The 4 Main Types of Learning Styles (And the Best Ways to Teach These Types of Learning Styles)
Learning about the 4 major types of learning styles and the best ways to teach to them will help both the students you teach and the course succeed.
When it comes to understanding something completely new, we all absorb information at different rates and also interpret it in different ways. Certain students grasp new ideas instantly, while others require to sit and ponder for some time before they can come to similar conclusions.
Why? It is all in the different learning styles different students feel more comfortable. That is the way we process information in different ways , based the way it's given to us.
Clearly, different types of learning styles exist, and there are many discussions in the field of pedagogy on what they're about and how to adjust to these.
Practically It is recommended that your presentation or course includes at minimum four main types of learning, also called the model of VARK.
Skip ahead here:
- How to help students understand their different types of learning methods
- How do you adapt to different types of learning styles online
Which are the 4 different types of learning styles?
In the academic literature, the most commonly used model of the four main kinds of learning you can come across is called VARK.
The acronym VARK that is a combination of visual, auditory writing, reading and Kinesthetic. This isn't a comprehensive listing, but there are different kinds of learners. However, the majority learners prefer to understand information via one of these four learning methods.
Visual
It's simple to recognize visual learners since they pay special attention to pictures of diagrams, charts graphs, and other presentations. Also, you may notice that visual learners often doodle and make all kinds of notes on their own.
If you're teaching learners who are visual there is no need to rely soley on photos and videos. What they're looking for most of all is seeing clear and clear relationships among different concepts.
So make sure to get visual yourself by doodling or drawing images. Give handouts, create presentations. Find useful infographics.
Since visual information can be quite dense, you should give your students enough time to soak up all the information and create their own connections with visual clues.
- Auditory
The learning style that is based on auditory differs to the one that is visual. Auditory learners need reinforcement through audio. You can see that they prefer to learn by hearing and don't take any notes at all. Additionally, these types of student will often have questions or repeat the information they heard to help them remember the information better.
Aural learners are not afraid to speak up in class and they are usually great when it comes to explaining their own learning.
When teaching auditory learners be aware that they should not be quiet for extended periods. So plan a few events where you're able to share ideas and pose questions. Watching videos or listening to audio during class will also assist in the retention of new knowledge.
Reading and writing
A different type of learning that focuses primarily on the writing-reading aspect of the acquisition of knowledge. Such verbal learners primarily absorb new knowledge via writing. In some ways they are very similar to visual learners however their preferred learning style is written words and not pictures.
In order to help reading learners learn, make sure they have time to take plenty of notes, and also allocate additional time for reading. This kind of student also is very adept at remote learning, according to their own timetables.
Including reading materials and writing assignments in their homework should also yield good results.
Kinesthetic
Kinesthetic learners are in some ways one of the most challenging to prepare for in the regular classroom. These students are tactile and have to go through experiences and perform actions to learn something new.
Be aware that learners who are kinesthetic can't sit still for long and need more frequent breaks than the other students. You need to get them active and think of activities that reinforce information which was covered in the class. The act of reenacting various roles is great as are games; even collaborative using a whiteboard for writing is a good idea.
The goal is to bring every abstract idea into reality to help kinesthetic learners succeed.
How to help students understand their different types of learning ways of learning
If you're not teaching children in preschool, the majority of students have an idea of the their learning style that suits their needs best. However, some learners do have the wrong idea.
The most important thing is to pay attention to every student and plan your content to accommodate different learning styles at the beginning.
Another option is to incorporate every individual lesson you are able to and then tailor your learning to each child. You can include visual audio activities, riddles to students who are logical, games for kinesthetic learners, reading activities, sketching challenges, writing exercises and more.
How can you accommodate various types of learners online
When creating your first online course you must dedicate sufficient time in planning the course's outline. You shouldn't think that a course that is successful consists of five video clips uploaded.
Consider how you will present the latest knowledge. It is logical to pause and give students the time to reflect. When to incorporate activities that reflect on the latest content.
Are there unique kinds of intelligence that are used by your students? Being able to accommodate these various types of intelligences could assist you in creating an appropriate course that will help your students succeed.
How do you create an online course for all
Now that you're ready to teach something to everyone, you might be wondering what you'll must do in order to build your online course. Well, start with an online platform.
In addition making a course isn't requiring you to be proficient in the basics of programming. It is possible to use a professional designed template, and modify the layout using a drag and drop editor, and create the course you want in just a few hours. Try it yourself to see how simple it is.
Start today and get started for free.
This article was written originally in August 2015, it was updated June 2022.