Learning preferences are flexible. Sometimes you may prefer one way of learning. At other times, you may prefer another. Your preferences will depend on your topic and learning situation.

Learning preferences:

• Active
• Reflective
• Sensing
• Intuitive
• Visual
• Verbal
• Sequential
• Global

Active learning preference: You tend to learn by doing and enjoy working with others.

Learning strategies:

• Take notes while listening or reading.
• Seek out group work where you can take turns explaining different topics.
• Find ways to apply what you've learned to your everyday life.
• Seek out hands-on experiences if you also have a tactile learning style.
• Brainstorm before exams if you're in school, practising questions and answers with classmates.

Reflective learning preference: You tend to think about things first and prefer to work alone.

Learning strategies:

• Listen and read.
• Review material.
• Think of possible questions and applications.
• Keep a journal of readings and/or lectures.
• If you're in a learning situation in which you must memorize, build your memory skills.

Sensing learning preference: You tend to want facts and rules and are good at memorizing.

Learning strategies:

• Think about practical ways to apply what you've learned to the real world.
• Ask teachers, colleagues, and others for concrete examples of abstract ideas or theories.
• Discover different procedures that suit you for completing learning tasks.
• Seek out hands-on experiences if you also have a tactile learning style.

Intuitive learning preference: You want to think about possibilities, be innovative, and ponder concepts.

Learning strategies:

• Seek out the meanings to facts, figures, data, and so on.
• Link facts you're learning to broad concepts and theories.
• Ask specialists, teachers, and colleagues to help you interpret the facts so that you can "see" the larger picture.
• If you're in a learning situation where you must hand in homework and/or take exams, ensure that you give yourself time to learn details and check your work.

Visual learning preference: You tend to like information presented in pictures, diagrams, demonstrations, and so on.

Learning strategies:

• Colour-code your notes.
• Highlight important parts of texts.
• Try to find visual imagery-diagrams, photographs, flow charts, etc.-to help you better understand material that is primarily text.
• Seek videotapes and CD-ROMs for learning.
• Use Mind mapping as a way of learning and remembering.

Verbal learning preference: You tend to like to get your information from words-either presented in text or aloud.

Learning strategies:

• Outline notes of what you've heard or read.
• Write summaries of what you've learned.
  
• Seek out group learning situations where you can discuss topics.
• Ask questions of specialists, teachers, colleagues, and classmates.

Sequential learning preference: You tend to want to get information in a step-by-step process in order to get the "big picture."

Learning strategies:

• Outline notes of what you've heard or read.
• Define the steps to learning a task.
• Organize material you've learned in a sequential order.
• Seek out hands-on experiences if you also have a tactile learning style.

Global learning preference: You want the "big picture" before learning the details.

Learning strategies:

• Relate what you're learning to what you already know.
• Skim a text/chapter to get an overview before reading closer.
• Study one topic for a long period of time, rather than several subject for short periods of time.