Visual and Kinetic Learning

Did you ever take one of those assessments in school that tells you about your learning style, or were you at least exposed to the idea that there are different methods that kids use to learn? I don't know how valid that stuff is, but according to the typology I have seen, I am a visual/kinetic learner, and I have been using that self-knowledge to good effect this weekend.

Application 1: Studying for My Calculus Final

I have made a gazillion flash cards for my cumulative (ugh) math final that contain all the formulas, approaches to solving problems, and key points that I want to completely internalize prior to the second phase of studying for my final, solving example problems. I divided these cards into 6 categories, ordering them from easy/earlier in the book to difficult/later in the book and so far have been working on each category individually.

The first time through, I first looked at the front of each card (e.g. integrating sin mx * sin nx dx) and then wrote down what was on the back of the card (e.g. sinAsinB = 1/2 cos (A-B) - 1/2 cos (A+B)), once for the easy-seeming ones and multiple times for the harder ones. The second time through, I went through them again and looked at the front, thought about what the answer was, then flipped it over and wrote down the answer one time. The third time through, I looked at the front, wrote down the answer, then checked it. The fourth (final) time through, I shuffled the deck, then wrote down and checked the answer for each card. Between each of these stages, I would take a 5-10 minute break because I have a vague recollection that this aids memorization and because playing a few rounds of Shape Shifter was an immediate reward for studying.

So far, I have done 5 of the 6 stacks and have learned the material in those cards. Once I have done all 6 stacks, I will merge them and give myself a test. When I can answer them all correctly, I will proceed to the practice problems. There is no point in attempting to answer a question like "What is the integral of (3/2x^2+x+2) dx?" until I have totally internalized how to approach this problem (which I have but will spare you); it will take a lot of time to execute the solution without flailing about for some idea of how to begin.

Application 2: Finding My Way Around a New Campus

Robert and I went to TSU this morning to help me learn my route - how to get from the commuter parking lot to the classrooms where my classes are being held. This was particularly important to me because I have an 8:00 a.m. class that I don't want to be late for or waste any time getting to. And given my rather poor navigational skills, I thought this reconnoitering would be very beneficial both to my actual ability to get around campus as well as my overall comfort/anxiety level. Oh, and since I had not, in a couple of previous visits to the campus, been able to ever find the building where my math class is being held without help (from a particularly cheerful and nice girl in the sociology department), I wasn't feeling good about my chances of doing this independently with a bunch of other students wandering around. Anyway, Robert hadn't seen the campus yet and I was eager to impress on him how many stairs there are. (After two straight hours of walking around on campus, we both felt very clear on the stair-intensity level.)

Of course I drew in the route on one of my several campus maps, but I also stopped and looked around at various points where I will have to make a decision about where to go. At one point, as we were finishing up our investigations of the business school, I took off in an unexpected direction and Robert called after me, "Where are you going? That's the direction of the library [which is not the direction of our next destination]." And I turned around and said, "I know - I will be coming from the direction of the library to this building; I need to see what it looks like again."

I'm sure I'll still be wandering around a bit on Wednesday morning, but at least I won't have to learn for school at 6:00 a.m. to ensure that I can find my classroom before 8:00.