with the following weaknesses in note-taking, the students tended not to use designated notebooks to record new words and their meanings, nor did they recopy their lecture notes. ” (Ingenious, Slate, & Schwartz, 2001). These two observations prove that when one uses different methods to take toes; they are more successful in retaining information. Proper note-taking skills play a big part in developing a successful students study habits.
Discover your learning style and adjust your study habits to complement the way you absorb, comprehend, and retain information. Whether or not you use the traditional methods: reading, writing, highlighting, or flashcards; Whether or not you use alternative methods: audio, video, hands on, no matter the learning style, there is a note-taking technique for you. According to my research, a combination of the above mentioned techniques seem to be most advantageous. Figure out the best way for you to take notes.