1. What are
Learning Styles?
Presented by: Leah Gomes

2. Discover Your Learning Style
 There are three basic types of learning styles. The three
most common are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic.
 Each person has different learning preferences and
styles that benefit them.
 To learn, we depend on our senses to process the
information around us. Most people tend to use one of
their senses more than the others.
www.educationcorner.com/learning-styles.html people.usd.edu/~bwjames/tut/learning-style

3. Visual Learning Style Overview
 take numerous detailed notes
 tend to sit in the front
 often close their eyes to visualize or remember something
 find something to watch if they are bored
 like to see what they are learning
 benefit from illustrations and presentations that use color
people.usd.edu/~bwjames/tut/learning-style

4. Auditory Learning Style Overview
 sit where they can hear but needn't pay attention to what is
happening in front
 may not coordinate colors or clothes, but can explain why
they are wearing what they are wearing and why
 hum or talk to themselves or others when bored
 acquire knowledge by reading aloud
 remember by verbalizing lessons to themselves
people.usd.edu/~bwjames/tut/learning-style

5. Kinesthetic Learning Style Overview
 need to be active and take frequent breaks
 speak with their hands and with gestures
 remember what was done, but have difficulty recalling what was
said or seen
 find reasons to tinker or move when bored
 rely on what they can directly experience or perform
 enjoy field trips and tasks that involve manipulating materials
 sit near the door or someplace else where they can easily get up and
move around
 are uncomfortable in classrooms where they lack opportunities for
hands-on experience
people.usd.edu/~bwjames/tut/learning-style

6. Study Skills
Workshop
Presented by: Leah Gomes

7. Overview
● Helpful Tips
● Time Management
● Skills for your Learning Style
● Note taking skills
● Studying skills
● Exam strategies

8. Helpful Tips
● Prepare by skimming ahead
o Power-point notes or text
● Study by yourself daily
o Keep in mind your learning preference
● Study regularly with a group/partner
o Ask/Answer questions and practice presentations
● Ask for help!
o Contact faculty (e-mail, voicemail, in person)
o Find a local Learning Center

9. Helpful Tips
● Don't Skip Class
● Important for all types of learning styles
● To use class time to cram for other courses is
counter-productive
Penn State Study:
A students miss an average of ½
class per semester
C students miss an average of 4
classes per semester

10. Time Management
“Hard work is often the easy work you did
not do at the proper time.”
– Bernard Meltzer
Time management is an
important skill for all students
because you usually need to juggle many
different activities in a very busy life.
http://www.timethoughts.com/timemanagement/time-management-college-students.htm

11. Time Management
● Make a schedule
– Study time, breaks, personal time
● Establish a routine
– Work out time, meals, studying
● Limit activities while studying
– IM, email, television, snacking
● Study ahead

12. Top 10 Tips for
Time Management
1. Look at the big picture
2. Figure out what a week looks like
3. Keep your plan in sight
4. Make a list
5. Be flexible
6. Be realistic
7. Break down big assignments
8. Create your best study conditions
9. When studying, use brain-friendly strategies
10. Ask for help when you need it

13. Time Management
Any plan to schedule time and activities must have at its center a
master schedule, that is, a schedule of activities that is fixed.
o First, fill in all the required activities, such as classes,
drills, and laboratory periods.
o Second , add other regular activities, such as part-time
jobs, commuting time, sports, and regular meetings.
o Third, include sleeping and eating.
o With the fixed activities accounted for, the remaining blank
spaces on the uncluttered chart are free for use on a weekly
or day-by-day basis.

14. Time Management
These are some common time wasters:
● Failure to plan
● Failure to set priorities
● Lack of organization
● Socializing
● Interruptions
● Television / Email / Cell Phones / Facebook
● Excessive recreational activities

15. Note-Taking
“A lecture is a process in which
information passes from the notes of the
lecturer into the notes of the
students without passing through
the minds of either.”
- Gilstrap and Martin, 1975

16. Note-Taking
Five Important Reasons to Take Notes:
1. It triggers your brain and help you to remember
information.
2. It helps get you to concentrate in class.
3. It helps you to prepare for tests.
4. Your notes are often a source of valuable clues for
what information the instructor thinks is important
5. Your notes often contain information that cannot be
found elsewhere.
www.arc.sbc.edu/notes.html

17. Note-Taking Tips
A. Concentrate on the lecture or on the reading material
B. Take notes consistently.
C. Take notes selectively. Do NOT try to write down every word.
D. Be brief. Write down only the important information.
E. Translate ideas into your own words.
F. Organize notes into some sort of logical form
G. Write legibly. Notes are useless if you cannot read them!
H. Don’t be concerned with spelling and grammar.
www.arc.sbc.edu/notes.html

18. Note-Taking Methods
… For the Visual Learning Style
– Concept maps / diagrams / charts
– Use colors, highlighting, underlining, CAPS
– Spatial organizing
– Leave white space for adding information later
– Make drawings in notes
– Use symbols to call attention to important words:
circle, box or * ! ? ›

19. Note-Taking Methods
… For the Auditory Learning Style
– Attend all classes
– Ask questions
– Verbalize responses
– Dictate notes
– Note examples or stories

20. Note-Taking Methods
… For the Kinesthetic Learning Style
– Be active in class
– Write down examples
– Relate lecture notes to previously learned material
– Participate in class demonstrations

21. Forms of Note-Taking
Linear Tables
Mind Mapping Flow Chart
http://www2.napier.ac.uk/gus/managing_information/note_making.html

22. The 5 R’s of Note-Taking
● Record – During the lecture, record in the main column as many
key facts and ideas as you can
● Reduce – As soon after class as possible, summarize these facts &
ideas concisely in the Cue column. This clarifies meaning & relationship
& strengthens memory.
● Recite – Cover the note-taking area & using the Cue column notes,
repeat or rewrite the facts & ideas of the lecture. Check.
● Reflect – Ask deeper questions: “What's the significance? How does
this fit with what I already know? How do I apply this?”
● Review – Spend at least 10 minutes a week in quick review of your
notes from each class.

23. Study Skills
“Get over the idea that only children
should spend their time studying. Be a
student so long as you still have
something to learn, and this
will mean all your life.”
- Henry L. Doherty

24. Study Groups
● Set a regular meeting time
● Set ground rules for socialization vs. study
● Prepare for the session
– read over all materials
– create questions for topics
●Test each other on all of the previous
materials, not just the current week

25. Study Groups
Common Time Wasters
o Lack of clear agenda
o Lack of preparation by all members
o Getting off track

26. Where Should I Study?
Where you decide to study depends on your learning style:
● If you are a visual learner, you may not want to
study where people are constantly walking by.
● If you are an auditory learner, you may not
want to study where there is a lot of noise.
● If you are a kinesthetic learner, you may not
want to study in a small space where you can’t
get up and move around.

27. Study Methods
… For the Visual Learning Style
– Draw and redraw concept maps and charts
– Find drawings / charts
– Organize notes in concept maps
– Color code material
– Watch class videos
– Create flashcards

28. Study Methods
… For the Auditory Learning Style
– Recite notes out loud
– Dictate notes on tape / CD
– Verbalize questions from notes
– Answer questions out loud
– Teach it to others

29. Study Methods
… For the Kinesthetic Learning Style
– Use websites
– Pace, exercise, or tap while studying
– Draw or practice with others
– Draw or write in large print

30. Memorization
● General Memory – remembering the idea without
using the exact words of the book or professor
– The arts, social sciences, and literature
● Verbatim Memory – remembering the identical
words by which something is expressed.
– Law, dramatics, science,
engineering, mathematics,
and foreign language

31. Memorization Strategies
● Chunking – categories & numbers
● Recitation – reading, oral or written
● Association – big picture & connections
● Mnemonics – rhymes and phrases
● Patterning – look for patterns
● Visualization – picture association

32. Memorization Strategies
● Chunking is the oldest method used in memorization. In
this method, the items to be memorized are divided into
small and easily memorizable chunks or groups.
● This method is found to be particularly good for
memorizing multi-digit numbers and for committing
complicated spellings to memory.
– 207-564-6525
– Pis-cat-a-quis

33. Memorization Strategies
● Recitation is simply saying aloud the ideas that you
want to remember.
● Here's how: cover your notes, then recite aloud the
covered material. After reciting, expose the notes and
check for accuracy. You should not attempt to recite the
material word for word; rather your reciting should be
in the words and manner that you would ordinarily use
if you were explaining the material to a friend. When
you can say it, then you know it. (This is why it is best
NOT to recite directly from the text.)

34. Memorization Strategies
● Association - It easier to remember
something if we link it to something we
already know. Try to relate new information
to personal examples as much as possible.

35. Memorization Strategies
● Mnemonics are methods for remembering
information that is otherwise quite difficult to
recall.
● A very simple example of a mnemonic is the '30
days hath September' rhyme.
– Thirty days hath September, April, June, and
November. All the rest have thirty-one, except
for February which has twenty-eight.

36. Test-Taking Skills
“Forget past mistakes. Forget failures.
Forget everything except what you're
going to do now and do it.”
- William Durant

37. Test-Taking Skills
It is best to begin preparing for a
test long before the day of a test.
Cramming for a test increases
your stress.
Preparing for a test is where
your note-taking skills and study
skills are going to help you.
It takes time and practice to develop good test-taking skills.

38. Test-Taking Skills
Before the test:
● Go over just the materials you aren’t sure of
(not what you already know)
● Get enough sleep and eat right
● Try going to bed early and getting up early to study.
● Exercise, meditate or use stress-reduction techniques
● Don’t skip classes!

39. General
Test-Taking Guidelines
1. Be Prepared.
2. Always arrive early and take a moment to relax.
3. Listen to last minute instructions.
4. Read the test directions very carefully!
5. Plan how you will use the time given.
6. Maintain a positive attitude.
7. Go with your first impressions.
8. Plan to finish early and have time for review.

40. Test-Taking Methods
… For the Visual Learning Style
– Recall position of info on the note pages
– Draw out diagrams or concept maps before
starting test
– Practice turning visuals into
test questions

41. Test-Taking Methods
… For the Auditory Learning Style
– Speak answers to yourself (quietly!)
– Spend time in a quiet place recalling answers
– Use ear plugs

42. Test-Taking Methods
… For the Kinesthetic Learning Style
– Role play the exam situation
– Use your hands/body to imitate
what you are trying to recall
– Get exercise the night
before the exam

43. Test-Taking Tips
A Short Answer question requires a short
written answer. Coming up with an answer is
much harder than choosing an answer.
– When you are studying, try and figure out what
types of things might be covered on the test as a
short answer question.
– Creating flashcards for vocabulary and other facts
is a great way to learn short answers.

44. Test-Taking Tips
Multiple Choice questions may seem easier, but
this is often where you have doubts about your
answer.
– Read each questions in its entirety BEFORE glancing over the
answer options. Try covering up the answers as you read the
question, then answer it in your head before looking at the answers.
– Read every answer in its entirety before choosing a final answer.
Some answers may be very similar. Make sure you understand what
it is saying.
– Eliminate answer options that you are 100% sure are incorrect.
– Do not choose “All of the Above” or “None of the Above” just
because it is an option.

45. Test-Taking Tips
True/False questions can be very tricky because
the statements often have just enough true
information in them to make you believe that it
is true.
– Carefully read the questions! Look for keywords
that give you clues to the correct answer.
– Look out for words like: Every, only, always, never,
sometimes, generally, and usually.

46. Bottom Line
● Read ahead-outline for the big picture
● Study daily on your own using your
preferred learning style
● Group study weekly to check retention
● Ask for help EARLY: faculty, peers,
tutors, advisors, counseling