Learning Styles

What is a learning style?

A learning style is the way that a person mind prefers to learn. People’s minds process and respond to information more efficiently depending on how the information is presented. For example somebody may learn much better through an audio file while others may learn better through watching a video.

Different types of learning styles

There are five different types of learning styles. The four main styles in which a person can learn are:

1.    Visual

2.    Aural

3.    Kinesthetic

4.    Multimodal

Visual

Thirty five percent of the population are visual learners. A visual learner Is someone that processes information more effectively and remembers the information better through what they see. They learn best by seeing. Visual learners learn better through the use of visual information such as pictures, graph, flow charts and by underlining words.

Aural

An aural learner can also be known as an auditory learner. Approximately twenty percent of the population are aural learners. Aural learners learn through sound. An aural learner will take in information faster when it is presented to them in an auditory style such as reading their notes out loud or listening to a lecturer speaking during a lesson. There are many ways in which an auditory learner can learn. Some examples are listening to an audio file containing the information that they need to know, watching videos on the topic they are looking to learn more about from sources such as YouTube, by reading their notes out loud so they can hear their voice and by asking questions in class and through volunteering to answer questions.

Kinesthetic

Kinesthetic learners are people that learn better by doing practical work and physical activities. Kinesthetic learners are rare as approximately only five percent of learners attach to this learning style. As a kinesthetic learner carries out a task he or she will learn and intake more information. A lot of kinesthetic learners tend to be better at events such as sports activities, chemistry experiments or art as opposed to intellectual activities such as mathematics, written examinations or reading. A few ways in which a kinesthetic learner can learn more effectively is by watching demonstrations, watching videos, playing interactive games and by doing practical work for example, they would learn how to build a computer by doing it themselves compared to them reading a book on how to build a computer.

Multimodal

A multimodal learner is a learner that does not have a strong preference towards a specific learning style. Instead they learn equally or nearly equally through a variety of learning styles. Being a multimodal learner is both good and bad. It is good because they can adapt to most learning styles however it is bad because they usually do not learn through each learning style as well.

What was my learning style?

I have completed an online test that determined what learning style best suits me. I have discovered that I am a multi modal learner. This means that I have many different ways in which my brain prefers to learn. My mind processes information nearly equally as well through visual, aural, read/ write and kinesthetic. In the test I have however found out that I do not process information through aural in comparison to the other learning styles as I have scored five in aural and six in the others.

If you are interested in finding out what your preferred learning style is and learn how to learn mere effectively then click on the link below to be redirected to an online learning style quiz.

V.A.R.K Online Learning Style Quiz

How will knowing what your learning style is make learning more effective? Do you think that this will help your personal development? How?

I feel that because I now know what my learning style is I can learn more efficiently and effectively. I am a multi modal learner so I do learn in different ways however I know that I don’t learn as well through aural in comparison to visual, read/ write and kinesthetic, therefore I am going to focus more on these learning styles and I am not going to focus on learning through aural as it is a less effective learning style for me. I feel that this will greatly develop my personal development as I can learn more effectively and efficiently to improve my intelligence in daily stuff and also in the field of computers.