Students take in and process information in different ways. Thus they have different learning styles. There are many models of different learning styles in education. The most widely used is VAK learning styles model developed by Neil Fleming, a high school and university teacher from New Zealand. The acronym VAK stand for Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic, or tactile, learning styles. Later on, Fleming added a fourth learning style, which is the read/write learning style.
Most students learn best through the combination of the three main learning styles—visual, auditory, and tactile—but some have a clear preference for one of these styles. It is important that the teachers know which type of learners they have in class; through using the best teaching methods that match the students’ preferred learning style, teachers will be able to best employ the students’ skills and therefore increase the information that can be learned, as well as increase the ease by which the information is learned.
Visual Learners
If you are a visual learner, you understand and remember information by sight and you can picture what you are learning in your head. Visual learners thus respond well to information on whiteboards, flashcards, colorful pictures, videos, storybooks with pictures, maps, charts, board games, worksheets, and puzzles. These methods organize and present information in a visually tidy and meaningful way.
This type of learners enjoys activities such as art, drafting, geometry, computer graphics, and computer assisted design. The main strength of visual learners is that they are tidy and excellent organizers; they create mind maps, use graphic organizers, and use colors in their notes. They often have excellent visual memory for details in print and in the environment, and they usually remember faces but forget names.
Auditory Learners
If you are an auditory learner, you tend to benefit most by hearing and listening; you store information by the way it sounds, and you have an easier time understanding spoken instructions than written ones. Auditory learning methods may include using word association to remember facts and lines, recording lectures, watching videos, participating in group discussions, and using audiotapes for language practice.
Students with auditory learning style preference remember best through verbal repetition and by saying things aloud, and prefer to discuss ideas they do not immediately understand. Teachers can regulate voice tone, inflection, and body language, which helps students maintain interest and attention.
Kinesthetic/Tactile Learners
If you are a kinesthetic learner, you prefer to touch, move, build, or draw what you learn, and you tend to learn when some type of physical activity is involved. Kinesthetic learners benefit well from songs with gestures, movement activities, making models, craft activities, and setting up experiments. They acquire information fastest when participating in a science lab, drama presentation, field trips, or dance.
Kinesthetic/tactile learners remember best through getting physically involved in whatever is being learned. They physically express interest and enthusiasm by getting active and excited, and they usually have a problem staying still or in one place for a long time. Due to the high numbers of kinesthetic learners, education is shifting toward more hands-on approaches incorporated into almost every school subject, from physical education to language arts.
watch this video and know what type of learner are you.
References
studyingstyle.com
vark-learn.com