VARK- How do I learn best?

Do you agree? "Teach me my most difficult concepts in my preferred style. Let me explore my easiest concepts in a different style. Just don't teach me all the time in your preferred style and think I'm not capable of learning." A story and a comment from Virleen M. Carlson , Center for Learning and Teaching, Cornell University, USA.

Consider…. Think back to a time when you successfully studied for an assessment… How did you prepare for the assessment? How was that material presented in class? How did you review it? (Input) How was the content assessed oral/written/performance-based? (Output) Why do you think that you were more successful in this situation than in other assessments?

VARK- What is it? Sensory modalities that are used for learning information. Fleming and Mills (1992) suggested four categories that seemed to reflect the experiences of the students and teachers. Let’s get an idea of your preferred learning style: http:// www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=questionnaire

V- Visual A- Aural R- Read/Write K-Kinesthetic 4 Main Categories: Although there is some overlap between categories, they can be defined as: V- Visual A- Aural R- Read/Write K-Kinesthetic

Visual- (Graphics-Let me see it) This preference includes the depiction of information in maps spider diagrams (webs) charts, graphs, flow charts labelled diagrams all the symbolic arrows, circles, hierarchies and other devices These are the visuals that instructors use to represent what could have been presented in words. ****It does NOT include movies, videos, or PowerPoint. Study With Out Tears strategies: (SWOT) http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=visual

Aural- (Auditory- Let’s talk about it) This perceptual mode describes a preference for information that is "heard or spoken.“ Learns best from: lectures tutorials tapes group discussion email, using mobile phones, speaking, web chat talking things through It includes talking out loud as well as talking to yourself. Prefers to sort things out by speaking, rather than sorting things out and then speaking. SWOT Strategies: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=aural

Read/Write: (words, words, words…) This preference is for information displayed as words. Prefers: text-based input and output reading and writing in all its forms People who prefer this modality are often addicted to PowerPoint, the Internet, lists, filofaxes, dictionaries, thesauri, quotations SWOT Strategies: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=readwrite

Kinesthetic (Make it real!) A preference for “…the use of experience and practice (simulated or real)." Connect it to reality, "either through concrete personal experiences, examples, practice or simulation" It includes: demonstrations simulations videos and movies of "real" things case studies, practice, and applications. SWOT strategy: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=kinesthetic http://www.vark-learn.com/english/page.asp?p=kinestheticprint

OOPS-I’m multimodal…. Relax…. If you have multiple preferences you are in the majority, as approximately 60% of any population fits that category. So multiple preferences give you choices of two or three or four modes to use for your learning and for your interaction with others. Perhaps you prefer to adapt to the mode being used or requested for her learning. But….

It’s all good…. People with multimodal preferences have reported that it is often necessary for them to use more than one strategy for learning and communicating. They may not feel like they truly “get it” with just one…. Those with a single preference often "get it" by using the set of strategies that align with that single preference.

How You Learn Best Please review the chart to look at ways that you can study most effectively for your particular learning style preference. Think about if those methods have been the most effective for you in the past…if not, why not try something different? Take responsibility for your learning-choose to Study WithOut Tears…..and get your best result!

Information for this ppt was obtained from: http://www.vark-learn.com/english/index.asp Please visit this website for more information.