Any classroom will include a mix of students who have a variety of learning modes and styles. Information can only be absorbed using one's senses. Some students absorb information best through hearing it. Other students prefer to use their sense of sight. There are many competing theories in this arena, but a brief summary of a few should suffice.
People also differ in how they solve problems.
Students who prefer the former learn best by going from the general to the detailed, while those who prefer the latter work best by going from the detailed to the general. Current thinking views these learning modes and styles not as bipolar, but as a continuum. Rarely is a person all of one type and none of another. Furthermore, learning styles appear to be developmental. Learner's strategies can change over time as they gain more experience in a particular area and the appropriate learning style chosen by the learners may also depend on the specific task they are working on.