Complete the VARK questionnaire to identify personal learning preferences

VARK Questionnaire and Learning Style

There are many different methods and styles of learning that individuals use with varying degrees of preference and efficacy, and many different frameworks for identifying and understanding these different learning styles also exist. The VARK model, which stands for Visual, Aural, Read/Write, and Kinesthetic, describes four basic learning modes that can suggest specific learning strategies that are more effective for learners with different specific preferences in learning styles. The VARK questionnaire was developed specifically to help determine learning preferences; multiple choices (one corresponding to each learning style) are provided for different learning scenarios, and individuals that take the questionnaire choose one or more choice and are given scores based on the number of each they choose. Total scores demonstrate the learning style preference or preferences of the learner.

After taking the VARK questionnaire at the specifically designed website, my results indicate that I am a multimodal learner with substantial scores in all learning areas, with my lowest score in the Visual category (six points) and my highest in the Reading/Writing category (fourteen points) (Fleming 2010). According to the questionnaire, I also show a strong preference for Aural learning (ten points) and Kinesthetic learning (nine points), and frankly from the description of these learning styles and the responses on the questionnaire it seems reasonable to include these three highest-ranked styles amongst my learning preferences. The Visual description was incredibly hard for me to follow and actually somewhat confusing and painful, despite a score of six in this area.

My actual preferred learning strategies -- that is, those I actually utilize in my studies, not necessarily those identified by the VARK questionnaire and model -- include reading, asking questions, and explaining concepts back in my own words to instructors or those more familiar with the information or concepts I am learning. Utilizing these different methods is apparently very common for multimodal learners, and in fact many find that they need to utilize multiple learning strategies in order to completely grasp a concept (Fleming 2010; Cisco 2008). I have not really found this to be the case; there are some instances where I definitely need to utilize a specific strategy (I learn physical or mechanical things much faster if I can physically handle the necessary objects), but often I am able to adapt to the instructional method or information before me. Visualizations rather than actual visual images are also more common tools for me when trying to recall things from memory or to commit things to memory, which can be related to metacognitive aptitude (Cisco 2008).

One major difference between my own preferred learning strategies and those suggested by the VARK model is that I also almost never take written notes, which is apparently essential to most learners with a reading/writing preference (Fleming 2010). When I do take notes, I hardly ever look at them again, which is also counter to this learning preference as described in the VARK model (Fleming 2010). In addition, the visual information layout was truly bothersome to me despite a score of six (not insignificant) in visual learning, which also seems counter to the preference indicated by the test (Fleming 2010).