This post may be a little more personal that usual but my son (one of three kids) got me thinking tonight. I received his 4th grade social studies test and he scored poorly. I wasn’t upset for a couple of reasons. First and foremost my son has Asperger’s syndrome. I won’t spend time explaining the disorder other than to say it is on the autism-spectrum and he excels in certain areas while suffering in others. Secondly, it’s just a test and as long as he is trying I don’t really care what the score is.

His results got me thinking about how people learn. While I usually learn best with a combination of written, verbal and visual cue’s, any method seems to suit me. This is not true with my son. He is very occupied with facts and concrete things. He likes to be told how to do a task one way, and chaces are he will never deviate from that pattern again. He is great with anything he can memorize. The problem comes when he has to apply the concrete facts in abstract ways. On his test he didn’t do so hot when he had to answer an essay question that required him describe the effect of Lake Michigan on the climate of Michigan. His answer:

“If you feel how cold or warm it is and thats how you know how the Lake Michigan affects the climate of Michgan.”

While technically correct, the answer didn’t quite have the substance needed for full credit. I talked to him about his answer and because, after years of practice I have learned to word questions to suit his learning style, I found out he indeed know how Lake Michigan affects our climate. Problem is, the world can’t constantly suit his learning style. We have to teach him to adapt and that will take years longer than most students.

How do you learn? How does your learning style affect you? Does it dictate the type of work you do? Does it help or hinder you in life? Take a test and find out your learning style (while at the same time helping a research study). Click here to take the test from NC State Univerisity. Report the results in the comments.

Filed under: Cultural Curiositites, F.Y.I., Life