Learning Styles Research Paper

In school everyone learns differently; however, according to the article The Myth of Learning Styles, “The idea of learning styles is based on a theory… developed in the early 1980’s.” (pg 1.) A lot has certainly changed from the 1980’s as we learn new more material in every class we take. With this being said, someone the scientists referred to in the article “assumed” that learning styles challenged the way of the educational system when in reality, it is simply a myth. Students, like myself, only prefer to process information that they find useful or interesting to him or her. Thus giving us the problems of that teachers may take too long to cover one idea, and students may miss out out on information because he or she did not prefer that learning style.

For years, there have been many theorists who have shared their views on how individuals learn. Such research has determined that individuals have different learning styles. It is important for teacher to understand the learning styles of both themselves and their students because it helps them to relay the subject knowledge to the students. The teacher is in a position where they must be able to assess the learning styles of their students. This means that the students and teachers are both in a process of learning.

“Just as students have different personalities, they also have different ways of learing (Slavin, 107).” Learning styles are another important factor to incorporate when implementing the best learning environment. Learning styles are defined as an individual's mode of gaining knowledge. The most common learning styles addressed are auditory, visual, and kinesthetic. Auditory leaners understand information through hearing. Visual learners need more visual aids in the learning process, such as diagrams, webs, or pictures. Kinesthetic learners learn better by using manipulatives or by being physically involved in the learning process. Learning styles is a piece of the “backbone” of differentiated learning. Both are used to individualize instruction to help students achieve the most success.

Kolb’s theory (1984) is based on a four-stage learning cycle in which the learner contacts all the stages. These stages include first, concrete experience (how an individual encounters a situation), second, reflective observation (what an individual thinks about the situation), third, abstract conceptualization (how the individual analyzes the situation), and fourth, active experimentation (how the individual’s use of the conclusions in a situation change or prepare for another situation) (p. 21). Kolb also understood that individuals have different learning styles. Some individuals learn by observing while others learn by hands-on experience. Therefore, Kolb created side cycles to explain where in the learning cycles an individual’s learning style would fall. Although Kolb’s theory is a

The concept of learning style refers to the notion that individuals differ in the manner in which they acquire knowledge and/or skills through structured instruction or teaching. This concept recommends that individuals should become aware of their most optimal or effective learning style and tailor instructional material to suit their instructional needs. According to Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer & Bjork (2008), there three avenues or channels of communication that are used in learning and through which instructional materials and resources are presented to a learner. Pictures/images, speech/auditory, kinesthetic, and written words are modes through which instructional material is presented to students (Pashler et al., 2008). Individuals differ with respect to the mode they learn most effectively in, and they should strive to assess their strengths and weaknesses concerning different learning styles.

In this paper I will be discussing the different types of learning styles and which ones I can benefit from the most. The Learning Style is made up of thirty-nine statements completing the sentence, “I learn and remember best by…”, are given value by the respondent based upon a Likert Scale from 5 (most preferred) to 1 (least preferred) and with 3 being “not sure”. Once the statements are completed the scores are then put into six different categories and then broken down into subcategories. Those categories are Interpersonal Communication, Field-Dependent/Independent, Modalities, The Action Model, Teacher/Student Task Relationships and Leadership/Management Skills for Teachers.

Learning styles are different for everyone. Your learning style may be auditory, mathematical/logical, tactical, or so on, but everyone has their own learning techniques. Someone could even be a mix between tactical, auditory, and visual.

Would you rather draw a diagram, participate in a discussion, or complete a project to help you understand a concept? Whichever option you choose most likely is due to your preferred learning style. A learning style is a method in which a person learns new information. There are three primary learning styles: visual, kinesthetic, and auditory. The visual, kinesthetic, and auditory learning styles have a number of differences that separate each from the other styles.

Learning styles are an aspect of personality and are categorised through visual, auditory and/or kinaesthetic mediums. An individual may have a mixture of the learning styles and can be modified by choice or circumstance. The individual will learn more effectively through their preferred learning style. For example, a person who does not focus or gets distracted because of noise (auditory) may be better at building models and better at crafting (kinaesthetic). Visual learners learn by pictures, diagrams, charts, films, handouts, etc. Auditory learners learn through listening and speech. Kinaesthetic learners learn through practical hands-on

This accessible report provides a brief insight into the different theories of learning styles. In evaluation, I believe this article is written for teachers and practitioners in order to encourage children into trying new learning styles rather than allowing them to have one concrete style. The text is rather specific and sticks to the main theme kinaesthetic, visual and auditory learners.

When considering preferred styles of learning, it is probably more helpful to think of learning a range d styles we all have to some degree- “having strength in auditory learning”, for example, rather than “being an auditory learner”. The notion of a person having only one learning style is inappropriate, especially as our knowledge of learning styles is not complete by any means. We need to consider ways of accessing the full range of pupils’ learning strengths.

Many theories on how people learn have been discussed and explored in the field of teaching. These approaches are considered to ideal depending on the targeted audience and the goals sought on delivery of the information. Learning according to ADDIN EN.CITE Burns1995239Burns (1995)2392396Burns, R. The adult learner at work,.1995SydneyBusiness and Professional Publishing HYPERLINK l "_ENREF_2" o "Burns, 1995 #239" Burns (1995), is a change in behavior that is permanent. The change that Burns envisages in learning is related to those internal processes as emotions, attitudes and thinking and also eternally observable activities. Burns notes that the observable behaviors are likely not to be manifested until after delivery of the information has taken place.

Learning is part of our life from the beginning of birth to the end, death. All of us least have learned something in our lives and must remember it for sometime in the future. Sometimes we forget it that thing we learned and have to go back and relearn it. That right there is an extra hassle. To learn effectively, we first must find out what our learning style is and how to that learning style affects our learning. There are four types of learner: visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic. Each of these types of learners has their own way of learning and thinking. Thinking is part of the learning process and there are two types: global and analytic. To find out what type of learner and thinker you are, you first must take three learning style tests. In this paper, I will discuss what type of learner and thinker, I am, my thoughts on the results, and how I can use the information to maximize my learning at Kennesaw State University.

Between the practice of education and the conducting of research in educational psychology, there is a divide that has formed around the effectiveness of utilizing learning styles while teaching and learning. Learning styles are defined as an individual’s mode of gaining knowledge, especially a preferred or best method (Learning Styles). Common examples of learning styles include visual learners, auditory learners, kinesthetic learners, verbal learners, and social learners. While most individuals will predominately relate to one learning style most heavily, it is considered common practice to identify a mix of learning styles that work together to support the learner. Over the past several decades, educators and our schools have been investing time, energy, and money to implement strategies which are aimed at helping to identify student’s learning styles. The underlying premise is that by understanding individual differences in ourselves and in our students, we may be able to create more effective, diverse, and enjoyable learning environments. Many researchers have also acknowledged the pervasiveness of this line of thinking and agree that it is an attractive idea that at first glance appears to be common sense (Marshik, Jarrett, Pashler, Reid, Riener & Willingham) in the learning process.

There are three main learning styles which are Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic. The three of these are different ways of how you prefer to learn, and how you consume information efficiently.