Embrace the Training Style that Fits Best

Gut Check | Friday, January 27, 2017

SGNA Editor

In general, it is said that people retain approximately 10 percent of what they see; 30 to 40 percent of what they see and hear; and 90 percent of what they see, hear, and do.

Malcolm Knowles, known as the father of andragogy, lists the three primary learning styles as: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. While each person has the capability to learn via all three styles, typically they are dominant in one in particular.

According to Knowles, training should take into account all three styles:

Visual learners tend to learn by looking, seeing, viewing and watching, need to see an instructor’s facial expressions and body language to fully understand the content of a lesson. These are the individuals who sit at the front of the classroom to avoid visual distractions and tend to think in pictures and learn best from visual displays. During a lecture or discussion, they tend to take detailed notes to absorb information.
Auditory learners tend to learn by listening, hearing and speaking. If you fall into this category, chances are you learn best through lectures, discussions and brainstorming. They interpret the underlying meaning of speech by listening to voice tone, pitch, speed and other speech nuances. Written information has little meaning to them until they hear it. They benefit best by reading text out loud and using a tape recorder.
Kinesthetic learners are those who typically learn through physical action: through experience, movement and the act of doing. A hands-on approach and the ability to actively explore the physical world around them suites this group best.

The idea of finding the right teaching style, and embracing it, also applies to how you interact with patients.

An article authored by Sally Russell, MN CMSRN CPP, published in the October 2006 issue of Urologic Nursing, addresses how health care providers can maximize teaching moments by incorporating specific adult-learning principles and learning styles into their own teaching strategies. In the article, she addresses the different learning modalities and the types of teaching methods that are most appealing.

Russell says although each patient may require a unique learning style, adults learn best when teaching strategies combine visual, auditory and kinesthetic approaches. Assessing the patient’s best style of learning will make a difference in the methods and materials most appropriate for the teaching session.

SGNA is committed to providing continuing education for GI nurses and associates that appropriately fits their needs. Our growing library of online education modules, training seminars, events and scholarships and grants, among other methods offer options that appeal to all three learning styles.