My Learning Style(s)

How do we learn new things?  I could survey one hundred different individuals and each of them could give me a completely different answer.  Learning is unique to the learner.  That is why there are so many different learning theories and schools of thought when dealing with how people learn.  As an instructional designer, it is important to have a strong foundation of knowledge of learning theory so that I can design meaningful and effective instruction for the various learners that I will be called upon to train.  But I truly believe that before I can design effective instruction for someone else, I must first understand what type of learner I am and how I approach new information. 

For a very long time, I believed that I learned best following the practices that fell under cognitive and constructivist theories.  I often connected information to my prior knowledge and organized material so that I could retain the information.  I preferred to be an active learner as opposed to a passive listener.  However, I have recently realized that learning theory is not the only thing that is constantly changing.  So is the learner. 

The constant stream of information and how it is presented has molded my style of learning.  I have had to adapt to the flow of information.  My brain has learned how to make connections in meaningful ways and filter out needless information.  I am using technology to research, organize and synthesize new information in ways that were not possible even 10 years ago.  Social platforms allow me to connect with other learners to share ideas and solve problems.  Does this mean that my learning styles would now fall under Connectivism?  I would have to argue no.

There are many times that I find myself collaborating with other to understand new concepts or complete a problem based task.  I will watch a video or look up an infograph to help make meaning of something that I do not fully understand.  I see many aspect of the social learning theory in my personal learning style, but I would not place myself in that category either. 

The truth is that I am like many learners. I am unique. My learning style does not stay the same because I am constantly learning new things.  I approach each new learning experience in a way that will allow me to master the knowledge.  The techniques I use are as varied as the multitude of information that I am bombarded with each day. 

Technology will continue to change the way in which we learn.  It will require learners to be more adaptable.  As instructional designers, it is our job to ensure that we design learning in ways that allow the material to be approached in multiple ways.  All learners are unique, so shouldn’t our instruction be?