Learning Efficiently 4

In the field of software development, it is no surprise to find yourself become out-dated fast. You may even find the technologies you work with become close to obsolete overnight. In software development we often find ourselves dealing with new technologies for projects. Before even starting the actual project, we have to learn about the new technologies first. Therefore, it is important to learn quickly and efficiently.

It is not difficult to learn fast, but retaining the information is another matter. To make the most use of your time, you should optimize how you are learning based on your learning styles. Learning styles define the way you learn best and retain the most information.

Learning Styles

There are 4 learning styles:

• Visual: learn by seeing
• Kinesthetic: learn by doing
• Read/write: learn by reading and writing (e.g. notetaking)
• Auditory: learn by speaking and listening

Usually, we have a strong preference for 2 or more learning styles.

Finding Out Learning Style Preferences

How can you find out what your learning styles or another person’s are? Here are some things to watch for:

• Draw on whiteboard or paper — Visual learners. For some, until they can see it, it does not make sense to them.
• Talking with hands — Kinesthetic learners. Some can barely speak if their hands are occupied.
• Compulsive note takers — Read/write learners. They take a lot of notes, but may not refer back to them. It is just what they do to retain the information.
• Talking aloud about the work while working — Auditory learners. They are the ones who usually read instructions out loud.

To get an idea of what your learning styles are, you can try this vark questionnaire.

Supporting Your Learning Styles

When you are learning something new, you want to relate it to your learning styles as much as possible. Some would be more difficult than others, such as auditory if you are in an open office space at work. Regardless of your learning styles, here are some things you can do to incorporate them into your learning sessions.

Visual

Draw diagrams or pictures of what you are learning. It may seem pointless if you are not a strong visual learner, but this works wonder for those that are visual learners.  I am a visual learner and most of the times when it comes to recalling what I learn I just think back to the diagrams I drew.

Kinesthetic

Apply what you are learning to a physical activity. For example, if you are learning Java for mobile development, you can write a simple app. The physical actions of applying what you are learning are what helps you retain it.

Read/Write

Take notes on what you are learning whether it is at work or elsewhere. You can sign up for an MOOC (massive open online course) and take notes as the instructor talks. Better yet, if you can find time to attend a class in-person and take notes there.

Auditory

Read the materials you are learning about aloud if it is from a book. Try an audiobook version of the book if it is available. You can also teach others about what you are learning.

There you have it, some ways to really accelerate your learning speed in a short amount of time. It will take some trial and errors for you to development methods of learning that fits your learning styles, but once you do it will pay off. For me personally, learning based on my learning styles had allowed me to drastically improve my academic performance in college. I was spending much less time studying and yet doing much better. At work, I am able to meet tight deadlines even when the project involves unknown technologies.

I hope understanding about your learning styles will benefit you just as much as it has for me so far. Until next post, take care and happy coding!

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