Understanding Learning Styles; Is your Learning Style Compatible with Online Education?

Online education is everywhere, everyone knows about it and more and more people are starting to use it. It's popular, it's advanced and it gets results. Let's face it, everything you need to know about anything is right at your fingertips, from how to write an eBook, to finding the perfect home tutor for your child. And online education (as with many types of education) can be great for just about anyone, so long as you are aware of what type of learner you are and can adapt your learning style to your specific needs.

By understanding what type of learner you are, you can essentially learn, motivate yourself and communicate more effectively.

Overview of Learning Styles

Learning styles are the way in which a student comprehends, absorbs and retains information. For example, if a student is learning about numbers, some will learn easier by hearing the numbers spoken aloud, others by seeing them written down, and some by writing them a few times themselves, either in the air or on a piece of paper.
It is fundamental for educators (be it a teacher, private tutor or parent) to understand their students' learning styles, so that they can implement the best strategies into their teaching. If you are a parent, understanding which learning style best suits your child will also help you better find a more suitable tutor for them. For help finding a Tutor click here.

The Four Main Learning Styles

Learning styles are generally broken down into four main categories:

• Auditory
• Visual
• Kinaesthetic
• Read/Write

It is often possible for people to change their style of learning where necessary and some people have a secondary learning style or even a combination of two styles; but everyone has a learning style.
Let's take a look at the four different styles in more detail:

1. Auditory Learners - gain knowledge through listening

Learners classed as Auditory best understand new content through listening. They will remember best through verbal lectures, debates and discussions and talking things through whilst listening to what others have to say.

Written information will basically have no meaning for them until it is heard, so reading aloud or using a recording device is a great idea. Auditory learners will more often than not have excellent verbal skills, although they can be weak readers because of their poor visual skills. Auditory Learners use repetition as a great study technique! Those who have an auditory learning style will usually be good at music and learning foreign languages.

2. Visual Learners - gain knowledge through seeing

Visual learners are those that can make pictures in their minds of how something will appear. They remember by visualising; seeing things written down, images and any other visual material. Simple approaches such as writing subject matter on a blackboard and exploring diagrams are great teaching techniques for visual learners.

Visual learners understand new information through images, graphs and diagrams. They are commonly good at Maths and are more likely to notice facial expressions when talking to someone. They are more aware of their surroundings than other types of learners.

3. Kinaesthetic Learners - gain knowledge through actions; moving, touching, doing...

A Kinaesthetic learner likes to learn through interaction and movement. They learn best by discovering how things work and exploring the physical world around them. They enjoy experiments and are keen to take things apart to understand how it fits back together. Kinaesthetic learners may often be fidgety and become easily distracted especially when need to sit still for long periods of time.

Kinaesthetic learners generally enjoy arts and crafts and will learn easier by acting out scenarios or making up hand movements to compliment new vocabulary. They best understand information through demonstrative illustrations of information and performing the actions themselves. Practicing a subject (e.g. answering practice questions) or playing a musical piece slowly several times is often best for kinaesthetic learners.

4. Read/Write Learners - gain knowledge through reading and writing

Read/Write learners will absorb new information most efficiently from reading headings, lists and definitions. They will write ideas and notes into other words, write words down over and over again and turn diagrams, charts and graphs into their own expressive words.

Read/Write learners are passionate readers and great note-takers whilst being able to translate abstract copy into essays or stories. They learn best through words; reading novels, essays and notes and writing them down in their own unique style.

Understanding Your Learning Style

Understanding your learning style is quite simple. Just think about the way in which you process and retain information.
For example, if you are trying to remember a telephone number; think about the way in which you would best recall this number. Are you likely to remember it by seeing it written down (visual), by hearing it a couple of times (auditory), by turning it into a song and rehearsing it (kinaesthetic) or by writing it down in and reading it over and over (read/write)?

Learning Styles Quizzes

If you are still unsure of what learning style suits you best, there are plenty of resources and quizzes you can take online. Here are a few easy and straight-forward quizzes for you to have a go at:

Education Planner Learning Styles Quiz
Accelerated Learning Method Test
How To Learn - Learning Styles Quiz

Of course, these are very general and will just give you an indication based on your answers. However, an indication is fine and a great way to start understanding your own personal style.

Identifying Different Learning Styles in Children

Now that we have a clearer understanding of the types of learning styles, it is imperative that we try to understand the style of learning best suited to each individual student. This may sound complicated but in reality it is not difficult. Let's take an example:
A group of children are taking a spelling class. Auditory learners will be fine hearing the spelling and meaning of a new word, however visual, kinaesthetic and read/write learners may easily become lost or distracted. It would not be uncommon in this instance to combine different approaches into the lesson:

• Say the spelling of the word "elephant" and talk about the elephant's appearance, surroundings and activities.

• Write the word "elephant" on the blackboard and show a picture of the elephant in the jungle or in the zoo.

• Provide elephant puzzles or pictures for the children to colour in.

• Have the children write down the word, then read it aloud and write it again.

This lesson has now provided an effective way to teach the spelling of a new word for all types of learners, allowing the children to understand and learn in their own unique way by providing these various options.

Learning Styles and Online Education

Now let's take a look at how these different learning styles can affect your success in online education.

Visual Learning and Online Courses

If you are a visual learner, online courses will almost certainly appeal to you in that much of the course will be delivered through video and conveyed by amazing diagrams and images on your screen.
As a visual learner, key concepts delivered in this way are effective. When you need to recall certain information from your class, drawing your own diagrams and pictures and displaying them (where possible) in your surroundings will aid in reminding you of any key concepts.

Auditory Learning and Online Courses

An auditory learner may lack the benefits of the visual learner in that it is more difficult for them to retain information through images; however, online courses are often also spoken so an auditory learner has the advantage of listening to the content without having to rely solely on the screen.

Talking to other students or tutors about a subject and hearing the information a second and third time as you debate and discuss will be the best way for an auditory learner to remember key concepts.
Auditory learners may also be creative and something as simple as making up a short poem or song and reciting it aloud will aid in getting the information to stick. For example, if you are trying to learn multiplication-tables, a great way of retaining the information is by turning them into songs and learning the songs aloud. More often than not these songs will be with you throughout the day, ensuring a successful recall of data.

Kinaesthetic Learning and Online Courses

Kinaesthetic learners learn best through movement and are always keen to get practical and experiment with what they have learnt. Online courses can be suitable for this style of learner by relating the concepts learnt online to activities they may do in their day-to-day lives.
Inventing your own movements, hand-gestures and funny facial expressions that relate to certain key ideas from your course will aid in ensuring you recall the course content better. For example, a kinaesthetic learner may mime out the countries on a map in order to recall the information learned in a geography class

Read/Write Learning and Online Courses.

When it comes to read/write learners, online courses are great in that much of the information will be written down allowing the learner to read it in their own time and write it in their own style. They look for explanations within the words and often re-write key concepts in their own unique style.
Read/write learners will be able to listen to the course content and write down their own notes. They will usually read through their notes and re-write them so as to retain the key information in their own way and at their own pace.

Conclusion

It is true to say that most people will have a combination of learning styles, although they may have one main style of learning that works best for them. That is not to say that students should be limited to one style. Often by integrating a second (and sometimes third) style into their primary learning style, they are able to cover any gaps that may occur.
Online education therefore can be for all learning styles. Knowing your style is just a better way of ensuring that you recall information better and are en-route to a happier and more successful course. By understanding this you will be able to develop the skills you need to make the most of your learning potential. And by understanding that different people have different learning preferences, you can learn to convey messages and coach others more effectively in a way that more people will understand.