4 How Do You Learn Best?
Learning Objectives
After completing this chapter, you will:
- Be able to consider your strengths and challenges when working with others.
- Have an understanding of some suggestions for growth.
You will also have completed the following activities:
- A learning styles quiz
- A Welcome to Me resource and
- A Group Strengths quiz
Now that you understand some of the key terms to use when looking at disability, we’re going to have a look how you might learn effectively.
We all learn in different ways and have different strengths and weaknesses. Thinking about our strengths and weaknesses can help us in identifying what we do well and areas where we may need to improve. For example, you may be great at planning, but really struggle to start writing a task. Or you may learn better when information is given to you verbally.
Have a think about some of your strengths as a learner. What activities excite you? Do you prefer visual, auditory or kinesthetic (touch-based) learning? Do you enjoy presenting in front of a group of people?
It’s okay if you don’t know yet; this chapter will help you find out!
Learning Styles Quiz
Your first activity is to complete a free learning styles quiz. This quiz is important because we all learn in different ways. Knowing your learning style will help you figure out how you learn best and allowing you to ask for help if your team is not supporting your learning needs.
It will take about 5 minutes to complete. All you need to do is put your gender, age range and reason for completing the quiz (put which reason feels best). Then start the quiz.
At the end of the quiz, there is an option to input your email address to receive a copy of your results. Please be aware that this link is hosted by a third-party site and providing your email address is not required in order to access the results
Complete the quiz (which will open in a new tab), at this site: https://learningstylequiz.com/quiz/start.php
Once you have your results, read through the and reflect on these prompts:
- Is there anything you are surprised about?
- What did you learn anything about yourself?
No one learning quiz will perfectly capture who you are as a person, but the more you reflect on your abilities and strengths, the better you will understand yourself. Knowing your strengths, weaknesses and areas for growth are incredibly valuable, not only at university, but also when you go into the workforce.
Welcome to Me
Welcome to Me is a resource for you to fill out to reflect on who you are as a person and what you need to succeed. Try to be as detailed as possible.
At the end, download and save the document for you to refer back to, and for sharing the information you feel comfortable to with your teammates. This might include things like communication preferences, availability for meetings, any challenges with working with others, or anything else you think is important to consider when working with others.
Copyright note: The image ‘Plant Growth’ (2019) by _Alicja_ in the above activity is available at https://pixabay.com/photos/plant-growth-rostock-stones-4108210/ and is used under the Pixabay Content License.
Copyright Note: The content in the Welcome to Me activity has been adapted from “What is disability? Speaking Me, Hearing You: A learning toolkit for talking about disability” by Rebecca Muir and Deakin University’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) Team ©Deakin University 2024 and is licensed under CC BY-NC 4.0.
Teamwork Style
Complete this quiz to see what Australian animal best represents your teamwork style. It will help you to see the ways others communicate, and how your learning style may fit within that. It will also help you develop confidence in yourself and how you work within a team.
You may think you are more of a mix of all the animals, or one stands out. There is no right or wrong answer, this is simply another way to help you find your strengths when working with others.
Created by Teagan Menhenett, © Deakin University 2024, licensed under CC-BY-NC.
Copyright note: The images in the above activity are used under the Pixabay Content License.
For reference, these are the four Australian animals in the quiz.
*Throughout this resource you may see little pictures of these animals. Wherever you see one of these images, it is suggesting that the activity, information, or resource would be helpful to you if you identify with the characteristics of this animal. *
Copyright note: The above images are used under the Pixabay Content License.
For further information about how different brains might think, have a look through the article below which discusses different autistic thinking styles. Specifically, it talks about visual thinkers, verbal/logic thinkers and pattern thinkers. It also talks about the differences between bottom-up, associative, analytical and lateral thinkers (Silvertant, 2023).
Even if you do not identify as autistic, this could be something you are interested in learning about when working with others in your team. Feel free to visit the website and read through in your own time (the link will open in a new tab).
Key Takeaways
- We all have different styles of learning and needs when it comes to working in a team. Reflecting on your strengths and areas for growth is important to not only improve your own self-awareness, but also your understanding of others.
These are some of the words you may have come across in this chapter:
Strengths and Weaknesses
Knowledges, attributes or characteristics of a person that are considered well developed, or something they are good at.
Knowledges, attributes or characteristics of a person that are considered less developed, or something they are not yet good at.
