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Lake Washington Institute of Technology TRiO Projects 11605 132nd Ave NE W-207 Kirkland, WA 98034 Phone: 425-739-8361 Fax: 425-739-8275 Website: http://www.lwtech.edu/trio
The enclosed materials were compiled through a grant from the US Department of Education. However, the contents have not been reviewed by the Department and no endorsement should be inferred. The Lake Washington Technical College Student Support Services TRIO Projects are 100% federally funded annually at $458,270.00.
people learn most effectively when the strategies used are closely matched with their preferred learning style
sometimes we can improve our learning by knowing what our strengths are and then doing more of what we're good at
often we can improve our learning by knowing what our weakness are and trying to enhance our skills in these areas
different situations and learning environments require different learning strategies, so it's best to have a large repertoire from which to draw
What is VARK? VARK is a questionnaire that provides users with a profile of their learning preferences. These preferences are about the ways that they want to take-in and give-out information.
Why only 13 questions? Experience suggests that if there are too many questions (25+) some respondents tend to take the questionnaire less seriously and some may become bored with it or provide spurious answers because of questionnaire fatigue. Are my modality preferences fixed and unchanging? We won't know until somebody does some longitudinal research on a group but you will not switch from a Read/write preference to a Visual preference overnight! Typically, your scores on a particular mode may rise or fall by 1 or 2 as you do the questionnaire again. There is, however, an increase in single preferences with age. The database for 2005 shows that for those under 18 years of age there were 40.5% with a single preference and 59.5% with some form of multimodality. For those aged 55+ there were 47% with a single preference and 53% who were multimodal. We also know that, with age, the proportion with an R single preference increases as the proportion with a K single preference decreases. V and A stay about the same. For under 18-year-olds those with single preference K are 23.5% of the total and those with single preference R make up 9.6%. For those aged 55+ the proportions are 15.2% and 25.6%! How does the category "Read/writers", who make up 10% of young people, increase to 25% when they are over 55 years of age? Will life experience change my preferences? Probably! Some students report that when they were younger their VARK profile would have been different and that it is their exposure to different life experiences (travel, recreation, work, and relationships) that would have made that change. VARK is a relatively "young" inventory and sufficient longitudinal studies have not been done to be sure about that. Is it good to be multimodal? Yes and No. Yes! Multimodal learners and teachers can be more flexible about how they take in and give out information than those with a profile that emphasizes a single preference. They tend to be able to match their preferences with whatever mode(s) are being used. That is the "Yes" answer. But because multimodal learners need to have at least two or three modes involved in learning before they are satisfied that is a disadvantage. For example, someone with an AR profile would want to read about it and talk about it with others before they would "trust" the incoming information. A single preference learner would "get it" from just one mode. 2
Copyright Version 7.0 (2006) held by Neil D. Fleming, Christchurch, New Zealand and Charles C. Bonwell, Green Mountain Falls, Colorado 80819 U.S.A.
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, etc. Describe the overheads, pictures and other visuals to somebody Leave spaces in your notes for later recall and 'filling in the blanks
Your notes may be poor because you prefer to listen expand your notes by talking with others and collecting notes from the textbook Put your summarized notes onto tapes and listen to them Ask others to 'listen to your understanding of a topic Read your summarized notes aloud Explain your notes to another 'aural' person OUTPUT To perform well in any test, assignment or exam:
Imagine talking with the instructor Spend time in quiet places recalling the ideas Practice writing answers to old exam questions Say your answers aloud
Copyright Version 7.0 (2006) held by Neil D. Fleming, Christchurch, New Zealand and Charles C. Bonwell, Green Mountain Falls, Colorado 80819 U.S.A.
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 again and again Rewrite the ideas and principles into other words Organize diagrams & graphs into statements (e.g. "The trend is...") Turn actions, diagrams, and charts into words or sentences Imagine your lists as multiple choice questions OUTPUT To perform well in any test, assignment or examination:
Write practice exam answers Practice with multiple choice questions Make lists Arrange your words into hierarchies and points
You like this page because the emphasis is on words and lists. You believe the meanings are within the words, so any talk is OK but this handout is better.
Copyright Version 7.0 (2006) held by Neil D. Fleming, Christchurch, New Zealand and Charles C. Bonwell, Green Mountain Falls, Colorado 80819 U.S.A.
Kinesthetic (K)
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 Hands-on approaches and experiential learning Trial and error Exhibits, samples, photographs, etc. SWOT - Study without tears To make a learnable package:
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 refer to your lab manual Recall the experiments
Copyright Version 7.0 (2006) held by Neil D. Fleming, Christchurch, New Zealand and Charles C. Bonwell, Green Mountain Falls, Colorado 80819 U.S.A.