Learning Style Theory

The Vark model identifies, Visual,Auditory, Reading, and kinesthetic learners who respond to different
kinds of learning. There are also many other types of learning style.

The VARK Modalities

The acronym VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read/write, and Kinesthetic sensory modalities that are
used for learning information.

Fleming and Mills (1992) suggested four modalities that seemed to reflect the experiences of the
students and teachers

VARK Learning Styles

The acronym “VARK” is used to describe four modalities of student learning that were described in a
1992 study by Neil D. Fleming and Coleen E. Mills.

These different learning styles—visual, auditory, reading/writing and kinesthetic—were identified after
thousands of hours of classroom observation.

Visual Learners

Students who best internalize and synthesize information when it is presented to them in a graphic
depiction of meaningful symbols are described as visual learners.

Someone with a preference for visual learning is partial to seeing and observing things, including
pictures, diagrams, written directions and more

This is also referred to as the “spatial” learning style

Students who learn through sight understand information better when it’s presented in a visual way

These are your doodling students, your list makers and your students who take notes.

Auditory learners

Auditory learners tend to learn better when the subject matter is reinforced by sound.

These students would much rather listen to a lecture than read written notes, and they often use their
own voices to reinforce new concepts and ideas.

These types of learners prefer reading out loud to themselves.

They aren’t afraid to speak up in class and are great at verbally explaining things.
Additionally, they may be slower at reading and may often repeat things a teacher tells them.

Kinesthetic learners

Kinesthetic learners, sometimes called tactile learners, learn through experiencing or doing things.

They like to get involved by acting out events or using their hands to touch and handle in order to
understand concepts.

These types of learners might struggle to sit still and often excel at sports or like to dance.

Reading/writing learners

According to the VARK Modalities theory developed by Fleming and Mills in 1992, reading/writing
learners prefer to learn through written 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, words, words…

1. Visual (spatial) Learners

For many people, definitely, the “eyes have it.” These people prefer it when information
is visually presented. Rather than detailed written or spoken information, such
students respond better to:

 Charts, graphs, or tables

 Pictures and photographs
 Visual aids, such as projectors
 Information that is organized visually (e.g., color-coded categories)
 Metaphors that take advantage of visualizing (e.g., “The battlefield was a sea
of death”)

2. Aural (audio) Learners

Others seem to respond more favorably to sound and are able to remember more
when they listen to information. These learners benefit a lot from lessons that involve
listening and speaking. When reading, it often helps them to do it aloud. Some ideas to
improve their learning experience include:

 Music (which may help by providing an emotional connection)

 Rhymes spoken out loud
 Audiobooks when appropriate

3. Physical (tactile) Learners

For some, the most effective educational approach involves physical interaction with
things. This is a real “hands-on experience” that emphasizes a type of “learning by
doing,” rather than merely sitting and listening to a teacher explain concepts. This is the
“kinesthetic”, or K in the VARK model mentioned earlier. There are several good
methods of reaching students who prefer this learning style:

 Use exercises that get pupils out of their seats

 Allow them to draw as an activity
 Get them to perform an experiment or role-play
 Incorporate activities that involve acting or dancing
 Introduce puzzles or other physical objects they can handle

4. Verbal Learners (aka Linguistic Learners)

Here, the key is not so much whether the information is spoken or written. Rather,
these types of students simply enjoy making use of the language itself. Like aural
learners, verbal ones enjoy rhymes and wordplay. Here are some strategies for best
promoting learning among these individuals:

 Encourage group discussions

 Assign topics for class presentations
 Give them role-plays with interesting scenarios
 Promote flexibility related to learning new vocabulary
5. Logical (analytical) Learners

While aural learners may benefit from forming an emotional connection with sound,
logical learners look for patterns and trends in what they learn. They search for the
connections, and the reasons and results. Teachers can best motivate them by using
lessons that:

 Introduce questions that demand interpretation and inference

 Present material requiring problem-solving abilities
 Encourage them to reach conclusions based on facts and reasoning

6. Social Learners (aka Linguistic Learners)

These students prefer educational lessons that involve participation with others. In
addition to enjoying the social interaction, they appear to gain more insight this way. To
help these learners, some good approaches are:

 Use group activities

 Incorporate role-playing
 Encourage students to ask others question and share stories

7. Solo Learners

In contrast to social learners, there are students who prefer to study alone. When by
themselves, these individuals thrive. To assist this style of learner, teachers may:

 Use exercises that focus on individual learning and problem-solving

 Ask students to keep personal journals
 Acknowledge their individual accomplishments
8. Natural/ Nature Learners

Finally (at least for this article), there are those learners who do best when interacting
with Mother Nature. They seem to respond best to a more peaceful, natural type of
learning. In many ways, they are similar to physical, tactile learners. The main
difference is they prefer to do their “hands-on” learning outside. Some ideas for
bringing out the best in these students include:

 Do “hands-on” experiments
 Conduct some classes outdoors
 Use examples from nature in explanations