May 21, Ascension (Luke 24:44–53)

I am not a great memorizer. The verses of scripture I remember best and can reel off most easily are the ones I learned set to music, often in the King James Version or some other old-fashioned language. I believe that makes me an aural learner, one of seven accepted learning styles. Each uses a different part or parts of the brain. We all prioritize some, and we can develop the others, too.

My most effective means of metabolizing information and concepts is to read or listen and write things down (verbal); taking notes makes ideas concrete for me. I have frustrated many people trying to teach me things when their repetitions do not take hold because I could not write down what I was hearing. If you write notes in the margin of a book to catch a concept or phrase that will remind you later of what felt important, you are using this learning style.

I also hold onto things I hear while I am knitting (physical). Yet learning a new knitting skill is complicated for me, because I am not a particularly good visual learner. I can’t grasp what seems ob­vious to others who look at an illustration or watch a YouTube video. My best chance at insight comes from reading the words over and over again until they make sense in the actions of my hands. When the moment of understanding comes, and the stitch works, I feel a rush of satisfaction, a kind of insight high.