1
Learning Styles, Study Strategies, and Managing Versus Leading
In this unit you will identify your personal learning styles and your study strategies; you will also
identify your personal strengths and weaknesses that you bring to your college experience. Finally,
you will explore the differences between managing and leading.
Learning Styles
Being aware of the way that you learn best will help you succeed in school. Your ability to
achieve your personal, professional, and academic goals is directly related to knowing how to
use your own personal learning style to your advantage. Different people have different ways of
learning and retaining information. Some prefer to hear the information, some prefer to see the
information, and some prefer to "do" it. For example: If you had to put a bicycle together, would
you: Read the instructions? Ask a friend to tell you how it is done (or read the instructions to
you)? Ignore the instructions and just start putting it together? A visual learner would read the
instructions. An auditory learner would want to hear how to put the bike together. A kinesthetic
learner would prefer to "do" it and learn while feeling or touching. Knowing your learning style
will help you find strategies that will help you to retain information.
Most people consider themselves to be visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learners. However, the
majority of people use a combination of all three learning styles, although you each have a
preferred way of learning. Think about it. When you learn something new do you like to see it, hear
about it, or move around when you are taking in information?
The Right Style for the Right Task
Different tasks and circumstances may require you to use one learning style over another. Take,
for example, riding a bike. Would you prefer to read about riding bikes, listen to someone tell you
how to ride a bike, or get on a bike and try it yourself? For most of us, riding a bike is the kind of
activity that requires "hands on" training; therefore, you would need to actually attempt the task in
order to learn it. Another example is learning how to play an instrument. In this situation, you
would probably need to use all three learning styles. You would need to see the notes in order to
know what sounds to make, you would need to hear someone else play the instrument so you
know how it should sound, and you would need to actually play the instrument to make your own
music.
Once you identify the ways you learn best (note that it can be plural), you can modify your study
environment and tailor your study experience to meet the needs of your learning style. For
example, if you are an auditory learner, you will most likely learn best by listening, you might find
it helpful to record yourself reading your Assignments and then listening to the recording
afterward. If you learn best by actively participating in the task, a tactile/kinesthetic learner, you
might find it helpful to experiment with new activities where you can apply the information you
have read. Of course, if you are a strong visual learner you need to see everything for the
greatest “clarity” in learning.
Multiple Intelligences
There are 8 Multiple Intelligences (as described by Howard Gardner, 2006). Here is a specific
chart you can use to readily comprehend the intelligences and their meaning to you as individual
learners:
• Interpersonal: If you have strong interpersonal skills, you are “people smart.”
2
• Intrapersonal: If you have strong intrapersonal skills, you are “self-smart.”
• Verbal-linguistic: If you are verbal-linguistic you are word smart.
• Logical-mathematical: If you are logical-mathematical, you are logic and math smart.
• Naturalist: If you are a naturalist at heart, you are nature smart (science and math).
• Visual-spatial: If you are visual-spatial, you are picture smart.
• Bodily-kinesthetic: If you are bodily-kinesthetic, you are hands-on or body and movement
smart.
• Musical-rhythmic: If you are musical-rhythmic, you are music smart.
Utilize the following resources based on Howard Gardner’s Multiple Intelligences to learn more
about each type of intelligence and how you can make use of your unique strengths by going to
the Teacher’s Network website.
If you are a Verbal Linguistic learner, (1) write a story for a book or newsletter, (2) keep a
journal.
If you are a Mathematical/Logical learner, (3) sort, categorize, and characterize word lists, or (4)
while reading a story, stop before you have finished and predict what will happen next.
If you are a Body/Kinesthetic learner, (5) write on a mirror with lipstick or soap, (6) take a walk
and read all the words you find during the walk, or (7) handle a Koosh™ ball or a stress ball
during a study session.
Continue to make connections as you move from unit to unit. Search for the strategies that you
find most helpful to your learning and thinking processes. Begin to use them over and over
because through repetition you will establish habits of success.
Study Strategies
TIPS: Visual Learners
• Use organized or typed material
• Use visual images, diagrams, flash cards, and mind mapping
• Use drawings and written images
TIPS: Auditory Learners
• Use memorization strategies, songs, and auditory repetition
• Use tape recordings of notes, readings, and important topics Use verbal skills to
reinforce information
TIPS: Kinesthetic Learners
• Use a combination of sight, touch, taste, smell, and hearing
• Use chinking or step-by-step processes for lengthy tasks
• Use direct involvement and hands-on strategies
As you are focusing on becoming a stronger, more empowered learner it will also be important
for you to consider your strengths and weaknesses in terms of your study strategies. Where do
you excel? Where do you need to make some improvements? How can you make full use of
your strengths as you focus on making improvements?
•
•
•
Explore the following areas as you seek to know yourself better as a learner and thinker:
Anxiety ~ How well do you deal with your emotions?
Attitude ~ How does your attitude affect your daily performance?
Concentration ~ Do you find that you are easily distracted or are you good at staying
focused?
3
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
Information Processing ~ Are you good at remembering and retaining information or is
this something you struggle with?
Motivation ~ Do you find it easy to stay motivated and engaged or do you tend to lose
interest in things easily?
Selecting Main Ideas ~ Are you confident when it comes to selecting main ideas?
Self-Testing ~ How effective are your current self-testing strategies?
Testing Strategies ~ How effective are your current testing strategies?
Time Management ~ How well do you manage your time?
Using Academic Resources ~ How efficient are your current study aids?
Managing and Leading
Managing and leading are both extremely important when it comes to effective work teams;
however, there are several distinct differences between the two, and as a military professional it
is important that you understand these differences so that you can effectively function in your
own work teams.
Managing focuses mainly on the work itself, whereas leading focuses more on the people
themselves. According to Bateman and Snell (2013, p. 233), “Effective managers are not
necessarily true leaders. Many administrators, supervisors, and even top executives perform their
responsibilities successfully without being great leaders. But these positions afford an opportunity
for leadership. The ability to lead effectively, then, sets the excellent managers apart from the
average ones.”
Review the chart below to see some of the main differences between managing and leading.
Managing Versus Leading:
What is the Difference?
Managing Activities
Leading Activities
Day-to-day operations
Planning
Budgeting
Structuring
Staffing
Monitoring
Results-centered
Supervisory leadership
Orchestrating
Change Setting
Direction
Creating vision
Inspiring
Motivating
Overcoming
People-centered
Strategic leadership
Take time to read the following article from Caroline Smith (2015) entitled Managers Versus
Leaders: the big debate from Mindtools.com.
4
References
Bateman, T. S., & Snell, S. A. (2013). M, management (3rd ed.). McGraw-Hill/ Irwin.
Chapman, A. (2014). Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences.
https://www.businessballs.com/self-awareness/howard-gardners-multipleintelligences/
Chapman, A. (2014). Personality theories, types and tests.
https://www.businessballs.com/self-awareness/howard-gardners-multipleintelligences/#multiple%20intelligences%20tests
Gardner, H. (2006). Multiple intelligences: New horizons in theory and practice. Basic Books.
Golubtchik, B. (n.d.) The multiple intelligence classroom: Matching your teaching methods with
how students learn. [New Teachers handbook excerpt] teachers network.
http://www.teachersnetwork.org/media/NTHchapterbenna.htm
Merriam-Webster's Word of the Day. (n.d.). https://www.merriam-webster.com/word-ofthe-day
Smith. C. (2015, May12). Managers versus leaders: The big debate! [Blog post] Mind Tools.com.
http://www.mindtools.com/blog/managers-versus-leaders-the-big-debate/
Management versus Leadership
Leadership means a person could be alone in his or her initial vision and it implies
some risk. These people are innovators. Their job is to inspire others to see and believe in the
mission, vision, and goals of the organization or initiative.
Management means responsibility for administration of a plan or carrying out the plan or
initiative through others.
Leaders can move whole nations to action. One example of this is Winston Churchill’s
famous radio broadcasts (as Prime Minister) in the United Kingdom during World War II (1939–
1945). On the brink of defeat in the campaign against Germany, Churchill refused to be
conquered or accept anything less than total surrender from the enemy. His broadcasts and
speeches inspired the entirety of the nation to keep on fighting. However, Churchill also risked
ridicule at the very beginning of the war when he warned the public of the threat of Hitler’s
ambitions in Europe.
Reference
Dubrin, A. J. (2010). Leadership: Research findings, practice, and skills (6th ed.). Mason, OH:
Cengage.
Leadership Skills
Executive skills needed by leaders:
Communicate the larger picture and/or vision and goals to others
Negotiation skills to obtain needed resources
Decision-making
Empowering and motivating others
Creating an effective and diverse team
One great individual possessing these leadership skills was former U.S. President
Abraham Lincoln. He assembled a cabinet of people around him who, in some cases, had
initially been his adversaries, but he knew that having a diverse range of thought, talent, and
debate would benefit both the country and his ability to make good decisions. He would also tell
story after story to drive home an idea or make his argument and sway opinion to his side. The
public could relate to him because these were stories they could all understand and which were
based on common sense and everyday life. He also timed his decisions so that he would
propose a new law or announce a decision when he knew the public was ready for it, and as a
result they were able to accept it (Goodwin, 2005).
Moving into the 21st Century, leadership is becoming increasingly more collaborative.
As the world becomes more globalized, and thus more complex, so too does the nature of
leadership. Collaborative leadership is based on the idea that no one has all the answers and
expertise in everything. Now the leader becomes more of a facilitator, empowering and
motivating the team (Hackman, 2010). This type of leadership is characterized by fostering
diversity and learning, soliciting feedback and opinions of the group, and supporting the group’s
decisions. It also involves mentoring team members and empowering others to lead special
project or assignment teams. However, this collaborative leadership model must be balanced
with the need
for timely decision-making as the pace of business increases with globalization and increased
productivity through the use of technology.
References
Goodwin, D. K. (2005). Team of rivals. New York, NY: Simon and Schuster.
Hackman, J. R. (2010). Leading teams: Imperatives for leaders. In G. R. Hickman (Ed.), Leading
organizations: Perspectives for a new era. (pp. 206–238). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Hicks, D. A. (2010). Globalization. In G. R. Hickman (Ed.), Leading organizations: Perspectives
for a new era. (pp. 14–20). Thousand Oaks, CA: SAGE.
Purchase answer to see full
attachment