Have you ever felt that you were able to learn something through pictures better or perhaps a

video or you were a person who actually could not do well with videos but better with just
reading? If it is one of these things, it might be that you had briefly figured your type of learning
style that works well with you. The general assumption is school studies and the methods used
are the best but it is not the case. There are different types of learners and there are different
learning styles which matches with certain types of learners and this various from person to
person. This also resonates very strongly with memory as there is short term and long term
memory and how information co-relates and how it is stored based on the learning type that is
utilized at that time. In this paper, we will go through some of the learning methods and how it
varies from person to person and how everyone has a different way of perceiving and
understanding any subject matter. We will also cover memory techniques that are based on
different types of memory. We also aim to understand neuroplasticity and how the brain takes
information to use it for improving learning and memory comprehensively.

Types of Learning:
Learning is one of the fundamental elements of human behavior. From the day we are born, we
are constantly observing, learning and understanding new things along the way making the life a
journey of learning. This is how behaviors, habits, skills, thought process and sentiments are
conceptualized. However, everyone develops these skills, every individual takes this in
differently and responds to certain expressions better and learning styles differently. Even though
school has a fixed type of teaching and training, the reason some perform and some do not is not
only because of their intelligence but also because of their learning style and being able to adapt
to these learning styles would be some of the best ways to teach students and anyone else for a
comprehensive perception of any subject matter. Therefore, here are seven of the learning styles
through which humans learn new things.

Visual Learning:
Visual or spatial learning is the type of learning method where individuals are able to process
information easily when it is given to them in imagery. Imagery could be anything ranging from
graphs, maps, charts and diagrams. People with this learning style are able to consume pictures
and quickly grasp complex concepts much faster as opposed to giving them a book to read on the
topic. Conversely, when these learners are given information in text or audio format, they do not
understand the concepts as fast as they would otherwise.

Aural Learning:
Aural learning or auditory learning is a learning method where people who are inclined to learn
by this method usually learn best when they listen to audio. They do very well in perceiving
information when they listen to seminars, audio books, and video as well since there is the
audio element is present in all of them. Aural learners also learn with music lessons as well.
There are so many instances where curriculum is changed into a set of songs and this seems to
work well for them when they have to learn the specific syllabus.

Verbal Learning:
Verbal learners are also called as linguistic learners. They are great at learning through writing.
Their favorite way of learning or expressing themselves is by reading and writing. They would
be excellent at communicating the point across in written format. They are also going to be
excellent speakers when they are given time to prepare their work in writing. These people will
learn so much more outside class rooms by self study and would be able to understand things
better without much outside help.

Logical Learning:
Logical learners are also called as mathematical learners. They are able to grasp things when it
appeals to their rationale. They are also very good at picking up patterns and rely heavily on
mathematical reasoning when they decide to learn. They are also not able to study things that do
not appeal to their logical learning style and might have a hard time grasping things that require
less reasoning and more emotion per se. They are also exceptionally good at math, numbers and
complex calculations and trigonometry and algebra comes naturally to them. They are very
systematic in their approach setting tasks, goals, to-do lists and others to get everything
organized.

Physical Learning:
Physical learners are also called as kinesthetic learners. As one would imagine, they prefer to use
their body, sense of touch and hands in their learning process. They do really well at sports,
exercising and any activity that involves their body a lot and they are able to get really good at
that as well as opposed to other types of learners. They are also the most creative when they are
working out and tend to solve problems while they work out. These type of learners cannot stay
at home and learn but have to go out and feel the elements to get their dose of inspiration.

Social Learning:
Social learning is a learning type which is also called as interpersonal learning style. These
people prefer to learn in group discussions and by interacting with other people with similar
interests. They are also able to communicate verbally and non-verbally very effectively. They
study very well through group study sessions. These are the type of learners people come to for
counseling and help and they seem to solve issues really well through interaction. They are
active in a class and the best when they are able to learn things in a social setting rather than self-
study. These are also the people who get into games with their friends after classes get over to be
able to spend more time with the group they like to be around with.

Solitary Learning:
Solitary learning type is also called as intrapersonal learning type. These learners prefer to learn
things in solidarity. These learners are introspective, private and independent. They are able to
focus on subjects really well when they are alone and study efficiently. These are the learners
who are aware of their thought process and analyze a lot based on past events etc. They also
prefer to spend time alone and like to stay away from crowds. They also learn very well while
alone and prefer that learning style the most and do not need external help for their education.
This means even if they initially look like they are not able to grasp the techniques well, over
night or the next day they would be able to do really well on questions because they did their
self-study alone.

Learning Style Based Techniques:

As discussed, there is never a single way to learn a new skill or subject, there are also different
techniques that play well to the learning styles that help a person learn faster. Here are some of
the techniques that can be utilized by different types of learners to get the most out of their
learning journey. Since, this is already covered in brief while explaining the learning styles, the
techniques will be dealt with laconically.
 Visual learners work well with visualization techniques, graphs, diagrams etc and some
of the best techniques for them to learn is by seeing pictures, graphs, diagrams and
anything that will appeal to their imagination. Visual aids and usage of videos will be of
great help to them. If you are a visual learner, always choose these mediums to learn as
this is how learning becomes easier and more effective when it comes to retention and
reiteration.
 The learning style for auditory learners is best done through hearing presentations and
stories. They are able to listen attentively and grasp most of the information through a
lecture, audio book and other materials. They also work very well with emotive
expressions of these methods. A lecturer who explains with emotion would work great
for them as mundane tones bore them as well. Audio learning is the way to go as auditory
learners will remember most of the information from this technique of learning.
 Linguistic learning technique is for verbal learners and the best way they are able to study
their content is by reading or writing. Whatever syllabus is to be covered should be given
to them in written format and they would have a much deeper understanding by reading
them extensively.
 Kinesthetic learning style is where the content is consumed through action. While
walking around in reading content helps them, kinesthetic learning is done well when the
 content is taken and worked on in an assignment as a graph chart, map or a project where
items are done. For example, a kinesthetic learning style is taking theory and then acting
on it. While linguistic learning technique would involve reading on architectural designs,
kinesthetic would implement that as a project where those learners will involve in
building a mock design to learn that particular skill. If making charts, and graphs and
working on projects seem unappealing, then mostly you might not be a kinesthetic
learner.
 Social learning technique is when the learner groups with another likeminded individuals
in a group discussion, brain storming sessions and group studies. After a normal lecture
session is over, social learn techniques can be employed by gathering a small team and
discussing to maximize their learning. If someone is shy over these group discussions, it
is likely that they are not social learners.
The learning techniques define something very important. There is no one learning style and
there is no one learning technique that works on all individuals because everyone is different.
Therefore, teachers must be able to employ all of these techniques in their teaching sessions to be
able to reach to all students of different learning styles and reiterate the learning. Since there are
many styles being handled, it is also important for the teacher to not expect everyone to perform
extremely well in all these sections of learning and should be able to use this style of teaching to
learn about the students and teach them better.

Memory:
Our memory is not just one chunk of information that is stored. We understand and consume
memory differently and there are types of memory that is used for different types of information.
How we retain any information depends on what type of memory the information sits on. In the
broadest sense, memory can be divided into short-term memory and long-term memory.
Memory and retention also varies based on the duration spent on learning and as we age,
memory efficiency declines unless memory techniques are exercised. As with muscles in the
body, grey matter would also require serious effort to keep it in top shape to not end up having
memory loss as we age. The two types of memory are discussed below.

 Short-term memory as the name implies is the working memory which helps in keeping
memories and any learning for a short period of time. This is sometimes completely
removed from memory or then transferred to the long term memory.
 Long-term memory is our brain's hard drive that helps in storing all the information,
retrieving the information and managing it. It works very much like a hard drive and
stores information permanently there.
Types of Long Memory:
Long term memory is complex as compared to short term memory and information is stored in
different ways in different systems.
 Explicit memory is what most people think about long-term memory which stores
information and requires conscious thought for retrieval of information. This is what you
can remember consciously and recollect and is also called as the declarative memory.
This is further divided into episodic and semantic memory.
 Implicit memory is the type of memory that forms the major part of the long term
memory. This does not require any conscious thought and allows an individual to do
things based on these memories like riding a bike et al.
 Autobiographical memory is a type of memory which remembers certain information
better than others. This also forms the information about who a person is and their values
that makes them the person they are.
Whenever new memories are formed, neural networks are created which consists of neurons that
communicate with each other through synapses. This is done by creating new proteins in the
brain. The frontal, pre-frontal and parietal lobes are responsible for short-term memory and for
the long-term memory it is more widespread and the hippocampus is the temporary area of the
brain that acts as a transmitter of the information that is spread throughout the brain, especially
for long term memories. Forgetting information occurs in the long-term memory as synaptic
connections get weakened or the new memories become superimposed on the old ones causing a
roadblock.

Memory Based Learning Techniques:

One of the biggest factors that impede learning is the ability to focus on something for a given
amount of time. Research shows that it takes about 20 seconds for the brain to divert for a split
second and then lasts on a continuous basis for about 20 minutes at most. This means that people
who study for 3-4 hours at a stretch are being destroyed of the ability to learn effectively.
Therefore, here are some memory techniques in brief that quickly helps to maximize learning.

Pomodoro Technique:
Pomodoro technique was developed by Francesco Cirillo during the 1980s and this technique has
worked very effectively for a wide variety of people because it bases the science on the attention
span of the human brain. According to the technique, to study effectively, you set aside all
distractions including social media, phones etc and then set a timer for 25 minutes and start
studying. You will avoid to reach out to distractions for this time and then once it is over will
take a 10 minute break before resuming. This method allows to reinforce the brain to stay
focused while managing to go over distractions very well and helps study effectively and after
the break, the brain is fresh to do it all over again.
57 Minute Productivity Timer:
For a rare few, 25 minutes sometimes seem short and might require them to sit for longer time
and for those, the 57 minute rule has been defined as the most productive balance between focus
and retention where the same rule is applied as the Pomodoro but is done for 57 minutes after
which there is a 17 minute break for each session. The breaks are important as the sessions itself
and must be diligently followed to allow the brain to focus, reinforce learning, avoid distractions,
refresh and then get back on the study cycle just like how it started in the first place.

Conclusion:
Learning and memory plays a vital role in everyone's life. There is never one type of learning as
there is never one type of memory and therefore there is never a one size fits all learning style
or a study method that works for everyone. This is why learning about learning will enable a
perpetual learner to help understand what works best to enable and maximizing on the learning.
Likewise, knowing about how the mind and the memory works will give a great advantage to
leverage and learn things in a much more efficient manner. The concepts mentioned here about
learning and memory not only applies to students who wish to study efficiently but also teachers,
professors and anybody who wishes to learn anything equally. Employing and adapting these
techniques will enable teachers and professors and trainers in the learning industry to maximize
retention of their students in a great manner and also help analyze what type of content would
work for them and divide and help them learn in an enjoyable way. This can also help in making
classroom sessions more productive and help teachers and students equally to do learning in a
profound manner that will benefit both of them.