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Sensors don’t like courses that have no apparent connection to the real world
(so if you are sensor, you should love principles of management!); intuitors don’t like
“plug-and-chug” courses that involve a lot of memorization and routine calculations.
Visual and Verbal Learners

In most college classes, very little visual information is presented: students
mainly listen to lectures and read material written on whiteboards, in textbooks, and
on handouts. Unfortunately, most of us are visual learners, which means that we
typically do not absorb nearly as much information as we would if more visual
presentation were used in class. Effective learners are capable of processing
information presented either visually or verbally.
Visual learners remember best what they see—pictures, diagrams, flowcharts,
time lines, films, and demonstrations. Verbal learners get more out of words—written
and spoken explanations. Everyone learns more when information is presented both
visually and verbally.
Sequential and Global Learners
Sequential learners tend to follow logical, stepwise paths in finding solutions;
global learners may be able to solve complex problems quickly or put things together
in novel ways once they have grasped the big picture, but they may have difficulty
explaining how they did it. Sequential learners tend to gain understanding in linear
steps, with each step following logically from the previous one. Global learners tend
to learn in large jumps, absorbing material almost randomly without seeing
connections, and then suddenly “getting it.”
Many people who read this description may conclude incorrectly that they are
global since everyone has experienced bewilderment followed by a sudden flash of
understanding. What makes you global or not is what happens before the light bulb
goes on. Sequential learners may not fully understand the material, but they can
nevertheless do something with it (like solve the homework problems or pass the test)
since the pieces they have absorbed are logically connected. Strongly global learners
who lack good sequential thinking abilities, however, may have serious difficulties
until they have the big picture. Even after they have it, they may be fuzzy about the
details of the subject, while sequential learners may know a lot about specific aspects
of a subject but may have trouble relating them to different aspects of the same
subject or to different subjects.
Adapt Your Style
OK, so you’ve assessed your learning style. What should you do now? You can
apply this valuable and important information about yourself to how you approach
your principles of management course and the larger P-O-L-C framework.
Active Learners
If you act before you think, you are apt to make hasty and potentially ill-
informed judgments. You need to concentrate on summarizing situations and taking
time to sit by yourself to digest information you have been given before jumping in
and discussing it with others.
If you are an active learner in a class that allows little or no class time for
discussion or problem-solving activities, you should try to compensate for these lacks
when you study. Study in a group in which the members take turns explaining

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