Learning Styles

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I am half way through my first semester of university, after having had a break from studying (the sciences).

What I'm finding is that my 'core issues' of hyper focus and needing to relax (incorporating 'stimming') are meaning that my old patterns are back to haunt me.

I thought I hadn't done well last time because I hadn't established proper patterns and habits - even though that may be true, I'm also finding that quick spurts (5 or 10 minutes) and then a break (going on the internet!) for just as long seem to be just the way I learn.

I'm not happy about this and I would like to improve my achievements in terms of what I'm actually getting DONE in my study sessions. I have some strategies to do this, but..


Does anyone know anything about aspie learning styles? Could I be just normal, for me??

I was always great at scanning and understanding things through seeing patterns. So it makes sense then that I could learn like this.

And - I do know one thing - I'm sick of trying to 'force' myself to do things that don't suit me.

visual learning, esp in biological sciences. Processes e.g. respiration, photosynthesis needs pictures such as the membranes of the chloroplasts, mitochondria and ATP synthase. Audial learning to complement the pictures. Try the McGraw-Hill videos online. They're really good.

Btw what sort of science do you study?

i don't know that there is an "aspie learning style", in the exclusive sense. as tasks go, i'm a learn-by-doer, no amount of listening to someone tell me how to do it, or watching a video of how to do it, etc., works well for me. for amassing information, i'm a reader. i can hear it, i can be told it, and it won't stick. if i read it, it's there pretty much for life.

relaxing is important, i agree there. and learning to pace yourself. since i'm a text-based person, i've learned to skim for the primary concepts on the first pass. then i go back for a second read and find them again, and read further to fill them out.

do whatever you find works for you - it may take some trial and error, but really, whatever works is the way to go, regardless of how non-typical it might be.

I think my learning style is pretty much hands on. When I was in college the Disability Resource Center helped me by providing a notetaker and extended time on exams for me. Also, I had access to tutoring if I ever needed it.

Wow, that is one learning style you've taken on there, lady. I have always struggled with the time limit issue, first trying to achieve 45-5 minutes study ratios, and then a number of other things.

Whenever I'm about to sit down to read literature, I first try to come up with as many arguments why this particular book or article is interesting, what the topic is really about, what I can really get out of the topic (for me the key question here is: how does this relate to the Truth that they're trying to approach here?), and think of things I already know about it. It's not that I sit down and write that down, but I do it while taking a shower, doing the dishes, anything really.
Then when I sit down to read, I of course make sure distractions are gone. Really what I hope to do is create a space where whenever I feel I get bored reading I switch to the Internet for Study Avoiding Behavior. I want to approach my academics like an adult, not trying to cheat on myself or the book, because that makes me feel silly.
The key part of the process is that there's no time limit. I can get as caught up as I want to be and read for seven hours until my next assignment is due (which I'll know when my alarm goes off). And, more importantly, I try to focus on what my body and head are telling me. When I notice I keep reading the same thing repeatedly, or I drift off into thought land, or I'm thirsty or hungry, I just stop. This is usually after an hour or so. I go to the bathroom, get some tea, refuel and continue. There's no use in doing something half, I think.

THE most important thing, I think, is making yourself comfortable. Since you're in university you must know what I'm talking about when I say: just getting the reading done isn't enough, you have to understand to succeed. Which leads me to the point that it's not important how you get it done, as long as, once you're finished, you can say: yeah, that worked. I know it now.

While I would never be able to take on a 5-minute schedule, whatever works for you is the best. Make yourself comfortable and listen to what your body and mind are telling you.

Personally, I'm an active learner, not a passive learner. For most science/math oriented subjects, I cannot follow instruction very well because I can't make much of the words though I understand what the words are. I'm a visual learner and can't process the audio and visual simultaneously.

To learn, I must work through examples in the book. I must have time to go over the examples before class so I can sort things out on my own. Only then can I follow instruction.

I usually work out some visual model for things.

For arts and humanities, on the other hand, I never had much of a problem because it was either slides and books with pictures (art history), or reading articles or stories and writing reports on them, and I'm fairly articulate in my writing.

Thanks Chronos, and yeh I relate to some of what you've said.

This is my first time back studying maths and science again for a while, which is probably why I'm 'finding my feet' again.

I am finding that I must read over notes before the class, or I'm stuffed. I think it's because I don't filter out other information very well -
in any case, I can't process properly in the classroom either (esp. with 200 or 300 other people there). It sounds like you have some kind of similar experience.

If I don't do that, it's a couple weeks after the class that I can understand the material.

I'm going to the disability services actually - then at least if I'm registered the lecturers will know there is a valid reason I haven't been to lectures, when I go to them for help. They have consultation hours anyway and all seem very nice - but I want back up.
Like I said, I've really found I have to be away from the whole 'talking about it' thing to learn properly.

It is a case of being relaxed, usually alone (or in small class settings). So yeah, that's what I'm finding.

The hard parts are"
a) Accepting that I do have a difficulty and because of that difficulty it's ok to learn at home, not in lectures. This is hard because my logic tells me that I ought to go to every single class without exception in order to get a good grade and in order not to have missed anything about the course.
Which is actually crap, in practice.
b) Accepting that my '5 minute' learning style is ok (not ALL the time - I must and do concentrate for hours at other times). We discussed this in another thread - Calculus - the idea being that maths in particular is something that can be learnt with the short attention span style.

I'm still not on top of things to my satisfaction, but .. I went to see someone at my uni for advice, too, and .. I'm doing better now.. Thanks guys