Learning Profile- I'm an A!

Today in class, we used a few tests to figure out our learning profile. From the title of this post, you can tell that I got A as my profile- this means someone who is right leg, right arm, right eye and right ear dominant, but is left brain (logic) dominant. This means I am a visual and auditory learner- I learn best when presented with diagrams and both a written and spoken explanation of it and when I focus on details. I process by verbalizing, writing and analyzing, instead of acting or drawing. I prefer things to be in a sequence and find language useful for learning. This gives me a large advantage, as teachers tend to give their directions orally in class and hand out a written rubric, matching me perfectly. However, there are a couple of downfalls to my profile- during stress, I tend to have difficulty seeing the 'big picture', I find it challenging to connect emotionally or kinesthetically to information and, due to all my dominant features being on the opposite sides of my dominant hemisphere, I have a difficult time accessing the gestalt hemisphere when I'm stressed.

In order to broaden my learning horizons, I need to be more open to gestalt ideas. I should do this through positive, enjoyable sensory-motor experiences, which will allow me to emotionally interact to the fullest, be creative and develop intuition. I should have an integral balance of art, music, freeform movement and interpersonal skills, combined with cognitive endeavors to balance me out as a person- I am currently working on this by taking an art course through choice and talking to my friends about acting. I should be encouraged to understand and synthesize information from a whole perspective and explore ambiguity, emotions and movement, in order to see the world from another point of view.

The strategies that would help me in my learning would be to sit towards the front of a class, so I can easily see and hear the teacher, while also embarking on conversations with the teacher about emotions behind a text, or how all the small forces come together to form the bigger picture of the Earth. Being close means I take in the information easily, while also broadening the way I think. Although I feel most comfortable with written explanations, I should, when given the option, try to create a skit or creative poster to help engage the lesser-used gestalt side of my brain.

I would like my teachers to know that I would prefer them to draw diagrams up on the board to asking us to act out a word. I know that I just stated in the last paragraph that I should act out more- I know I should, but I would rather take in the information through a visual, then act out as a project once I am confident with the concept. I would also prefer there to be an even number of oral and written assignments- I am confident with written assignments, but I should do some orals to broaden my horizons. I would also like to sit towards the front of the class, instead of being shoved at the back where it is harder to see and hear. I know that you can't cater to all my needs, as other people may request other things, but I would like these changes to be thought about.