A very popular topic, Learning Styles. 

 Many different ways of identifying how and how efficiently different ways of learning and thinking work are the basis for many high priced profiles sold to employers everywhere.

 Handwriting analysis also shows learning and thinking styles, and this month I am going to take you through the more obvious indications in writing of mental processes.

 The way North Americans are taught to write, the Palmer method, is illustrative of cumulative or logical thinking.  This shows in the rounded tops of the m, n and h.

 If you think of a bricklayer building a wall, he is not satisfied until all the bricks are in place, the wall is complete, without any gaps or holes in it.  This is how the cumulative thinker thinks.

 All the information has to be accumulated and put in logical order before a decision will be made.  It is a very thorough form of thinking, and if later the conclusion is forgotten, it will not be too hard to reconstruct by careful following of the trail that led up to it in the first place.

 Sound, reliable, solid decisions they are the trademark of the cumulative thinker.  The disadvantage of this type of thinking, as you can imagine, is that sometimes getting all that information together can take time.  It is no a quick process – but on the upside, neither is it impulsive.

 The second type of thinking is that taught in many schools in UK.  It is investigative thinking.  This is shown in the tops of the m, n and h being written in the form of upside down “v” formations – sharp pointed.  Often UK students are taught italic style writing which uses these formations.

 Investigative thinking is just what it sounds like – the writer will investigate to find out the information s/he wants.  Depending of the degree of the sharpness and the height of the letters, this could be superficial investigation (very ill formed points) or effective investigative ability (well formed points, the same height as the rest of the lower case letters).  The investigative thinker has an inquiring mind and is generally interested in new things.

In the case of well formed points which protrude above the tops of the other lower case letters the name investigative is changed to exploratory, as this writer goes farther than general investigation, continuing to explore the topic very extensively.   This writer wants more information and will prefer to find out things first hand than accept second hand information.

 The other way of getting information is in the comprehensive manner, or through keen comprehension.  This writer goes farther than the pointed m, n, and h tops of the investigative writer, and retraces the points, forming a “needle sharp” top to the letters.  This thinker is someone we will think of as being quick on the uptake.  They just seem to know instantly, a great trait for anyone who has to think on their feet. 

The disadvantage of keen comprehension is that if it is not combined with one of the other thinking processes (usually investigative or exploratory) it can lead to impulsive not well thought out decisions.  The other thing, not necessarily a negative, with comprehensive thinkers, is that they are less likely to remember information than their careful logical cousin.  However, since they thought it out once in a flash, it is reasonable to imagine they can also think it out a second, third or fourth time in a flash also!

 Once the information is accumulated, by whatever method, is it just accepted or is it scrutinized.  Obviously for most information, verification and scrutiny are good.  This is the trait of being analytical.

 The Analytical thinker will take the information and sift it, scan it for usefulness and validity before accepting it into her/his thinking.  When this is done in conjunction with cumulative, logical thinking it slows down and already slow process, but at the same times adds to the value of the eventual conclusion. 

There has been discussion in handwriting analysis circles as to which type of writing it better to teach our children.  Obviously each has positives and negatives. 

 Many other traits will affect the thinking and learning style.  I will not describe them all here, but some of them are openness to new ideas, ability to make a decision,  attention to detail, clarity of thought, independent thinking, optimism/ pessimism, organization or confusion, inclination to impulsiveness, bias and many more. 

However the above listed 4 thinking types affect how we do almost everything in our lives, what type of work we will suit, and with whom we will be able to work easily.

It can be very enlightening just to take a quick peek at the m and n of someone you work with – and it can help you work together more effectively.