We all learn and remember things in our own unique ways. With a bit of creativity and focus, we can maximize our study time to achieve better exam results, and who wouldn’t want that?
The internet is full of different quizzes you can take to find out more about your particular learning style, such as the famous VARK (Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic), or Chegg, or Education Planner, and on and on. I love taking these types of quizzes!
Basically, scientists have determined that there are anywhere from three to seven different learning styles that we fall into, and research on this topic is continuing all the time. Here, we will tackle the four most common styles:
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Let’s say you’re studying for one of our wine courses, and after you take a few quizzes and determine you’re a Visual learner, you are left thinking… OK, well there’s only so much I can glean from looking at a glass of wine, so where do I go from here? Here’s some ideas:
make friends with infographics - Wine Folly is a good place to start
print out blank maps of wine regions and colour them in yourself
subscribe to a Wine TV channel - we recommend WineMasters TV
laminate large maps of wine regions and put them in the shower - study while washing your hair!
How about an Auditory learner? Wine’s not particularly chatty, so how can you best approach learning?
Listen to podcasts! Try this one, this one, this one, or this one
when you’re reading the textbook, try reading it to yourself out loud, you’ll be amazed at how much more information you will retain this way
after studying a section, go tell someone (anyone) about what you just learned. You’d be amazed to hear what my cats have learned about wine over the years
If you’re a Reading & Writing type of learner, this is the most classic style of learner. Since most of our exams are based 100% on the information found in the course textbook, read away. A few tips:
read in 15-minute blocks, then write down what you just learned about for the next 10 minutes, then get up to walk around for 5 minutes, then start over again; this will keep your mind engaged
flashcards are your friends
ask a study buddy to text/email you a topic to write about from memory and reply immediately, no peeking at the text first!
don’t just rely on your keyboard for ‘writing’ - it’s been proven that writing with an actual pen or pencil dramatically improves your ability to remember facts
Finally, we come to Kinesthetic learners. Yay! This is when you get to taste the wine!! But just tasting wine won’t help you pass the course, so here’s a few other ideas:
attend wine webinars and actually participate in the discussions
if you can, visit vineyards & wineries to bring the experience of making wine to life
go to wine shops and walk around, picking up and examining the bottles - checking labelling regulation names, alcohol levels, and regional names and varieties
So there you have it. Whatever learning style you fall into, it’s time to get studying!