based on work by Richard M. Felder
Barbara A. Soloman

Each learner is a unique individual who constructs their own knowledge and develops their own ways of learning. In trying to understand and explain this, researchers have developed theories about learning and learning styles. This article deals with different styles of learning in separate categories. As you read it, remember that no individual will fit neatly into one category. They will show a combination of learning styles and strategies. The purpose of this reading is to remind you that learners are different, and that your teaching and assessment should provide for a range of different ways of learning, in order to be varied, interesting and appealing to all.

Active and Reflective learners

• Active learners tend to remember and understand information best by doing something active with it e.g. discussing or applying it or explaining it to others. Reflective learners prefer to think about it quietly first.
• "Let's try it out and see how it works" is an active learner's phrase; "Let's think it through first" is the reflective learner's response.
• Active learners tend to like group work more than reflective learners, who prefer working alone.
• Sitting through lessons taking notes, and doing nothing physical is difficult for both learning types, but particularly difficult for active learners.

Everybody is active sometimes and reflective sometimes. A balance of the two is desirable. If learners always act before reflecting, they can jump into things without thinking and get into trouble. If they spend too much time reflecting they may never get anything done.

How can you help active learners?

If you have active learners in a class where there is little or no time for active discussion or problem-solving activities, you can suggest to active learners that they set up study groups in which they take turns explaining different topics to each other.  These learners will benefit by remembering and understanding better if they find ways to do something with it.

How can you help reflective learners?

If you have reflective learners in a class where there is little or no class time for thinking about new information, then encourage them try to make up for this when they study. Give homework tasks which require them to stop periodically to review what they have read and to think of possible questions or applications. They might find it helpful to write short summaries of readings or class notes in their own words. Doing so may take extra time but will enable them to remember the material more effectively.

Sensing and intuitive learners

• Sensing learners tend to like learning facts. Intuitive learners often prefer discovering possibilities and relationships.
• Sensors often like solving problems by well-established methods and dislike complications and surprises; intuitive learners like innovation and dislike repetition. Sensors are more likely than intuitive learners to resent being tested on material that has not been specially covered in class.
• Sensors tend to be patient with details and good at memorising facts and doing hands-on (laboratory) work. Intuitive learners may be better at grasping new concepts and are often more comfortable than sensors with abstractions and mathematical formulations.
• Sensors tend to be more practical and careful than intuitive learners. Intuitive learners tend to work faster and to be more innovative than sensors.
• Sensors don't like courses that have no apparent connection to the real world. Intuitive learners don't like "coach and test" courses that involve a lot of memorisation and routine calculations.

Everybody is sensing sometimes and intuitive sometimes. To be effective as a learner and problem solver, learners need to be able to function both ways. If you overemphasise intuition, they may miss important details or make careless mistakes in calculations or hands-on work. If you overemphasise sensing, they may rely too much on memorisation and familiar methods and not concentrate enough on understanding and innovative thinking.

How can you help sensing learners?

Sensors remember and understand information best if they can see how it connects to the real world. If they are in a class where most of the material is theoretical, they may have difficulty. They need specific examples of how concepts and procedures apply in practice. If you do not provide enough specifics, they should try to find some in their text books or other references or by brainstorming with friends or classmates.

How can you help intuitive learners?

Many classes are aimed at intuitive learners. However, if you have an intuitive learners in a class that deals primarily with memorisation and rote learning, they will probably become very bored.  These learners need to be shown interpretations or theories that link the facts, or an opportunity to try to find the connections themselves. The learners may also be prone to careless mistakes in tests because they are impatient with details and do not like repetition (as in checking your completed solutions). They should take time to read the entire question before answering and be sure to check the results.

Visual and verbal learners

Visual learners remember best what they see - pictures, diagrams, flow charts, time lines, films, and demonstrations. Verbal learners learn more easily from words - written and spoken explanations. Everyone learns more when information is presented both visually and verbally.

In most classes very little visual information is presented: often learners listen to educators and read material written on chalkboards and in textbooks and handouts. Unfortunately, because most people are visual learners, this means that most classroom learning is seriously limited by the lack of visual presentation. Practised learners are capable of processing information presented either visually or verbally.

How can you help visual learners?

Make extensive use of diagrams, sketches, schematics, photographs, flow charts, or any other visual representation of course material that is otherwise mostly verbal. Show learners how to construct concept maps by listing key points, enclosing them in boxes or circles, and drawing lines with arrows between concepts to show connections. Another suggestion is for them to colour-code their notes with a highlighter so that everything relating to one topic is the same colour.

How can you help verbal learners?

Let them write summaries or outlines of course material in their own words. Working in groups can also be particularly effective: they gain understanding of material by hearing classmates' explanations and they learn even more when they do the explaining.

Sequential and global learners

• Sequential learners tend to gain understanding in linear steps, with each step following logically from the previous one. Global learners tend to learn in large jumps, absorbing material almost randomly without seeing connections, and then suddenly "getting it."
• Sequential learners tend to follow logical stepwise paths solving problems. Global learners may be able to solve complex problems quickly or put things together in novel ways once they have grasped the big picture, but they may have difficulty explaining how they did it.

Many people who read this description may conclude incorrectly that they are global, since everyone has experienced bewilderment followed by a sudden flash of understanding. What makes you global or not is what happens before the 'light bulb' goes on. Sequential learners may not fully understand the material but they can nevertheless do something with it (like solve the homework problems or pass the test) since the pieces they have absorbed are logically connected. Strongly global learners who lack good sequential thinking abilities, on the other hand, may have serious difficulties until they have the big picture. Even after they have it, they may be fuzzy about the details of the subject, while sequential learners may know a lot about specific aspects of a subject but may have trouble relating them to different aspects of the same subject or to different subjects.

How can you help sequential learners?

Most school subjects are taught in a sequential manner. However, if your learners are sequential and you jump around from topic to topic or leave out steps, they may have difficulty following and remembering. They will need to ask you to fill in the skipped steps, or fill them in themselves by consulting references. When they are studying, they should take the time to outline the lecture material for themselves in logical order. Doing this will save them time in the long run. They might also try to strengthen their global thinking skills by relating each new topic that they study to things that they already know. The more they can do so, the deeper their understanding of the topic is likely to be.

How can you help global learners?

If your learners are global learners, it can be helpful for them to realise that they need the big picture of a subject before they can master details. If you plunge directly into new topics without bothering to explain how they relate to what the learners already know, it can cause problems for them. Fortunately, there are steps they can take that may help them get the big picture more rapidly. Before they begin to study the first section of a chapter in a text, they should skim through the entire chapter to get an overview. Doing so may be time-consuming initially but it may save them from going over and over individual parts later. Instead of spending a short time on every subject every night, they might find it more productive to immerse themselves in individual subjects for large blocks. Encourage them to try to relate new topics to things that they already know, either by asking you to help them see connections or by consulting references.