Volunteering offers many opportunities to learn - often in ways we don’t expect. Each of us has our own learning style: some of us learn by doing, others by observing, imagining, or sharing with others. This reflection helps you notice your learning style and think about how to make the most of it during your volunteering experience.
What you will need:
- A handout or cards with the learning styles
- A4 paper or printed template
- Pens or markers
Instructions:
1. Think about your previous learning experiences.
Recall situations when you learned something new - in school, work, or everyday life. What helped you learn most in those moments? What made learning harder?
2. Read the learning styles (see below)
Go through the list below and choose 2 - 3 styles that feel most familiar to you. There are no right or wrong answers -just notice which ones sound like your natural way of learning.
3. Reflect and make notes.
For each learning style you identify with, note down:
- How does this show up when I learn something new?
- What might be more challenging for me and how could I adapt or grow?
4. Plan how to use your learning style.
Think about the volunteering context - your tasks, team, and environment:
- How can I use my learning style to make the most of this experience?
- What situations will help me learn naturally?
- What situations might challenge me, and how can I adapt?
- How can I stay curious and open to new ways of learning?
5. Share and discuss (optional)
If you’re doing this with others, share one or two insights - for example, what helps you learn best or how you plan to use your learning style in practice. Listen to others and notice how everyone’s styles are different yet valuable. You can also reflect together:
- What can we do to create good learning opportunities for ourselves?
- How can understanding different learning styles help our team/group work better?
Have a look at the poster of learning styles (23.55 MB, pdf).
Guidance for mentors/facilitators
- Frame it as exploration rather than evaluation. Encourage openness and curiosity.
- The learning styles can be presented as the handout like in the table below, or printed on cards separately.
- Allow quiet time for individual reflection before inviting anyone to share. During group discussions, focus on examples rather than definitions, and help participants notice how varied learning styles can strengthen teamwork, inclusion, and solidarity.
- Invite volunteers to keep their notes and revisit them later in the project to see how their learning has developed.