Learning Styles Blog

Chewing Hair - A Matter of Learning Style

Yvonne Walus — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 21:49:23 GMT

“Take that hair out of your mouth!”
“Stop biting your nails!”
“Have you eaten the other half of the bookmark?”
“Don’t suck your collar.”
“Don’t chew the pencil.”
“If you carry on biting your nails, you’ll get an infection.”

If this is a familiar mantra in your household, wait. Before you start painting your child’s fingers, pens and clothes with bitter substances, try to get to the root cause of the problem.

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

some need to feel good about the topic they’re learning,
some need to make a model of the new concept,
some need to work closely with a group of friends in order to understand best...
... and some need to chew something while concentrating.

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 tends to chew when reading or doing homework, give them sugar-free gum, a healthy snack, a water bottle or a wooden spoon to chew on. Less stress for you, more learning for them.

Incidentally, would your child enjoy playing a maths-based board game or baking a cake in order to learn their fractions? Find out here.

Are you listening?

Yvonne Walus — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 12:32:24 GMT

What sticks in your memory when you listen to a list of instructions? If the only thing that echoes is the last point, don't worry, you're not the only one. Many people's working stylemakes it almost impossible for them to remember what they hear... while others cannot understand how that's possible and end up feeling hurt, marginalized or ignored.

Get your family working the way it should: discover their preferred style of communication with one of our products (age-appropriate).

Learning Styles in James Cameron’s Avatar

Yvonne Walus — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 22:36:28 GMT

Whether you’ve seen the movie Avatar or not, you must have heard about it. People say:

great visual effects;
there is no story and it doesn’t matter;
there is no story and it does matter;
“I want to live on Pandora” (that’s the fictional world Avatar is set in);
“I don’t get it: what’s all the hype about”?

These are all valid responses and opinions, and your own reaction to the movie may well depend on your own unique Learning Style.

You will probably love the movie and forgive it the rather predictable story line if you are:

highly visual (external as well as internal), and/or
internally kinesthetic (click here to learn what that means).

On the other hand, if your learning style is very left-brained, you may stop to analyse the plot holes so much, you’ll forget to look at the bigger - and amazingly beautiful 3D - picture. If a ripping good story is what you need to get you interested (highly right-brained learning style), you might come out feeling disappointed, too.

What is your learning style? Will you enjoy watching Avatar? Have a look here to find out.

And the first 5 people to write to yvonne@clc.co.nz with the correct interpretation of the main character's Learning Style (1 element only) will win a mystery prize.

New Year, New You

Yvonne Walus — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 11:02:58 GMT

In 2010, which dream would you like to follow?

Get a new job.
Tune into your spouse’s brain wave.
Study at university.
Help your children achieve at school.
Manage your stress levels.

Whatever your circumstances, whatever your dream, we have a product that helps you understand yourself better and appreciate other people’s diversity - in style.

In the words of Eleanor Roosevelt: “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.”

Happy New Year

Yvonne Walus — Thu, 31 Dec 2009 01:25:40 GMT

It’s hard to believe that it was really 30 years ago that ABBA sang “Happy New Year” with the following lyrics:

It’s the end of the decade

In another 10 years time

Who can say what we’ll find

What lies waiting down the line

In the end of ’89….

As we approach the end of 2009, let’s think about those words. In another ten years time, who can say what we’ll find?

You can. It’s the end of the decade, the first decade of the new millennium. And it’s up to you what lies waiting down the line at the end of 2019.

Happy new year!!!

(Start the new year with a bang: give yourself a Working Style Analysis today and find out how to make 2010 the best year of your life.)

Happy Holidays from Creative Learning

Yvonne Walus — Wed, 23 Dec 2009 21:31:02 GMT

Whatever your latitude and longitude, whatever your culture and traditions, here at Creative Learning we wish you a joyful, peaceful and rewarding holiday season. We look forward to seeing you back in 2010... oh, and incidentally, although our offices will be closed between 24 December 2009 and 11 January 2010, we will still be reading your emails, so keep in touch.

(the photos are of celebrating Christmas New-Zealand style)

The Best Christmas Gift

Yvonne Walus — Wed, 16 Dec 2009 23:48:08 GMT

With Christmas approaching fast, and your bank account emptying even faster, do you ever pause to bemoan the consumer culture we live in? Do you ever wonder what happens to your gift after Christmas and whether it’s used or stored in the cupboard? Do you sometimes think that the best things in life aren’t things?

This season, we have a perfect gift for your friends and family: their individual Working Style. Just think about it: would you rather give someone a plastic gadget or the gift of health and de-stressing?

The elements that may contribute to tension levels include:

· the amount of light in the workplace

· room temperature,

· time of day,

· change

· chaos or excessive neatness

· others.

If your loved ones work in circumstances that are mismatched with their Working Style, they can seriously harm their health. Stress is the silent killer of the 21^st century - don’t let it happen!

Give them a gift of a good life.

Give them a Working Style Analysis today for a full report of things they should avoid.

Survive Christmas with Working Styles

Yvonne Walus — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 22:29:40 GMT

Does the thought of the Festive Season stir up mixed emotions in you? Are you dreading the onslaught of business, chaos and the relatives?

You’re not alone. For many people Christmas is not the joyful holiday it’s portrayed to be by the media. While we’re not exactly “The Grinch Who Stole Christmas”, nor Ebenezer Scrooge in “A Christmas Carol”, most of us probably wonder from time to time where all the magic has gone.

But did you know that your individual Working Style can be to blame for your attitude towards the season’s celebrations?

Have a look at your Working Style report in your Creative Learning account (or complete your Working Style Analysis if you don’t have one). If your report shows a non-preference in one or more of the following aspects, Christmas festivities are probably more of a trial than a joy to you:

· a non-preference for working in groups,

· a non-preference for a noisy environment,

· a non-preference for change,

· a non-preference for external motivation…

… just to name a few (click here to see the others).

Also, depending on your Working Style, you might find yourself over-stimulated by the many Christmas decorations in the shops and at home, or overwhelmed by the auditory input of all the carollers singing off-key.

Are you ready for Christmas? Find out today.

Summer, Winter and Job Satisfaction

Yvonne Walus — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 00:29:10 GMT

Are you happy in your job right now? Close your eyes and think about it for a moment. Got it? Good. Now look back six months - did you, in general, feel differently about your office, your boss, your work?

We live in a dynamic world, where many factors influence our lives and jobs. That’s why you may not even realise that some of your attitudes, stress levels and the degree of your job satisfaction may lie in something as simple and as natural as the seasons.

Yes, the seasons. As in, Summer and Winter. While the Northern Hemisphere is bracing for the cold and the dark, the Southern Hemisphere is bathing in bright hot sunshine. As the result, some people will become more lethargic or more agitated. Some people’s work performance will plummet, while others will feel renewed energy - all because of their Working Styles and their preference for light versus darkness or heat versus the cold.

Of course, light and temperature are not the only factors contributing to your work productivity. Other elements include:

· formal / informal work environment

· noise levels,

· time of day,

· your optimal team,

· and many others.

Complete your Working Style Analysis today for a full report of factors that may influence your job satisfaction.

Improve Your Memory with Learning Styles

Yvonne Walus — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 23:20:59 GMT

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 thehypothesis 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.