RDR Help Sheet: What type of student are you?

Julie Hepworth, group regulatory manager at Perspective Financial Group, believes identifying your learning style is the best route to achieving Level 4 status.

The launch of the ‘no-exam’ Level 4 RDR-ready qualifications such the CII’s Alternative Assessment and The National Skills Academy for Financial Services and Corporate Training Partnerships (CTP) ‘Experience Counts’ assessment has sparked a whirlwind of debate within the industry.

The arguments range from, ‘Is it the easy option?’ to, ‘The cost is far too prohibitive’. However, regardless of what might be said about such options, the fact is they certainly add to the variety of assessment styles which advisers, when selecting their study route (if they haven’t already done so), should be carefully considering in conjunction with their preferred learning style and method of assessment.

The fact is everyone is different and not every adviser will be best suited to one way of learning or one way of achieving the qualifications. To that end, I have set out below a simplified overview of how people study, compartmentalised into three categories. Hopefully, advisers can see their own preference below and choose their study route accordingly:

1. Perceiving information

When we gather the information needed to study, we employ all our senses but some people employ one sense more than another. They may be more:

Visual – using mind maps, highlighting text in colour and rewriting study text using own notes.

Auditory – dictating notes to listen to, listening to MP3 learning notes instead of reading study text, and creating musical jingles and mnemonics to aid memory

Reading – the traditional method of simply reading the study text; or

Kinesthetic – moving around to learn new things for example reading while you are on an exercise bike or skim-reading before reading in detail.

2. Processing information

Once we have acquired the information we then process it mentally as we think about it and memorise it. Everyone will have a natural preference for how they:

• Grasp information, for example, we may prefer to deal with abstract concepts and generalisations, or concrete, practical examples that we’ve come across in our day jobs.
• Order information – would we rather receive facts in a logical, sequential way to build up a picture one step at a time, or with an overview straight away to show the big picture first, then the details?
• Engage with information – do we prefer active experimentation or reflective observation?

3. Organising and presenting information

By this we mean, what is the individual’s preferred exam technique? Do they prefer to present the information holistically, with detailed and logical analysis or verbally? When we consider the different methods of examination available this becomes a very important factor in selecting the route we intend to take.

If an adviser naturally leans towards verbal presentation then the ‘no-exam’ options may be the most suitable option for them. Likewise if they prefer to present the information holistically, the coursework element of the IFS Diploma, for example, may be appealing. If they are inclined towards detailed and logical analysis they may be better suited to the CII JO exams with gap-filling.

There is no ‘one size fits all’ solution – which is why the different options exist – and while one method may be suitable for some, it may not be the right route for others. The point for advisers is to understand the myriad of options available and to choose the one best suited to their own preferred learning style and assessment method.