Vark Questionnaire Analysis

Summary of the VARK Questionnaire
Cecile West
Grand Canyon University
Family-Centered Health Promotion
NRS-429V
Dana McKay
May 10, 2014
Summary of the VARK Questionnaire
My learning style is noted to be multimodal. This style stipulates that an individual has multiple ways of learning, instead of one or two ways as other learners. Some persons maybe a Visual learner meaning that they learn by looking at pictures or diagrams. Others may be Aural, by listening they learn best. There is also a learning style that best suits some individuals called the Read/Write where individuals learn by taking notes and reading in order to memorizing. Another style of learning is the Kinesthetic where individuals who prefer this style
learn from experiences and practice. Being multimodal, I learn best by incorporating all the four learning styles even though some of the styles maybe stronger than others. My strongest learning styles are the Visual and Kinesthetic. That means I will learn well if I am to visualize or see what is being taught by looking at diagrams, charts, graphs and other devices. Kinesthesia style will also influence my learning with the use of experiences and practices. The Aural and the Read/Write style has little influence on my learning. But they contribute to some extent. I will read text books and do listen to lecturers, if they incorporate discussion in there teaching
My preferred learning strategy is:
1. The use of visual aids either by video presentations and projectors.
2. Listening to radios and having group discussions.
3. The use of internet doing google search and web-chat.
4. I also learn by pass experiences.
5. Reading books with diagrams, charts and pictures.

The strategies that resulted after participating in the VARK questionnaire by Neil D Fleming was identified as multimodal.
This preference stipulates that an individual does not fall into one given group but all four groups. The individual may have two or three strong styles or all four styles may be equal. The visual aspect states that one learns by looking at maps, charts, flow charts and labelled diagram. This particular style is one of the strongest style being identified as the writer learning preference. This writer does learn a lot by looking at diagrams, charts and pictures they are more influential to catch the attention of the writer as well as demonstrations. Kinesthetic strategy was rewarded the highest score in which is indeed the most desirable way of learning for this writer. It states that the writer relates to the use of experience and practice (Fleming, 2013). People who prefer this style are connected to reality. The writer does learn best from own background practices and value past experiences most than that of others. There is little knowledge learned from aural style as was identified my VARK, this however is correct as this writer tends to be distracted and getting bored very easily. Listening to a teacher talking with no form of feedback from the students does not influence learning unless a chart or some form of diagram is being presented. Some aspect of aural style is helpful, if one is able to discuss what is been taught in a group or web chat
and seeking clarification to topics previously taught will be more beneficial. Read/Write learning preference involves information displayed as words. These individual tends to emphasize their learning by reading books and taking notes. They tends to read manuals, essays or visit the internet very often. From the writers perspective it is less beneficial to read words from a book, it would have to have some form of picture or diagrams. Books is seldom read only to acquire knowledge and to improve vocabulary. A multimodal learner is very flexible in their learning and can change from mode to mode to fit the situation presented. That is true of the writer and agree fully with the VARK questionnaire results. The Awareness of individual learning styles does influence teaching and learning.
Everyone has differences in their learning styles or strategies.
Each individual in a class may fall in several group therefore the teacher should incorporate all VARK modalities when teaching their student. This will help all the students to learn instead of just a particular group of students. A teacher must cater to the attention of the Visual learner by doing role models, giving demonstration, showing visual aids or presentation of diagrams and charts to help the visual learner achieve their goal of learning. The teacher should be aware the students learning styles to create a meaningful session. If all the students in a class are aural learners the session would mostly involves lectures, instead of giving out pamphlets and giving chapters from text book to read. All this may go well for the read/write group of learners but does not help aural learners. This will help the teacher because her students will learn better and time would be used appropriately. A student can choose their method of study if they are aware of their study style. Classroom setting may go well for an aural learner and read/write learner. They will have the opportunity of listening to lectures given by their teacher and then take notes and seek clarification through asking questions. A practical course may go well for a visual learner as well as a kinesthetic they get the chance of looking at demonstration or a picture of the actual content of what is being taught. Recent study by (Hsieh, Mache, &
Knudson, 2012) identified that accommodation to students learning styles improved learning compared to traditional instructors. Therefore it is very helpful for both the teacher and the learner to be aware of their learning styles in order to achieve the most out of the teaching-learning experience.

References
Cheng, H. T., Mache, M., & Knudson, D. (2012). Does student learning style affect performance on different formats of biomechanics examination? [journal]. : GCU.
Fleming, N. (2013). VARK a guide to learning styles. Retrieved from www.vark-learn.com
(study.com, n.d.)