Learning Styles: Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic

There are three major categories of learning styles: kinesthetic, auditory, and visual. Everyone has their own preferences in a learning environment, and they are all extremely distinct from one another. While some individuals may benefit from learning from more than one style, others may find it difficult to do so.

Watching examples of the subject will help a visual learner retain the information. As a visual learner, they tend to have neater handwriting at an earlier age. They place a high value on space and neatness. A visual learner prefers as many details as possible and often visualizes the text they are reading. They pay close attention. Visual learners often identify words by sight, and they frequently jot down information and take as many notes as they can. Images, maps, graphs, and other types of visual representation are often preferred by visual learners (ThoughtCo, 2018). Visual learners may be easily distracted by movement but are seldom easily distracted by noises.

When receiving spoken instructions from others or from oneself, an auditory learner does well. Early in childhood, those who learn mostly by hearing avoid writing in detail, have clumsier handwriting, and prefer to write lightly on their assignments. Auditory learners are easily distracted by noises and have a tendency to speak to themselves. They feel that specifics are not significant and often envisage things in terms of sounds.

A kinaesthetic learner benefits from active participation and hands-on learning. They often have poor spelling abilities and strong penmanship, however it may decrease in tiny print. They often fidget, walk about, and test things out. They also tend to be less focused on visual or audio presentations. A kinaesthetic learner often becomes disinterested soon (Child1st, 2019)

I discovered that my favourite learning method is kinaesthetic after completing the online quiz. This outcome is not surprising to me since my ideal job would be teaching construction or engineering, both of which involve a lot of hands-on, practical labor. I also scored well in the auditory learning category, which surprised me a little more since I never considered myself to be a kinesthetic learner.

Learning theorist David Kolb believes that there are four different learning styles and a four-stage learning cycle. According to Kolb, learning occurs in four stages: concrete experience, reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, and active experimentation. “Learning is the process wherein experience is transformed into knowledge to produce knowledge” (Kolb, 1984)

A fresh experience or a new interpretation of an old event may both be considered real experiences. Checking for contradictions between the new experience and the knowledge of the new experience is reflective observation. Abstract conceptualization, or learning from one’s experiences, occurs when introspection serves to advance a novel notion. A learner engages in active experimentation when they test out their theories on the real world. This experience life cycle has no beginning or conclusion, and each stage nourishes and feeds the next.

According to Kolb, there are four primary learning styles: accommodator, assimilator, converger, and diverger. He thinks they function in accordance with his theory of the four-stage learning cycle.

The Accommodator style to learning is the most practical and hands-on; it depends on action rather than thought; an accommodator dislikes routine and takes innovative chances to see what occurs. Most people are accommodations, hence they are quite common.

Kolb describes the Diverger as inventive and sensitive, preferring to observe rather than participate in activities. Divergers have a unique point of view and reflect carefully on their experiences.

A converger is someone who considers ideas and then tests them to determine whether they are practical. Convergers often operate alone and thoroughly consider their actions while acting autonomously. They like information and often inquire, “How? ’’. Convergers may also come up with solutions for real-world issues.

An assimilator is a person who observes and reflects. Because they are clear and rational, it is the most cognitive approach. They are capable of comprehending complex information and organizing it exactly rationally. They favor ideas above individuals and prefer to ponder than act. Assimilators like organized, systematic learning.

Activist, Reflector, Theorist, and Pragmatist are the four main kinds of learning styles according to learning theorists Honey and Mumford. It is thought that Honey and Mumford’s learning styles are based on Kolb’s research. (2019, University of Leicester)

The activist is a person who gains knowledge by experience; they aren’t scared to attempt everything at least once. Activists like playing pretend and solving puzzles. They often take action without first giving it any consideration.

The reflector is someone who wants to ponder all possibilities, weigh all possible outcomes, and enjoys listening to and observing others. Reflectors are circumspect and thoughtful; they dislike deadlines but also dislike when things aren’t well prepared.

A theorist is someone who requires knowledge of the facts, order, and our ability to reason logically and rationally. Theorists dislike subjectivity and uncertainty.

The Pragmatist is someone who asks lots of questions, approaches problems quickly, and connects theory to issue. People who are pragmatic and in need of clear instructions, guidance, and feedback also demand immediate incentives. They dislike lengthy conversations.

Howard Garner is a developmental psychologist best known for his theory of multiple intelligences. He held that there are additional ways to measure one’s IQ that frequently go unnoticed and unrecognized that a person may have. He also believed that the conventional concept of intelligence was too narrow and restrictive. The largest error in teaching throughout the years has been treating every student as if they were different manifestations of the same person and feeling justified in instructing them all in the same topics in the same manner (Garner, 1990)

On Garner’s MI chart, there are eight distinct types of intelligence, including verbal, musical, intrapersonal, interpersonal, naturalist, kinaesthetic, visual, and logical.

The Garner hypothesis of many intelligences is crucial to education since certain forms of schooling may not be accepted in the academic community. Many educators and institutions of higher learning have embraced these intelligences and built their curricula and learning environments around them.