Understanding Learning Styles Leads to Better Grades
It is a rare thing for a student to learn without encountering any stumbling blocks along the way. Learning sometimes takes a great deal of concentration and effort, and many mistakes are made before the path of least resistance is reached. Though it is impossible to predict all of the obstacles a student may encounter on the road to better grades, at the very least they can endeavor to understand how their minds naturally approach these predicaments.
A student’s learning style can affect how they process information. Each style differs from student to student. One way that SuperCamp, a leading academic summer camp, conveys this is through the wonderful anecdote of Slim ‘n’ Bil. Slim and Bil were very smart people, but in entirely different ways. They didn’t ask each other, “How smart are you?” Instead they asked, “How are you smart?”
Slim and Bil became great friends the day they discovered that their combined names spelled out eight different ways that all people are smart. Enthusiastically, they realized that everyone has their own method of learning, and that once they understood this, the door of learning would open wide. One of their many joint activities was to list the different learning methods.
The acronym for learning styles include the following and correspond with the letters of Slim ‘n’ Bil’s names: Spatial-Visual, Linguistic, Interpersonal, Musical, Naturalist, Bodily-Kinesthetic, Intrapersonal, Logical-Mathematical. Each method is unique and helps a student absorb information in a way that is customized to their brain.
Other learning methods are on different sides of the spectrum: Interpersonal learners love group challenges, while Intrapersonal learners like to create a personal objectives checklist. Logical-Mathematical learners prefer logic puzzles and use reason to tackle problems, while a Spatial-Visual learner likes to view challenges in dimension and shapes. Linguistic learners like words and stories to help them sort through facts, just as a Musical learner enjoys songs and rhyme to help them recall and organize information.
It should be noted that no one learning style is superior to another. Just as Slim ‘n’ Bil discovered, everyone sees problem-solving in a different way. Having many different perspectives can provide enlightenment to someone else who is only viewing the problem from one angle.
Understanding how the mind approaches problem-solving can have significant effects on a student’s performance in school. Students may get better grades, and ultimately a better GPA when they don’t have to work so hard at finding the best way to tackle their school work. Studying can be an easy task for any kind of learner when they utilize the customized style-specific techniques they learn at SuperCamp.
Every student has the potential to become a valuable asset at work, home, or in school when they understand how they can best contribute to a challenge with their unique perspective. The story of Slim ‘n’ Bil not only shows how friends can accept each other, but they can accept others who share different perspectives.