Athina Hansen
Content Writer at Gradehacker
Last Updated on September, 2022
Think of the last time you studied for an exam, were you able to remember the topics effectively? Or did you instead find that on the day of the exam, as soon as you read the first question, your mind went completely…blank!
Having a mental lapse as soon as you sit for an exam happens to the best of us! If that sounds like you, there is a chance this problem comes from your learning process.
Now, let us ask you some questions:
Do you fidget a lot during long lectures? Do you learn better through science lab experiments rather than through reading a textbook? Are you good at sports?
If you answered yes, then you are probably a tactile or kinesthetic learner! This means that as a kinesthetic student, you learn best through hands-on activities and movement.
So, now that you know that you benefit from the tactile learning style, you can start using the study methods aligned with your preferences to improve your study techniques and remember information more easily.
Which are these study methods? You are about to find out!
Here at Gradehacker, we are the non-traditional student’s most trusted resource. We help college students on a daily basis with their essays and exams, and in our years of experience, we have met many students just like you who are desperate to find a solution to their ineffective studying.
That’s why in this article, we’ll list the best ways to study as a tactile learner so that you can finally focus on your learning strengths and say goodbye to those all-too-familiar brain farts!
Best Ways to Study as a Tactile Learner
1) Find a Learning Environment That Allows for Movement
The environment in which you study is very important in your studying success.
This is why it is always necessary to consider a learning environment that allows you to concentrate and focus best by doing all the physical movement you need.
As a tactile learner, make sure the place you choose to study allows for body movement. Even though your bed sounds amazing, this probably isn’t the best place to study!
You need space to move! A standing desk can be a great option for tactile learners, but just being somewhere you can move and walk from one side to the other will be more than enough.
If you want to learn how to create the ideal study environment that suits your needs and likes, check this out!
2) Don’t Study for Long Periods of Time
As a tactile learner, you may observe your peers studying for consecutive hours, but when you try to do so, your brain retains nothing! This is because your brain will not maintain concentration when you study for long periods of time without taking any breaks where you can move around.
So simply put, take breaks!
Decide beforehand how much time you’re going to study before taking a break. There is not a single time interval that works best; it all depends on how long you can focus before becoming distracted.
We highly recommend the Pomodoro Technique.
Put a timer on your phone to study for 25 minutes and rest for five minutes. Repeat it three or four times, and then take a longer break of 15-30 minutes. Trust us, it works!
3) Take Physical Activity Breaks When Studying
We already established that as a kinesthetic student, studying for long periods of time is not going to work out for you. So then, what are you actually supposed to do when taking breaks?
Taking a break doesn’t mean checking Instagram for 10 minutes; it means moving around after being sat down for a while. By including active movement in your breaks, you will be able to regain the necessary focus to go back to studying.
Pause your studying, and you can do things such as stretch, walk around the house, or anything else that will get you moving.
You will find that after some physical action, your concentration will be increased. Whereas by sitting down for a long time, you will end up getting distracted and not absorbing the information.
4) Don’t Sit Still While Studying
Choosing this tactile learning style means you process information most effectively when it involves some kind of active movement. This is why you might notice that your hands are always fidgeting with whatever they can get a hold of.
The biggest mistake you can make as a tactile learner is reading and re-reading your pile of notes without stimulating your tactile sense.
It might sound silly, but fidgeting or involving movement will really make a difference in helping you both concentrate and remember the topics you are studying.
Just keep your hands busy!
There are a variety of ways that you can involve movement in your studying. From tapping your pen on the desk to shaking your foot or even using fidget toys, any repetitive movement will be helpful.
5) Write and Rewrite Your Notes
As a kinesthetic learner, your memory depends a lot on movement!
One of the best hands-on activities you can use to make a difference in the quality of your studying is writing your study notes on paper instead of typing them up on a computer.
Writing involves hand movement, so use it to your advantage!
Once you’re done writing your study notes, don’t close that textbook and call it a day. Rewriting your notes will be valuable for your memory. The repetitive movement will allow you to remember the topics for the exam.
Rewrite your notes on a separate sheet of paper once, twice, or even three times! Repeat this learning process as many times as you believe is necessary.
And if this works for you, then you have something of a visual learner too! You can learn more visual learning tips you can incorporate into your study sessions and improve your techniques even more!
6) Visit Museums that Relate to Your Exam Topic
As a tactile learner, you might have found that you remember information you find outside of your home or the classroom.
So, if you have any museums nearby, maybe plan a quick field trip!
By seeing and experiencing all that visual information through hands-on work, you will have an easier time understanding and remembering it.
Say, for example, you had a test on a historical event like the U.S. civil war; visiting a museum about it would be a great way to complement your studying.
7) Find a Study Group
You might be thinking, what does a study group have to do with a kinesthetic learning style?
Finding a reliable group of classmates you can study with will allow you to make good use of your tactile learning style.
Together you can come up with fun movements, create game cards, and find kinesthetic learning activities to help remember topics.
Studying with a partner(s) allows you to complement each other’s knowledge and help one another out. If you don’t understand a certain aspect of the exam topic, your partner(s) can help explain it and, when possible, use movement to describe it.
8) Act Out the Topics You’re Studying
Using bodily movement will be a game changer for your studying!
That is why getting creative and physically acting out your topics will allow you to remember them for the test.
You might be confused about how to “act out a topic.”
Let’s say you have a biology exam next week on mitosis or the process of cell division. You can physically act out where chromosomes are located in each mitosis stage and what happens to them. For example, in anaphase, where the chromosomes are separated, you can act out the separation by walking away.
There is no right way to act out a topic.
Any movement patterns that you can recreate to help mimic certain information will be useful. It might seem silly, but associating specific information with movement will boost your long-term memory.
9) Chew Gum While Studying
Believe it or not, something so simple as chewing gum while studying will really benefit you.
The repetitive movement of your jaw produced by chewing gum will help keep you focused on the task and remember what you are studying.
This slight movement will keep you on task and prevent you from becoming distracted due to wanting to move about.
10) Make Flashcards to Flip Through
While using flashcards is one of the many effective strategies visual learners use because it lets you test your knowledge on important terms, it can also be one for kinesthetic learners.
They are also a quick way to review information!
For students who benefit from the tactile learning style, the hand movement of flipping through flashcards will help keep you focused on the terms and definitions you are reading.
You can even get creative and turn flashcards into game cards. You’ll see that you will absorb the information more effectively!
How Do I Study Better as a Tactile Learner?
In order to study better, you should consciously implement methods that fit your primary learning style. Don’t try imitating other study techniques you’ve heard work if they are not specifically for a kinesthetic learner like you!
Even if your friend Jenn gets A’s on all her exams, it doesn’t mean that her method of studying will work for you. We are all unique learners, and there is not one studying rulebook that will work for everyone.
So, make your ideal learning style a hands-on experience to get the best results. Although simple, these tips will change your study quality as they actively target your skills.
We understand your pent-up frustration due to countless nights of studying, with your exam marks not reflecting that. We hope these tips will improve your studying experience as a tactile learner and that you will finally be able to retain information efficiently for your exam!
If you want to see more study tips, be sure to check out our related blog posts:
Athina Hansen
Athina has worked with Gradehacker both as a content writer and a study consultant, where she assisted college students with nursing courses. Athina has a background of educating others and producing content, having tutored college students and produced articles for her school magazine. She brings her experience to her current role, where she writes content to empower and assist the non-traditional college student who is often overlooked. You can find her on LinkedIn
