As training is all about learning and developing others, the trainer needs to enhance their ability to help trainees with their learning. But you cannot help others learn until you know HOW they learn.
Having an idea of the way people learn will give you valuable information when planning and delivering training. It is not always easy to analyse what helps us learn. Over the years you have probably developed learning ‘habits’ that help you benefit more from some experiences than from others.
Dr Peter Honey and Alan Mumford developed much work on this topic which you may already be aware of. If not, it is well-worth locating and completing their Learning Styles Questionnaire to increase your self-awareness. This questionnaire will help you pinpoint your learning preferences so that you are in a better position to select learning experiences that suit your style.
Basically they found that there are four learning styles and that we each have a preferred learning style (but say that most of us have elements of more than one learning style).
Activists
Activists like to be involved in new experiences. They are open minded and enthusiastic about new ideas but get bored with implementation. They enjoy doing things and tend to act first and consider the implications afterwards.
Reflectors
Reflectors like to stand back and look at a situation from different perspectives. They like to collect data and think about things carefully before coming to any conclusions.
Theorists
Theorists adapt and integrate observations into complex and logically sound theories. They think problems through in a step by step way. They tend to be perfectionists who like to fit things into a rational scheme.
Pragmatists
Pragmatists are keen to try things out. They want concepts that can be applied to their job. They tend to be impatient with lengthy discussions and are practical and down to earth.
Think again about the learning situation you considered in the above activity. Do you know understand better what helped you learn?
Before taking the Learning Styles questionnaire you might like to guess which is your preferred style!
You may also have heard of this system of understanding how we learn best developed in New Zealand by Fleming and Mills (1992).
VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read/write, and Kinaesthetic; the sensory systems that are used when learning information.
Visual (V)
This preference is for visual information; charts, graphs, flow charts, images, photos and other visual ways used to represent what could have been presented in words. It does NOT include films, videos or PowerPoint displays.
Aural / Auditory (A)
This preference if for information that is “heard or spoken.” Learners learn best from lectures, tutorials, tapes, group discussion, email, speaking, web chat, talking things through.
Read/write (R)
This preference is for information displayed as words; books, reports, text - reading and writing in all its forms.
Kinesthetic (K)
This preference is for learning through the use of experience and practice, either simulated or real.
If this system appeals to you more, then again there is a questionnaire available to complete to gain more insight in to your own preferred way of learning.
Whatever your own personal learning style as a trainer you can be sure that in your training group you will have every style represented by your trainees!
When designing your event therefore you must make sure that you appeal to all the possible learning styles. For example, if you want to get a point across to a Visual person there is no point just lecturing at them; they needs pictures and diagrams! If you expect instant feedback from a Reflector, you will probably be disappointed as they need time to mull over what they have heard before they can comment; so you will need to build in some thinking time to your event for them.
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