Every student on the education ladder from elementary school through college and continuing education has one. It’s called a “learning style,” and it can mean the difference between successfully assimilating new information and failing to grasp a subject. And with constant advances in medicine, it can mean the difference between a stellar nursing career trajectory and ending up in a rut.

Susan Bastable, RN, EdD, chair and professor in the department of nursing at Le Moyne College in Syracuse, N.Y., and author of “Nurse as Educator: Principles of Teaching and Learning for Nursing Practice,” notes there are no inherently “good” or “bad” learning styles. “The definition of learning style is simply the way in which a learner prefers to learn. That does not mean that they can’t learn other ways. It just means they have a tendency to like to learn in a certain way,” she says. “Learning style is really dependent on a lot of things: genetics and heredity, past experiences, the situation in which you’re in.”

A self-assessment of learning style is the first step. And there are many resources to help. “I read a citation that there are over 70 different models [of learning styles],” notes Barbara Patterson, RN, PhD, professor of nursing at Widener University in Chester, Pa.

In her research, Patterson has used the Solomon/Felder Index of Learning Styles, which measures four dimensions of learning: processing (active vs. reflective); perception (sensing vs. intuitive); input (visual vs. verbal); and understanding (sequential vs. global).

“A lot of students don’t understand what works best for them until they’re not successful [at learning] and they’re almost forced to look at themselves. You know, ‘I’ve been doing this and this is not working for me,’” says Anne Marie Krouse, RN, PhD, associate professor of nursing at Widener University. “If we can allow them to assess what their learning style is up front, it may give them that ‘Aha!’ moment. Maybe then they can seek out those activities that will promote really deep learning and long-term learning.”

Colleen Meakim, RN, MSN, director of the Learning Resource Center in the College of Nursing at Villanova (Pa.) University, teaches a course on learning styles based on Howard Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences. She says that as part of the course, the students take a three-part learning styles test, which helps them tap into “the best way for you to accommodate yourself and your brain to learn information the easiest way possible,” she says.

Set No Limits
Knowing where you fall on an inventory of learning styles never should be a stumbling block to learning, says Lyn DeSilets, RN-BC, EdD, assistant dean and director of continuing education in nursing and healthcare in the College of Nursing at Villanova University. For example, nurses shouldn’t opt out of a sim lab experience because they’re not kinesthetic learners. “I think any of the models would suggest that you can strengthen your learning by encouraging yourself, so to speak, to operate in other dimensions that are not your preference,” she says.

Krouse knows she is a reflective, intuitive, global type of learner, with a somewhat even preference for verbal and visual input. While she uses that knowledge of her own learning style to help her get the big picture of a new concept before delving into the details, she doesn’t let her preferences limit her learning opportunities.

As lifelong learners, nurses will be exposed to many teaching strategies that may or may not be congruent with their preferred learning styles. If not, they can develop study aids in their preferred style. For example, visual learners might draw a diagram to correlate material in a course. Auditory learners might read the textbook aloud. Kinesthetic learners might practice a new concept before taking a written test.

“Knowing yourself — how you prefer to learn — can be beneficial, but it doesn’t need to prevent you from learning in other ways,” Bastable notes. Sometimes what is being learned dictates a method. Even reflective learners who like to read, create lists and contemplate their learning can’t just think about the right way to catheterize a patient — they actually have to practice it.

“If you have to teach using a certain method because that’s the only way to get the content across, that’s OK,” Bastable says. “In essence, you’re preparing them for having some flexibility in the world.”

For example, on the job, visual learners may need to get orders over the phone. Auditory learners may only have written instructions. Kinesthetic learners cannot practice every possible combination of skills.

No matter what their preferred learning style, nurses need to continually challenge themselves. “Flexibility is key here,” Bastable says. Nurses shouldn’t “get so into one mode that they almost block themselves, saying ‘I can’t learn this way.’”

Anne Federwisch is a freelance writer.