To choose the type of instruction that will work best for you, you need to know which of your senses is dominant when you take in information.

Some of us are strongest in our sense of hearing, some in the sense of seeing, and some in the sense of feeling.

Which sense do you notice most when you remember something? Notice whether your memories are most intense when you access your visual, your auditory, or your body memories.

Do any one of your sense memories feel stronger than others? Which sensory mode do you tend to use most often? Are there any senses that you never use at all when you remember things?

If you are particularly strong in your visual sense, you may frequently use phrases like “I see,” or “The way I picture it” or “Let's shed some light on this.”

If you are a person whose visual sense dominates over the other senses, you probably love looking at beautiful paintings, beautiful objects and scenery. Lights, colors and shapes entrance you. You probably love stylish clothes and pay special attention to their cut and color.

If you are primarily a hearing person, you pay a lot of attention to sound. You may love listening to music, or you may crave complete silence. You would rather take in information by listening to a lecture than by reading a book. Your conversation may be filled with phrases like, “I hear what you're saying” or “That rings a bell”.

People who are primarily kinesthetic pay a lot of attention to their bodily sensations and emotions. Their conversation may be filled with references to their feelings, even when they are discussing facts or opinions.

They may say something like, “I feel the reason the stock market has declined is - " People with a very strong kinesthetic sense prefer comfort over style when choosing their clothing or furnishing their house.

They prefer to participate in an activity instead of reading about it. People with a strong kinesthetic sense tend to enjoy playing sports, dancing and engaging in hands-on physical activity.

Why does any of this matter? The reason is that the more you know about your own particular learning style, the more you will be able to choose the sorts of learning experiences that work best for you, and avoid those methods of instruction that you will find frustrating.

In primary school and high school, most of the educational instruction is presented in the visual or auditory modes. Students are required to do a lot of listening and a lot of reading. This method works very well for those of us who have a mix of strong visual and auditory styles.

But this style of instruction is a disaster for people with the sensory mix of being very strong in kinesthetic processing while very weak in visual and auditory learning.

Students who are primarily kinesthetic learners while weak in visual and auditory learning often feel lost in school. They may grow up convinced they are stupid, not realizing that they did not receive instruction in a sensory language they could easily understand.

People who are strongly kinesthetic learn best from educational experiences that are “hands-on”, such as apprenticeship programs, or programs that have a high degree of active participation.

If you are very strongly visual, you will do best in classes that emphasize films, videos, visual presentations, and reading.

If you are very strong in auditory learning, you will enjoy classes that teach through lectures, tapes, discussions and debates.

Whenever it's extremely important that you do well in a particular subject, try to choose educational classes that use a method of instruction compatible with your strongest senses.

If you are equally strong in all three methods, you will be able to take in, learn, and remember new information regardless of which sensory mode is used in the presentation.

If you have one sensory system that seems extremely weak, try to avoid taking classes that use that form of instruction whenever it is really important that you get a good mark in that subject.