This post will tackle my strongest learning style - the abstract learning style. This style is for all the theorists and imaginative thinkers. However, it is also for those individuals that can function logically in a purely theoretical world. This style is truly the opposite of the concrete learning style.
What Is Abstract Learning?
Whereas concrete learners have to have concepts that can be represented in the real world, abstract learners do not have to have the real world. Abstract learners can handle concepts that are pure theory or too abstract to be physically represented (higher math concepts). Many people have this particular learning style in their repertoire in varying degrees because most college level work requires abstract thinking to some degree. Those that have this learning style in abundance fall into the category of the great thinkers of our age.
The abstract learning style is one of the few learning styles that cuts through all disciplines. It manifests itself in different ways in each discipline of learning. Abstract thinkers can be artists, writers, and other professionals we would consider to be creative thinkers. However, abstract thinkers can also be lawyers, doctors, architects, and other professionals we would consider to be technical thinkers. What constitutes abstract thinking? Abstract concepts fall outside what our senses can tell us. Concrete concepts fall into what we can see, hear, feel, taste, and touch. Much of our world falls into the abstract. Language is abstract. Much of our thought processes would be considered abstract. Planning is an abstract concept. Truthfully, functioning in our world would be extremely difficult without some ability to process abstract concepts. Even those people that rely more on concrete learning still have some ability to process abstract concepts unless they have severe learning disabilities.
The Two Camps
In this article I am going to break abstract thinkers into two camps. This is a very simplified way of looking at this concept because people vary widely in how they think and process information. Some people may fall into both camps to some degree or very strongly. However, to fully cover this particular learning style would take much more space than this short article. Therefore, I am basically looking at this as right-brain abstract thinkers (creative thinkers) and left-brain abstract thinkers (technical thinkers).
Creative Thinkers
Creative thinkers include those people that bring something new to the world. This might be a work of art or a new way of thinking about economics. Many times when we think of creative people we only include artistic or musical people. However, those people that create new ways of looking at old concepts can also be included in this category. Writers create with words, and computer programmers create with code. The means of creating is as varied as the people that live on this planet. Creative thinkers look beyond what is to what can be. In some circles creative thinkers are referred to as visionaries.
Technical Thinkers
Technical thinkers, on the other hand, bring logical sense to the ideas of creative thinkers. Sometimes this involves the same person. Sometimes another person will put feet to the ideas of another person. Technical thinkers can decipher all the details that must be included to make something a reality. This might include an editor that knows all the ends and outs of grammatical rules. This might also include a statistician that can manipulate numbers in order for comparisons to be stated in a concrete way. Doctors must understand complicated biological systems in order to diagnose and treat disease. Lawyers must be able to interpret complex laws in order to argue cases in court. Technical thinkers deal in the details and do not shy away from the complicated and complex. They thrive on it.
The Tweekers
Many times the most successful people in nearly every discipline have both types of abstract thinking at work. Mozart is considered one of the most creative composers in history, and he was also one of the greatest musical technicians to ever live. Many of the people that create ideas that change the world also have extremely technical minds. These two types of thinking very often go hand in hand but not always. Some people are what I call "tweekers." They take other people's ideas and add their technical expertise to those ideas in order to improve on them. Tweekers usually have a hard time creating something from scratch, but they can take research to a whole new level. Many prominent researchers fall into this category. They build on the foundation of other people's discoveries and bring those ideas to fruition.
How to Tell If a Child is an Abstract Thinker
Now let us bring this to the early childhood world. How can you tell if a child is an abstract thinker? The children that fall into the creative thinking category have great imaginations. The dramatic play of these children could be made into movies. They construct other worlds and realities. These children thrive on fantasy the way concrete learners thrive on reality. The technical thinkers often reveal their strengths in academic matters. These children show an uncanny ability to understand academic concepts beyond that of their peers. The children that learn to read early or have an understanding of math concepts that is way beyond preschool fall into this category. They might show an understanding of grammar or the ability to decipher complicated patterns. These children thrive on academic content in the preschool years. Not all children learn through play. Many technical thinkers practice what they learn through play. It is a subtle but very important difference. These children are mentally equipped for the more abstract academic content that the learning through play camp fights so hard to remove from preschools. Remember all children are different. Some learn through play and some do not. We need both types of preschools to adequately educate all children in their personal learning style. Maybe someday we will quit fighting each other and learn to put our children in a preschool that suits their personal learning style.
I hope you have enjoyed this post. Goodbye and God bless!!
Check out Natalie's children's books at: https://www.amazon.com/author/nataliewade7457
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