Learning Style Types: Revolutionizing Your Student’s Relationship to School
Have you ever wondered why reading the story yourself instead of someone relaying it to you helps you comprehend the information better? Most likely, you're a visual learner! Everyone has different learning styles. To succeed in school, relationships, jobs, etc., it is best to know your specific style type and follow related interpersonal and intrapersonal practices that will help you succeed!
Finding Your Learning Style Type
Don’t get down on yourself if you can’t comprehend a topic the first time - there are different ways of learning. Try using multiple learning style techniques to see how you learn best; in the end, you will learn more efficiently. Whether talking with a parent or teacher, taking an online quiz, or just knowing what best works for you, it’s important to know your unique learning style type!
There are a few different types of learning styles. In order for your child to do their best in school, it’s important to know which types of learners they are. Your child will have one style that is their primary learning style but will likely have others they fall into, as well.
There are four learning style types according to the VARK model.
Common Characteristics of Visual Learners:
If you are a visual learner, you:
- Process information through the use of images.
- Need to see what you are expected to know, rather than being told.
- Use charts and graphs to understand concepts.
- Take notes during a lesson or presentation to better understand the material.
- Need to be able to look over materials yourself, i.e., quizzing yourself with index cards rather than someone else quizzing you.
Because visual learners tend to be logical learners who process information best when it is presented to them as a whole rather than individual pieces, they tend to see positive educational outcomes when they are presented with summarizing charts and diagrams rather than sequential slides of information. This learning style will do well using visual aids like flash cards to learn.
Common Characteristics of Auditory Learners:
- Learn through listening and speaking.
- Can recall information by hearing it.
- Enjoy active participation in discussion groups, large or small.
- Find it easier to remember names instead of faces.
- Recite material after hearing it to help comprehend the material you’ve heard even more.
Aural learners often find success in group activities where they are asked to discuss course materials vocally with their classmates. They may benefit from reading their written work aloud to themselves to help them think through it.
Common Characteristics of Kinesthetic Learners:
- Comprehend information best through the act of touching it.
- Create something for a lesson to help understand the topic.
- Are the ones to create the poster or graph, instead of researching the information in the group.
- Find that chewing gum, tapping your pencil, or rocking in a chair helps you keep focus - always on the move.
These tactile learners have the most trouble being successful in a traditional school system setting. Their requirement for physical activities and movement to learn is often punished instead of celebrated. Kinesthetic learning students often thrive in science because there tends to be much hands-on classwork in order to encourage their learning style.
Common Characteristics of Reading/Writing Learners:
- Strong learning preference for the written word.
- Do well with handouts and printables, and often with slides or powerpoints, as well.
- Enjoy researching and doing written assignments.
- Do well by taking notes.
This learning method modality learns best by reading and rereading the textbook or their notes, writing and rewriting their notes, and, in general, organizing items into lists.
If you can’t figure out your child's learning style by reading about them, try out some of the suggestions from above with your child. Which way do they seem to comprehend the information best?
In Closing
While there are plenty of characteristics that overlap, finding your child's unique learning style can benefit every aspect of their life! There are plenty of online quizzes that can be taken that will help you understand individual learning styles better. I’ve even created my own fun quiz to help you and your students understand your math learning style!
Sign up here to get access to Mr. D’s Math Learning Styles Quiz!
After you find a style that best fits your students (and you!), try to adapt your teaching and learning habits so that you can get the most out of your educational and life experiences. Adopting new practices can be tricky and sometimes take a lot of time, but the more you work at it, the easier it will become to get into a productive and captivating routine! This can revolutionize your relationship with your kids, and even their relationship to learning! Don’t let anyone tell them that you have to learn this way or that way. Take the assignment and fit it to their needs while also making sure to get the job done! Reach out to your students and talk with them about their most challenging subject to learn what you can both do to improve your school experience. Communication is key for every learning style type!
Dennis DiNoia
Dennis DiNoia, M.A., Ed., has been immersed in education for over 30 years. He holds a M.A. in Education from the University of South Florida and has been a Florida State Certified Secondary Mathematics Teacher since 1988. He is affectionately known to all of his students as “Mr. D.” After recording over 500 instructional videos and writing thousands of quiz questions and course practice problems with step-by-step solutions, the Mr. D Math Curriculum ranges from pre-algebra to pre-calculus. His online students live across the United States, and Mr. D has worked with students on 3 different continents! This math program combines problem-solving and treating math as a language as the basis for its delivery, and offers the equivalent of a personal teacher to create successful live online classes for students. Mr. D is a master of distance-learning platforms with his highly successful live online classes for students.