Types of Learners in organisational behaviour

21/10/2022 0 By indiafreenotes

Learning can be defined as the permanent change in behavior due to direct and indirect experience. It means change in behavior, attitude due to education and training, practice and experience. It is completed by acquisition of knowledge and skills, which are relatively permanent.

Nature of Learning

Nature of learning means the characteristic features of learning. Learning involves change; it may or may not guarantee improvement. It should be permanent in nature, that is learning is for lifelong.

The change in behavior is the result of experience, practice and training. Learning is reflected through behavior.

Factors Affecting Learning

Learning is based upon some key factors that decide what changes will be caused by this experience. The key elements or the major factors that affect learning are motivation, practice, environment, and mental group.

Coming back to these factors let us have a look on these factors:

Motivation: The encouragement, the support one gets to complete a task, to achieve a goal is known as motivation. It is a very important aspect of learning as it acts gives us a positive energy to complete a task.

Example: The coach motivated the players to win the match.

Practice: We all know that “Practice makes us perfect”. In order to be a perfectionist or at least complete the task, it is very important to practice what we have learnt.

Environment: We learn from our surroundings, we learn from the people around us. They are of two types of environment; internal and external. Example: A child when at home learns from the family which is an internal environment, but when sent to school it is an external environment.

Mental group: It describes our thinking by the group of people we chose to hang out with. In simple words, we make a group of those people with whom we connect. It can be for a social cause where people with the same mentality work in the same direction. Example: A group of readers, travellers, etc.

Types of Learners

There are following types of learners:

  • Visual Learners
  • Auditory Learners
  • Kinesthetic Learners

Visual (spatial) Learners

For many people, definitely, the “eyes have it.” These people prefer it when information is visually presented. Rather than detailed written or spoken information, such students respond better to:

  • Charts, graphs, or tables
  • Pictures and photographs
  • Visual aids, such as projectors
  • Information that is organized visually (e.g., color-coded categories)
  • Metaphors that take advantage of visualizing (e.g., “The battlefield was a sea of death”)

Aural (audio) Learners

Others seem to respond more favorably to sound and are able to remember more when they listen to information. These learners benefit a lot from lessons that involve listening and speaking. When reading, it often helps them to do it aloud. Some ideas to improve their learning experience include:

  • Music (which may help by providing an emotional connection)
  • Rhymes spoken out loud
  • Audiobooks when appropriate

Physical (tactile) Learners

For some, the most effective educational approach involves physical interaction with things. This is a real “hands-on experience” that emphasizes a type of “learning by doing,” rather than merely sitting and listening to a teacher explain concepts. This is the “kinesthetic”, or K in the VARK model mentioned earlier. There are several good methods of reaching students who prefer this learning style:

  • Use exercises that get pupils out of their seats
  • Allow them to draw as an activity
  • Get them to perform an experiment or role-play
  • Incorporate activities that involve acting or dancing
  • Introduce puzzles or other physical objects they can handle.

Solo Learners

In contrast to social learners, there are students who prefer to study alone. When by themselves, these individuals thrive. To assist this style of learner, teachers may:

  • Use exercises that focus on individual learning and problem-solving
  • Ask students to keep personal journals
  • Acknowledge their individual accomplishments

Logical (analytical) Learners

While aural learners may benefit from forming an emotional connection with sound, logical learners look for patterns and trends in what they learn. They search for the connections, and the reasons and results. Teachers can best motivate them by using lessons that:

  • Introduce questions that demand interpretation and inference.
  • Present material requiring problem-solving abilities.
  • Encourage them to reach conclusions based on facts and reasoning.

Verbal Learners (aka Linguistic Learners)

Here, the key is not so much whether the information is spoken or written. Rather, these types of students simply enjoy making use of the language itself. Like aural learners, verbal ones enjoy rhymes and wordplay. Here are some strategies for best promoting learning among these individuals:

  • Encourage group discussions.
  • Assign topics for class presentations.
  • Give them role-plays with interesting scenarios.
  • Promote flexibility related to learning new vocabulary.

Social Learners (aka Linguistic Learners)

These students prefer educational lessons that involve participation with others. In addition to enjoying the social interaction, they appear to gain more insight this way. To help these learners, some good approaches are:

  • Use group activities
  • Incorporate role-playing
  • Encourage students to ask others question and share stories.