This is the second short article on the Learning Styles Profile (LSP), a new system for understanding and improving your ability to learn. In this section, I will discuss the first of the five elements of this model – sensation seeking.
Have you noticed that some people seem to be adrenaline junkies – seeking out interesting experiences just for the sake of it? Other people seem quite happy to go through the same old routine day after day and would be horrified by the prospect of a high-adrenaline activity like bungee jumping, parachuting, or even turning up to work without a tie!
Why is this? Why are people different in this respect? The answer appears to come from research into another area altogether into people with what are sometimes referred to as ‘addictive personalities’ , people who tend to repeated get into trouble with such activities as illicit drug taking, promiscuous sex, and thrill-seeking criminal activity. Research suggests that people like this tend to have unusually high levels of the enzyme monoamine oxidase (MAO), which breaks down dopamine and other neurotransmitters associated with the arousal and reward systems. The proposal is that people with low levels of MAO (and probably other neurological changes too) tend to require much greater levels of external stimulation to maintain their levels of dopamine (reward neurotransmitter) than people with normal levels of MAO. People with this variant will therefore tend to seek out novel stimulating situations more than other people.
The sensation seeking trait is just a biological drive, which of itself is neither good nor bad – the key is in how this drive is channelled. People who have difficulty channelling a high sensation seeking drive may well end up seeking quick thrills, which are not only unsatisfying in the long run, but may also be down-right destructive. Those high sensation seekers who are able to channel their drive will tend to be the high energy driven individuals who will rise to the top in whatever they do. The remaining four elements of the LSP describe the main channels through which this basic drive can be utilised.
So what does it mean if you have a low sensation seeking drive? Well, since it is thought to be a biologically (probably largely genetic) determined trait; there are limited prospects for changing your sensation seeking drive, without the use of drugs. (I will discuss so-called ‘cogs’ or cognitive enhancement drugs in another blog) So if you are the sort of person who isn’t highly driven to find new experiences for their own sake, then that’s probably just the kind of person you are. You may be able to develop a more curious approach, but it’s unlikely that this will ever be a strong part of your personality. However, there are lots of other drivers, which you may have. Perhaps you have a strong need for prestige or social status? Or perhaps working for your family is what really matters? If you aren’t driven by the need to know new things, you need to find what does motivate you and use that instead.
The key is self-knowledge – knowing what drives you, and channelling those drives to achieve desirable outcomes.
26 Sept 2008
20 Sept 2008
Learning Styles 1 – What is a learning style?
It should come as no surprise that different people learn in different ways. We are all different; we all have different preferences for food, sport and politics. This doesn’t mean that one way of doing things is necessarily better than another – you may work well early morning when I am still huddled over my coffee, whereas I may prefer to burn the midnight oil whilst you are fading!
Research shows that some approaches to learning tend to be more effective than others, and it would be foolish to ignore this knowledge (although that is precisely what a lot of educators and students tend to do!). But beyond that how do we differ? Psychologists study and measure all sorts of traits, a key one for academic performance being intelligence or IQ. There is a whole literature on this controversial subject, which I am not going to go into here. But whatever intelligence is or isn’t, it does seem to a correlation between it and academic success. But that isn’t the whole story, because even for people of the same IQ there are other traits which seem to effect not just how well they learn, but their preferred approaches.
There are a plethora of theories and measurement tools about different learning styles. Some have better experimental data than others and some have more coherent theories behind them. I’m not going to go into that here, because I want to focus on a pragmatic approach to helping people learn to learn.
The system and tool which I tend to use is the Learning Styles Profile (LSP), developed by Prof Chris Jackson from University of New South Wales. This is a synthesis of several earlier theories and tools, which has been validated by large studies looking at correlations of measured traits with each other and with external measurements of interest, such as academic and workplace performance.
In the Learning Styles Profile (LSP), five personality traits are recognised. One of these - Sensation Seeking – is seen as being a more biologically driven ‘basic drive’. The other four are channels for this drive which can lead to successful learning outcomes. None of the channels are better than others, all have places where they are useful, and all have downsides. In the next few blogs I will discuss each of these five elements of the LSP in detail. If you are interested in learning more about your own learning style, there is an online LSP test which you can take (http://www.cymeon.com/lss2.asp ). The results not only tell you your preferred style, but also take you through, in detail, what this means for you, and giving suggestions for improvement. I would recommend it.
Research shows that some approaches to learning tend to be more effective than others, and it would be foolish to ignore this knowledge (although that is precisely what a lot of educators and students tend to do!). But beyond that how do we differ? Psychologists study and measure all sorts of traits, a key one for academic performance being intelligence or IQ. There is a whole literature on this controversial subject, which I am not going to go into here. But whatever intelligence is or isn’t, it does seem to a correlation between it and academic success. But that isn’t the whole story, because even for people of the same IQ there are other traits which seem to effect not just how well they learn, but their preferred approaches.
There are a plethora of theories and measurement tools about different learning styles. Some have better experimental data than others and some have more coherent theories behind them. I’m not going to go into that here, because I want to focus on a pragmatic approach to helping people learn to learn.
The system and tool which I tend to use is the Learning Styles Profile (LSP), developed by Prof Chris Jackson from University of New South Wales. This is a synthesis of several earlier theories and tools, which has been validated by large studies looking at correlations of measured traits with each other and with external measurements of interest, such as academic and workplace performance.
In the Learning Styles Profile (LSP), five personality traits are recognised. One of these - Sensation Seeking – is seen as being a more biologically driven ‘basic drive’. The other four are channels for this drive which can lead to successful learning outcomes. None of the channels are better than others, all have places where they are useful, and all have downsides. In the next few blogs I will discuss each of these five elements of the LSP in detail. If you are interested in learning more about your own learning style, there is an online LSP test which you can take (http://www.cymeon.com/lss2.asp ). The results not only tell you your preferred style, but also take you through, in detail, what this means for you, and giving suggestions for improvement. I would recommend it.
16 Sept 2008
Masterclass Report
The September Exam Masterclass ran this weekend at Birkbeck College in London – it was a great event and the attendees gave great feedback. Why did they find it useful? What they told me was that the class gave them the opportunity to look at taking exams with some perspective. Normally, busy people tend to get their heads down and just plough on with the task at hand. The problem with this approach is that it sometimes means repeating strategies which have failed in the past because they are familiar. We all tend to repeat familiar routines, and when methods produce success then it’s great to re-use them.
The problem arises when people don’t have the perspective to re-evaluate tactics which aren’t succeeding. People in a cycle of failure may think that if they only work harder or longer that they will succeed. But if you’re facing in the wrong direction running faster or for longer won’t get you to your destination!
A workshop like the Exams Masterclass allows attendees to look again at what their attitudes are, how they’re organising themselves, and learn how other people succeed. We all have distinctive learning styles, and there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ approach to passing exams, but there are quite a lot of clearly ineffective strategies which you need to avoid.
The course participants left the day with a set of new ideas about how to succeed, and with a renewed hope and energy to succeed. I’d say that’s a good day!
The problem arises when people don’t have the perspective to re-evaluate tactics which aren’t succeeding. People in a cycle of failure may think that if they only work harder or longer that they will succeed. But if you’re facing in the wrong direction running faster or for longer won’t get you to your destination!
A workshop like the Exams Masterclass allows attendees to look again at what their attitudes are, how they’re organising themselves, and learn how other people succeed. We all have distinctive learning styles, and there isn’t a ‘one size fits all’ approach to passing exams, but there are quite a lot of clearly ineffective strategies which you need to avoid.
The course participants left the day with a set of new ideas about how to succeed, and with a renewed hope and energy to succeed. I’d say that’s a good day!
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