Every person learns differently. An individual’s learning style refers to the preferential way in which a person absorbs, processes, comprehends and retains information. For example, when learning how to build something, some people understand the process by seeing a demonstration first, others by following verbal instructions, others by reading the instructions, and others have to physically manipulate it themselves.
Broadly learning styles fall into four categories: visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. These learning styles are found within educational theorist Neil Fleming’s VARK model of Student Learning. VARK is an acronym that refers to the four types of learning styles: Visual, Auditory, Reading/Writing Preference, and Kinesthetic.
Identifying your learning style as visual, auditory, reading/writing or kinesthetic, and aligning your study strategies with these learning styles, may benefit your learning experience.
This preference includes the depiction of information in maps, spider diagrams, charts, graphs, flow charts, labeled diagrams that people use to represent what could have been presented in words. It does NOT include still pictures or photographs of reality, movies, videos or PowerPoint. It does include designs, whitespace, patterns, shapes and the different formats that are used to highlight and convey information. When a whiteboard is used to draw a diagram with meaningful symbols for the relationship between different things that will be helpful for those with a visual preference.
- Utilize graphic organizers such as charts, graphs and diagrams
- Redraw your pages from memory
- Replace important words with symbols or initials
- Highlight important key terms in corresponding colors
This perceptual mode describes a preference for information that is heard or spoken. Learners who have this as their main preference report that they learn best from lectures, group discussion, radio, email, using mobile phones, speaking, web-chat and talking things through. The Aural preference includes talking out loud as well as talking to oneself. Often people with this preference want to sort things out by speaking first, rather than sorting out their ideas and then speaking. They may say again what has already been said, or ask an obvious and previously answered question. They have need to say it themselves and they learn through saying it.
- Record your summarized notes and listen to them on tape
- Have a discussion with others to expand upon your understanding of a topic
- Reread your notes and/or assignment out loud
- Explain your notes to fellow "aural" learners
This preference is for information displayed as words. This preference emphasizes text-based input and output. Reading and writing in all its forms but especially manuals, reports, essays and assignments. People who prefer this modality are often addicted to PowerPoint, the Internet, lists, diaries, dictionaries, thesauri, quotations and words.
- Write, write and rewrite your words and notes
- Reword main ideas and principles to gain a deeper understanding
- Organize diagrams, charts, and graphic organizers into statements
This modality refers to the perceptual preference related to the use of experience and practice (simulated or real). Although such an experience may invoke other modalities, the key is that people who prefer this mode are connected either through concrete personal experiences, examples, practice or simulation. It includes demonstrations, simulations, videos, as well as case studies, practice and applications. People with this as a strong preference learn from the experience of doing something. It is possible to write or speak kinesthetically if the topic is strongly based in reality.
- Use real life examples, applications and case studies in your summary to help with abstract concepts
- Redo lab experiments or projects
- Utilize pictures and photographs that illustrate your idea
- Read the notes, and highlight the pieces that you anticipate will be most challenging for you to absorb
- Write or review the learning goal for the lesson
- Keep a vocabulary sheet where you write down relevant new vocabulary and definitions in your own words
- Read the notes, and highlight the parts that were challenging to understand and make yourself notes with further explanations or examples
- Write down the main points of the lesson
- Explain the main points of the lesson to someone else
- Write out example code using the same concepts
- Find other example code online and then write comments of explaining what is happening
- Try small exercise drills that reinforce the concept
- After you've moved forward in your learning, go back and redo an old assignment from scratch
- Start by typing in code that you already know works, then make small changes to the code, predicting the output/change and then verifying if that assumption was correct
- Ask someone else to walk you through their code without your computer in front of you, listening attentively and asking questions
- Become a questioner, engage yourself in lectures and discussions by asking questions.