Discovering How You Learn
Discovering your learning preference will help you find ways to be successful in each class. The VARK Questionnaire is a tool that will identify your learning preference. It is easy to complete and provides study strategies for each learning preference. The four learning preferences are…
Visual
Aural
Read/Write
Kinesthetic
Many students have a multimodal learning preference, meaning their learning style is a varied combination of visual, aural, read/write, and kinesthetic. Once you know your learning preference, you can use the strategies designed for learners like you to be successful in class! Try out the different study strategies that are suggested to see which one works best for you.
Your attitude also plays a major role in your learning. Take a moment to consider your attitude toward yourself as a learner by asking yourself these questions:
- Do you determine your ability to be successful based on past learning experiences?
- Do you think your level of intelligence is fixed or do you think you can improve through hard work and dedication?
- Are you easily discouraged when you don’t do well on an assignment or exam?
If you answered, “yes” to any of these questions, you may have a “fixed” mindset that could be inhibiting your success as a student. Students with a “growth” mindset believe their intelligence level is not determined and can “grow” their intelligence and other abilities through hard work and dedication. To learn more about the mindsets, visit Mindset for Achievement to learn how mindset affects success. To determine which type of mindset you have, click here to test your mindset. If your test results show you have a fixed mindset, click here to learn how you can change your mindset.
Discovering Resilience and Grit
Resilient students are successful students. Students who are resilient overcome adversity in order to triumph in their endeavors. You may be wondering, “What does resilience mean?” Merriam-Webster defines resilience as “the ability to become strong, healthy, or successful again after something bad happens.” It is the ability to bounce back after an experience that could have brought you down or taken you off the course to reaching your goals. An attribute of students who are resilient is their ability to solve the problems they face. Click on this link to learn more about how to become an effective problem solver and strengthen your resilience!
Grit is also an indicator of student success. Grit is having what it takes to persevere to meet your long-term goals. To learn more about grit, watch Angela Duckworth’s TedTalk titled, “Grit: The Power of Passion and Perseverance” and visit her Frequently Asked Questions page. To find out how gritty you are compared to recent survey participants, answers the questions on the Grit Scale.
Congratulations on Your New Job!
Have you ever thought about college as a job? It may sound strange, but your commitment to college should be similar in nature to your commitment to a job. College students and employees both have duties to complete and expectations to meet. You wouldn’t, or shouldn’t, show up late to work, so don’t show up late to class! The same goes for showing respect to your instructors (bosses or managers) and completing assignments (finishing tasks at work). Take a look at this Student Job Description (pdf) for a better understanding of how you can start thinking of college as your job.
*This content was adapted from Ferris State University’s “Advice for Student’s Guide”