If you have a kid or student that’s being educated in a blended classroom or hybrid learning environment for the first time, chances are they could be feeling a bit lost.
From adapting khổng lồ digital coursework lớn staying disciplined with minimal face-to-face interactions, getting used khổng lồ this new type of education may cause them lớn struggle — especially if their individual learning style isn’t being addressed.
Gaining momentum in the 1960s through tests lượt thích the Myers-Briggs Type Indicator, the learning style theory posits that different students learn best when information is presented to lớn them in a particular way. The learning style theory was popularized in 1992 when Fleming và Mills suggested a new mã sản phẩm of learning. The VARK model is used lớn explain the different ways that students learn. For example, if a student is a “visual learner,” a verbal lecture alone might leave them feeling unengaged, confused, and frustrated.
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While some critics doubt the efficacy of the learning style theory, its popularity in schools today makes it a topic well-worth paying attention khổng lồ — specifically if some of your students are having a tough go at retaining information while learning remotely.
At Sphero, we believe that understanding individual learning styles are important for both parents and teachers lớn consider, as your struggling students might need coursework uniquely presented to them to lớn effectively absorb the material. However, we recognize there isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach when it comes lớn education. Students may benefit from one or all of these learning styles depending on the subject or information being presented, for example.
With this guide, we will help you identify the four chip core learning styles among your students, as well as provide you with helpful resources to easily implement changes in your curriculum to meet the needs of all.
What are the four learning styles?
The four vi xử lý core learning styles in the VARK model include visual, auditory, reading and writing, & kinesthetic. Here’s an overview of all four learning style types.
Auditory - Sometimes referred to lớn as “aural” learners, auditory learners prefer listening khổng lồ information that is presented lớn them vocally. These learners work well in group settings where vocal collaboration is present & may enjoy reading aloud khổng lồ themselves, too.Reading và Writing - Focusing on the written word, reading and writing learners succeed with written information on worksheets, presentations, và other text-heavy resources. These learners are note-takers and perform strongly when they can reference written text. Kinesthetic - Taking a physically active role, kinesthetic learners are hands-on & thrive when engaging all of their senses during course work. These learners tend khổng lồ work well in scientific studies due khổng lồ the hands-on lab component of the course.
The VARK Model: Four Types of Learning Styles
Successfully implementing the VARK model into your classroom means recognizing your students’ quality educational needs on a fundamental level.
Learning Style Type #1: Visual Learners
How to Identify This Learning Style Type: Visual Learners
Visual learners enjoy analyzing và observing things like pictures, diagrams, & charts that showcase clear information in order of importance. You can oftentimes find visual learners by paying attention lớn students who are doodling, list-making, or note-taking.
How to Teach This Learning Style Type: Visual LearnersWhether you’re using a whiteboard, smartboard, or giving a presentation, make sure visual learners have enough time to process and absorb visual cues. When possible, visual learners should have access to lớn supplementary handouts that detail subject matter through clear visuals whenever possible. Additionally, allow these learners to lớn draw pictures, diagrams, or doodles of what they are learning khổng lồ reinforce retention.
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Sphero & littleBits Activities Visual Learners Will LoveDraw 1: Shapes
With this visual learning activity, your child will be introduced khổng lồ Sphero’s Draw canvas by drawing shapes that represent code. Then, they can execute that code with a Sphero robot. Perfect for visual learners, your students will be able to hand-draw their very own robot lớn showcase their programming skills.
BOLT: Light SensorWith flashlights or other portable light sources (cell phones work well), this activity for visual learners allows your students to discover BOLT’s ambient light sensor. The light sensor allows BOLT lớn sense the amount of light it is exposed to lớn during a program, which means your students will be able khổng lồ see light act as a trigger for conditionals or dynamic functions.
Learning Style Type #2: Auditory Learners
How to Identify This Type of Learning Style: Auditory Learners
Auditory learners prefer learning subject matter that is presented through sound. You can find auditory learners by paying attention to lớn students who are actively engaging with a lecture. You may find them nodding along or asking frequent questions rather than taking written notes. Additionally, these learners might read slowly, read aloud to themselves, or repeat things you tell them lớn help with retention.
How to lớn Teach This Type of Learning Style: Auditory LearnersIf you’re giving a lecture, make sure you are addressing your auditory learners directly to lớn get them involved in the conversation. Have them vày things like verbally detailing a new concept they just learned, & ask them follow-up questions while giving them the time they need khổng lồ respond. Group discussions, engaging videos, & audio recordings are other great ways to engage auditory learners in your classroom.
Sphero & littleBits Activities Auditory Learners Will LoveBack khổng lồ the Future
In this exciting activity for auditory learners, your students will recreate the Delorean time machine from the “Back to lớn the Future” movies. First, they will program RVR khổng lồ accelerate to a speed of 88 to time travel. Then, they will build their very own invention with the little
Bits RVR Topper Kit, which triggers a buzzer when RVR is safely back to lớn the future. If your students have never seen the “Back to lớn the Future” movies, you can show them short scenes to help orient this activity.
With a few simple materials and a little
Bits STEAM Kit, your auditory learner can use the sound of their voice lớn create bubbles. This challenge allows your students to lớn experiment with sound waves & learn how common items interact with each other lớn make something new.
Learning Style Type #3: Reading & Writing Learners
How to Identify This Learning Style in the Classroom: Reading và Writing Learners
Preferring written word, reading, and writing learners are drawn khổng lồ textbooks, novels, articles, journals, and anything that is text-heavy. Similar lớn visual learners, you can find reading & writing learners by paying attention lớn students who take elaborate notes, reference the dictionary lớn learn new words, or use online tìm kiếm engines to find answers khổng lồ their questions.
How lớn Teach This Learning Style Type: Reading & Writing LearnersWriting essays, performing in-depth research, reading textbooks, và more, reading, & writing learners prefer more traditional methods of subject matter delivery. However, make sure these learners have ample time khổng lồ absorb written course material and give them every opportunity khổng lồ get their ideas down on paper or a digital device.
Sphero và littleBits Activities Reading và Writing Learners Will LoveBridge Challenge
The Bridge Challenge starts with your students researching and learning about different types of bridges used in architecture, which is perfect for reading và writing learners. Then, using common household belongings or craft supplies — such as tape, string, glue, & popsicle sticks — they can use their newfound knowledge lớn build a bridge that a Sphero robot can drive across.
The Masked SpheroIn this activity, you can have your reading và writing learners research the history & importance of cloth face coverings. Then, they can write a short essay on how wearing a mask can help protect others by minimizing airborne bacteria. Afterward, your class can create a mask out of tissue paper for their Sphero BOLT to lớn protect its sensor against incoming light. This activity provides a direct representation of how germs can spread more easily without face coverings.
Learning Style Type #4: Kinesthetic Learners
How to Identify This Type of Learning Style: Kinesthetic Learners
Kinesthetic learners are “tactile” learners, meaning they prefer lớn physically act out events or use all of their senses while learning. These types of learners are easy khổng lồ find, as they likely have a difficult time sitting still và might need frequent breaks during heavy studying periods.
How khổng lồ Teach This Type of Learning Style: Kinesthetic LearnersWhen possible, get kinesthetic learners up và moving. If you’re teaching Shakespeare, for example, have them act out a scene with a few of their kinesthetic-focused peers. You can also create learning games that encourage these types of learners lớn move about the classroom at different points in the lesson.
Sphero and littleBits Activities Kinesthetic Learners Will LoveSphero Long Jump
Sphero Long Jump is the perfect challenge for kinesthetic learners, as you can easily get your students up và moving. During this activity, have your students learn about what the long jump is và how science can be used to lớn maximize jumping distance. With supervision, students could even try their own long jump in a safe area and measure their distance! Afterward, with just a few craft supplies, they can create an adjustable, homemade ramp and DIY long jump pit for their Sphero.
Animal ImitationWith this hands-on activity, your kinesthetic learners can become ethologists & technologists at the same time. Lớn start, your students will study the movements of their favorite animal (including how the animal sees, smells, & interacts with other animals) và program RVR lớn mimic how it navigates in the wild. Plus, your students will be able to utilize little
Bits inventions khổng lồ mimic this animal’s behavior. To go one step further, your class could even act out their chosen animal’s behaviors!
Implement the Right Learning Style for Your Remote Students
If you have a student that’s struggling, uncovering their chất lượng learning style could help you get them back on track. Whether they are a visual, auditory, reading và writing, or kinesthetic learner, you can implement a plethora of activities in your curriculum that facilitate subject matter retention, course engagement, và an enjoyable educational experience.
To learn more about how to programmable robots & STEM kits appeal to all learning styles, và for more information on how khổng lồ integrate Sphero & little
Bits in the classroom, kiểm tra out our getting started resources page for educators.
Other Types of Learning Styles
Every student has a strategy they use khổng lồ remember information more efficiently while studying. Some of them take notes; some make diagrams; some prefer to lớn listen to lectures, etc. Since no learning style fits all students, scientists have conducted research in order lớn understand the way students learn new information best.
Let’s look at the different types of learning they have distinguished.
What Are the Main Four Types of Learning in Education?
We mentioned before that scientists have for years tried to lớn understand the best ways students learn through research. One of the popular theories, to lớn this day, is the VARK model. This mã sản phẩm identifies four types of learners: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing.
Most people are a combination of these four styles, but more times than not, they have a predominant style of learning. Each of these styles has a complementary way of teaching. Now, let’s see the characteristics each of these styles entails & how best lớn make use of them.
Visual learning style
Visual learners are individuals who prefer khổng lồ take in their information visually—be that with maps, graphs, diagrams, charts, and others. However, they don’t necessarily respond well to lớn photos or videos, rather needing their information using different visual sida such as patterns & shapes.
The best way khổng lồ present to lớn visual learners is by showing them the relationship between different ideas visually. For instance, when explaining a scientific process, it can be done by using a flow chart.
Auditory learning style
Auditory learners are individuals who learn better when they take in information in auditory khung when it is heard or spoken. They are prone to lớn sorting their ideas after speaking, rather than thinking ideas through before. Since, lớn them, saying things out loud helps them understand the concept.
Auditory learners learn best when information is presented khổng lồ them via strategies that involve talking, such as lectures and group discussions. They can benefit from repeating back the lessons, having recordings of the lectures, group activities that require classmates explaining ideas, etc.
Kinesthetic learning style
Kinesthetic learners are individuals who prefer to learn by doing. They enjoy a hands-on experience. They are usually more in cảm biến with reality và more connected lớn it, which is why they require using tactile experience to lớn understand something better.
The best way to present new information to a kinesthetic learner is through personal experience, practice, examples, or simulations. For instance, they can remember an experiment by recreating it themselves.
Reading/Writing
Reading/writing learners consume information best when it’s in words, whether that’s by writing it down or reading it. Lớn them, text is more powerful than any kind of visual or auditory representation of an idea. These individuals usually perform very well on written assignments.
There are different ways khổng lồ get a reading/writing learner to engage và understand a certain lesson. For instance, it would be best khổng lồ have them describe charts and diagrams by written statements, take written quizzes on the topics, or give them written assignments.
Other Types of Learning Styles
Now that we have discussed some learning styles that have been around for a while, it’s time we dug a little deeper & introduced some other, lesser-known learning styles. It is important to cảnh báo that not everyone agrees on the types of learning styles, their names, or even their number. Recent studies and theories from psychologists & experts in the field suggest that there are anywhere between 3 khổng lồ 170 different types of learning styles. Other types of learning styles, based on one of the senses và a social aspect, include:
Logical/analytical learners
As the name suggests, analytical learners depend on logic and analytical skills lớn understand a particular subject. These types of learners tìm kiếm for connections, causes, patterns, và results in their learning. A teacher can engage và motivate analytical learners by posing questions that require interpretation, using material that activates problem-solving skills & stimulating students to reach conclusions based on facts or reasoning.
Social/linguistic learners
These types of learners favor educational lessons that include peer work or participation. Social/ linguistic learners get two things out of this participation: socializing (which they love) và a better understanding of a subject. Teachers can motivate these types of learners by using role-playing, group activities, and encouraging student interaction (asking questions, sharing stories, etc.).
Solitary learners
Otherwise known as solo learners, these students are the opposite of social learners. Solitary learners prefer to lớn study alone without having lớn interact with other learners. Individual work is a solo student’s forte. Teachers can help these types of learners by using activities that require individual work (including keeping a diary) & problem-solving skills, recognizing a student’s individual accomplishments, etc.
Nature learners
These types of learners excel when in contact with nature. A nature learner’s ideal study environment is a calm và relaxing environment. If we had khổng lồ compare nature learners with another type, it would be tactile learners. The only difference is the nature part of this deal, as nature learners need to lớn be outside lớn learn better. While learning in nature may not always be possible, teachers can still nurture this learning style in students by assigning hands-on activities, having classes outdoors when possible, và using nature examples when explaining a new lesson.
How vày Students Learn Best?
Given that everyone has a unique learning method, it would be wrong to say that a specific learning style is the best way to go. However, understanding your own style of learning is very important to lớn your studies.
Since the way someone best consumes information can be a deciding factor in their academic success, understanding what kind of learner they are is vital. You can do this by trying all four methods of learning, and then deciding which one helps you remember best. Once you know what kind of style fits you, you can tailor your studies to lớn fit your needs.
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There are many factors that affect how someone learns best, including the environment, và cognitive and emotional factors. However, understanding your learning style can help you learn more easily.
On the other hand, even teachers need lớn be aware of the many different learning styles they might encounter when teaching. Though it is easier for one individual to lớn understand & incorporate a specific learning style to lớn get better results, it is not that easy for a teacher with, say, 20 students in one classroom. However, this does not mean that a teacher should just give up trying to understand and cater to their students’ needs altogether. A simple solution to this dilemma might be using as many activities & exercises as possible that cater lớn different learning styles. This way, a teacher has a better chance of reaching a bigger ‘audience’, & every student gets an opportunity to lớn learn in their preferred circumstances every once in a while.
According to lớn the VARK system, there are four types of learning styles—visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing. We hope this article helped you understand in which category you fall!