Visual, Auditory And Kinaesthetic Learning Styles

There are three different types on learning styles, these are: Visual, Auditory and Kinaesthetic. They are all quite different and everyone has their own preference will in a learning environment. Some people might find more than one Style helpful for themselves while others might struggle to learn from any of these styles.

A visual learner will learn well by watching demonstrations on the topic. They tend to have neater handwriting at a younger age, spacing and neatness are top priority as a visual learner feels appearance is important. A visual learner likes as much description as possible and will often imagine the words they are reading in their head. They have great concentration. Visual learners often recognize words by sight and will often write things down and take as much notes as possible. Visual learners often prefer images, maps, graphs and other forms of visual representation (ThoughtCo, 2018). Visual learners are not often distracted, they don’t often notice sounds but can be distracted by movement.

An Auditory Learner learns well from verbal instruction from others or themselves. Auditory learns tend to avoid description and have messier handwriting at an earlier stage of life and tend to write lightly on their material. They believe details are not important and they often imagine things in sounds, Auditory learners are easily distracted by sounds and tend to talk to themselves.

A Kinaesthetic Learner learns well from hands on work by doing and being actively involved. They are often bad spellers and will have good handwriting, but it can deteriorate in smaller places. They tend to not be attentive to visual or auditory presentation They also often tend to fidget or move, and they try things out. ‘’A kinaesthetic learner will often lose interest quickly’’ (Child1st, 2019)

After completing the online questionnaire, I have found out that my preferred learning style is to be kinaesthetic. I am not surprised by this result as my dream profession is to be a construction or engineering teacher and they both require a lot of hands on, practical work. I also had a high score in the Auditory learning style, this result was a bit more surprising as I never thought of myself as someone who learns easier by sound.

David Kolb is a learning theorist who believe in a four-stage learning cycle and four distinct learning styles. The four- stage learning cycle that Kolb believed in is as follows: Concrete experience- Reflective Observation- Abstract Conceptualisation- Active Experimentation. “Learning is the process whereby knowledge is created through the transformation of experience” (Kolb, 1984)

A concrete experience is a new experience, or it can also be a reinterpretation of an existing experience. Reflective observation is to see if there are any inconsistencies between the new experience and the understanding of the new experience. Abstract conceptualization is when the reflection promotes a new idea which In other words is someone learning from their experiences. Active experimentation is when a learner applies their ideas to the world around them to see what happens. There is no start or end point in this experiential life cycle and each stage feeds and supports the next stage.

Kolb believes in four main learning styles which are: Accommodator, Assimilator, Converger and Diverger. He believes they work on an axis to his idea of the four -stage learning cycle.

The Accommodator approach is the most hands- on and practical approach to learning, it relies on gut instinct and doing instead of thinking, an accommodator does not like routine and they take creative risks to see what happens. Accommodators are most prevalent in the general population.

The Diverger is someone that would prefer to watch something rather than doing it, according to Kolb they are imaginative and sensitive. Divergers look at things in a different perspective, they will think deeply of their experiences.

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The Converger is someone that will think about things and then try them to see if they work in practice, a converger will often work by themselves and think carefully while acting independently. They like facts and will often ask ‘’how?’’. Convergers are also problem solvers to practical situations.

An Assimilator is someone that watches and thinks. It is the most cognitive approach as they are logical and concise. They can understand wide ranging information and logically organise it perfectly. They prefer concepts to people and prefer thinking over doing. Assimilators like structured organised learning.

Honey and mumford are learning theorists that believed in four different types of learning styles, these are: Activist, Reflector, Theorist and pragmatist. ‘’Honey and Mumford’s learning styles are believed to be based from Kolb’s work’’. (University of Leicester, 2019)

The activist is someone that learns by doing, they will try anything at least once and aren’t afraid to give things a go. Actvisits like role playing and problem solving. They will often act without giving things a thought at first

The reflector is someone that likes to think things through, they consider all angles and implications and they like to listen and observer others. Reflectors are cautious and full of thought, they don’t enjoy deadlines but also don’t like when things aren’t planned meticulously.

A theorist is someone who needs to know facts, they need structure and our logical and rational thinkers. Theorists don’t like uncertainty or subjectivity.

The Pragmatist is someone that asks a lot of questions, they like tackling things straight away and linking the theory to the problem. Pragmatists are practical people who need clear guidelines and they enjoy coaching and feedback and need instant rewards. They do not like open ended discussions.

Howard Garner is a developmental psychologist best known for his theory of multiple intelligences, He believed that the conventional concept of intelligence was to narrow and restrictive and that there are other way to measure ones IQ that often get missed out on and forgotten about that a individual may have. 'The biggest mistake of past centuries in teaching has been to treat all students as if they were variants of the same individual and thus to feel justified in teaching them all the same subjects the same way.' (Garner, 1990)

There are eight different intelligences on Garners MI chart, These are: Verbal, Musical, Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, Naturalist, Kinaesthetic, Visual and Logical Intelligences.

Garners theory of different intelligences is important to education because some ways of education may not be recognised academically. A lot of educators and schools have adopted these intelligences and base the curriculum and classroom around these intelligences.

Bibliography

1. Child1st, 2019. Child1st. [Online] Available at: https://child1st.com/blogs/resources/113559047-16-characteristics-of-kinesthetic-and-tactile-learners [Accessed 21 November 2019].
2. Garner, H., 1990. [Interview] 1990.
3. Kolb, D., 1984. Experiential Learning: Experience As The Source Of Learning And Development. In: Experiential Learning: Experience As The Source Of Learning And Development. s.l.:s.n., p. 38.
4. ThoughtCo, 2018. ThoughtCo. [Online] Available at: https://www.thoughtco.com/three-different-learning-styles-3212040 [Accessed 13 November 2019].
5. University of Leicester, 2019. University of Leicester. [Online].