Understanding Learning Styles - Azara Feroz Sayed

Me and Feroz religiously read Marc Krammer's weekly article in our local newspaper.

His article this week about 'Understanding Learning Styles' made me think about the importance of making everyone in the team aware of the 'Learning Styles' of the team members especially in the 'Networking Model of Team Behavior' (refer post on 'Knowledge Worker's contribution Teams are made up of peers, equals that function as equals. The manager is most often outside, giving occasional direction from above and clearing away administrative and procedural obstacles. On the best teams, different individuals provide occasional leadership, taking charge in their areas of strength. The structure of a team is a network, not a hierarchy.)

I would be highly annoyed at some of my team members not taking the pains to read documentation, project related email and requesting for team learning sessions to understand new techniques. Marc's article helped me relive those moments and agree with Marc's comments 'Maybe I could have made my companies and employees more successful if I had asked my employees how they like to learn.'

Isn't it sad that schools are organized on the assumption that there is only one right way to learn and that it is the same way for everybody!

I am able to relate this to the different mediums (his talk (listeners), visuals (readers), discussions (observing and participation) that Feroz uses during his class

The below is from Marc's article from http://www.thebulletin.us/site/index.cfm?newsid=19714756&BRD=2737&PAG=461&dept_id=576361&rfi=8

What is a learning style? Basically there are five ways people learn.
Reading: I prefer reading because I love the written word. I like content that is written in short, concise sentences with ample use of bullets and numbers to outline information that I need to read. I like words that the reader wants me to focus on bolded or underlined.

Listening: Some people hate to read and find the written word confusing. They don't like to take notes and prefer to hear words. When I am riding my bike, I like listening to books on tape or interviews on the radio.

Graphical: Business schools are big at conveying ideas through graphs, shapes and flowcharts.

Observing: A friend of mine only had to watch someone to learn how to do something and he had it down pat. He hates reading and isn't crazy about just listening. My mind wanders when I am watching, so that doesn't work for me.

Participating: My partner learns best by participating. He likes to take things apart. He wants to know how things work. For me, I just care that they work. I don't want that level of detail.