Vark Test: vark test

Vark Exam

Determining Your Learning Style

Read each question or statement and circle the most appropriate answer. Some will be difficult to answer, but try to respond according to how you would react most often.

You usually remember more from a class lecture when:
a. You do not take notes but listen very closely
b. You sit near the front of the room and watch the speaker
c. You take notes (whether or not you look at them again)

You usually solve problems by:
a. Talking to yourself or a friend
b. Using an organized, systematic approach with lists, schedules, etc.
c. Walking, pacing, or some other physical activity

You remember phone numbers (when you can’t write them down) by:
a. Repeating the numbers orally
b. “Seeing” or “visualizing” the numbers in your mind
c. “Writing” the numbers with your finger on a table or wall

You find it easiest to learn something new by:
a. Listening to someone explain how to do it
b. Watching a demonstration of how to do it
c. Trying it yourself

You remember most clearly from a movie:
a. What the characters said, background noises and music
b. The setting, scenery, and costumes
c. The feelings you experienced during the movie

When you go to the grocery store, you:
a. Silently or orally repeat the grocery list
b. Walk up and down the aisles to see what you need
c. Usually remember what you need from the list you left at home

You are trying to remember something and so you:
a. Hear in your mind what was said or the noises that occurred
b. Try to see it happen in your mind
c. Feel the way “it” reacted with your emotions

You learn a foreign language best by:
a. Listening to records or tapes
b. Writing and using workbooks
c. Attending a class in which you read and write

You are confused about the correct spelling of a word and so you:
a. Sound it out
b. Try to “see” the word in your mind
c. Write the word several different ways and choose the one that looks right

You enjoy reading most when you can read:
a. Dialogue between characters
b. Descriptive passages that allow you to create mental pictures
c. Stories with a lot of action in the beginning (because you have a hard time sitting still)

You usually remember people you have met by their:
a. Names (you forget faces)
b. Faces (you forget names)
c. Mannerisms, motions, etc.

You are distracted most by:
a. Noises
b. People
c. Environment (temperature, comfort of furniture, etc.)

You usually dress:
a. Fairly well (but clothes are not very important to you)
b. Neatly (in a particular style)
c. Comfortably (so you can move easily)

You can’t do anything physical and you can’t read, so you choose to:
a. Talk with a friend
b. Watch TV or look out a window
c. Move slightly in your chair or bed

SCORING
1. Count the total number of responses for each letter and write them below:

a.________ auditory (learn best by hearing)

b ________ visual (learn best by seeing)

c.________ kinesthetic (learn best by touching, doing, moving)

2. Notice if one modality is significantly higher or lower, or if any two modalities are close in number.

© 2004 by Incentive Publications, Inc., Nashville, TN.

Wednesday, September 3, 2008

vark test

Vark test helped me realize that I am better able to grasp concepts through visual and kinesthetic way of learning. In the past, I have always preferred classes that had visual presentations but never fully understood the reasoning behind it. Vark test gave me a chance to co-relate the two ways of learning: kinesthetic and visual. I feel that people, like me, who prefer kinesthetic way of doing things, also tend to learn better by watching the information rather than receiving information through auditory means like lectures. It is often seen that students who find it difficult to stay focused during lectures assume that they do not have any interest in that subject area. However, Vark test has helped me understand that it is not the lack of interest but the style of learning that may make a student unfocused during a class.
As stated in the information about kinesthetic way of learning “when they read, their lips or fingers will move to help them retain information”, I also feel that I memorize information better by reciting it rather than just staring at a page for a long period of time. I think that I can contribute to this class by incorporating both visual and kinesthetic skills during class discussion sand presentations. Also, my kinesthetic and visual skills will better enable me to make PowerPoint presentations and other such projects. I also hope that this class will help me in improving auditory skills of learning.

2 comments:

Melissa Feliz said...: I am also a visual and kinesthetic learner and I feel that what you wrote was well written and precise. Its funny that you wrote that people feel that because they are not focused on a certain subject they are not interested because I also felt that way but after taking the Vark exam I learned that its just that I have a different way of learning. In a big way it makes me feel better about myself as I would assume it did for you as well.; September 3, 2008 at 11:29 AM
Christy B said...: I am a visual learner myself and was very intrigued by your comment about lack of interest not being the reason someone may not be focused on a particular subject. I have found in the past that I can "zone out" in a class but I really believe that it has to do with the way the information is being presented working with the way that I learn best.; September 3, 2008 at 8:46 PM

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What Your Exam Means

Auditory learners are “traditional” students. They learn best by hearing and listening, so traditional instructional techniques, such as lectures, work very well for this style of learner. This is the way that many of us learned to teach, to lecture and then test. For this type of learner, methods that revolve around talking and listening work very well. “Schools have traditionally tended to reward the students with auditory learning strengths. Therefore, many of the teaching strategies used in today’s classrooms are appropriate for the learner who prefers to learn though the auditory mode and who has experienced success” (Sarasin 44). DescriptorsEach type of learner has a set of descriptors, or ways of being that help define more about the learner. Abstract sequential - they can take pieces and pull them together, in an orderly fashion, to understand the whole concept Reflective - they spend time considering learningIndependent - like to be left alone to learn and reflect after hearingAchievement-oriented - like to do well on tests, win contestsMemory-oriented - can memorize facts and figures fairly easilyCompetitive - like to be placed in situations where there is a winner/loserSkill-oriented - like to learn and display new skills, less interested in theory In looking at the auditory learner descriptors, you see a student who will do well when presented with individual facts and allowed to take time, alone, to process those facts into a larger concept. To take this one step further, an auditory learner acts in the following ways when engaged in a learning experience: Learns best by hearing and remembering information they hear, Distracts easily, either by noises or music, Talks to self aloud, Participates in class discussions, Tapes and then listens to lectures later, Uses mnemonic devices to help remember things.

Visual learners are almost polar opposites of auditory learners. Lectures and class discussions don’t work well for them as they have a difficult time following along since there are no visual clues for them to grasp. So the way you teach to visual learners is completely different than how you teach to auditory learners. able to work from the general to the specific. They are: Abstract random - they like to receive information from many sources when learning learn new concepts Global - they see the “big picture” before seeing its partsConcrete - like to “see” things to understand themActive - like to be physically involvedAffective - relate learning to emotionsField-sensitive - learn by looking at the world around themConcept-oriented - see concepts before individual facts Visual learners need time to take what they hear and make is some sort of visual so that they can remember it. They need to be able to relate it to their environment and attach feelings to it. Visual learners: Like graphics, pictures, diagramsFind verbal instructions difficult as their mind tends to wander during lecturesLike to read, generally a good speller, Doodle frequently, Organize well, Have good handwriting, Notice details

Kinesthetic learners are the movers of the education world. They learn best by doing whatever it is they are learning, whether it is a computer application or a biology lab. They are tactile and use their senses to help them learn and are often discouraged from learning in their preferred method at an early age. “The tactile learning style is the most neglected at the postsecondary level. The needs of tactile learners are rarely addressed, other than in classrooms intended for the actual doing, such as science laboratories” (Sarasin 71)DescriptorsKinesthetic learners are: Dependent and independent - need to receive information and stimuli from environment and others and then be free to incorporate it into their learning as necessaryCreative - in problem-solving approaches and in their work. Behavioral - associate physical behaviors with learning Interacts in a hands-on fashion - must be physically involvedPhysical by nature - in everything that they do, when they read, their lips or fingers will move to help them retain information betterSensory - use all their senses in the learning experienceActive - in all aspects of learning Kinesthetic learners are often labeled as hyper or unable to pay attention when they are learning since their need for movement often appears as if they are tuned out, when in reality, they are using movement to help them retain focus. Kinesthetic learners also: Like to be in motion, Fidget in seat, taps pencil or foot often, Tend to be a poor speller, Doesn’t like to read, Use hands while speaking, Work through problems physically.

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Wednesday, September 3, 2008

vark test

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What Your Exam Means