VARK Learning Model
There are various definitions of what exactly learning styles are. Different people learn differently, so learning styles are how every person thinks, processes, and understands information. Each person has a routine of thought and behaviour that affects his or her learning process. There is nothing such thing as a right or wrong learning style. We are all born with the ability to learn, yet every student has a favourite technique to assimilate information. The learning style is not our ability, but the way we prefer to learn (Kelli Allen, 2010). Our brain forms one whole, which is made up of two different hemispheres; they are different because they are responsible for other areas.
Each area specialises in a function of sight, hearing, short-term memory, speech, short-term memory, touch, reasoning abilities, and language. The last two are the most important in relation to learning. Studies have shown that brain ability to learn can change at any stage of our lives, depending on which brain functions we will use the most.
Some people learn quicker by listening, others by writing things down or looking at pictures or drawing (langero, 2020). There are ways to find out what our preferred learning style. Based on seven different models, we can determine our learning style.
Learning styles models
*Author: Timea Ul Haq based on https://www.lifehack.org/870267/learning-models
VARK Learning Model
According to the VARK model, there are four different learning styles:
Source:
(Ms. Sheris tips for students, nd)
Neil Fleming is an author of the VARK model learning styles and was developed by him in 1987. Since then, VARK is researched continuously and analysed. VARK is a model that represents the way of how a person perceives knowledge in learning conditions. This system shows how each individual absorbs and remembers information.
VARK model is a set of four different learning styles: visual, aural, reading and writing, and kinaesthetic.
Visual learning style means learning by looking at graphs, pictures, presentations, posters, charts. Individuals preferring this learning method usually use highlighters to underline information, reconstructing lectures using photographs and diagrams.
In any learning system, the starting point is the system’s recognition of an individual’s learning style. Questions are formulated in a way as to distinguish the visual learner from the auditory learner and the kinetic.
Characteristics of the visual learner:
- likes reading
- remembers information written on paper better than hears
- has a good sense of direction and balance
- has a better sense of space than time
- learns words and spelling better when sees them
- prefers to read than to listen to a teacher’s lecture
- organized
- prefers to watch than to speak or listen
- remembers faces better than names
- easily distracted by noise, prefers visual arts, quickly remembers details, including colours and spatial layouts
Although people usually use different methods while learning, one of the senses is dominant. To help the visual learner to acquire information more effectively, first of all, you need to focus on visualization. As a result, the student will be maximally involved in the learning process, which will allow him to achieve much better results (edulider,2008).
Auditory learners are those who learn most effectively through auditory impressions. They are people with a very well-developed musical intelligence. As the primary sense, thanks to which they receive and interpret information coming from the outside world is hearing, special tools must be used for their learning to be effective. How do auditory learners learn?
Auditory learners characteristic:
- likes to read out loud
- not afraid to give oral answers and wants to express themselves in public
- good at explaining
- remembers names and faces
- pays attention to the sound in effects
- likes music
- usually reads slowly
- works well in a group
- cannot be silent for a long time
- likes oral discussions
- thinks aloud
- sings or hums
- quickly learns poems, nursery rhymes, songs
- communicates with the world through words and numbers
How does a kinaesthetic person learn?
In addition to visual and auditory learners, kinesthetics learns through movement, action, research, and discovery. Many of them work as actors, dancers, athletes, or surgeons.
Kinaesthetic learner characteristic:
- uses body and sense of touch to get to know the world around
- likes emotions and movement
- focuses on physical activity, often plays sports, e.g., jogging, and likes going for walks
- during the conversation activates various parts of the body and gestures lively
- usually likes to dance
- does not like reading or listening
- during classes is fidgeted, it is difficult to sit in one place for a long time
- has a good sense of time and body movement
- likes to compare different things
- demonstrates manual skills, working with tools or in repairs
Read & Write learners:
- enjoy reading
- learn more effective by reading themselves rather than by someone reading to them
- often take notes in class.
- likes working in quiet areas
- does not want to be distracted, prefers learning alone
This type of learner has to write down information, read it, and then learn it. They use the traditional study method of noting information and reading from a textbook and prefer to learn through words. Read and write learners enjoying a learning process by reading and taking plenty of notes.
Using the VARK questionnaire, which can be found on the VARK website, helps determine which learning style is preferred and the best for each person. VARK questionnaire contains sixteen questions, and each of them has four options. It is an excellent tool helpful for many educators to connect with the student by knowing their preferred style (Susan B. Bastable, 2011).
We definitely can not say that using the VARK questionary is a method with many disadvantages because it helps establish a preferred learning style. Still, individual learning styles might have some drawbacks.
Visual learners can be easily distracted, which makes the learning process less effective.
Aural learners might read slowly; they can be disruptive to other learners; noisy places can be very distractive to an auditory learner (Chief, 2016).
Reader/writer learners would struggle to learn if they do not have access to reading materials and have access to visual or audio materials. They don’t like to be distracted, preferring to work individually (Smith, 2018).
(Smith, 2018).
Kinaesthetic learners like to learn by movement and action, so they have trouble staying in one place; they often have difficulties paying attention for longer if the lecture is purely theoretical.
Every day we learn something new.
VARK questionnaire will not tell us what our learning is a hundred percent, but our answers will help establish the most preferred one.
We all are multimodal learners, but it is beneficial to determine what kind of learners we are to build up confidence and achieve professional goals by knowing a preferred learning style. It is essential to learn about other techniques and try to experience them; it might improve our learning abilities and communicate better with the lecturer and classmates. VARK questionnaire suggests which strategies should be used to enhance the learning process. VARK can be used in different aspects of learning. It can help build an academic profile, business profile, short profile, and teacher profile; it all depends on the individual need. Defining personal preference to learn is always helpful. This way is easier to approach upcoming assessments, tests, or assignments; it is also useful with understanding others, how they learn, or why some people have difficulties.