Have you ever wondered how your brain is wired? Do you know what makes you tick and why? Understanding why we do what we do and how we do it is essential if we want to improve our performance and productivity in life. And when it comes to learning, your brain is the most important part of your body, because it is where all your thinking and remembering takes place.
At BOU, we are passionate about helping students make the most of their education and ultimately their careers, and so are the folks at Neuidentity. We had the pleasure of talking with Stephen Hager, Neuidentity co-founder and co-creator of Brain PathWays™, BRAIN MODE® power and Learning Keys™. Stephen has over 40 years’ experience in scientific research, and it shows in the Brain PathWays™ assessment that a few members of staff completed last week.
The Brain PathWays™ assessment reveals a person’s unique and truly amazing neurological design as well as provides practical recommendations on how to optimize one’s unique brain potential. For college students as well as for professionals, this information helps to align and unleash your brain strengths for success. Pretty cool, right? If you know how your brain is wired, you know how to get it working for you.
Strengths and “Blind Spots”
Upon completion of the Brain PathWays™ assessment, a report, or a “user manual” is generated that reveals one’s brain pathway strengths and “blind spots.” This user manual provides a comprehensive overview of your preferred learning style. The three learning modalities are:
- VISUAL – learning by seeing.
- AUDITORY – learning by hearing.
- KINAESTHETIC – learning by doing.
Each preferred learning style has methods that fit the different ways an individual may learn best. Blind spots are areas where we resist learning. These areas are often seen by others but missed by you. And everyone—including the best leaders—have blind spots. Blind spots can hamper your effectiveness as a student and as a worker, so it’s critical for individuals to work toward discovering them. An example of a blind spot may be the inability to listen attentively and process directives. However, you can conquer your blind spots through awareness. If you know that your listening skills need tweaking, you can find ways to improve your auditory processing.
Productivity Enhancers
Each Brain PathWays™ report provides a list of productivity enhancers. For online learners (or any type of student), this information couldn’t be more useful. With each report is a summary list of sensory and cognitive thinking pathway activities and their corresponding environments. That is, if you’re a visual learner, your ideal learning environment is clutter free, visually attractive, and utilizes a white board and other organization tools. For kinesthetic learners, the ideal environment might be one with adequate space to explore and by wearing clothes that accommodate movement.
For students attending a traditional college or university, a lecture style teaching may be a challenge for a kinesthetic learner. Therefore, productivity enhancers may include tensing and relaxing your muscles during long lectures or bounce your leg to release energy. There are many different tips and tricks to help learners maximize their potential and avoid underachievement.
Why This is Important for Online Learning
As more students enroll in online programs, knowing how to maximize learning from afar is essential for success. The online learning platform is almost entirely visual, so for kinesthetic and auditory learners, it’s important to learn different ways to enhance productivity as an online learner. If you know your learning style, you’ll discover how to set the right goals, take control of your priorities, and learn how to overcome procrastination.
For example, if you’re an auditory learner taking classes online, try these tips:
- Study with a friend so that you can talk out loud and hear the information.
- Recite out loud the things you want to remember.
- Underline main points using highlighters.
For the kinesthetic learner taking classes online, try these tips:
- Keep something in your hand that is malleable or tap to a rhythm as you study and take notes.
- At the end of 25 minutes, take a one-to-five minute break during study sessions.
- Eat, drink, chew gum, or listen to music while studying.
Earning a degree can be stressful, and if you’re going to school online, working a full-time job, and managing family responsibilities, knowing how you learn will help you develop appropriate behaviors and enable you to take advantage of your strengths and modify any weaknesses or blind spots.
Bottom line: How you learn is even more important than what you learn. And if you understand how your brain works, you can teach it to work for you. But if you know how you learn and remember things, the more you will know!