Module 4 - Learning Styles

We've talked about communication styles and skills and how our culture affects communication. We've seen that the more awareness we have of our own distinct style of communicating and the culture we live within, the more we can understand how to better communicate with others. Since our goal is to provide positive tutoring experiences and support for our students, building better communication skills really makes sense.

There is another factor that influences students and tutors within every learning situation, whether it's the classroom or a one-on-one tutoring session: our own individual learning style. There is an abundance of research about learning styles today. Some of the research focuses on examining how students learn in order to help students understand and strengthen their natural abilities. Other facets of research zero-in on helping instructors improve instruction methods so that they will address as many "styles" as possible, and thereby reach more students.

Our focus today will be to learn about learning styles in general and then to examine our own learning style specifically. We'd like every tutor to have a basic foundation of knowlege in order to help individual students as the occasion arises.

There are a variety of assessment tools to detemine learning styles and though there are some variations, most assessment tools group learning styles into the following categories:

• visual (may be broken down further into visual text and visual image)
• auditory
• hands-on (may be broken down into tactile i.e. small motor movement and/or kinesthetic, i.e. gross motor movement)
• and sometimes an additonal category of multi-modal

Being aware of your own learning style as well as your tutees (and the instructor's!) style can be helpful. If you can develop the tools to tutor in ways that appeal to visual, auditory and tactile/kinesthetic students your job will be easier and the students will have an easier time learning!

Module 4 Lab:

Read some introductory information about learning styles

Take the VARK* Learning Styles Test. (print)

Read about your VARK* preference (print)

Here is an article about How to Make Your Learning Style Work for You. It does not completely match the VARK categories, but it provides an overview of how students can capitalize on their inherent learning strengths to maximize their study times

Additional resources you may like to explore I'm Different, Not Dumb , FAQ about VARK*

Print out and add to your portfolio

1) the results of the VARK* learning preference test and

2) a copy of the description of your preference

Please respond to all of questions below, print and add to your portfolio.

1. List the basic learning styles.

2. What is your learning style?

3. How would knowing your learning style benefit you as a student ?

* Our thanks is here extended to the designer of the VARK questionairre for permission to use the VARK assessment © Copyright Version 7.0 (2006) held by Neil D. Fleming, Christchurch, New Zealand and Charles C. Bonwell, Green Mountain Falls, Colorado 80819 U.S.A.

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