Essay about Definitions of Learning Styles

In school everyone learns differently; however, according to the article The Myth of Learning Styles, “The idea of learning styles is based on a theory… developed in the early 1980’s.” (pg 1.) A lot has certainly changed from the 1980’s as we learn new more material in every class we take. With this being said, someone the scientists referred to in the article “assumed” that learning styles challenged the way of the educational system when in reality, it is simply a myth. Students, like myself, only prefer to process information that they find useful or interesting to him or her. Thus giving us the problems of that teachers may take too long to cover one idea, and students may miss out out on information because he or she did not prefer that learning style.

All learners have different learning styles. Using materials at the initial stage of the learning process can highlight preferred styles. Honey and Mumford show four learning styles – activists, theorists, reflectors and pragmatists, while VAK highlights visual, auditory and kinaesthetic preferences.

Fleming (2005) stated that people can be grouped into four styles of learning: (Gravells, 2012), Visual, Aural, Read / Write and Kinaesthetic (VARK), with Honey and Mumford (1992) suggesting that learners are a...

From an early age I found learning hard and in my early educational years I

i. Understanding the learners learning styles can make my course to be engaging. Flemming (1987) noted three different styles of learning; visual, kinaesthetic and aural. In order to know which method(s) to use to benefit my students the first lesson on my course will centre around discussions on what they already know, the resources they are familiar with, and a learning style questionnaire which will provide me with information on preferred learning styles. Effectiveness can also be enhanced if I adapt my teaching style to give maximum benefit to learners.

“Just as students have different personalities, they also have different ways of learing (Slavin, 107).” Learning styles are another important factor to incorporate when implementing the best learning environment. Learning styles are defined as an individual's mode of gaining knowledge. The most common learning styles addressed are auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Auditory leaners understand information through hearing. Visual learners need more visual aids in the learning process, such as diagrams, webs, or pictures. Kinesthetic learners learn better by using manipulatives or by being physically involved in the learning process. Learning styles is a piece of the “backbone” of differentiated learning. Both are used to individualize instruction to help students achieve the most success.

Individuals learn in different ways, whether it be verbal, auditory, kinaesthetic, visual or logical (Brady, 2013). A range of methods incorporating each learning style needs to be considered.

We all learn in different ways, influenced by the combination of our past educational experiences, study practices and personal approach to specific tasks. This can be described as our learning style, defined as ‘particular ways of gathering, processing and storing information and experiences’ (Cuthbert, P.F., 2005).

Education benefits individual mentally, emotionally and physically by placing them in better place than they were previously before. Everybody would agree that learning something new would take place throughout the life. Learning style defined as "A term that describes the variations among learners in using one or more senses to understand, organize, and retain experience" (Reid, 1987, p. 89). Furthermore, Felder and Henriques (1995, p. 21) explained learning styles as "the ways in which an individual characteristically acquires, retains and retrieves information". However, different learners possess different characteristics and different preferred learning styles to perceive, process, take in and understand information.

Learning styles and barriers to learning can be by the VARK to give a profile of learning preferences of how a person takes in and gives out information or Tidwell and Rodgers Practical learning styles Questionnaire. The VARK learning styles determines if the person learns by being a theorist, reflector, activist and/or pragmatist. The practical learning styles questionnaire looks at how people learn by their orientation, whether they are a realistic or creative, by their interaction, are they a doer or a thinker, by how they represent things, either by words or pictures, and how they process information, whether they are a surface or deep processor. There are many other

Willingham, D. T., Hughes, E. M., & Dobolyi, D. G. (2015). The scientific status of learning styles theories. Teaching of Psychology, 42(3), 266-271. doi:10.1177/0098628315589505

Personal learning styles are highly complex and unique to specific individuals. It is often difficult to pinpoint an exact learning style. Though there are different categories, we often fine tune them to our own abilities. By examining our traits and tendencies we create a clearer understanding of how we process and learn information. With careful review, I have developed a specific analysis of my learning characteristics, including an evaluation of skill levels. Based on what I have recently learned and know from experience, I have also devised a structured plan for improvement of time management and study skills.

As a visual learner they would try to take notes during the lecture, would color code their notes, and pay attention to any visual aids that were being used. Where a kinesthetic learner would ask questions and participate in discussions, take a laptop for notes so that they are doing something actively with their hands during lectures, consider taking a three hour class versus one three hour class, Student Development Centre (2009). As a multimodal learner, it is easier to learn when doing more than just reading a textbook as it harder to understand than when doing something that is interactive.

Learning is obtaining skills through knowledge, study, or by teaching. Learning styles refers to a system of collecting, processing, interpreting, arranging and thinking about information. Learning takes place in different forms like Read & Write comprehends through reading and writing by taking notes, Aural listens to information by hearing and speaking, Visual learns through visualizing of objects to understand, Kinesthetic is hands on learning experience, and Multimodal is study via several diverse modes of learning.

Kinesthetic learning involves the need for a student to touch and feel in their surroundings in order to retain information. People who are kinesthetic learning often become distracted and cannot focus due to their needs for more instruction and get their hands on items relating to the material. Kinesthetic learning is also known as tactile learning.