There is no correct learning style, but recognizing learning styles in the office will lead to employees working in their areas of strength and preferences.
People can learn in a variety of ways. Verbal learners learn best through hearing things. Verbal learners remember what they hear over what they see. Visual or spatial learners are those that learn through seeing things. Visual learners are good at memorizing things that they see. Logical learners work well with numbers and can perform complex calculations. Logical learners would work well in an accounting department. Kinesthetic learners learn best by doing. Kinesthetic learners like to be hands-on with their learning. Interpersonal learners are people persons. Interpersonal learners are great for working in the marketing department of a business.
The Dunn and Dunn model found five strands that describe how people learn based on their own personal strengths. The environmental strand is based on things such as preferring sound or silence when working. The emotional strand is based on how much personal motivation or responsibility one possesses. The sociological strand determines whether a person likes to work alone, with a partner, or part of a team. The physiological strand hits points such as if you are a morning, afternoon, or evening person. Lastly the psychological strand describes whether or not a person is impulsive or reflective or analytical versus global.
In order to communicate well with your employees, you must have all materials present and ready before a meeting begins. It is important to activate your employees prior learning because everyone learns by applying new information to what they already know. It is necessary to use a variety of approaches during the presentation so that all learning styles will be accounted for. For instance, make sure you have visual aids, a short video clip, and a brief activity so that the presentation is well rounded. By varying your approaches, you are able to engage your learners and reinforce what is being taught.
Give your employees a learning styles inventory test so that they will know in what way they learn best. Giving employees choice allows them to be in control of their learning. Create workplace groups based on learning styles. For instance, have the visual learners create visual aids for the verbal learners to present.
Many people think that learning is simply learning. As you have heard, learning can be a complicated process if you are not sure of the way in which you learn best. In the field of business, it is necessary to know what your learning style is so that you can be successful in the area that you are most strong.
