Learning Styles and Teams

Learning Styles and Teams

Learning styles differ with each individual and each situation. In a Team environment Learning Styles also differ but for many more reasons. Cultural background, language barriers, and personal background are just a few that influence learning styles. Good team mechanics revolve around leaning how to effectively communicate with those around you and realizing others strengths and weakness in learning styles.

So what makes for a good learning environment? According to Lisa from Management Craft, "Research shows that employees stay longer and do better work when they feel connected to their company and team members". This would seem to make a lot of sense as everyone has a desire to be needed and productive. It would also suggest that if a team member felt content in their environment as a team member, he or she would most likely be a positive, productive member. If the team members feel content in their surroundings, the communication dialogue flows more freely and honestly.

We understand that acceptance and feeling needed are important, but what other factors make for a more productive team environment and help to define our learning Styles? Looking at Wikipedia under Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs, we see that he describes Aesthetic as the most important need. It states that, "The motivation to realize one's own maximum potential and possibilities is considered to be the master motive or the only real motive, all other motives being its various forms. In Maslow's hierarchy of needs, the need for self-actualization is the final need that manifests when lower level needs have been satisfied". I would think this to be true for everyone. We all strive to be the best that we can be and though we are all motivated differently, we still want and desire to find that one thing that we excel at. Our individual needs help define how we learn and why we learn the way we do. Helping other team member not only helps their leaning skills but also yours as well and fostered needed communication between team members.

Do learning Styles change as we get older? I would suggest that our learning styles change constantly and that our thought process evolves as our learning styles change. There are 7 different categories of learning styles and one is verbal. It would make sense that as our vocabulary and writing skills increase, so would the style in which we express ourselves both verbally and written. Styles would also change based on our surroundings and how we perceive them. As Dr. Robotham states, "It is widely accepted that while it is possible to identify common constituent elements, the learning process varies at an individual level. Students will develop a way or style of learning, and refine that style in response to three groups of factors: unconscious personal interventions by the individual, conscious