Self-examination

 Personal and dominant learning style developed during toddler years and how it is reflected in character and behavior in the present

 Introduction

  If I am asked who I am , I can give as many responses as possible concerning what I like,  my identity, my roles,  individual character,  and other things that are influenced by nature and nurture.  However, the psychology studies have helped understand that to understand who I am,   it is important to focus on the subjective personality as it helps an individual to reflect on oneself through subjective experiences.  Therefore, the transition from childhood to adulthood helps understand who I am since the transition is associated with many experiences in the life-world.  In other words, the experiences I have gone through from childhood to adulthood will help know my own life, describe the experiences, and eventually identify my distinctive sense of self.  Many factors can help a person identify oneself but according to own experiences, the learning styles both personal and dominant during toddler years shaped my adulthood and or other words, they played role in my personal development.  Therefore, the learning styles did not only provide knowledge and skills but it helped develop character and behaviors and more importantly, identify who I am.

             Both dominant and personal learning styles played a role in the process of development.  Through learning, I gained knowledge and skills, and I was able to develop the right attitudes and character.  Development from childhood to adulthood was promoted by both physical and mental elements (Manoharan, n.d).  This means that during development, I was able to think, communicate effectively, interact, and develop unique personal character.  Today, all things I do including behaviors, thoughts, actions, interactions, and other things are influenced by childhood.  However,  it is worth saying that social and cultural organizations shaped by personality (Manoharan, n.d).  For example, psychological experiences helped become the person I am today.  During childhood, I experienced love from parents, family members, and peers.  I gained psychological and emotional support from my family and this affects how I behave today.  Second is a cultural experience.  This means that I grew up in a culture that recognized diversity, and the culture provided support networks that helped develop physically and emotionally.  My culture had a positive impact in my life in that acceptance and inclusion allowed me to express myself and to share with other interests and activities and hence it promoted self-development.  Nevertheless, education institutions where I gained learning style played the most significant role since this is the place where I gained life-skills.

 

Dominant learning style developed during toddler years

  School and early education supported and promoted my physical and psychological growth.  At school, my teacher had a lesson plan to meet each need.  Students have different learning styles or in other words, students absorb and comprehend information differently due to factors such as environment, emotional factors, and others (Rather, 2010).  Thus, the teacher incorporated different styles of learning including; visual- the teacher used charts and pictures and students could identify the shape of the picture, the size, the color, the location, among other things.  The second type of learning style was auditory- the teacher could teach through talking and discussion and students could identify the tone, the volume, the words, and the tune, among other things.  The third method is to read/write methods.  The teacher could allow students to learn through writing notes and reading written information.  The last method is kinesthetic-the teacher could teach by giving concrete experiences, and students could engage in physical activities to enhance their learning (Rather, 2010).  In these learning styles, I developed the write/ reading style.  It is worth saying that this method of learning has affected every aspect of life including family, friends, and school.  I have an extraordinary capacity to learn through reading and writing.  As a reading/writing learner, I enjoy reading, taking notes, writing essays, and I can absorb and store information.  From this style of learning, I have developed a character of being quiet.  Most of the time I am busy reading, studying, and taking notes.  This benefits me in that I increase comprehension, and the independent reading strengths my creativity and writing skills.

 

 Even though I discovered reading and writing as my learning style, I had a mix of learning styles since I also used the auditory learning style.  Although  I concentrated on reading and writing, I also wanted to acquire more knowledge from other subject areas. The auditory method helped to gather information and therefore I had no deficits in reading and writing (Rather, 2010).  I can say that this method has helped in becoming creative and discovering new things.  I like researching to gather facts and evidence and use my critical thinking skills to interpret results. 

             The learning style that I developed during childhood had helped me improve my reading and writing skills.  Today, I am a critical thinker and more importantly, I can make reasoned judgments not only in my studies but also in real life.  The childhood education affected my adulthood in that I grew up knowing how to interact and communicate effectively and today, I am a better student and a better person in the community.  I am proud of my childhood in that as I reflect on my childhood experience, I acknowledge that those experiences have allowed me to engage in social activities, cultural events, and other things that life demands (Rather, 2010).  My reading and writing ability has improved my confidence.  This is because the confidence I applied in writing is the same confidence I apply in dealing with life challenges and difficulties.  Note that in writing, I used to make mistakes, at times writing was terrible, but I could learn from those mistakes.  In life, I am confident to apply my creativity and try new things,  I learn from mistakes,  I move out of my comfort zone to explore the world, and look forward to a bright future.

 

Personal learning style developed during toddler years

 Based on experience, I developed other learning styles and they greatly shaped by adulthood.  Apart from the dominant learning styles that were introduced by teachers, I developed my style, which is a social learning style (Ellis et al.2009).  Even though I liked reading and writing while alone, I loved interacting with other students in a group setting to identify problems and find solutions.  Note that as writing/ reading learner, I am creative and therefore I like solving problems.  However,  it becomes hard to address challenges alone and therefore interaction or social learning creates relationship dynamics and promotes cooperation (Ellis et al.2009).  This type of learning shaped my adulthood in that by working together with other students, I developed the character of being cooperative, and it helped develop skills in areas such as sports and arts.  Moreover, the social learning style allowed interacting with students in a variety of settings and therefore I developed desirable characters, which are reflected in my adulthood.  From social learning, I have developed commitment, courtesy and cooperation, and life skills such as decision-making, creative thinking, problem solving, self-awareness, ability to create and maintain relationships, and acquisition of knowledge.

Conclusion

             The learning styles, both personal and dominant have helped me understand who I am in various settings.  From the VARK model of learning styles, I have two types of learning styles; auditory, and reading and writing.  I developed these styles at toddling years, they have improved my education, and more importable they have helped understand my brain, my behaviors, and character.  Even though other institutions such as social and cultural institutions played role in shaping my personality, the education institution provided me with the best learning styles, which helped me not only in educational settings but also in understanding myself.  Moreover, the learning style helped develop important skills in life and more importantly, I learned how to interact with people in different settings.  At first, I was introduced to the dominant learning style and I preferred reading/ writing, and auditory learning, which helped me become creative and cooperative.  Later, I develop a personal learning style, which is social learning, and this improved my personal development since it taught me to value teamwork that helps me to evaluate things using different perspectives.

 

 

 

 

References

 

Ellis, A., Abrams, M., & Abrams, L. D. (2009). Personality theories: Critical perspectives. Los

Angeles: SAGE Publications.

 

 

Manoharan. P.K.  (n.d).  Education And Personality Development. APH Publishing

 

 

 

 Rather A.R. (2010). Psychology Of Learning And Development. Discovery Publishing House