Reasons to Incorporate Learning Styles in Teaching. It could include symbols or arrows that explain the relationship between the topics in the content. The VARK (visual, aural/auditory, read/write and kinesthetic) Learning Style falls under the umbrella of Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). A learning style is a way in which a learner begins to concentrate on, process, and retain new and difficult information. For instance, if a student must have absolute quiet, small increments of noise can be introduced to aid them in studying in busier and noisier learning environments. Posses a danger of labelling people as either theorists or pragmatists, when in fact most people exhibit more than one strong preference. Vj-.~9\_>(Lpvr? For example, if you have a student who learns best in pairs, you can swiftly match them up with another student with the same preference. Too Confining While some learning theories provide too many options, other theories are too confining. Self-esteem:When learning opportunities that cater to their needs are presented to the learners, they learn better and experience a boost in their self-esteem when they realize they are doing well. Equally, there are some disadvantages that come with it. Do you prefer it when teachers make use of overheads and handouts? Differentiate Students Learning theories aid educators in the ability to quickly differentiating students. Some describe the differences between how extroverts (outgoing, gregarious, social people) and introverts (quiet, private, contemplative people) learn. She is a teacher, having taught elementary school to higher education, holding degrees in elementary education and an EDS in higher education. An advantage of visual learning is that recollection is easier when the learner is exposed to images in environments different from when the material was first learned. Does visualizing content help you remember it better? Among various learning style models, VARK is the most accepted model which categorizes the learners with respect to their sensory characteristics. None is "right" or "wrong." You can learn to use different styles more effectively. Increased Learning Capabilities Applying the modalities of the varying learning theories can open doors for increased capabilities as students begin the journey of understanding their learning needs. The main messages for teachers, schools and learners are as follows. To identify the type of learners people are, Fleming came up with a self-report inventory with a series of questions. If they are unable to create their definition easily, it will allow the student to realize they need to keep reviewing. Since most learning situations require the use of more than one modality, it also provides an assessment of how the respondent applies the four learning modalities in learning activities. The acronym VARK explains the learning model itself. Neil Fleming, an educator, has devoted his career to investigating learning styles and determining how individuals learn through modality preferences. VARK: Reading/Writing. Cookies collect information about your preferences and your devices and are used to make the site work as you expect it to, to understand how you interact with the site, and to show advertisements that are targeted to your interests. She loved storytelling and sharing her stories with her children. 6. Paperback - January 1, 2001. Therefore, knowing how to tailor ones lectures to meet the needs of the students with the read/write learning style is a refreshing and revitalizing method in providing the information to those who are in a position to learn and encourages the information taught to remain intact and new in their brain. These learners also prefer talking out loud or repeating what they have just heard to understand it better. Anon 2015. . Many students in math classes tend to rely solely on in class material to learn. Does reading out loud help you remember information better? Then, to add to this, each individual experiences learning differently. Do you take a lot of notes during class and while reading textbooks? Neil Fleming designed the VARK model in 1987. An individuals learning style is the manner in which that person finds learning to be the easiest for them, and while many individuals have a primary style, everyone uses all the learning styles in various combinations throughout their day and life. Advantages. As the educator investigates the differing options, they are introduced to other interventions they may not have attempted or thought of previously. Distilling notes and major concepts into bullet points is a particularly useful strategy. Science of Learning The VARK started a movement of looking at how individuals learn and the varying modalities of these learning preferences. It has been suggested that the importance of ones learning style has been identified through studies and research on how one can maximise the potential for success and further learning development (Honey & Mumford, 2006). How people interprets or understand the information depends on how their learning style. NLP encompasses the three most influential components involved in producing human experience: neurology, language and programming (Dilts, 2016, para. Do you prefer to listen to class lectures rather than reading from the textbook? However, Fleming added one additional area, read/write learning styl. In a study conducted by VARK in the year 2020, 237537 people responded to an online questionnaire which revealed that 66% of people were multimodal. Learning styles are a popular concept in psychology and education and are intended to identify how people learn best. This app allows users to share flashcard sets. Neuroscientists say the idea doesn't make any sense. Read on to know more. Advantages Identifying Preferences VARK provides an easy way for instructors to identify preferences and then being able to meet those preferences. It is much more useful to think of it like this: if you recognize a learning strength, then use that strength by adding more of it to your learning strategies. Recalling images are much harder for these students than remembering a story theyve created. In addition to the strengths and weaknesses that are unique to the VARK learning theory, there are general advantages and disadvantages that are prescribed to all learning theories. 2. Pashler H, Mcdaniel M, Rohrer D, Bjork R. (2008). Body smart Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence. But listening to lectures on your phone should not replace attending classes, practising concepts by doing homework questions, or working together in study groups as these are all things that can enhance your learning as well. We all have different personalities; therefore we all have preferred learning styles that suit us best. Knowing your own learning style could reduce stress. K12 Reader A wonderful assortment of writing tools for students K-12. Often, we associate learning in university with strengths in reading and writing. Things may difficulty for some peoples but others learn, it is because everyone learns in different ways. However, by incorporating different modalities in your learning, you are more likely to remember and understand. The active learner is more social who prefers doing hands-on applications in contrast to the reflective learner who is quiet and solitary to learn best. Spatial intelligence can be used in the arts or in the trades and sciences. There are several advantages that are associated with this mode of learning. The kinesthetic learning style is the most difficult to accommodate because it involves excessive amounts of hands on learning, which may not always be possible or available. Some learners prefer one over the other, but several others fall somewhere in the middle and learn best when combining some of these. Efforts must then be taken to make use of the time efficiently. Are you an auditory learner? So the idea of "style" really ought to mean something different. Awareness of your individual learning style can provide its advantages along with its disadvantages. The term "learning style" is one that's commonly used in education. Only about 39% of people who take the VARK test fit best into one single category (Kharb, et. The VARK model is one of the most common methods that people use to categorise learning styles. What practices help you learn better? You can find out more about our use, change your default settings, and withdraw your consent at any time with effect for the future by visiting Cookies Settings, which can also be found in the footer of the site. The VARK model expanded on the Neuro-linguistic programming models (16). Homespun and Hands-On. While the existing research has found that matching teaching methods to learning styles has no influence on educational outcomes, the concept of learning styles remains extremely popular. (Kinesthetic). Bimodal is the most common Time Constraints It is increasingly difficult to be able to address the different modalities for one piece of learning when referring to the time constraints in the classroom. Studies tend to find somewhere between 90%-95% of teachers believe in the theory and follow its implications in the classroom. This is especially true when educators focus on one theory and use it as their educational foundation. When learning, vocabulary read/write students will benefit from repetition. Based on this evaluation, what aspects of learning might you want to give more attention to? One major criticism that the VARK model has is that one cannot categorize learners to be visual, auditory, reading/writing, or kinesthetic exclusively. Table 3. Do you create songs to remember information? By understanding a preferred learning style an individual can use their own strengths to better process information, and coordinate their learning and communication. 1. Its good to incorporate silent reading time into the class schedule if possible as this may be the only opportunity these students have to read in an environment suited for them. The validity of the VARK model as well as other learning style theories has been questioned and criticized extensively. Fleming introduced an inventory in 1987 that was designed to help students and others learn more about their individual learning preferences. Follow us on Instagram:. Then, the disadvantage of being aware of the ones learning style exists when the individual is consumed with the mentality that the only way to adequately learn new material is through their specific learning, What are learning styles people may ask? Abstract thinking, counting, organizing; and logical structures are preferred by people high in this intelligence. Simply stated this refers to the results of the testing. 24 Followers. Do you enjoy performing tasks that involve directly manipulating objects and materials? In this essay I will be describing various types of learning styles and stating the advantages and disadvantages of these learning styles. Simply perfect for any busy parent! Methods that work for one may not for others. Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.