Kinaesthetic, Visual, Auditory

Know how you learn = Learn better

Look at the list below to work out which type, or types of learning you favour.

Visual - If you are a visual learner this means you like to learn by watching. For example you enjoy reading, looking at diagrams, watching demonstrations, watching videos, drawing pictures, looking at models, observing others performing tasks and generally learning by seeing.

Auditory - As an auditory learner, you like to learn by listening. You enjoy having the teacher explain things, you listen to mp3s or when trying to remember a name you sound it out aloud.

Physical (kinaesthetic) - If you are a physical learner you like to act out and create the information with your hands and body. For example, you like to build models of cells in biology, you like to hold a bag of sugar when learning to say "gulu" in Indonesian class, or perhaps you don't truly learn something until you write it down, build it, destroy it, or recreate it in physical form. You would rather kick a football than be shown or told how to kick a football.

Case Study

Ned Radov hates school! He is really having a tough time. The teacher writes things up on the board and it just looks like double Dutch. Ned has tried reading but he can't concentrate and the words seem to blur into a mess on the page. Sometimes the teacher explains things and if Ned is in the mood he understands what the teacher is saying. He usually fails science but he once got an A+ in biology when he built a model of a muscle cell. He usually gets As and Bs for manual arts, and in year 10 he won an award for a history assignment when he came to class dressed as a gladiator.

Q) What mode(s) of learning is Ned best suited to?

Q) What advice would you give Ned to help him out at school?

Activity

Remember this phone number - 0422563889.

When you tried to remember it did you see the numbers in your head (visual), hear them in your ears (auditory) or did you type them with your fingers on an imaginary key pad (physical). Little exercises like this will start to point you in the right direction but it is best to go with your gut feeling i.e. how do you think you learn best? Chances are, your right!