VARK Learning Style Analysis

Learning style quizzes provide information based on an individual’s method of learning. They may be used as a tool to significantly increase the efficiency of studying. Having a greater understanding of learning styles allows individuals to most effectively learn new concepts and increase their ability to retain information. Using this quiz, I have been able to achieve a greater understanding of the learning styles which are most effective to me.

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.

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.

In order for students to be successful beyond the classroom, they must retain and use what they have learned. True learning is when one can use the information obtained. People learn in different ways. In this paper, the VARK learning analysis quiz and learning styles will be discussed as well as the advantages and implications of understanding one’s learning style.

“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.

The VARK learning preference that was identified for Lori Goedecke after taking the VARK online questionnaire is the multimodal learning preference. Approximately 60% of any population fits into the multimodal learning preference. Multimodal learners vary in their scores on learning preferences and many combinations exist. Multimodal learners tend to be more flexible in how they learn, compared to someone who has a single VARK learning preference, and also tend to adapt to whatever learning preference is being used. Some multimodal learners will use one or two of the learning preferences to learn a given topic. These learners are labeled as VARK Type One. When a multimodal learner wishes to use all of their preferred modes of learning before they are satisfied that they have learned enough on the given topic and that they can trust that the information taken in is adequate, they are labeled VARK Type Two. Because they take longer to gather the information they feel is necessary, this multimodal learner may be labeled as a procrastinator or one who

Based on my personal inventory evaluation check list I have a combination of learning styles. I am a visual and kinesthetic learner. I definitely learn best when I am taught new information with some type of picture or visual. Also, having the hands on experience I feel helps me to retain information better. I tend to watch a lot of educational videos online because I feel it helps me to process the information and prepare for exams better. During exams I try visualize the

“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.

Through my work and life learning experiences, I have come to depend on my ability to adjust my learning style to that that best applies to the task. Some people don’t predominately fit into any one learning style but learn in multiple ways (Katharine Hanse, Ph.D.). Sometimes this happens distinctively, and at other times I have to step back and rethink my strategies.

As I went over the results of my VARK assessment, I must agree with the results, my strongest learning strategy is aural. Listening, discussing, talking and recalling. Upon starting my education here at GSC, I prefer face to face classes, taking online classes only when a face to face class was not available. I had discussed my learning experiences with my academic coach and we agreed that I performed better with most classes in the face to face classroom, talking, discussing and questioning. The feel of the classroom the sounds and hearing the discussions are beneficial to me.

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

The VARK learning preference tool provides individuals with information that they can utilize to enhance their learning process by helping them to study more effectively and efficiently. The VARK tool consists of a questionnaire that the learner takes to identify which senses the individual uses to capture and process information, and serves as a guide to assist the individual to improve their learning by providing a summary of their preferred learning style. The VARK questionnaire contains 16 questions that identify four sensory

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

As a multimodal learner some adjustments that they would need to make in their study habits would be to not to try and do the assignment all at the end of the week. By starting at the beginning of the week they would be able to break the assignment down into smaller sections so that it would not seem so overwhelming when typing a paper. Other changes that they would need to make would be finding an area and time to study where there were fewer interruptions. The use of more visual aids, for example outline of topic in chart or diagram format. This would help them keep track of where things fit together in their subjects and projects.

Knowing one’s learning style has been influential in aiding students in the classroom learn more adequately (Prithishkumar & Michael, 2014). Research gathered in the classroom has shown a greater motivation and performance level of students who are taught using their preferred learning style (Sternberg, 1990). There are four primary learning styles: visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Visual learners think by observing pictures, diagrams, and handouts. Auditory learners prefer to listen and interpret rather than take notes. Readers and writers prefer to make lists and take notes in different kinds of formats, whether it is online or in print. Kinesthetic learners learn by manipulating objects and continuously repeating physical activities to learn a skill (Leite, Svinicki & Shi, 2009). What is your learning style? If you are not sure which style fits best, The VARK Questionnaire will help determine which learning style fits you.