Learning Styles
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Feb
Understanding learning styles and how people learn
Posted by Ryan Thomas
People learn in a great variety of different ways; some learn from reading books, others prefer lecture-based learning, while many of us learn through experiential learning (learning by doing). Everybody is different and what works for one person wont necessarily work for someone else. The system we will look at is VAK, this model suggests people can be divided into three preferred learning styles, there is no right or wrong learning style its personal preference.
Visual learner
This style has a preference for seen or observed things, including pictures, diagrams, demonstrations, displays, handouts, films, flipchart, etc.
These learners will use phrases such as 'show me', 'let's have a look at that' and will be best able to perform a new task after reading the instructions or watching someone else do it first. These are the people who will work from lists and written directions and instructions.
Auditory learner
This style has a preference for the transfer of information through listening: to the spoken word, of self or others, of sounds and noises. These people will use phrases such as 'tell me', 'let's talk it over' and will be best able to perform a new task after listening to instructions from an expert. These are the people who are happy being given spoken instructions over the telephone, and can remember all the words to songs that they hear!
Kinaesthetic learner
This style has a preference for physical experience - touching, feeling, holding, doing, practical hands-on experiences. These people will use phrases such as 'let me try', 'how do you feel?' and will be best able to perform a new task by going ahead and trying it out, learning as they go. These are the people who like to experiment, hands-on, and never look at the instructions first.
Your style
People normally have a main preferred learning style, but this will be part of a blend of all three (known as multi-modal). Some people have a very strong preference; other people have a more even mixture of two or less commonly, three styles. When you know your preferred learning style(s) you understand the type of learning that best suits you. This enables you to choose the types of learning that work best for you.
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