VARK Analysis: Multimodal Learning Style

Being aware of learning style is beneficial for individuals in both teaching and learning roles. By knowing personal strengths and preferences, the learner is able to devise ways to augment and tailor the way in which information is received and processed regardless of the way it is presented. With that being said, those that are in teaching positions must make the realization that not everyone learns in the same manner. Being aware of this will lead the teacher to discover new ways to present information in a way that will address the needs of all members of the class. If all parties involved are knowledgeable of prominent styles within a group; the teaching learning environment can be much more effective.

Understanding learning styles can help in the development of self-learning and influence the teaching strategies that may be used in helping others understand new matter. For example, when teaching the VARK learning style having the learner complete the VARK questionnaire so that they can develop an understanding of how they learn would be great. In the real world life application, it completing a learning styles assessment is just not practical. It is the responsibility of the teacher to develop multimodal ways to deliver information. It would include something like a lecture with a handout in a possible power point format that include diagrams of how the information may be applied and complete it with a discussion to cement the information. The lecture appeals to the aural learner. The power point aids the reader along with the visual learners. How to apply the information stimulates the kinesthetic learner and the completion with an open discussion cements the information and gives the aural learner a chance to

To travel more smoothly along their educational journey, it is also helpful to students to have a good understanding of their personal learning style. For example, I have discovered that I learn best by reading, audio or demonstrational video. In sitting through a lecture, I find myself easily distracted by the presenter’s mannerism or style. Having good reading resources, listening to recorded lectures, or viewing technical videos allows me to productively maintain my focus. Others may not be as comfortable with reading, and would prefer learning in a live lecture environment. Knowing their learning style and using it to their advantage will provide the student with the assurance that they will learn productively and stay on track with their goals.

As nurse and teacher, we need to understand that each person learning is individual. Every person learns differently and we need to accommodate this so that we can be effective in health care. This means including all methods to teach. For example this would mean being able to communicate the topic well for the auditory learners, show a graph for the visual learners and do a project for the kinesthetic learners (UVU | Kinesthetic Learning Style | Learning Styles | Home, n.d.). It is hard to touch all of the ways of learning but as a teacher it is necessary to help all of you students learn as much as you can. In the health care field understanding is key to having better patient outcomes and comprehension of new knowledge. Combining all of these methods of learning encourages education and determines our ability to completely understand (Kinesthetic Learning: Moving Toward a New Model for Education,

Following a review of the Vark Questionnaire and Analysis, it has been determined that preferred learning style is multimodal.

Upon my completion of the VARK learning style quiz, my results indicated that I have a Multimodal learning preference. After reviewing what this truly means, my results signify that I learn best by typically having the same material presented to me in several different forms in order for me to grasp and learn the material. Whether it be hands on learning, listening to learn, visual learning, or learning by reading and writing; a combination of some or all depicts the best way I will learn and understand the matter.

Education benefits individual mentally, emotionally and physically by placing them in better place than they were previously before. Everybody would agree that learning something new would take place throughout the life. Learning style defined as "A term that describes the variations among learners in using one or more senses to understand, organize, and retain experience" (Reid, 1987, p. 89). Furthermore, Felder and Henriques (1995, p. 21) explained learning styles as "the ways in which an individual characteristically acquires, retains and retrieves information". However, different learners possess different characteristics and different preferred learning styles to perceive, process, take in and understand information.

“VARK” is a questionnaire of about 16 questions that provides people with their preference of learning style. The learning styles that VARK offers can help people develop additional and effective strategies for learning and for making your communication skills better. The styles that this questionnaire determines are Visual, Aural, Read/Write, Kinesthetic, or you can be multimodal which means you have a multiple learning preference. In this paper I will summarize the results received after taking the questionnaire and the other learning styles.

An individual effectively learns best through their preferred learning style (Frankel, 2009). Frankel (2009) also suggests consideration on individual learning styles is important in planning effective training programs for learners’. So, prior drafting lesson plan and teaching strategies for RN.J, I told her that I wanted to assess her learning style. I downloaded the Honey and Mumford Learning Style Questionnaires (LSQ) online and asked her to answer it (Appendix 4). According to Honey and Mumford (1992), their LSQ can be a selection tool for both learner and trainer to identify and decide the best learning experience opportunities for them on the job.

VARK is a website that helps its users understand their learning styles and ways to improve on the way they learn. VARK discovers the user’s learning strengths through a survey of questions relating to situations where these strengths would be used. After I completed the VARK survey my results turned out to be multimodal, and I agree with the results. This means that out of the various categories I could have been assigned, the survey revealed that I learn better from two types of strategies combined. These two learning strategies consist of Aural strategies and kinetic strategies. The Aural strategies are methods that suggest that I learn better from listening, discussing, talking, questioning, and recalling the information

Learning styles and barriers to learning can be by the VARK to give a profile of learning preferences of how a person takes in and gives out information or Tidwell and Rodgers Practical learning styles Questionnaire. The VARK learning styles determines if the person learns by being a theorist, reflector, activist and/or pragmatist. The practical learning styles questionnaire looks at how people learn by their orientation, whether they are a realistic or creative, by their interaction, are they a doer or a thinker, by how they represent things, either by words or pictures, and how they process information, whether they are a surface or deep processor. There are many other

As Benjamin Franklin once said, “Tell me and I forget. Teach me and I remember. Involve me and I learn.” Throughout the years many have studied how people learn. Knowing this, there are different types of learning. There are three types of learning styles, Visual, Aural and Kinesthetic according to The Twin Cycle Experimental Learning Model: Reconceptulizing Kolb’s Theory. (Avery, Gayle and Bergstiener, Herald. 2014). The observations done in the articles have proved the theory of multiple learning styles is to be true. Learning styles of students is very prominent and obviously an issue when combined with a large class size. Different learning styles have always impacted our lives although it may be more relevant due to test scores and lecture studies. Whereas in the article Teaching Very Large Classes, professors give their own opinions on the struggle of attending to the needs of very large class sizes. People don’t use the different learning styles, Visual, Kinesthetic and Auditory, to their advantage.

The VARK learning Styles tell that everyone has a different personality to learn. VARK divided a learning styles by different types of learning like, Visual, Aural, Reading and writing, and kinesthetic and the mixture. The V which stands for Visual represents people who learn from Charts, Diagram and pictures. They are people who have to see a new thing to believe them. The A stands for auditory and they learn best from talking and hearing. The Reading and Writing categories identifies who learns best by reading and writing. The K stands for kinesthetic and the people who identify as kinesthetic learn best by demonstration, practice and to see movies of real things. And the last one VARK identify learning style is mixed. People use various styles for learning rather than one style. Through this learning style people can get new knowledge and share the new knowledge with each other. There also is a different kind of learning such as in a group and class room or in work and community school as well as self-learning. Seema learns best

Knowing your learning style is very important to be a successful student and worker. Knowing your learning style will enhance your ability to learn new skills and information efficiently and quickly. My personal learning style is multimodal, but more specifically, my learning style is called ARK. I have three ways that I can efficiently learn, which are aural, reading/ writing, and kinesthetic. These three different learning styles can be coincided so that I learn the maximum amount possible in different ways, which means a lot of the time the information will stay and resonate longer in my brain, therefore sinking in further. It is very important I learn how to thoroughly utilize all three of these learning skills so that I can be an even better student and employee throughout my lifetime.

The VARK questionnaire or known as visual, aural/auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic are placed to assist an individual to develop different ways of styles in learning. Upon completing the VARK or known as visual, aural/auditory, read/write, and kinesthetic questionnaire, the results consist of various learning preferences. The read/write learning preferences scores higher and stands out among others. An individual with these type of learning styles uses printed word as the most important way to convey and receive information (VARK learning styles). Writing and rewriting words and notes, rewording main ideas, organizing diagrams and charts are some of the different strategies being used with read/write learning styles. Moreover, people with these styles are often preferred to use PowerPoint, Internet, lists, diaries, dictionaries, thesaurus, quotations and words (VARK