I consider myself and Aural and Verbal learner. The traditional class structure (do some readings on a topic, hear a lecture on this same topic, take notes on the lecture, and then write a paper on the topic) combines these two learning styles perfectly and enables me to not only memorize the information without having to make a conscious effort to do so, but also allows me to understand the material.

I try to picture a class where neither Aural nor Verbal teaching methods are used and it is difficult. Perhaps watching a movie, or looking at a series of images? The incorporation of these teaching tools is always helpful, but I can’t imagine them being the sole method of education. Imagine trying to learn American History with a picture book. How many pages would you need to depict every important event? Perhaps it is simply because I am not a visual learner, but I cannot imagine being able retain all of the visuals to learn about the major events. And how would you represent the abstract ideas of freedom, equality, and democracy? Movies, though somewhat Aural assuming they have music and dialogue, also seem impractical. How much time would it take to show a film depicting the entirety of American History? Would the 40 hours of an average introductory history class be enough? It seems to me that hearing a lecture and reading are not only the best ways for me to learn, but the most efficient as well.

Kinesthetic learning seems equally inefficient. While acting out the Boston Tea Party in class or molding the map of the United States as it changed over time might help me memorize and understand the material as my preferred methods of learning do, they would use much more time to accomplish the same goal.

Then there is the idea of social versus solitary learners. I would definitely consider myself one of the latter. Again, I see the value in social learning, and do engage in it to reach the goals of memorization and understanding. Yet I often simply find reading or researching on my own. Moreover, I think that if I am an active reader, it is almost the same as social learning: I am engaging with the author, though obviously in a different way and not to the same degree as I would if we were having a face-to-face (or skype) discussion.

My learning style preference is evidence in the way I did this reflection. I could have created a video where I modeled the United States in clay, acted out the Boston Tea Party, made a movie (okay, short film) summarizing American history, or done the same through a picture book. I could have done just one of those things. Perhaps it would have been easier for you, my classmates, to understand my ideas and the point I am trying to make if I had done this. But for me, writing an essay is the most efficient and best way for me to express my reflection.

I am aware that my examples might not have worked so well if I had chosen a subject other than American History. But I chose American history because that is my field of study. This made me think, perhaps people choose their academic (and life) careers based not simply on interest in content, but also, to some degree, on learning style.