Educational Advancement : Preferred Learning Style And Strategies

Learning styles refer to the different ways that people process and retain information and they serve as an indicator of the learning method that each student prefers. The learning styles theories/models that we will discuss about in this report are the Neil Fleming’s Visual-Auditory-Read/Write-Kinesthetic model and David Kolb’s Experiential Learning model.

From the time of birth, individuals are constantly learning. Individual learning styles vary from person to person. It is essential to the education of the individual to learn the particular style of learning that best serves them. One particular analysis tool is the visual, aural, read/write, kinesthetic or V.A.R.K. tool (VARK, 2011). This tool allows the individual to identify their particular learning style which will better prepare them throughout their education.

Some students may be a combination of these sensory modalities making them a multimodal learner. Over 60% percent of learners fall into the multimodal learner category (Fleming & Mills, 2011). Learners in this category may switch from each of their learning strengths to fit the situation or presentation of

“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.

Learning styles of individual students vary and as a consequence, learning needs also change from each student to the next (Liew, Sidhu, & Barua, 2015). The “styles” for learning that are widely adopted include the Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kinesthetic (VARK) model, developed by Fleming and Mills (1992) include Visual (V), Auditory (A), Read/Write (R) and Kinaesthetic (K) types of learning approaches. The Visual (V) learner learns best by the use of information by visual means (using of charts, mindmaps, and other visual aids). The Auditory (A) learner understands best by

The way people process new information is based on their type of learning style. Everyone has their own unique way of learning because the brain processes information through different senses. There are several types of learner such as the, visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learner. A person can have one or more types of learning styles.

Upon my completion of the VARK learning style quiz, my results indicated that I have a Multimodal learning preference. After reviewing what this truly means, my results signify that I learn best by typically having the same material presented to me in several different forms in order for me to grasp and learn the material. Whether it be hands on learning, listening to learn, visual learning, or learning by reading and writing; a combination of some or all depicts the best way I will learn and understand the matter.

Have you ever wondered why different people comprehend different things or why we all learn at different paces or speeds? Multiple studies have shown us that there is a science in determining how we all learn and that there is a way to test for what way best describes our individual learning style. In determining the best way that people learn can also help us to figure out the best way to teach them. The questionnaire designed to assist in this determination is called the Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic or the VARK assessment. When you take the assessment, you may notice that you have a personal preference for one type of learning however the assessment may determine that you learn best from another. You can also be referred to

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.

“VARK” is a questionnaire of about 16 questions that provides people with their preference of learning style. The learning styles that VARK offers can help people develop additional and effective strategies for learning and for making your communication skills better. The styles that this questionnaire determines are Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kinesthetic, or you can be multimodal which means you have a multiple learning preference. In this paper I will summarize the results received after taking the questionnaire and the other learning styles.

The VAK (visual, auditory and kinesthetic) learning style model is a way in which most people learn. They have a preferred way of learning and are dominant in the way they learn. There are the visual learners, the auditory learners

VARK is a website that helps its users understand their learning styles and ways to improve on the way they learn. VARK discovers the user’s learning strengths through a survey of questions relating to situations where these strengths would be used. After I completed the VARK survey my results turned out to be multimodal, and I agree with the results. This means that out of the various categories I could have been assigned, the survey revealed that I learn better from two types of strategies combined. These two learning strategies consist of Aural strategies and kinetic strategies. The Aural strategies are methods that suggest that I learn better from listening, discussing, talking, questioning, and recalling the 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

Auditory learners learn best by listening, Visual learners learn best by seeing information and placing it into long term memories. As for Kinesthetic learners, they learn best by physically completing the information they wish to learn **********Visual learners learn best by seeing charts or graphs and by also seeing demonstrations. Visual learners learn through information associated with images. Optical learners also use color to organize information and ask a lot of questions to seek clarification. They are known for being organized and focused while working.

It is important to recognize your preferred learning strategies and the identified strategies for your learning style. Combining the two can help the learner become more proficient by utilizing various senses simultaneously.