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Tips for Your Learning Style
Most adults have developed a preference for how they learn. They usually use one sense more than another. The Visual-Auditory-Kinesthetic (VAK) learning styles provides a simple way to explain and understand your own learning technique.
The basic VAK styles are either visual (using your eyes), auditory (using your ears), or kinesthetic (using body movement). Knowing your learning style and tips to improve them can help you become a better student. Listed below are characteristics and study tips for each learning style. Are you a Visual Learner, Auditory Learner, or a Kinesthetic Learner?
The VAK concept, theories, and methods were first developed and used by psychologists and teaching specialists in the 1920's. It is based on a vast amount of research in the area of learning and how the human mind works. Research by David Kolb and Howard Gardner among others expanded the theory.
Characteristics of Visual Learners
- Remember information presented in pictures, charts, or diagrams
- Have strong visualization skills
- Make “movies in their minds” of information they are reading
- Have a keen sense of sizes, textures, angles, and depths
- Have a good sense of visual media and art
 Study Tips for Visual Learners
- Convert information into visual study tools
- Visualize information as it is read and studied
- Use colors and symbols when taking notes
- Copy and re-write – see it in your own writing
- Use nonverbal cues used by instructors
- Write down information as you see it [Top]
Characteristics of Auditory Learners
- Remember information heard during conversations or lectures
- Have strong language skills, well developed vocabulary
- Have an appreciation for words, and can articulate ideas clearly
- Learn foreign languages easily
- Hear tones, rhythms, and individual notes; and often have musical talent
Study Tips for Auditory Learners
- Talk out loud and recite information regularly
- Get books on tape or CD
- Discuss/study with friends
- Tape information and listen to it
- Add rhythms or tunes to your learning
- Use computerized technology/online learning [Top]
Characteristics of Kinesthetic Learners
- Learn by doing
- Learn with movement, and are often athletes, actors or dancers
- Work well with their hands (repairs, gardening, art, etc.)
- Are well coordinated and have a strong sense of timing and body movement
- Are often labeled “hyperactive” as children
Study Tips for Kinesthetic Learners
- Use your hands and your fine motor skills
- Use exaggerated movement for emphasis and expression. Learn by doing!
- Study with a pen/pencil in hand
- Pace yourself as you study
- Make large-size study tools--flipcharts, chalk/white boards
- Type, use a computer, take notes as you read, and organize information graphically
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