Ways of Learning

What are the rules for using your brain more effectively?

First of all learn to relax if you’re trying to memorize something. You may miss important items if your mind is on something else or if you weren’t paying attention because of anxiety. If you’re having trouble concentrating, increase the flow of oxygenated blood to the brain. So try to combine study with exercise. Keep your mind fit as well as your body by doing mental workouts. Crosswords, Scrabble and quizzes all help to keep the mind in shape. Mnemonics - most of these systems involve associating the things you want to remember with something you already have safely stored in your head, and the most effective systems make use of visual imagery, smell, touch and sound.

Are men and women’s thought processes different? Is there any real difference in male and female levels of intelligence?

Men’s and women’s thought processes are fundamentally different. The theory remains highly controversial in the medical world. The University of Pennsylvania indicates that men have the stronger emotional response to other people’s feelings. The sexes have markedly different patterns of ability and perception. Men are more decisive, aggressive and driven by money and status than women. They tend to be more mechanically minded, better at targeting objects and better at activities which require spatial reasoning - пространственное мышление (Rubik cubes). Women are thought to have greater verbal fluency, though the sexes have equal vocabularies. They prefer amicable - мирные solutions to problems and perform better in non-competitive situations. They also outperform men in arithmetic calculation, can store more random information, and are far better at identifying matching items in a hurry. The reason for the differences is thought to be largely due to levels of the hormone testosterone in both men and women. Some studies show that major differences in the intellectual function appear to lie in patterns of ability rather than in the overall level of intelligence. Scientists believe that the specific area of the brain affected by sex hormones is the hypothalamus, which stimulates feelings of rage, hunger, thirst and desire.

Does success in studying depend on how clever you are or on your organisation of time? Have you learned to manage you study time?

As for me I think that a great deal of my success depends on my organization of time. The important thing is to find out what’s right for you. You should ask yourself: am I a morning person or an evening person and for how long can I concentrate? Do I work best in my room or in the library and what conditions do I need? You may work with a bit of music or may need perfect quiet. Working a nine-to-five day – filling in the chunks of time between lectures – suits some people, but others prefer working early in the morning. Effective reading is the key to success to both essay writing and exam performance and it starts with identifying clearly the question you are trying to answer. You need to find the most relevant books; then read selectively with the question on mind, picking out key passages, taking down notes and quotations. In lectures it helps to develop an abbreviated style of note-taking. You should record the most important points. It may also reinforce your understanding and memory of the lecture, if you go through the notes after each lecture, underlining key points and making summaries.

Are you primarily a left-brain or right-brain learner?

An important factor in understanding learning styles is understanding brain functioning. Both sides of the brain can reason, but by different strategies. and one side may be dominant. The left brain is considered analytic in approach while the right is described as holistic or global. A successive processor (left brain) prefers to learn in a step-by-step sequential format, beginning with details leading to a conceptual understanding of a skill. A simultaneous processor (right brain) prefers to learn beginning with the general concept and then going on to specifics. People think and learn in different ways. In any group there will always be evidence of different learning characteristics, but different cultural groups may emphasize one cognitive style over another. A. Hilliard describes "learning style" as the sum of the patterns of how individuals develop habitual ways of responding to experience and distinguishes learning styles by considering the holistic vs. the analytic learner. Which Type of Learner Are You?

LEFT (Analytic)	RIGHT (Global)
Successive Hemispheric Style	Simultaneous Hemispheric Style
1. Verbal	1. Visual
2. Responds to word meaning	2. Responds to tone of voice
3. Sequential	3. Random
4. Processes information linearly	4. Processes information in varied order
5. Responds to logic	5. Responds to emotion
6. Plans ahead	6. Impulsive
7. Recalls people's names	7. Recalls people's faces
8. Speaks with few gestures	8. Gestures when speaking
9. Punctual	9. Less punctual
10. Prefers formal study design	10. Prefers sound/music background while studying
11. Prefers bright lights while studying	11. Prefers frequent mobility while studying

What are the ways you prefer to learn: do you have visual preferences, auditory preferences or tactile preferences?

Students learn in many ways, like seeing, hearing, and experiencing things first hand. Visual learners are those who learn through seeing things. Auditory learners are those who learn best through hearing things. Kinesthetic learners are those who learn through experiencing/doing things. There are seven specific types of learning styles. 1. Linguistic: loves to read, write, and tell stories; tend to memorize places, dates, names, and trivia very easily, and are always mesmerizing you with their incredible tales. 2. Logical: very mathematically inclined; enjoy solving problems, particularly math related. 3. Spatial: visualizers; spend most of the day dreaming, watching movies, and staying as far away from reality as possible. 4. Musical: walking around the house humming a tune, or always needs music to study by; this type is best at noticing details, pitches, and rhythms that escape the normal listener. 5. Bodily: always on the move; constantly walk around, have to touch everything, and use body language to convey their feelings. 6. Interpersonal: the "social butterflies"; adapt easily to any type of social situation, have many friends and are excellent leaders; patient, understanding, and very empathetic, which makes them a favorite among their playmates. 7. Intrapersonal: are strong willed people who work best alone; pursue their one interests and have a deep understanding of themselves.

Does a better understanding of yourself as a learner can help you determine some of the ways you are best able to learn?

When studying it’s very important to choose how to approach our own learning and development, to understand whether we are a sort of people who like to take time to study or whether we like to get our own teeth into things, put the learning into practice straight away and assimilate knowledge by seeing how it works. Scientists distinguish 4 categories of learners. They are: activist, reflector, pragmatist and theorist, which correspond to 4 learning processes- activist-concrete experience (activist), reflector-observing and reflection, reviewing the experience (reflector), theorist-forming abstract concepts (or concluding of experience) theorist, pragmatist–testing in new situations or planning the new steps which is a favourite pastime of pragmatists. I consider point 4 to be my strongest point because I’m fond of trying new ideas to see if they will work not fearing to fail. I like doing things, having a concrete experience.

What is the difference between surface – level learners and deeper – level learners?

There is a difference between surface-level learning and deeper-level learning. The surface-level learning is absorbing and retaining detail and being able to reproduce it later, deeper-level learning involves engaging with fundamentals principles and adjusting your own beliefs accordingly. Deeper-level student do well both in coursework and exams and surface-level student could do well in exams if they were good at cue spotting.