Learning Styles in the Classroom Essay Example

in terms of output and input. Many academicians have preference for this type of learning. This type of learner like dictionaries, PowerPoint presentation slides, the internet and so on. Lastly, kinesthetic type of learners have preference towards learning by way of practice and experience. The practice and experience may be real or simulated.

According to the VARK Model of testing, visual learners prefer graphs and flowcharts as opposed to reading text or watching a movie. They may prefer taking notes in the form of making patterns and charts that represent the content taught in class. This method of learning favors forms of communication that are not merely vocal (Stellar Leadership, 2016). Students that identify as one type of learner are more inclined to certain types of studying patterns and learning styles but are often found to prefer more than one category of the VARK system at any given time. A recent study as North Carolina State University found that multimodal teaching is beneficial to college students. The university went as far as rearranging classrooms to encourage discussion as well as multimedia learning. This commitment to multimodal learning at a high level shows teachers that they should be implementing similar strategies in classrooms. Though visual learners may like charts and patterns, they may also find demonstrations and interactive learning as well.

After taking the VARK test and finding out that one is a visual learner, it may reinforce the individual’s learning habits. Someone that goes into the test expecting the result that they tested as would not be inclined to change their ways of learning. However, all classrooms contain students with different learning habits, and even students who

are identified as a particular type of learner are more likely open to learning in different ways as well. In a study published in the Journal of Postgraduate Education, researchers found that 86.8% of students preferred a multimodal learning style (Prithishkumar & Michael, 2014). This large majority of students should be an indicator of what teaching techniques should be used in today's classrooms. Teachers may identify the learning preference of an individual student, but multimodal learning covers everyone in the room and benefits the most students possible.

The awareness about individual learning styles can influence the way someone learns. In addition to this, it may influence the manner in which an individual teaches. Once an individual is aware about his or her preferred learning style, they will adopt that learning style in order to maximize their understanding of the learning materials. For example, learners who have preference for visual type of learning, they will strive to use charts, flow diagram in order to enhance their understanding of the learning material. For such learners, they may need to convert the learning material that may have been in the form of words to pictorial representation such as diagrams, flow charts and graphs to enhance their understanding. In the event that they do not comply with this, they may not understand what they are trying to learn. In a similar way, those who are in a position to teach should know their preferred teaching style to enhance their teaching so that the students can understand what they are teaching (Education Scotland, 2016).

References

• Education Scotland, 2016. Research summary - learning styles. Online Available at: http://www.journeytoexcellence.org.uk/resourcesandcpd/research/summaries/rslearningstyles.asp
  Accessed 7 July 2016.
• Prithishkumar, I.
  

& Michael, S., 2004. Understanding your student: Using the VARK model. EDUCATION FORUM, I(2), pp. 183-186.