Learning styles: what are they? learn how they work

Not everyone learns a subject in the same way. Understanding this well is essential to know how prepare classes and how to guarantee the best learning and the best evolution of the students. 

The theme that defines this is the diversity of learning styles.

Each person has their strengths and weaknesses in terms of how they study, and they also have areas that they understand easily. Therefore, we even have several fields of knowledge. 

The ideal is, therefore, to work with methods that favor this diversity and allow everyone to help, regardless of their learning style. However, it is also essential to understand these styles and know their main characteristics. 

Learn about the main styles and how to adapt to them. 

What are learning styles?

Learning styles are different ways of learning subjects and evolving in the construction of knowledge. Each person has a different style and must understand which learning methods are best suited for them.

It is important to understand what learning styles are and how they differ from each other. After all, then, the student will not feel frustrated when trying to evolve in some subject; on the other hand, the teachers and the school will know how to get the best out of the students.

In other words, knowing this variety is understanding how to optimize teaching indicators and standards. It's knowing how to make students move forward more efficiently.

Learning styles also define student profiles and the characteristics of each profile. These groups assimilate information in different ways and also tend to choose different professions. 

An analysis of this can help an educational institution to better sell its learning proposals and achieve good results. 

It is essential to highlight that this subject has been studied by several authors. They developed methods based on certain most relevant characteristics. We have the Vark method, the Kolb method and the Honey-Alonso method.

We will see below the differences between the methods and we will better understand how they are applied. 

What are learning styles?

According to the Vark method, we have four divisions: visual, auditory, reading and writing, and kinesthetic learning.

visual learning

Visual learning consists of using graphic and visual resources to stimulate learning by appealing to the imagery sense. Diagrams, visual displays, maps and other strategies help to fix content in this case. 

auditory learning

Auditory learning stands out for using sounds, speech and audio. A student with this ability learns best by listening to someone speak or even by repeating it aloud. By sound standards, he can develop and assimilate what is being done. 

Learning by reading and writing

Learning by reading and writing stands out as it involves reading complete materials and texts that help structure the content. It is the profile of people who like to read, annotate and review notes. 

kinesthetic learning

It is practical learning, of those who learn by doing, with active experiences. In this way, when putting your hand in the dough, the person feels that the contents become more solid. 

Kolb method learning styles

We will now analyze the Kolb method, which divides the profiles into accommodating, convergent, assimilating and divergent. 

Accommodator

It is the profile of people who enjoy practical activities, enriching experiences and more playful aspects. In this type of learning, gamification stands out, for example. 

Convergent

Another of the learning styles proposed by Kolb is convergent. This profile likes experiments, problem solving and decision making. They like to test things out in practice and observe results before completing something. 

In this learning method, simulations and experimental classes stand out. 

assimilator

They are people who enjoy observation and analysis of facts. They work with logic and as the union of aspects to reach a viable conclusion. Classes and lectures fit into this type of learning. 

Divergent

They excel in idea generation and brainstorming environments. We can even conclude that it is a very good profile for arts. They also involve the perfect balance between ideas and practice. 

Learning styles of the Honey-Alonso method

Now, let's analyze the profiles proposed by Peter Honey and Catalina Alonso. 

Active

People who like different practices and experiences, with challenges and obstacles to overcome. More dynamic people, who like more interactive and dynamic learning. 

reflective

Analytical people, who like to evaluate issues, break problems into smaller parts, and carefully examine parts of a problem before coming to a conclusion. 

Theoretical

People who like to analyze and weave theoretical constructions about subjects. They like to elaborate on the themes and write complete and profound theories. 

Pragmatic

Among the Honey-Alonso learning methods, this is the most practical, most focused on wasting less time and gaining efficiency. Thus, it seeks to transform ideas into concrete questions, solving problems quickly and practically. 

How to identify the student's learning style?

To find out what their learning style is, a student can submit responses to quizzes such as the Vark quiz or the Kolb quiz. In this case, the person answers the questions and is evaluated according to the analysis.

Thus, it can be useful to look for the suggestions of each method to improve language learning, for example. 

It is important to understand the need to work towards different learning profiles when teaching. After all, the ideal is to assume that students fall into several types.

However, the teacher can also try to understand students with interviews or simply use forms of evaluation to extract this information. From this, it is feasible to apply the most appropriate learning method.

Teach English with Teachpedia's teaching materials and learn aboutthe most diverse learning styles!

Conclusion

Learning styles vary widely and depend, above all, on different techniques and methods. 

It is important to know how to teach classes and approach content for each profile, as well as to think of methodologies that help to stimulate evolution in each case.

With the right materials, you can teach the subjects in a way that helps students and allows them to overcome limitations. 

A Teachpedia, por exemplo, apresenta diversos materiais importantes para ensinar o inglês de diferentes formas. Atendemos a diversos perfis, com conteúdos em diferentes formatos: listening, reading, literatura, vocabulary, etc. 

teachpedia@

Teachpedia é um espaço onde você encontra materiais didáticos e atividades de apoio para professores de inglês, escola de idiomas e alunos. Saiba mais!