Running head: Visual Learning Style

Visual Learning Style and Reflection Paper Samantha J. Bienz Bluefield College

uthor !ote Samantha J. Bienz" #anagement and Leadership Student Cohort #$% &'" Bluefield College" (rederic)s*urg" Virginia. %his student paper is su*mitted on !o+em*er 1," -.1'" to fulfill course re/uirement for Learning and Research S)ills 0!% '.1'" 2ee) ," ssignment ': Reflection Paper. Correspondence concerning this paper should *e addressed to Samantha J. Bienz" 31& 2inter*erry 4r." (rederic)s*urg" V --,.&. 56mail: s7*ienz8*luefield.edu

Visual Learning Style Visual Learning Style

0 entered into this program at Bluefield 9ith the hopes of achie+ing my *achelor:s degree in Business #anagement and Leadership. 0 ha+e noticed that today" 7o*s are much more difficult to come *y and my hopes 9ere that getting my degree 9ill gi+e me more of an ad+antage in the 7o* mar)et. #y father attended Bluefield for this same program a fe9 years *ac) and his influence helped me choose 9hich degree to see) and 9hich school to choose. fter completing my degree 0 hope to find a 7o* in the *usiness field and succeed using the things 0 ha+e *een taught to the *est of my a*ility. 0 found that my learning style 9as +isual and 0 *elie+e that if 0 implement the +isual learning style into my study 0 9ill not only succeed in this program *ut 0 9ill succeed in any future endea+ors. fter completing my associate:s degree" at $ermanna Community College" 0 *egan the tas) of trying to find an appropriate school to *egin my *achelor:s program. #y father informed me to loo) into Bluefield:s 0nspire program *ecause it 9as designed more for adults 9ho 9ere loo)ing to further their education. 0 had pre+iously attended Virginia Common9ealth ;ni+ersity *ac) 9hen 0 9as -. years old" so VC; 9as also on my list of schools to chec) out. 2hen it came do9n to deciding 9hich school to apply to" it came do9n to 9hiche+er school offered the *etter program to match my needs. 0 ended up choosing Bluefield College. 0 li)ed ho9" in the past" they offered ' classes total" 1 per & 9ee)s and one class that lasted the 9hole semester 9ith a 9ee)ly meeting. 0 9as saddened to hear that they no9 use a different schedule for the courses. %he fact that this is a Christian college 9asn:t on the top of my list in ma)ing a final decision" as the curriculum is 9hat is most important. #y main reason for choosing Bluefield 9as *ecause they offered an

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accelerated degree program to achie+e my degree. 0t also helped that my father highly recommended it to me too. So far" this class and 0ntro to Leadership are my first t9o courses 0 am ta)ing. 0 ha+e *een luc)y so far as 0 ha+e a decent understanding of 9hat is *eing e<pected of me as a student. 0 *elie+e that *ecause all of my courses are offered only online" 0 may ha+e some trou*les in the future 9hen the material *ecomes more challenging *ecause 0 don:t ha+e face time 9ith my instructors and my classmates. 0 ha+en:t done 9ell in the past 9ith online courses *ecause of this" *ut 0 am attac)ing these courses 9ith much more enthusiasm than 0 had 9ith pre+ious online classes. nother possi*le issue that may arise in the ne<t 1' months is the ina*ility to form any type of study group *eing that 0 don:t get to interact 9ith my peers other than through email and colla*oration. 0 am hoping that completing my *achelor:s degree in Business #anagement and Leadership at Bluefield 9ill gi+e me a distinct ad+antage in starting up a career in the *usiness sector. So far" 9ith only my associate:s degree" *ecause 0 don:t ha+e much 7o* e<perience" 0 ha+e to compete 9ith tons of indi+iduals 9ho are more /ualified than me. 0 )no9 that 0 can succeed in anything 0 set my mind to" *ut ha+ing the credentials to *ac) it up 9ill *e a ma7or help. 0 also hope to continue my education e+en further after graduation. !o9 that 0 ta)e my education seriously" a master:s degree isn:t as far fetched an idea as it once 9as. 0n reading our te<ts" 0 ha+e disco+ered that 0 ha+e a +isual learning style 9hen 0 too) the Learning Styles 5+aluation. 0 can concentrate easily" 0 prefer short6ans9er or multiple choice e<am /uestions" 0 organize my notes in an outline" and 0 read my material o+er and o+er to memorize it. 0 also noticed that 0 ha+e a tendency to also *e a =inesthetic Learner to a small

Visual Learning Style

degree *ecause 0 prefer my instructor to gi+e me diagrams and charts to e<plain our lessons >Simon" -.1.?. 0 further e<plored my learning style *y ans9ering a /uestionnaire online from !C State ;ni+ersity. 0t ga+e me a chart 9ith the follo9ing results >Soloman @ (elder?:
ACT Results for: Samantha X 11 9 7 5 3 1 <-X 11 9 7 5 3 1 <-X 11 9 7 5 3 1 <-11 9 7 5 3 Bienz REF 1 --> 1 --> 3 5 7 9 11 INT 3 5 7 9 11 VRB 3 5 7 9 11 GLO 3 5 7 9 11

SEN

VIS

SEQ

1 --> X 1 1 <-- -->

0n order to interpret this chart 0 9ent to another article. n article *y #an)telo9 and Carlson e<plained the categories are as follo9s: cti+e and Reflecti+e" Sensory and 0ntuiti+e" Visual and Ver*al" and Se/uential and $lo*al learners. ccording to the article" Aacti+e learners

prefer to manipulate o*7ects" do physical e<periments" and learn *y trying. %hey en7oy 9or)ing in groups to figure out pro*lems. Sensory learners prefer concrete" practical" and procedural information. %hey loo) for the facts. Visual learners prefer graphs" pictures" and diagrams. %hey loo) for +isual representations for memory.B >#an)telo9 @ Carlson? fter reading the e<planations for my learning styles 0 am a*le to see the pros and cons of these styles and ho9 *est to incorporate them into my studies. Because 0 seem to ha+e a preference for sensory learning as opposed to intuiti+e learning" 0 may ha+e difficulty adapting to ne9 situations and therefore can ha+e trou*le 9ith theoretical information. lso" *ecause 0 am more +isual than +er*al" 0 may ha+e issues 9ith 9ritten and +er*al information. 0 need to focus on the 9ritten information *ecause it is used more often than diagrams and pictures >#an)telo9

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@ Carlson?. By )eeping these limitations in mind" 0 can learn to *alance my learning styles to ma)e me a *etter student. 0n conclusion" 0 chose to attend Bluefield *ecause of the program that 9as offered. lthough 0 may find it some9hat challenging *ecause the courses are entirely online" 0 *elie+e that my dri+e 9ill push me to do the *est 0 can. !o9 that 0 am more familiar 9ith my learning styles" 0 9ill *e a*le to 9or) on them and ma)e them more *alanced to *ecome a *etter student and a more successful indi+idual. 0 do hope to further e<plore 9hat 0 can do to *alance my learning styles and possi*le master:s degree programs in the future.

Visual Learning Style References

#an)telo9" J." @ Carlson" . >n.d.?. Learning styles-understanding your learning preferences. Retrie+ed from http:CC999.mindtools.comCmnemlsty.html Simon" L. >-.1.?. New beginnings: a reference guide for adult learners. >,th ed." pp. 116-&?. ;pper Saddle Ri+er" !e9 Jersey: Pearson 5ducation 0nc. Soloman" B." @ (elder" R. >n.d.?. Index of learning styles questionaire. Retrie+ed from http:CC999.engr.ncsu.eduClearningstylesCils9e*.html