Self-Assessment for Potential Learners
People who come to my classes aren’t there to be learners; they are there to be employees. This means that the corporation assesses them for their suitability for the job, and rarely consider their fitness as a learner. Or, at least, they don’t make this consideration a high priority. Likewise, whether the employer offers a learning environment friendly to their preferred learning style is probably low on a candidate’s list of considerations when applying for a job.
Interviewing for Learning
Remembering that an interview is an opportunity for both the employer and the candidate to consider their future relationship, these questions could be the framework for an interview.
Employer: Tell me about the different training formats you’ve used in the past, such as being in a class, or working from a computer.
Employer: Thinking about those different training formats, what activities did you find were most helpful for you to understand the material?
Employer: Have you ever taken a course just for fun? If so, tell me what you liked the most about it. Was it the subject, the place you learned, the instructor, etc.
Employer: Think back through your life since you left high school. How important do you think it is to keep learning? Tell me about a situation in your life that required you to learn something new.
Employer: Have you ever heard about learning styles? Do you know anything about your own learning style?
Candidate: Tell me about how you would train me to do this job.
Candidate: Is my employment connected with how well I do in the training? Or do you evaluate me after I’ve been on the job for a bit?
Candidate: I really like to figure things for myself, like using a computer program to figure out how it works. Will I be able to do this?
Candidate: How do you train me when my job tasks change?
Candidate: Do you have any education benefits?
Learning styles
Howard Gardner described seven types of intelligence that each of us expresses (Gardner, 1983). These intelligences, or learning styles, cover the ways we use our senses and our cognitive abilities to assimilate information and communication with others. This list provides a very basic description of these seven styles, using both a familiar title and the title that Gardner used.
- Verbal (linguistic) highlights words and language, both spoken and written
- Solitary (intrapersonal) describes my understanding of myself, and how I develop that understanding
- Visual (spatial) covers images, colors, etc. to visualize objects or my location in space and time
- Logical (mathematical) covers numbers, patterns, classifications, and logical reasoning as ways of organizing information
- Physical (bodily-kinesthetic) focuses on using the body, such as the sense of touch, to interpret information as well as to communicate to others
- Aural (auditory-musical-rhythmic) describes using sound or music to assimilate information.
- Social (interpersonal) perceives other people’s feelings, behaviors and communication
(after Advanogy.com, 2004)
An adult learner considering any type of learning program, but especially a distance program, needs to understand how his or her learning styles lie in the balance of their lives. They may need to shape their family, work, or other community obligations, they may need to look for time-saving technologies, or they may need to find a program that delivers courses that match their styles.
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The learning styles test I took was at Learning-Styles-Online.com. This site provides an inventory of 70 questions, and the learner selects from a 3-point scale to answer the questions: not like me, a little like me, and a lot like me. The results are graphed against seven learning styles. My quantitative scores are:
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This is a list of activities I find most helpful when I am learning something, whether I am online or off. I have listed the learning style I think I am using with each activity.
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