What kind of a learner am I?

What kind of a learner am I? This is a question my father answers every time I ask him to listen to me go through the components of nuclear physics or explain how hygiene evolved through the middle ages. He always comes into my room and says, “You’re a social learner!” I guess he is right; I am a social learner.

However, there is a lot more to my learning than just talking it through with someone else. I ask my mom, dad or sister to let me talk about what I am learning as a last step to my studying. I like to tell someone, who has no previous knowledge of the subject, about what I am learning ,because then, when I am done, if I have explained it well and they understand it, I can be sure that I have a good idea of what I am talking about.

Before I am at the point where I can share what I have learned, I need to make sure I know it myself. I do this by making tons of lists. Lists help me to work ahead and this year is the first year where I am consciously aspiring to get work done ahead of time. If I do it before the due date, I feel like I actually understand it and everything is fresh in my mind from when we talked about it in class. I have started thinking of days that assignments are assigned as due dates and this has worked very well for me.

Everyday when I get home, the first thing I do before I start my homework is make a list. I list out all the subjects I have the next day and sometimes the next two days. Then, I find out what work I have to do, and decide when I am going to do it. By making a list, I can be sure I am not forgetting anything and I can plan how much time I will spend on my homework that night. I think, overall, making lists is a good thing, and has no negative consequences. The only bad thing is if I forget to write something down – but I use my agenda as a bible, so that rarely happens.

The next step to my learning is making a study guide for a test or an outline of an essay. I find that by making a study guide, I am re-writing the information I have to learn and this repetition helps my comprehension. When I do a study guide, I do not just copy down my notes because I think that would be a waste of time. Instead, I try to really understand the information and I ask questions so I can try to go deeper and really understand it. In the study guide, I try to express it in the simplest way possible – whether that is in a chart, flashcards, bullet points or even pictures. Then I study the study guide and finally, I talk through it with someone.

If I have done an outline, I will go to one of my parents and tell them about my plan. Even though I am often not looking for their comments or advice, I just like telling someone what I am thinking - saying my thoughts out loud. I don’t know why, but I do. This is good because I know what I need to do to make myself feel like I have a good understanding of something, but it is also bad sometimes.

Every so often, there is no one there to talk to or to listen to what I am learning. At those times, I have to focus on knowing the information the best I can and I will sometimes talk to myself in order to understand! Before, I would have a very hard time if I could not orally go through what I was learning. As I have gotten older, I have become better at studying on my own in my room. I used to do all of my homework at the kitchen table, but I don’t anymore.

Of course I still like to talk about what I am learning, but now I tend to do it in a different way. I will talk about it at the dinner table or connect it to something that we are talking about as a family. In the end, I think I will always be a social learner, no matter what, but I am getting better at studying alone too – as long as I am organized, it is not really a problem. J