For some adults, the best way to learn is reading. You can turn the pages at your own speed, dwell on the words, phrases, or concepts and flip back to a previous page or chapter at will. It is the combination of visualization and cognition that cements the ideas and clarifies the ideas.

You may not like to read or find it laborious. Perhaps you prefer to watch and observe, or may you prefer to listen, closing your eyes and creating your own images. Another method is to dialogue, ask questions or rephrase the concepts, instructions or facts.

There are still others who learn best by touch and feel. They need to embrace and envelope themselves in the physical environment or object. For some, the sense of smell is critical, particularly if you are learning about flowers, wine or perfumes. The sense of smell is powerful and in many fields vitally important and effective.

The last preferred learning style is kinesthetic and among the seven preferred styles of learning it is probably the most widely popular and most effective. In kinesthetic learning you are integrally involved, a part of the process, and left with not just a memory, but an experience.

The illustration below is ascribed to NTL Institute for Applied Behavioral Sciences and shows retention rates for various learning approaches. There are individual differences that will be contrary to these findings but in general, experiences derived from doing and teaching affect learning in a profound way.

Based on the superior impact of experiential learning, businesses are turning to the use of games and simulations with increasing frequency. The distinction between a game and simulation can be summarized by their use of rules. In a game, the rules are well defined and totally encompass the activity. In a simulation the purpose of the rules are more for guidance and are incomplete. In a simulation, the events are not predictable and more dependent on complex interactions.

Simulations create an environment for learning that is opportunistic; that is the unpredictability of outcomes combined with the vagueness of rules results in learning through discovery. Learning that is achieved through an experience and driven by the learner has proven to be extraordinarily rich and deep. Simulations create this environment and are a superior way for people to learn.