Have you ever seen a child who is always curious about things? A child who wants to know how the lamp posts are switched on and off and how the water has no color and how does it rain and how do trees stand tall. Someone who wants to know the “WHY” behind things. Well guilty as charged, I am that child.
Having said that;
a. Have you ever pondered what was the last time you attended a lecture and actually enjoyed it?
b. What was the last time you learned something with heart and you did not have to cram it? What was so special in that?
c. Did the topic interest you or was it the way that it was taught?
What I want you to think is, have you ever actually wondered what learning style suits you the best or have you been the jack of all trades?
This blog carries a quick outline of the four main learning styles. If you already know, I’m proud of you. If you don’t, by the end you will and I’ll be proud of you too. Because in any case, you are going to be more self-aware after reading this.
The Four Sections of ‘VARK’ Model
VARK stands as an acronym for visual, auditory, read/write and kinesthetic learning styles. It might be that you are good at more than one learning style or maybe you adapt to whatever learning style you’re introduced to, however, the main purpose is that you learn about yourself. Understanding this helps us learn better.
1. Visual Learning Style:
The V in the VARK goes for visual learning. It is the basic ingredient of our learning process.
We learn something when we do it,
We memorize it when we read/write it and when we exchange our ideas verbally (auditory) e.g. in class discussion.
We read it when we see it and we see it with our eyes!
That is where it begins from.
It is in human nature to trust things when they actually see it working or happening. Only then, it is something ‘real’ to them. That is why, teachers are asked to include AV-Aids in their lectures for a better understanding.
2. Auditory Learning Style:
I am asked this question very frequently, “Did you do any English course to be so good at it?” to which I have always laughed because NO. I have always heard people conversing and watched movies and that’s where I have learned most of the phrases from.
Have you ever thought this is the very first learning style we all have adhered to since our birth. As babies, we all used to smile with the clank of our toys and when someone called us names. Of course, we don’t remember, we were babies. But all of us remember how we learned all those phonics, by LISTENING.
We all have classmates who listen to teachers attentively. They listen to every bit of the lecture with attention and this is why they are very quick at memorizing it once they go through some notes.
All because they are better listeners. It is where they and some of you win. We all have places where we take lead and that’s what brings beauty and variety to life!
3. Read/Write Learning Style:
Where are all those students that are the most in demand on an exam night? The notes-writer. This is for you. Reading/Writing are one of the common ways of both learning and teaching.
There are students who learn and memorize things better when they read about it and write it down.
We all write down lectures but how many of us remember it later when we read it? Students with this learning style are better at formulating things that they’ve read and learned in a written form that they can refer back to later.
4. Kinesthetic Learning Style:
Who has a personal favorite in learning styles too? I do. This is the one. Known as tactile learning, kinesthetic is all about practical learning. It’s where all those “hands-on” tasks come in.
Be it those class presentations, projects, playing with instruments or components, all of that comes under the shade of kinesthetics.
Students with this learning style are more interested in doing things. For them, it’s not all about learning how a thing or a scientific law works. For them, it is about doing a certain thing with their own hands to understand and learn it’s working.
This is the top reason that it remains my favorite.
The fact to remember is that all four types of learning styles are linked to each other anyways. You can’t grab one and leave the rest completely. However, what we try to understand is the domain where our strength lies the most.
There may be students like me who did not know so far what their personally preferred learning style is. In that case, here’s how you can find it by filling this questionnaire. https://vark-learn.com/the-vark-questionnaire/
We hope this helps!