Improve Your Memory with Learning Styles

It may sound like an advert, but it’s true: you can give your memory a boost by using your Learning Style. The techniques are simple, yet tailored especially towards your own unique way of learning.

To understand how your Learning Style affects the way in which you absorb new information best, please have a look here. Today, however, we will concentrate on the process of consolidating the already-learnt information in order to cement it in your memory.

A bit of scientific jargon here: the most recent research studies support the hypothesis that “enhanced memory in humans is associated with elevated norepinephrine activity during memory consolidation”. In everyday language, it means that stimulating the “Fight or Flight” response in the body makes your brain remember the situation. Our emotions influence how well the brain encodes information about exciting or meaningful events (from http://www.apa.org/monitor/apr04/vagus.html).

So, the message is clear:

• feel very positive about the thing you’re trying to memorise, and you will;
• feel extremely negative about the thing you’re trying to memorise, and you will, too.

(Love your teacher, hate your teacher, fear your teacher - all those emotions will help you learn.)

The good news is that we don’t necessarily need to simulate a life-or-death situation or to become emotional in order to enhance our memory. Because norepinephrine is also released during physical activity, doing energising exercises immediately after a period of intensive memorising will help you retain the information. Similarly, going for a brisk walk when you’re trying to recall something might help unlock the obstinate memory pathway... unless mobility is not in the list of your Learning Style Preferences, of course.

What is your own Learning Style? Find out here.

Say Goodbye to Office Stress, too!

Last week, we talked about using Working Styles at home, when dealing with your children (click here to read the full post). Today, we’ll use Working Styles in a more conventional way, namely, to decrease your stress levels in the office.

Your Working Style is the way in which you approach complex projects and cope with problematic tasks. Do you dive into the details straight away, or do you search for an overview first? Do deadlines stress you or energise you? Do you get excited or irritated by a promise of a performance bonus? Do you work more optimally in a group or by yourself? Do you enjoy working under a mentor or a supervisor? When people are late for a meeting, do you use the extra time to focus your mind or do you get so impatient that you can actually feel your blood pressure rising?

It’s not a joking matter. If you force yourself to work in circumstances that are incompatible with your Working Style, you can do your health a serious amount of damage. Stress is the silent killer of the 21^st century - don’t let it get to you. Complete your Working Style Analysis today for a full report of factors that may contribute to your tension on the job.

And remember, the elements we discussed last week, namely:

· the amount of light in your office,

· tidiness or chaos (either can set your teeth on edge, depending on your unique Working Style),

· variety or habit (again, some people get upset by change, others don’t settle well into a routine),

· room temperature,

· time of day,

may also affect how stressed you feel at work. Check your Working Style Analysis report.

Say Goodbye to Stress with Working Styles

Step 1: Recognise Stress

(that’s nothing to do with Working Styles!)

· Your little girl spills juice on the carpet.

· Your son is having a screaming fit.

· Your toddler is carrying her latest painted masterpiece towards you. She drops it face down onto the carpet….

· Your teenager has died her hair purple.

Step 2: Discover Why You Are REALLY Stressed. No, REALLY!

Take something as simple as the light in your house. Did you know that some people feel better in darker rooms that have softer lighting, while others need bright light to function? If you like bright light, you may feel lethargic in dimly lit rooms; while if you prefer soft light, you may be stressed in a room in which the light bulbs are very bright. Fluorescent lights in particular (present in many kitchens, garages and laundries) can make you feel extremely agitated because of their constant flickering that your eye doesn’t notice but your brain still registers.

You can also feel stressed because of an untidy environment, too much change or too much routine, because of the weather, because of the time of day.

To find out, do our Working Style Analysis.

Step 3: Banish Stress

1. Think about your daily schedule and about your house. What can you change to achieve a better environment in which to be a parent? Hint: read the report you get with your personal and unique Working Style Analysis.

2. Not sure what else is adding to your stress? Then email Prashnig Style Solutions on info@clc.co.nz with a subject line “Parental Stress Competition” for your chance to win a personal analysis.

Global Change and Learning Styles

Are you prepared for change? Generation Y has compressed the traditional 20 year career cycle into approximately 1-2 years. People who were born between 1975 and 1995 don’t want to spend a lifetime waiting for their life to happen.

“I need to feel that I’m constantly learning and growing,” says the 29 year old Andrew, a software engineer. “If I have to work on one thing for more than six months, or if a promotion passes me by, I will move on.”

The global economic situation doesn’t bother him. “My age and my qualifications have, so far, been recession-proof. There are still many good companies out there who are recruiting. But you have to be flexible and prepared to learn new things.”

This implies that to beat the recession and get the job of your dreams, you have to be willing to develop your existing skills and learn new ones.

Sounds easy? If we consider the human brain, it’s clear that its main function is to learn. Because of the brain’s enormous potential, information intake should be fun, easy, long-lasting and stress-free. So why isn’t it always the case?

Barbara Prashnig, the director of Creative Learning Company in Auckland, New Zealand, and a world expert in the area of learning techniques, believes that the key to successful learning is knowing and satisfying one’s unique Learning Style. “Learning style,” she says, “is simply the way in which human beings concentrate on, absorb, process and retain new and difficult information. People can learn virtually anything if allowed to do it through their own personal strengths.”

What’s your learning style? Have a look here to find out.

Left Brain, Right Brain

Left brain = analytic/logical thinking = sequential processing

Generally, people with a left-brain dominance are sequential thinkers, analytics who like facts, details and logic. They tend to like their work areas neat and organised. They have perfect filing systems, always deal with one project at a time and are deadline-driven. Keeping lists of tasks to do is their favourite hobby, and if they complete something that=s not on their list, they are likely to add it just for the satisfaction of crossing it out. Analytics are the ones who know the price of eggs in the local dairy, hang up the toilet paper so that the straight part touches the wall, roll up the toothpaste tube and replace the cap. An analytic cook follows a recipe step by step, and if she runs out of an ingredient, she drives to the shops to replace it.

Right brain = holistic/global thinking = simultaneous processing

Right-brained people, in contrast, are holistic multi-processors. They aren=t interested in the nitty-gritty of issues. Instead, they need to know the overall picture, the reasons behind a project rather than its deadline. Piles of paper gather dust on their desks and office floor, yet they are able to find any document at a moment=s notice. Holistics tend to use their intuition or feelings rather than rationalise about a problem. A holistic cook never ever keeps a shopping list, doesn=t sticks to recipes and is happy to substitute milo for cocoa powder in her chocolate cake.

That=s why some people mistake right-brain dominance for creative genius which is actually a marvellous combination of our entire brain's processing.

Maths is Fun with Learning Styles

Maths is fun. If your child thinks it’s not, the education system’s at fault for not presenting maths in a way that’s palatable to the students.

Every child has their own unique Learning Style, in other words, every child learns in a different way:

• some need to picture what they’re learning in their minds,
• some need to touch learning tools and aids, trace the answers with their fingers or simply write the answers down a few times,
• some need to hear the lesson explained,
• some need to work it out for themselves.

All in all, there are 49 Learning Style Elements that affect your child’s ability to concentrate on their school work. Please have a look at the LSA Pyramid to see what they are.

If your child is kinesthetic-external, for example, take them for a walk and:

• count your steps,
• skip-count the cars that pass you,
• identify the numbers on the houses as you walk,
• add the registration numbers of the parked cars,
• stop to buy a healthy snack and ask your child to count the money, work out the change, etc.

A tactile child will enjoy making and using learning tools such as flip-charts, electro-boards, models and wrap-arounds.

Do you know whether your child will enjoy playing a maths-based board game or baking a cake? Find out here.

Learning Styles and 3D Animation Movies

Next time you see a movie or read a novel, try to guess what learning style elements the main characters exhibit. Of course, it’s impossible to know for sure unless the characters answer the LSA questionnaire (even experts get it wrong without the tool), but it’s great fun guessing!

Here is a Learning Style Analysis of the main characters in the latest 3d animation family movie called “Up”.

(Plot summary, compliments of www.imdb.com:

A young Carl Fredrickson meets a young adventure spirited girl named Ellie. They both dream of going to a Lost Land in South America. 70 years later, Ellie has died. Carl remembers the promise he made to her. Then, when he inadvertently hits a construction worker, he is forced to go to a retirement home. But before they can take him, he and his house fly away. However he has a stowaway aboard. An 8 year old boy named Russell, whose trying to get an assisting the elderly badge. Together, they embark in an adventure, where they encounter talking dogs, an evil villain and a rare bird named Kevin.)

Ellie’s Learning Style Elements:

• Auditory (talking)
• Kinesthetic (external)
• Kinesthetic (internal)
• Visual (external)
• Visual (internal)
• Tactile

Carl’s Learning Style Elements:

• High Perseverence
• Fluctuating Responsibility
• Non-conforming

Russell’s Learning Style Elements:

• Auditory (talking)
• High Responsibility
• Group-oriented

Evil Villain’s Learning Style Elements:

• Works alone (don’t they all?)
• Externally Motivated

For more Learning Style Elements, please see the LSA Pyramid.

To check your child’s or your own unique learning preferences, click here.