What type of learner am I?

Definition - What is a learner type?

Everyone learns differently. The term learner type describes different ways of learning. This is primarily about the way in which learning content is best absorbed and processed.

There are four different main types of learner that differ greatly from one another. Nevertheless, there are often mixed forms among the learner types. A rough distinction is made between the following learning types:

  • more visual
  • more auditory
  • more haptic
  • more communicative

Read more about the following topics: Learning style and learning

Causes for different types of learners

The main reasons for the different forms of learner types lie in perception. There are different ways of perceiving information, for example seeing, hearing or touching. It is assumed that people have different levels of effectiveness in absorbing information through the aforementioned channels of perception. This means that some people learn better and more effectively when they see the content, while others benefit more from hearing the material.

Which tests can I use to find out my learner type?

There are various tests that help identify the appropriate learner type. There are numerous free tests on the Internet that can be carried out quickly and provide a direct evaluation. Examples are:

  • www.Studienkreis.de

  • www.Testedich.de

  • www.Lerntypentest.com

  • www.Stern.de

These are simple test procedures that are similar in structure and essentially ask about learning patterns. They only provide an orientation. In addition, you can easily try out which learning methods help you the most in everyday life.

What are the four types of learner?

Visual learner type

The visual learner primarily benefits from reading the content to be learned or looking at pictures, graphics or the like. Reading, looking at, and observing are great ways of absorbing and memorizing information for this type of learner. The visual learner needs to read the information himself or carefully look at the pictures, graphs and charts. The visual representation of information makes learning easy for this type of learner.

At the same time, the visual learner often has difficulty memorizing things that he has heard in an audio book. In everyday life, it helps visual learner types eagerly to take notes and to read through the notes again at home in peace. In addition, you should paint and sketch everything possible, create mind maps and diagrams. Index cards are also ideal for this type of learner for repeating the learning content.

Auditory learner

Compared to the visual learner, the auditory learner responds better to another channel of perception: his or her hearing. The auditory learner is particularly good at absorbing information when he hears the learning content. This type of learner finds it easier to retain and reproduce information when he hears it, i.e. when it is explained orally. In school, it helps auditory students to have the content of the lesson explained by the teacher. In other areas, this type of learner benefits from audio books.

Also read: What are the learning strategies?

Haptic learner type

The haptic learner type, also called motor learner type, is particularly effective when it is practically active. Touching, grasping content with your hands and movement while learning lead to the greatest success with the haptic learner. He understands information best when he carries it out himself or can observe the execution. In principle, this is about "learning by doing".

Depending on what needs to be learned, walking around memorizing facts can help the haptic learner. This type of learner can remember information better if he complements it with gestures and facial expressions, playing with a ball or moving a pen.

Communicative learner type

Discussions and conversations are ideal for the communicative learner. This type of learner understands information particularly well when he talks about it to others. In dialogue, he understands the context and meanings of the learning content.

For this type of learner, it is helpful to form study groups with others. If that is not possible, you can talk to your parents or siblings about it. You can present a topic and question the content in a completely different way through the feedback from the audience. For this type of learner, role-playing games such as an interview or a quiz are also suitable for learning.

When can you determine or determine the learner type?

Children develop preferences for certain sensory qualities at an early age. Babies should already choose a kind of favorite sense that they use most often and develop particularly well over the years. The preferred learning channel of children manifests itself at the latest in kindergarten age. Visual learner types at this age already tend to paint and do a lot of things, while auditory learners communicate a lot and play with others. Often this tendency persists until entering school.

Theoretically, one can recognize a child's learner type as early as kindergarten age. However, children develop at different speeds and should not be pigeonholed too quickly. However, determining the type of learner only makes sense at school age. From school age onwards, you can determine a child's learning type with a test and actively promote the preferred way of learning.

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