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Professor Program

Activity: VARK Learning Styles

Lecture Concept
This activity is separate from lecture content. It can be used at the beginning of the quarter, or
for discussions immediately after the first midterm when new content is minimal and exam
performance is clearly lacking.
Activity Type
Group work with student presentations
Time Needed
45 minutes
Purpose
To allow the students to discover what kind of learner they are
To provide an opportunity for the Discussion Leaders to get to know the students and their
learning styles
To encourage students to get to know each other
Abstract
Pre-class prep
Individual work: VARK Worksheet , posting answers
Short lecture
Group work: Discuss how to study, present results
Pass out solution sheet

20 min
15 min
5 min
20 min
5 min

Supplies
VARK Questionaire (one per student)
VARK Explanation What does it mean? sheet (one per group)
VARK Study ideas packet (one packet per group)
White Board, markers
Poster Papers, markers
Top 10 Lecture topics covered during the Week
Pre-class prep
Visit the VARK web page (www.vark-learn.com) for updates and new materials. Take
the questionaire online. (20 min)
Print the VARK activity worksheets (5 min)
Have the VARK Diagram already drawn/prepared on the white board (5 min)

In Class

2007 by the HHMI-UCIrvine Professor Program. For non-commercial, educational use only.

Professor Program

(15 min) Ask the students to fill out and score the VARK questionaire. After scoring their
results, they should write their results on the VARK table on the board. Do not attempt to
explain what VARK stands for yet.
(15 min) After all students have posted their scores, give a quick lecture
on the four learning styles. Explain many people are bi- or multimodal. Have the students then divide themselves into groups
according to their highest score. If they are multi-modal, they should
choose the group they most want to learn about. Pass out the What
does it mean? and Top 10 Lecture Topics sheets to each group.

General Teaching Tip:

Posting Student
Answers
Students should never have
to post answers on the board
that they feel might be
wrong. In this case, there is
no right answer, and the
class enjoys looking at the
variety of learning styles.

(15 min) Have the students then discuss amongst themselves how they
can then study and learn the class material according to the kind of
learner they are (EX: Student Joe and his group members might come
up with an idea that reading the figures captions are one of the best
ways to study rather than reading the text book, etc.) When the students are finished coming up
with the ways how they can improve themselves as a particular learner, have one member from
the group come up to the front and present the ideas. At this point, pass out the study guide
packets.

Things to Ask or Emphasize

Before breaking into groups, it might be best to pass out the explanation sheet first. At that
moment, ask the students whether or not they agree with the kind of learner the worksheet
answer choices indicate that they are (EX: Student Joe might say that he is surprised to learn that
he is a Visual Learner). Hear any comments or feedbacks from students.

Typical Mistakes
Students might take the results of the worksheet at face value or the undeniable truth. It is
essential for the students to understand that there are many different learning styles and any
quick activity is an oversimplification.
Comments

Copyright 2007: This activity was created by Dianne Purvis, Cathie Overstreet, and Adrienne
Williams, and edited by Masa Kinoshita and Adrienne Williams
2007 by the HHMI-UCIrvine Professor Program. For non-commercial, educational use only.

The VARK Questionnaire How Do I Learn Best?

This questionnaire aims to find out something about your preferences for the way you work with
information. You will have a preferred learning style and one part of that learning style is your preference
for the intake and output of ideas and information.
Choose the answer which best explains your preference and circle the letter next to it.
Please circle more than one if a single answer does not match your perception.
Leave blank any question which does not apply, but try to give an answer for at least 10 of the 13
questions
1. You are about to give directions to a person who is
standing with you. She is staying in a hotel in town
and wants to visit your house later. She has a rental
car. I would:
a. draw a map on paper
b. tell her the directions
c. write down the directions (without a map)
d. collect her from the hotel in my car
2. You are not sure whether a word should be spelled
'dependent' or 'dependant'. I would:
a. look it up in the dictionary.
b. see the word in my mind and choose by the
way it looks
c. sound it out in my mind.
d. write both versions down on paper and choose
one.
3. You have just received a copy of your itinerary for
a world trip. This is of interest to a friend. I would:
a. phone her immediately and tell her about it.
b. send her a copy of the printed itinerary.
c. show her on a map of the world.
d. share what I plan to do at each place I visit.
4. You are going to cook something as a special treat
for your family. I would:
a. cook something familiar without the need for
instructions.
b. thumb through the cookbook looking for ideas
from the pictures.
c. refer to a specific cookbook where there is a
good recipe.
5. A group of tourists has been assigned to you to
find out about wildlife reserves or parks. I would:
a. drive them to a wildlife reserve or park.
b. show them slides and photographs
c. give them pamphlets or a book on wildlife
reserves or parks.
d. give them a talk on wildlife reserves or parks.

6. You are about to purchase a new stereo. Other than

price, what would most influence your decision?
a. the salesperson telling you what you want to
know.
b. reading the details about it.
c. playing with the controls and listening to it.
d. it looks really smart and fashionable.
7. Recall a time in your life when you learned how to
do something like playing a new board game. Try to
avoid choosing a very physical skill, e.g. riding a
bike. I learnt best by:
a. visual clues -- pictures, diagrams, charts
b. written instructions.
c. listening to somebody explaining it.
d. doing it or trying it.
8. You have an eye problem. I would prefer the
doctor to:
a. tell me what is wrong.
b. show me a diagram of what is wrong.
c. use a model to show me what is wrong.
9. You are about to learn to use a new program on a
computer. I would:
a. sit down at the keyboard and begin to
experiment with the program's features.
b. read the manual which comes with the
program.
c. telephone a friend and ask questions about it.
10. You are staying in a hotel and have a rental car.
You would like to visit friends whose address/
location you do not know. I would like them to:
a. draw me a map on paper.
b. tell me the directions.
c. write down the directions (without a map).
d. collect me from the hotel in their car.
11. Apart from the price, what would most influence
your decision to buy a particular textbook:?:
a. I have used a copy before.
b. a friend talking about it.
c. quickly reading parts of it.
d. the way it looks is appealing.

12. A new movie has arrived in town. What would

most influence your decision to go (or not go)?
a. I heard a radio review about it
b. I read a review about it.
c. I saw a preview of it.

13. Do you prefer a lecturer or teacher who likes to

use:?
a. a textbook, handouts, readings
b. flow diagrams, charts, graphs.
c. field trips, labs, practical sessions.
d. discussion, guest speakers.

Scoring Instructions:
Use the following scoring chart to find the VARK category that each of your answers corresponds to.
Circle
the letters that correspond to your answers. For example, if you answered b and c for question 3, circle R
and V in the question 3 row.
Question
Answered
Answered
Answered
Answered
a
b
c
d
3
A
R
V
K
Scoring Chart
Question
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13

Answered
a
V
R
A
K
K
A
V
A
K
V
K
A
R

Answered
b
A
V
R
V
V
R
R
V
R
A
A
R
V

Answered
c
R
A
V
R
R
K
A
K
A
R
R
V
K

Answered
d
K
K
K
A
V
K

K
V
A

Calculating your scores

Count the number of each of the VARK letters you have circled to get your score for each VARK
category.
Total number of Vs circled =
Total number of As circled =
Total number of Rs circled =
Total number of Ks circled =

What Does It Mean?

Visual (V):
This preference includes the depiction of information in charts, graphs, flow charts, and all the symbolic
arrows, circles, hierarchies and other devices that instructors use to represent what could have been
presented in words. It does NOT include movies, videos or PowerPoint.
Aural / Auditory (A):
This perceptual mode describes a preference for information that is "heard or spoken." Students with this
modality report that they learn best from lectures, tutorials, tapes, group discussion, email, speaking, web
chat, talking things through.
Read/write (R):
This preference is for information displayed as words. Not surprisingly, many academics have a strong
preference for this modality. This preference emphasises text-based input and output - reading and writing
in all its forms.
Kinesthetic (K):
By definition, this modality refers to the "perceptual preference related to the use of experience and
practice (simulated or real)." Although such an experience may invoke other modalities, the key is that
the student is connected to reality, "either through concrete personal experiences, examples, practice or
simulation"

All text from Neil Fleming, 2001. http://www.vark-learn.com/

Visual Study Strategies

Aural Study Strategies

INTAKE
To take in the information

attend classes
attend discussions and tutorials
discuss topics with others
discuss topics with your teachers
explain new ideas to other people
use a tape recorder
remember the interesting examples, stories, jokes...
describe the overheads, pictures and other visuals to somebody who was not there
leave spaces in your notes for later recall and 'filling'
SWOT - Study without tears
To make a learnable package:

Convert your notes into a learnable package by reducing them (3:1)

Your notes may be poor because you prefer to listen. You will need to expand your notes by
talking with others and collecting notes from the textbook.
Put your summarised notes onto tapes and listen to them.
Ask others to 'hear' your understanding of a topic.
Read your summarised notes aloud.
Explain your notes to another 'aural' person.
OUTPUT
To perform well in any test, assignment or
examination:

Imagine talking with the examiner

Listen to your voices and write them down.
Spend time in quiet places recalling the ideas.
Practice writing answers to old exam questions.
Speak your answers aloud or inside your head.

Read/Write Study Strategies

If you have a strong preference for learning by Reading and Writing (R & W) learning you should use
some or all of the following:

INTAKE
To take in the information

lists
headings
dictionaries
glossaries
definitions
handouts
textbooks
readings - library
notes (often verbatim)
teachers who use words well and have lots of information in sentences and notes
essays
manuals (computing and laboratory)
SWOT - Study without tears
To make a learnable package:

Convert your notes into a learnable package by reducing them (3:1).

Write out the words again and again.

Read your notes (silently) again and again.
Rewrite the ideas and principles into other words.
Organize any diagrams, graphs ... into statements, e.g. "The trend is..."
Turn reactions, actions, diagrams, charts and flows into words.
Imagine your lists arranged in multiplechoice questions and distinguish each from each.
OUTPUT
To perform well in any test, assignment or
examination:

Write exam answers.

Practice with multiple choice questions.
Write paragraphs, beginnings and endings.
Write your lists (a,b,c,d,1,2,3,4).
Arrange your words into hierarchies and points.

Kinesthetic Study Strategies

If you have a strong Kinesthetic preference for learning you should use some or all of the following:

INTAKE
To take in the information

all your senses - sight, touch, taste, smell, hearing ...

laboratories
field trips
field tours
examples of principles
lecturers who give real-life examples
applications
hands-on approaches (computing)
trial and error
collections of rock types, plants, shells, grasses...
exhibits, samples, photographs...
recipes - solutions to problems, previous exam papers
SWOT - Study without tears
To make a learnable package:
Convert your lecture notes into a learnable package by reducing them (3:1).

Your lecture notes may be poor because the topics were not 'concrete' or 'relevant'.
You will remember the "real" things that happened.
Put plenty of examples into your summary. Use case studies and applications to help with
principles and abstract concepts.
Talk about your notes with another "K" person.
Use pictures and photographs that illustrate an idea.
Go back to the laboratory or your lab manual.
Recall the experiments, field trip...
OUTPUT
To perform well in the examination:

Write practice answers, paragraphs...

Role play the exam situation in your own room.