If you want to be a successful college student, you need to have a curriculum. Your old clothes from high school probably won’t work in college. You need to start your college career with a full understanding of how you learn. Many students haven’t really given much thought to their own learning style, but you should take a minute and examine their approach to their daily experiences.
Would you rather have your work assignments in writing or would you rather have someone tell you what to do? That can make a world of difference in the successful completion of a job! If you are a visual learner, you like to see a written explanation of your assignment. If you are an auditory learner, you prefer to be told what to do. A visual learner with an auditory boss must make an adjustment to the situation. A good way to strike a balance is to bring a notepad or jot down the information on a sticky note for later. A visual learner in college needs to make sure grades are good and handouts and PowerPoint presentations are printed and organized. Taking notes on the actual PowerPoint is a very effective way to learn your material.
An auditory learner in college should plan to record the lectures on a digital recorder, so that they can listen to the lecture over and over again on the computer or MP3 player. The auditory learner should also make sure to study out loud. Listening to the information will reinforce the details in her memory.
Some people are tactile/kinesthetic learners. Those people need to handle the equipment to see how it works, try things out for themselves, and generally stay active and physical every time they do something. If you are a tactile/kinesthetic learner, then you need to find a way to study that allows you to use your energy when you study. One way a tactile/kinesthetic learner can study is to have a white board or blackboard at home to use to solve problems. This is especially effective for math classes where the work can be especially challenging. A tactile/kinesthetic learner can also benefit from a collection of important fact sticky notes taped to a wall or mirror!
The ideal college student will combine all of these approaches when going to class and studying for tests. We all have a learning style preference, and using that learning style to study will lead to an A+ in student success in college.
