Type Learning Styles
Taken from the book Find the Perfect College for You: 82 Exceptional Schools That Fit Your Personality and Learning Style.
Each Personality Type has its own characteristic learning style. The learning style can be thought of as how each individual takes in information and retains it for use. There are eight distinct preferences as to how we interact with our world. In the examples below, you will discover that an individual college can cater to and support several of the preferences depending on the college's academic philosophies. As we surveyed and visited colleges, we would come across a number of factors that seemed to point to certain preferences. When several factors surfaced to honor and support a particular preference, such as S-Sensing, it would then become one of the determinants we used to identify Personality Types compatible with that campus. We typically found that colleges serve a range of two to four distinct preferences quite well through their specific educational practices, curriculum and academic philosophies. The eight preferences are organized into four pairs. An individual student can be one or the other within each pair but not both. Therefore, each student will have four preferences that make up their Personality Type.
Extrovert/Introvert
College students with the extravert preference would like professors who require active and frequent participation or teaming with other students on projects. The opposite choice is Introvert. Students with the introvert preference would like coursework that requires internet research and reading a list of selected journals on reserve in the library. These are examples of educational practices that honor two preference opposites: Extraverts (E) and Introverts (I).
Sensing/Intuitive
The next pair of preferences includes the Sensing (S) preference and the Intuitive (N) preference. The Sensing student prefers to learn by collecting all the facts and then arriving at a conclusion. The needs of this Sensing student would be met in a college freshman year course like "Introduction to Experimental Biology." This is taught in a step by step, building block approach through lab techniques. These same techniques then would be used in upper class courses. On the other hand, a freshman course like "Foundations in Biology" that starts first with the theories central to understanding the subject meets the needs of the Intuitive learner. This Intuitive learner likes to get the big picture first and then discover the facts. A student will have either the preference for sensing courses or intuitive courses. Colleges may offer both types, sensing and intuitive courses. Sensing and intuitive preferences are the predominant preference pair that underlies collegiate academic philosophies. Colleges tend to lean heavily toward one or the other: sensing or intuition. Educational practices influenced by these two preferences interface
Thinking / Feeling
The third pair of preferences includes students with a Thinking (T) preference and students with a Feeling (F) preference. Objective analysis and logic rule within the preference for thinking. A college emphasizing the thinking preference would lean more toward analytical and precise subject matter with advising for undergraduates to explore career fields. On the other hand, a college that mentors and advises with an orientation for the feeling preference would emphasize humanistic content and career exploration by defining personal beliefs and understanding the subject meets the needs of the Intuitive learner. This Intuitive learner likes to get the big picture first and then discover the facts. A student will have either the preference for sensing courses or intuitive courses. Colleges may offer both types, sensing and intuitive courses. Sensing and intuitive preferences are the predominant preference pair that underlies collegiate academic philosophies. Colleges tend to lean heavily toward one or the other: sensing or intuition. Educational practices influenced by these two preferences interface
Judging/Perceiving
The last set of preferences is that of Judging (J) and Perception (P). Again, an individual undergraduate student is one or the other of these preferences. The student who likes a course syllabus that is well organized with a list of to-do's and clear cut-offs for grades favors the judging preference. The undergraduate who likes a paragraph on the course objective leans toward the perceiving preference. College professors often utilize a little of both preference orientations in how they organize the course objectives. However, the college administration policies outlined in the catalogs often lean toward one preference or the other. It will be reflected in the requirements for graduation, the regulations for residential housing, registration, research participation and more. This preference tends to influence both the social and academic life on the campus.
Each Personality Type has its own characteristic learning style. The learning style can be thought of as how each individual takes in information and retains it for use. There are eight distinct preferences as to how we interact with our world. In the examples below, you will discover that an individual college can cater to and support several of the preferences depending on the college's academic philosophies. As we surveyed and visited colleges, we would come across a number of factors that seemed to point to certain preferences. When several factors surfaced to honor and support a particular preference, such as S-Sensing, it would then become one of the determinants we used to identify Personality Types compatible with that campus. We typically found that colleges serve a range of two to four distinct preferences quite well through their specific educational practices, curriculum and academic philosophies. The eight preferences are organized into four pairs. An individual student can be one or the other within each pair but not both. Therefore, each student will have four preferences that make up their Personality Type.
Extrovert/Introvert
College students with the extravert preference would like professors who require active and frequent participation or teaming with other students on projects. The opposite choice is Introvert. Students with the introvert preference would like coursework that requires internet research and reading a list of selected journals on reserve in the library. These are examples of educational practices that honor two preference opposites: Extraverts (E) and Introverts (I).
Sensing/Intuitive
The next pair of preferences includes the Sensing (S) preference and the Intuitive (N) preference. The Sensing student prefers to learn by collecting all the facts and then arriving at a conclusion. The needs of this Sensing student would be met in a college freshman year course like "Introduction to Experimental Biology." This is taught in a step by step, building block approach through lab techniques. These same techniques then would be used in upper class courses. On the other hand, a freshman course like "Foundations in Biology" that starts first with the theories central to understanding the subject meets the needs of the Intuitive learner. This Intuitive learner likes to get the big picture first and then discover the facts. A student will have either the preference for sensing courses or intuitive courses. Colleges may offer both types, sensing and intuitive courses. Sensing and intuitive preferences are the predominant preference pair that underlies collegiate academic philosophies. Colleges tend to lean heavily toward one or the other: sensing or intuition. Educational practices influenced by these two preferences interface
Thinking / Feeling
The third pair of preferences includes students with a Thinking (T) preference and students with a Feeling (F) preference. Objective analysis and logic rule within the preference for thinking. A college emphasizing the thinking preference would lean more toward analytical and precise subject matter with advising for undergraduates to explore career fields. On the other hand, a college that mentors and advises with an orientation for the feeling preference would emphasize humanistic content and career exploration by defining personal beliefs and understanding the subject meets the needs of the Intuitive learner. This Intuitive learner likes to get the big picture first and then discover the facts. A student will have either the preference for sensing courses or intuitive courses. Colleges may offer both types, sensing and intuitive courses. Sensing and intuitive preferences are the predominant preference pair that underlies collegiate academic philosophies. Colleges tend to lean heavily toward one or the other: sensing or intuition. Educational practices influenced by these two preferences interface
Judging/Perceiving
The last set of preferences is that of Judging (J) and Perception (P). Again, an individual undergraduate student is one or the other of these preferences. The student who likes a course syllabus that is well organized with a list of to-do's and clear cut-offs for grades favors the judging preference. The undergraduate who likes a paragraph on the course objective leans toward the perceiving preference. College professors often utilize a little of both preference orientations in how they organize the course objectives. However, the college administration policies outlined in the catalogs often lean toward one preference or the other. It will be reflected in the requirements for graduation, the regulations for residential housing, registration, research participation and more. This preference tends to influence both the social and academic life on the campus.