Question about Your "Learning Type"

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heater451

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Quick question for the room: What is your dominant "learning type", Visual or Aural? Also, please include any current league skill level, and rough number of years playing.

I am currently an APA-6, but perhaps a 6.5 or 6.6, to provide an extra level of understanding. I've been playing in leagues about 20 years, with a couple of short breaks (months to a few years each). I have been a 5-6 for many years, but only within the last year started to [Edit: "try to"] break the 7 barrier.

I am heavily a Visual Learner.

Yes, I gave my own answer in opposite order, but that is my baseline. I'm wondering if there is a correlation, between above average players, and their learning type.

My guess is that more serious players are also VL.
 
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Bobkitty

Bobkitty

I said: "Here kitty, kitty". Got this frown.
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heater451 said:
Quick question for the room: What is your dominant "learning type", Visual or Aural? Also, please include any current league skill level, and rough number of years playing.

I am currently an APA-6, but perhaps a 6.5 or 6.6, to provide an extra level of understanding. I've been playing in leagues about 20 years, with a couple of short breaks (months to a few years each). I have been a 5-6 for many years, but only within the last year started to break the 7 barrier.

I am heavily a Visual Learner.

Yes, I gave my own answer in opposite order, but that is my baseline. I'm wondering if there is a correlation, between above average players, and their learning type.

My guess is that more serious players are also VL.
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I was an APA-9 but do not play league any more. That was 2 years ago. You need to see a pool instructor now as you could have something wrong with your approach or stroke and you'll never get any better on your own. I have found a master's master pool teacher and I go to him often for a 4 hour morning. He is a pool God to me. I'm like a little guitar player and he is Chet Atkins! The man knows it all. After leaving, he will give handouts and a schedule for training. I'm taking down great A players now with the training. Summation: find a great teacher and follow what he says... just like golf and tennis as almost everyone (almost) takes lessons to get better.
 
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BRussell

BRussell

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You definitely need to have good visual-spatial skills to be a good pool player: Seeing angles, imagining shot lines and cue ball paths, etc. But learning styles are not considered valid individual differences, despite the little boom in pop psychology and pop education 15 years ago. Saying "I'm a ___ learner" is about on the same level as "I'm right-brained" or "I use x% of my brain."

What does it even mean to be a verbal learner in pool? Can one person learn the same amount about pool listening to an audio recording as another person watching a video? No way.
 
Chopdoc

Chopdoc

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I have synesthesia, a combination of grapheme-color synesthesia and spatial sequence synesthesia, so I learn, remember, and teach differently from most people. It's really hard to describe the experience. It combines visual and aural, but what I hear is automatically translated into a sort of image in my mind that connects to everything else I know with multi-colored ribbons and number lines. I don't actively do this, it happens naturally for me.

League skill level? I don't play leagues. I have no idea.
 
D

deanoc

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I never put much stock in types of learners

I think it is psycho babble

We all learn pretty much the same way,explanation,demonstration and seeing too,sometimes this way,sometimes another until we finally catch on


The same group that brought us new math and dyslexia instead of reading have
confused a whole generation.
 
RakRunr

RakRunr

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RichSchultz said:
Choice 3—tactile learner. Learn by doing.
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No doubt, the tactile portion is really important. After 20 years as an autodidact software developer, and even longer as an erstwhile pool player, my learning method is as follows:

1) See It - You have to be exposed to the concepts and (as much as possible) understand the why. It doesn't matter if this is Visual or Audio: for me I learn best by reading and watching videos, so I guess I'm visual. I'm constantly exposing myself to information, even if i think i already know the topic, because i guarantee there is still stuff out there you don't know. And to quote @ScottLee - "you don't know what you don't know."

2) Do It - Next is to try it out and learn the skill fundamentals. Then you need to "drill the skill" until it becomes familiar. The more you do that, the more likely you'll be able to call on that skill in the heat of competition.

3) Teach It - I've spent the latter half of my career teaching: writing articles and books, recording training videos, and presenting at events and conferences. I find the true test of my own knowledge is the ability to explain and share it with others. It's amazing how much you can learn while teaching. This does not have to be formal, maybe you help out a friend or teammate. Regardless of what form this takes, you'll find that teaching helps solidify and reinforce your own understanding. I recently achieved my PBIA Instructor status so now I am applying this methodology to pool.
 
Bob Jewett

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heater451 said:
Quick question for the room: What is your dominant "learning type", Visual or Aural? ...
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I would say that my dominant learning method is to butt my head into the brick wall until I notice that it would be easier to open the door and go through that way. Sometimes the wall gives first though and that's quite satisfying.

Visual.

APA 10.
 
H

heater451

Registered
Bob Jewett said:
...APA 10.
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Both you and Prairie dog posted above 8 (as of this post), so I realize that I should have specified 8 or 9-ball. So, anything 8 and above I will assume is a 9-ball rating.

I am the same rating in both.

It seems that it was also not clear, that the "learning" need not be about pool. It's about the style that works better for each person--excepting the few that don't believe in the concepts. [Note, this paragraph is not directed towards you, Bob, it's more "thinking out loud", considering some of the other posts.]

My hypothesis was that there *would* be a correlation between above-average players, and visual learners--even considering that the audience for the question would be limited to those who are 1) Members of the forum and read the post, 2) Bothered to answer, and 3) a number of other factors. However, I have also not considered that visual learners may be over-represented in general. Still, this is armchair analysis, at best.
 
H

heater451

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BRussell said:
What does it even mean to be a verbal learner in pool? Can one person learn the same amount about pool listening to an audio recording as another person watching a video? No way.
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BRussell, it's not particularly about learning pool, but as how the learning types relate to pool.

Consider when teaching someone to shoot draw: If one only had the option of being told how to do it, without a visual demonstration, OR shown how to do it, without any exposition, no time limit for either way, which way would offer the better way to provide attempt-feedback cycles? Now, it is of course ridiculous, to teach using only one method, but the example is to try and show that verbal/aural input is also important--and probably allows more nuance in communicating how to draw. (Then again, how many people have heard, "low, level, and follow-through" and still cannot draw? <--And even there, the term "level" means an approximation of level.)
 
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Imac007

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Hand eye coordination clue

Target sports shot execution requires synchronization of visual and kinesthetic cues. If you are highly visual those components will dominate. The feelings get lost in a sea of visual stimuli. The key visuals are needed to acquire a target, find a target line and aim the cue on that line. Orienting the body so the cueing arm, the elbow hinge and bridge are placed on the line, involve body awareness. Cueing in a straight line involves feedback from the eyes but the body must sense how to deliver the final stroke.

A visually dominant player can benefit from aligning, testing the straightness then closing their eyes and delivering the stroke. Develop the "hand" part of the hand-eye skill set. Shot making combines straight cueing with a myriad of pace and timing variables all involving bodily movement awareness. Closing your eyes to work on pace or aligning then focusing solely on the cue ball to develop timing skills on contact are areas to consider.

Good golfers are said to be aware of the clubhead, it’s weight, the orientation of the face and where it is during the swing. There would seem to be some useful ideas in that when sensing the cue during execution. Feel the weight of the cue as it swings. Feel it slow to a stop at the back and sense how the return to the ball at a specific speed will impact the ball and interactions. Learn to feel the shot. You can feel more if you shut your eyes, quiet the mind then move the cue, discovering the physical sensations.
 
H

heater451

Registered
Imac007 said:
Target sports shot execution requires synchronization of visual and kinesthetic cues. If you are highly visual those components will dominate. The feelings get lost in a sea of visual stimuli. The key visuals are needed to acquire a target, find a target line and aim the cue on that line. Orienting the body so the cueing arm, the elbow hinge and bridge are placed on the line, involve body awareness. Cueing in a straight line involves feedback from the eyes but the body must sense how to deliver the final stroke.

A visually dominant player can benefit from aligning, testing the straightness then closing their eyes and delivering the stroke. Develop the "hand" part of the hand-eye skill set. Shot making combines straight cueing with a myriad of pace and timing variables all involving bodily movement awareness. Closing your eyes to work on pace or aligning then focusing solely on the cue ball to develop timing skills on contact are areas to consider.

Good golfers are said to be aware of the clubhead, it’s weight, the orientation of the face and where it is during the swing. There would seem to be some useful ideas in that when sensing the cue during execution. Feel the weight of the cue as it swings. Feel it slow to a stop at the back and sense how the return to the ball at a specific speed will impact the ball and interactions. Learn to feel the shot. You can feel more if you shut your eyes, quiet the mind then move the cue, discovering the physical sensations.
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lmac007, thank you for the reply. I understand what you are trying to add, but it strays from the point of my thread, which was a simple collection of data on anyone who would like to answer, regarding the type of learner they are (visual or aural), and a request for your league skill level (or estimation of skill level).

I am not trying to call you out on this specifically, as if you read the replies so far, I think the higher percentage of answers do not address the original request either. I welcome tangents, but would also appreciate the actual data requested, if one is to bother to answer in the thread at all.

I apologize, if this post comes off as rude.
 
T

TheBasics

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Howdy All;

10 or so years ago I played APA, shot as a 3 (8-ball). Before that it was maybe 10 years
since my last go-round with pool, then mostly bars and such. A 'for real pool hall' when I
could find one and truly enjoyed the experiences.
Ok, about my learning style, "Monkey see, Monkey do" fits best. Noticed this when I was
fixin' aircraft in the military where it was mandatory to check the manuals before
turning wrenches etc., in case there was a change ... I could find myself reading the
same paragraphs over an over and not understanding one D**n thing. Go out to the
aircraft and have a fellow worker say "Just move that, turn this, snug this over here and
your done." Like a cloud had lifted :eek: .
Now days I find that you tube is a great help in 'showing' me how things go together. I
still enjoy reading, always have, but the ability to actually "See" what is being explained
gives the biggest benefit to me.

hank
 
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