Difference between revisions of "VARK"

Latest revision as of 18:44, 12 February 2023

VARK refers to the Visual, Auditory, Read & Write, and Kinaesthetic learning styles. In some sense, the learning styles are a sub-set of Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences.

Visual

People with a visual approach to learning will learn faster when they can look at something or study pictures and diagrams. They like to underline or highlight text with colour. They learn best when things are shown and illustrated. For such a student, it is beneficial to summarise the learning visually.

Auditory

People with an auditory learning style learn better by listening to other people. These students should pay particular attention to attend lectures, listen to audio recordings, discuss with others, etc. The auditory student often benefits from reading the text aloud to him or herself or formulating the words silently with lip movements. 

Read and write

People with a read and write approach like to read, write, make lists and write definitions. This style is the most common learning style of the traditional school. These students love reading and adore texts. Such a student can improve learning by writing the main content down on a sheet of paper. 

Kinaesthetic

People with a kinaesthetic, or tactile, learning style learn best if they can move, use their body or touch something in any way. The kinaesthetic students should combine reflection and movement. Take a walk, or dance on the floor and reflect on what you've read, seen or heard. 

The learning styles indicate a preference. It is widespread to have more than one preference. All learning styles contribute to the learning, even the ones that are not preferred. The more senses you use to learn, the more fields in the brain are activated, leading to deeper understanding.

In some cases, teachers are good at building a rich and varied learning environment accommodating different learning styles. Whenever this is not the case, students themselves should develop their own learning environment and cater for their learning style. Learning uses several fields of the brain. Therefore a more varied learning approach leads to a better learning outcome. However, make sure to always include your favourite learning style for your brain to work best.