Leveraging Your Learning Style & Effective Study Strategies Do you know how you learn best? Your learning style is the way you prefer to learn. It doesn't have anything to do with how intelligent you are or what skills you have learned. It has to do with how your brain works most efficiently to learn new information. This workshop will focus on helping you identify your own learning style and show you how to develop learning strategies that work for you so you can create a customized approach to achieving academic success.

1. Learning styles
Aural/Auditory
Kinesthetic
Visual
Read/Write
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Learning Styles

2. The Pieces of Academic Success
Rationale
Essay
Academic
Research

3. Learning Coaches & Content Tutors
• One-to-one appointments in person or via phone, e-mail, Internet, etc.
• Workshops (online & onsite)
• Small group assistance (online & onsite)
• Online Content Area Tutoring – Smarthinking (www.esc.edu/smarthinking)
Online Support
•For Academic Support Information & Materials Available 24/7 Online go to
http://NECacademicsupport.pbwork.com
•A self-paced or credit-bearing study & resources -
http://AcademicEye.pbworks.com
• On Facebook - NEC Academic Support & Student Services
Academic Support
@ NEC
Services & Resources
Helping You Connect the Pieces for Academic Success

4. What is a learning coach?
A learning coach is someone who provides academic support to students in one-on-one or small group settings in all areas of the writing process
and related study skills strategies including time management, organization, reading efficiency, developing a study plan, goal setting, critical
thinking, library research skills, note-taking, and learning styles.
Sarah Spence-Staulters is located in Latham working with Schenectady & Latham/Albany students
Her hours are: Mondays – 3pm- 7:30pm
Wednesdays – 3:00pm-7:30pm
Fridays - 9am- 4pm
Contact Sarah to make an appointment :
(518) 783-6203 ext 5992 or Sarah.Spence-Staulters@esc.edu
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Kate Stockton is located in Latham working with Johnstown & Latham/Albany students
Her hours are: Mondays - 4:00pm-7:30pm
Wednesday - 4:00pm-7:30pm
Thursdays - 4:00pm-8:00pm
Contact Kate to make an appointment :
(518) 783-6203 ext 5992 or Kate.Stockton@esc.edu
Mary Sanders-Shartle is located in Saratoga working with Saratoga &
Queensbury students
Her hours are: Mondays – 12pm-2pm
Wednesdays – 3pm-6pm
Thursdays 4pm-6pm
Contact Mary to make an appointment :
(518) 587-2100 ext 2827 or Mary.Sanders-Shartle@esc.edu
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Meet the Learning Coaches

5. Helping You Connect the Pieces for Academic Success
A peer coach is a current undergraduate or
graduate student trained to guide and encourage
other students in improving their academic
performance and development as a life-long
learner, focusing on general study skills, specific
content-areas, navigating college resources, and
developing within their Areas of Study.
They work in both face-to-face and virtual
environments.
Peer coaches are trained under College Reading
& Learning Association (CRLA) international
standards for peer tutors and are either
volunteers, work-study, or practicum students.
Academic Support @ NEC

6. Maximize Learning & Instructional Styles!

7. • Most people have developed a preference for how
they learn.
• One style is not better than another, and all of
approaches to learning can be improved.
• Effective learners know how their minds work and
are able to adapt their studying strategies to any
learning situation.
The Basics

8. Identifying Your Learning Preference
VARK Learning Styles Self-Assessment Questionnaire
TAKE ASSESSMENT
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire
What were your results?
Your VARK preferences can be used to help you develop additional, effective strategies
for learning related to how you:
take in information;
study information for effective learning; and
study for performing well on an examination.
Visual Study Strategies (V)
Aural/Auditory Study Strategies (A)
Read/write Study Strategies (R)
Kinesthetic Study Strategies (K)
Multimodal Study Strategies (MM)

9. Your Action Plan
Your Learning Style: ________________________ other: ____________________
Summary of your style:
Specific study tips that will help you study better:

10. Characteristics of Visual Learners
• Have a keen sense of aesthetics, visual media and art.
• Easily remember information presented in pictures or diagrams.
• Have strong visualization skills. They can look up and “see” the
information invisibly written or drawn.
• Make “movies in their minds” of information they are reading.
Their movies are often vivid and detailed.
• Have very strong visual-spatial understanding of things such as
sizes, textures, angles and three-dimensional depths.
• Pay close attention to the body language of others (facial
expressions, eyes, stance, etc.).
VISUAL
Visual learners tend to:

11. learn best when information is
presented visually and in a picture or design
format.
In a classroom setting, benefit from
instructors who use visual aids such as film,
video, maps and charts.
benefit from information obtained from
the pictures and diagrams in textbooks.
When trying to remember something, can
often visualize a picture of it in their mind.
have an artistic side that enjoys activities
having to do with visual art and design.
Visual learners:
Visual

12. Study Tips for Visual Learners
• Convert information into visual study tools
(diagrams, maps, charts)
• Copy & write new info - see it in your own writing.
• Visualize & make movies as you read and study.
• Use nonverbal clue’s by instructors to provide you with important information.
• When learning mathematical or technical information, make charts to organize the
information. When a mathematical problem involves a sequence of steps, draw a
series of boxes, each containing the appropriate bit of information in sequence.
• Use the computer to assist in organizing material that needs to be memorized. Using
word processing, create tables and charts with graphics that help you to understand
and retain course material. Use spreadsheet and database software to further
organize material that needs to be learned.
• Use "color coding" of new information in your textbook or notes. Mark up the
margins of your textbook with key words, symbols, and diagrams and use highlighter
pens of contrasting colors to "color code" the information.

13. Characteristics of Aural/Auditory Learners
• Remember quite accurately details of important information heard
during conversations or lectures.
• Have strong language skills, which include a well-developed
vocabulary and an appreciation for words.
• Have strong oral communication skills. They can carry interesting
conversations and can articulate their ideas clearly.
• Have a “fine tuned ear” auditory may lead to learning a foreign
language more easily.
• Often have musical talents, can hear tones, rhythms, and individual
notes.
AURAL/
AUDITORY
Aural/Auditory learners tend to:

14. Tend to find when trying to
remember something,
can often "hear" the way someone
told you the information, or the way
you previously repeated it out loud.
learn best when interacting with
others in a listening/ speaking
exchange.
Aural/Auditory learners:
Aural/Auditory

15. Study Tips for Auditory Learners
• Discuss/study with friends. Join a study group to assist you in learning
course material. Or, work with a "study buddy" on an ongoing basis. If
not possible, talk out loud and recite information your are learning.
• You can retain and understand information better by teaching another
person, or conversing with an instructor.
• Record information and listen to it. You may benefit from using a
recording device to make audio files to listen to later. Use
computerized technology – Text to Speech in Word, Audacity, etc.
• When learning mathematical or technical information, "talk your way"
through the new information. State the problem in your own words.
Reason through solutions to problems by talking out loud to yourself or
with a study partner.
• Try games or interaction activities that provide the sounds of words
being spoken.
• Add rhythms or tunes to your learning.

16. • Work well with their hands and may be good at repairing
work, sculpting, art or working with various tools.
• Often have well coordinated and have a strong sense of
timing and body movement.
• Learn with movement = often do well as performers:
athletes, actors, or dancers.
• Often wiggle, tap feet or move their legs when seated.
• Have been often labeled “hyperactive” as children.
Characteristics of Kinesthetic Learners
Kinesthetic learners tend to:
KINESTHETIC

17. Kinesthetic learners:
Kinesthetic
learn best when physically engaged in a "hands on" activity.
In the classroom, they benefit from a lab setting where you
can manipulate materials to learn new information.
learn best when you can be physically active in the learning
environment.
benefit from instructors who encourage in-class
demonstrations, "hands on" student learning experiences, and
field work outside the classroom.

18. Study Tips for Kinesthetic Learners
• Take notes as you read – text and/or graphic organizers.
• Pace as you study. When studying, walk back and forth with textbook,
notes, or flashcards in hand and read the information out loud.
• Make large-sized study tools – flipcharts, chalk/white boards. When
reviewing new information, copy key points onto a chalkboard, easel
board, or other large writing surface.
• Learn by doing. Think of ways to make your learning tangible, i.e.
something you can put your hands on. For example, make a model
that illustrates a key concept. Spend extra time in a lab setting to
learn an important procedure. Spend time in the field (e.g. a museum,
historical site, or job site) to gain first-hand experience of your subject
matter.
• Use your hands and your fine motor skills. Study with pen/pencil in
hand.
• Use exaggerated movement for emphasis and expression.
• Use case studies, examples and applications.

19. • Like lists and words to keep ideas and “To Do”
items straight.
• Remember information displayed as words.
• Emphasize text-based input and output -
reading and writing in all its forms.
• Prefer PowerPoint, the Internet, lists, filofaxes,
dictionaries, thesauri, quotations and words,
words, words...
Characteristics of Read/Write Learners
Read/Write learners tend to: READ/
WRITE

20. learn best when information is presented visually and in
a written language format.
In a classroom setting, they benefit from instructors who
use the blackboard (or PowerPoint, overhead projector,
etc.) to list the essential points of a lecture, or provide an
outline to follow along with during lecture.
benefit from information obtained from textbooks and
class notes.
often see the text "in your mind's eye" when trying to
remember something
Read/Write learners:
Read/Write

21. Study Tips for Read/Write Learners
• Use a word processor – take notes as you read. Rewrite the
ideas and principles into other words.
• Use dictionaries and/or make flashcards to remember key
vocabulary.
• Write out the words again and again. Read your notes (silently)
again and again.
• When learning information presented in diagrams or illustrations,
write out explanations for the information. Organize any
diagrams, graphs ... into statements, e.g. "The trend is..."
• When learning mathematical or technical information, write out
in sentences and key phrases your understanding of the
material. When a problem involves a sequence of steps, write
out in detail how to do each step.

22. AURAL/
AUDITORY
KINESTHETIC
READ/
WRITE
VISUAL
MULTI-
MODAL
Life is multimodal. There are seldom instances where one
mode is used, or is sufficient.
Those who prefer many modes almost equally are of two
types.
There are those who are context specific who choose a single
mode to suit the occasion or situation.
There are others who are not satisfied until they have had
input (or output) in all of their preferred modes. They take
longer to gather information from each mode and, as a result,
they often have a deeper and broader understanding.

23. REFERENCES USED IN THIS PRESENTATION
VARK Learning Styles Questionnaire
http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire
ADDITIONAL ONLINE MATERIALS (including other self-assessments)
Online Learning Styles Inventories with Immediate Feedback
Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire
http://www.engr.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ilsweb.html
A set of 44 two choice questions, covering the following learning styles: Active
and Reflective, Sensing and Intuitive, Visual and Verbal, & Sequential and Global
Brain Works’ Downloadable
http://www.jcu.edu.au/tldinfo/learningskills/learningst/
An interesting exercise (PC users only - 1.1MB) called brain.exe can be
downloaded from this site. It will give you some more information about your
dominant brain hemisphere. To get out of the program before completing the
assessment, use ctrl alt del keys to access Task Manager and stop the program.
The esc key does not always work.
C.I.T.E. Learning Styles Instrument
http://www.wvabe.org/cite.htm
References & Resources

24. CONTINUED…
ADDITIONAL ONLINE MATERIALS (including other self-assessments)
continued…
Online Learning Styles Inventories with Immediate Feedback continued
A Learning Style Survey for College
http://www.metamath.com/multiple/multiple_choice_questions.html
A 32 question survey with immediate feedback assessing the following learning
styles:
Visual/ Verbal, Visual/ Nonverbal, Tactile/ Kinesthetic, & Auditory/ Verbal
Information about Learning Styles
Learning Styles & Strategies
http://www4.ncsu.edu/unity/lockers/users/f/felder/public/ILSdir/styles.htm
References & Resources

25. Please give us your feedback at:
Thank you for attending tonight's workshop If
you would like to view this worship again to
refresh your memory or just for fun please
visit:
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26. Fall 2010 Workshop Schedule
Sept.
20 Start the Term Right
27 Time Management
29 Start the Term Right
Oct.
4 Navigating the ESC Websites
6 Critical Thinking
8 Introduction Library Skills ( 10am-11am )
13 Navigating the ESC Websites
14 Time Management
18 Critical Thinking
20 Reading More Efficiently
25 Leveraging Your learning Style
28 Unblock the Writing Experience
Nov.
1 Reading more Efficiently 3
3 Introduction to Library Skills
8 Unblocking the Writing Experience
17 Stress Management
19 Time Management (10am-11am)
22 Resume and Cover Letter Writing
Dec.
1 Stress Management
6 Ending the Term Right
8 Ending the Term Right
9 Writing a Rational Essay
13 Stress Management
20 Resume and Cover Letter Writing