Know your learning style. According to "Teaching for the Two-Sided Mind: A Guide to Right Brain/Left Brain Education" by Linda Williams, the "left hemisphere processes (information) sequentially, in a step-by-step manner," while the right side "integrates component parts and organizes them into a whole." In addition, people tend to have preferences for visual, auditory or kinesthetic (touching and movement) learning.
Create balance. If you are right-brain dominant, it will be hard to follow verbal instructions, so change information to more understandable form. Convert verbal and written instructions into pictures, diagrams or charts to organize facts. Make verbal abstractions concrete with a graph. Use metaphors to clarify the relationships between concepts. Draw a time line to sort out facts and dates and put information into context.
Avoid becoming confused by open-ended assignments, which challenge those who are left-brain dominant. Organize information presented as a whole, such as a paragraph on an assignment sheet, into separate steps and number each requirement. Discover relationships by listing the significant characteristics of each subject; this side-by-side depiction isolates the facts and helps make patterns more apparent.
Ask the teacher to write information on the board if you are a visual thinker. Drawing a picture or using a photo to represent ideas or words works well for visual learners. Make up songs or memorize information by saying it aloud if you are an auditory learner. Use a hands-on approach, such as tracing or manipulating objects, if you are a kinesthetic learner.