Your LearningProfile

ITS NOT HOW SMART YOU ARE

BUT

HOW YOU ARE SMART

•Use own words•Brainstorm•Mind Maps•Post its•Debate & argue

•Make lists•Rank in order of importance•Patterns, diagrams, charts•Link topics

•Mind Map whole topic•Big picture•Visualisaton•Colour, symbols•Charts, diagrams

•Move around during study breaks•Use active reading strategies•Stress ball or similar while sitting still•Walk or run while listening to notes•Mind map on a whiteboard standing up

•Background music•Rhymes, rhythm, raps•Use songs to remember

•Groups work, talk, discuss•Question & answer•Teach someone else•Debate •Study group or study buddy

•Diary or learning log•Consider human element•Remember own goals•Ask questions•Mind Maps

•Go outside during study breaks•Study outside or open a window•Walk while listening to notes•Plant or flowers in study room•Nature sound music, e.g, sea

KNOW YOURLEARNING STYLE

Visual

Auditory

Kinaesthetic

Writing, images, graphs, tables

Verbal, such as spoken words

Physical, such as hands-on activities, real-life examples, experience

Visual learners

• Learn through seeing

• Think in pictures and need to create vivid mental images to retain information

• Enjoy looking at maps, charts, pictures, videos, and movies

• Have visual skills which are demonstrated in puzzle building, reading, writing, understanding charts and graphs, a good sense of direction, sketching, painting, manipulating images, constructing, fixing, designing practical objects, and interpreting visual images

Visual learners learn when they

• Use graphics to reinforce learning.• Colour code to organise notes and possessions.• Use colour to highlight important points in text.• Take notes. • Illustrate ideas as a picture before writing them

down.• Ask for written directions.• Use flow charts and diagrams for note taking.• Visualise spelling of words or facts to be memorised.

Auditory Learners

• Learn through listening

• Have highly developed auditory skills and are generally good at speaking and presenting

• Think in words rather than pictures

• Learn best through verbal lectures, discussions, talking things through and listening to what others have to say

• Have auditory skills demonstrated in listening, speaking, storytelling, explaining, teaching, using humour, remembering information, arguing their point of view, and analysing language usage

Auditory learners learn best when they

• Read aloud.• Recite information to learn.• Use tunes or rhymes as mnemonic devices.• Read aloud and tape test questions or

directions.• Use verbal analogies and storytelling to

demonstrate their point.

Kinaesthetic Learners

• Learn through moving, doing and touching• Express themselves through movement• Have good sense of balance and eye-hand coordination• Remember and process information through interacting with

the space around them• Find it hard to sit still for long periods and may become

distracted by their need for activity and exploration

• Have skills demonstrated in physical coordination, athletic ability, hands on experimentation, using body language, crafts, acting, miming, using their hands to create or build, dancing, and expressing emotions through the body.

Kinaesthetic learners learn when they

• Make models or role play to physically experience learning.

• Skim through reading material before reading it in detail.

• Annotate text and write questions while reading.• Translate information into diagrams or other visual

study tools.• Recite a list of items by counting on fingers. • Memorise or drill while moving e.g. when walking.

Further Reading

Cottrell, Stella. (2008). The Study Skills Handbook (3rd ed.). Houndmills, Basingstoke, Hampshire:Palgrave, Chapter 3.

James Cook University. (2012). Visual, auditory and kinaesthetic (VAK) learning style model. Retrieved from http://www.jcu.au/wiledpack/modules/fsl/JCU_090460.html