How my Thinking and Learning Styles help my brain stay flexed

#DBCThinkStyle

Happen to know what your Learning style is? What about your Thinking style? As we close on Unit 1 of Phase Zero at Dev Bootcamp, I reflect on how these styles have helped me get to this point, and what actions I can take, knowing my strengths and weaknesses within these styles, to successfully tackle the next unit of work.

When I took the VARK learning style test, the results indicated that I have a multimodal learning style, between Kinestetic, and Visual. In other words, I use my hands and my eyes to learn. I can attest to this in how hands-on I’ve preferred to be in learning HTML and CSS so far, and my need for visualization of the concepts we’ve learned so far.

In looking at the Thinking Styles, My results from the “Mind Style Model” Assessment returned a primary connection to the “Abstract Random” style which, according to Anthony Gregorc, is a person who learns best in a personalized environment, being able to listen to others, and work on group activities. I have definitely seen this come through in how much I prefer working in pairs on challenges, and enjoy the individuality of the work we are doing at DBC.

Ways that I can continue to use my knowledge about being a Visual/Kinesthetic learner, and an Abstract/Random, thinker, are:

  • Understand that though it may be difficult for me to focus on one thing at a time, using visual triggers to guide me back to the tasks needing to be complete can help keep me on track.
  • Create more visual representations of what I’ve learned so far, for my reference
  • Taking time to stop and create a use case for programs that I’m stuck on, with the assitance of someone who can talk me through it and allow for soundboarding along the way

Equipping myself with strategies for how I can circumvent weaknesses and boost my strengths around what works best for my learning and thinking styles, will allow me to grow my knowledge and thrive in Unit 2.