Learning Styles and Modalities

As a leader, knowing the different kinds of leaning styles and modalities can make leading easier and can get more things accomplished. For example, if a person in the group is a visual learner and you are the president of a organization. You have a task for this person to do and you tell them everything that needs to be done. A week later you re-group and find that the person you had do the task had only got one thing done. He then goes on to tell you that he forgot and does not understand what he is suppose to do. Instead, if you knew what kind of learner he was you could have gave it to him on a piece of paper and he would have more likley gotten it done.

Even though a leader has their own learning style, if you dont know how to work with the others that maybe dont have the same style as you, how are you leading them? The learning modalities are:

• Visual: Need things said to them, Like the Big Picture, talk and move fast, neat and orderly, like color, need personal space, sit in the front row, draw pictures, need written directions.


• Audiotory: Talkative, Talk in rythm, cassette head, radar eyes, middle of room, say directions, needs specific examples


• Kinesthetic: Move, Talk more, "sloppy", athletic, sit in back, directions in hand, learn by doing, uses props, work side by side

Brain Preferences:

• Left Brain Stucture: Using text, making models, practical reading, charts, how-to-books, making timelines, practical problems, demonstrating, classifying
• Left Brain Analytical: Using text, lecture, note taking, library work, outlining, quiz bowl, doing research, debating, questioning experts, considering cause and effect.
• Right Brain Affective: Journal writing, creative writing, team games, arts, role-play, music, drama, drwaing, interviewing, working with a partner, humor.
• Right Brain Original: Brainstorming, inventing, games, experimenting, having options, creating the unusual, open-ending activities, designing, problem solving, learning games, making games, hands-on learning

A great site to find out what your leaning styles are is http://www.ldpride.net/learning-style-test.html.