Learning strategies vary based on subject matter, student and instructional styles. Grouping, visual, hands-on and kinesthetic learning are common strategies. Teachers can incorporate multiple strategies to facilitate learning for a wider audience of students.
Learning strategies can vary based on subject matter, student learning styles, instructional styles, and more. Many strategies transfer between subjects and styles, while others will work specifically for just one area of study. A teacher or instructor might consider narrowing their focus to determine what, exactly, they need to know in order to address a teaching or learning problem. An English teacher, for example, might need to know about learning strategies related to vocabulary, while a science teacher might need to know about strategies for retaining and applying information.
Grouping is one of the most common learning strategies that transfers across the subject. This process involves placing information into logical groups for easier information recall later. A carpenter can, for example, group the different woodcutting processes by identifying the project during which he is most likely to use those processes. Building a baseball bat, for example, will involve the use of a lathe, chisels, sandpaper or other honing tools, and so on. A person learning a complex vocabulary list can group words by category; words like “genre” and “species” might be unconsciously lumped into the “zoo” category, while “similar” and “metaphor” might be lumped into the “poetry” category.
Many students tend to be visual learners, so learning strategies will focus on creating an image to pair with complex information. It can help a student to understand voltage currents by imagining a battery inside a camera or to associate the plot concept of a story by drawing a plot pyramid. Teachers who understand these learning strategies can incorporate them into lessons to connect with a wider audience of students. It may not be possible to include all learning strategies in a lesson, but it is possible to include more than one strategy to facilitate learning for multiple students.
Hands-on and kinesthetic learning strategies involve movement and practice doing. These strategies are especially useful in the fields of math and science. Students learning in the field benefit from activities rather than lessons; a student learning sentence structure may not understand the concept written on the board, but when given scraps of paper of various words, he or she may be able to construct the sentence by manipulating the scraps of paper. Learning objects like these are vital for hands-on learners; manipulation and movement help these students understand complex tasks and ideas more easily. Moving around the room or space can also help students understand concepts.
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