Growing up being homeschooled, I had to do a lot of reading and learning independently at my own pace. That helped me in high school and college especially with the rise in audiobooks and videos. As soon as I got a computer, I learned that watching the movie adaptation first helped me better understand the book. If I read a physical book, it would collect dust and probably never be finished. But if I catered to my learning style and did what was best for me, nothing could stop me.

Learning Styles

Everyone has a main learning style meaning that there is a particular modality of learning that helps you learn and retain information best. You could be a visual learner, auditory learner, or kinesthetic learner, meaning you learn best by doing hands-on activities. Using all the modalities in one way or another is the best way to learn because it uses as much of the brain as possible. Increased sensory input improves memory and cognition. Now that was slightly science-y so let me tell you about my experience.

Need for Speed

I am an auditory learner. I have always had exceptional hearing which helped with dance and piano, but also with school. I could reread the same page over and over again and be more confused the more I read it. But if I could listen to an audiobook, I could finish the book in a few hours or days, depending on the length of the book. The more I listen to audiobooks, the faster I am able to listen to them. Last summer, I wanted to see how far I could take this by listening to podcasts at 2x speed. Sometimes even 2.5x or 3x. Other people I knew said they speed it up a *little bit* but not to the violent speed that I had. When other people listen to what I am listening to at high speed they say it sounds like another language, yet I understand it perfectly. So clearly, this is my dominant learning style.

Pearson+ Audiobook Features

Sometimes I do have to read the textbook to understand a certain concept or process and know the technical terms. Few things put me to sleep faster than reading. What’s great about the eTextbook feature in Pearson+ is that I can listen to the audiobook and read along with the book. The text highlights as I’m reading so I will never lose my place or re-read a line of text. What is even better is when I can’t sit and read my book and I have to commute, my Pearson+ will sync with what I was reading on my computer and pick up where I left off on my phone app. I can plug my phone into my car and listen to a whole chapter while I commute to school and run errands around town. I even listen to my eTexts when I am going for a walk.

There was one semester where I had human growth and development, sociology, and microbiology courses. The amount of reading was outrageous, but I was able to keep up with it all whether I was either driving and listening or studying at my desk. No matter what, I was absorbing tons of information.

I got some of the highest test grades in those courses because of how well I was studying for my own learning style. Others were making flashcards, studying the PowerPoint, or straight up reading and weren’t doing as well. As soon as you can, take an online quiz or just ask yourself how you learn best and cater to that learning style as much as possible. Whatever your learning style is, Pearson caters to all of them.

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