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Learning Style Inventory
THIS INVENTORY MAY NOT BE USED WITHOUT PERMISSION FROM THE AUTHOR.
Instructions: Each item below presents three choices. Select the choice that best describes you by circling the letter V, A, or K. If more than one choice strongly applies, then circle more than one.
1. If I have to learn how to do something, I learn best when I:
V. Watch someone show me how.
A. Hear someone tell me how.
K. Try to do it myself.
2. When I read, I often find that I:
V. Visualize what I'm reading in my mind's eye.A. Read out loud or hear the words inside my head.
K. Fidget and try to "feel" the content.
3. When I am asked to give directions I:
V. See the actual places in my mind as I say them or prefer to draw them.A. Have no difficulty just giving people directions verbally.
K. Have to point or move my body as I give them.
4. If I am unsure about how to spell a word I:
V. Write it in order to determine if it looks right.A. Spell it out loud in order to determine if it sounds right.
K. Write it in order to determine if it feels right.
5. When I write I:
V. Am concerned about how neat and well spaced my letters and words appear.A. Often find myself saying the letters and words to myself as I form them.
K. Find myself pushing hard on my pen or pencil and can feel the flow of certain words as I form them.
6. If I had to remember a list of items I would:
V. Remember best if I wrote them down.A. Remember best if I said them over and over to myself.
K. Remember best if I moved around and used my fingers to name each item.
7. I prefer teachers who:
V. Use the board or overhead projector while they lecture.A. Talk with a lot of expression.
K. Use hands-on activities.
8. When try to concentrate, I have a difficult time when:
V. There is a lot of clutter or movement in the room.A. There is a lot of noise in the room.
K. I have to sit still for any length of time.
9. When solving a problem I:
V. Write or draw diagrams in order to see it.A. Talk myself through it.
K. Use my entire body to gesture and move as I think.
10. When given written instructions on how to build something I:
V. Read them silently and try to visualize how each part will fit together.A. Read them out loud and talk to myself as I put each part together.
K. Try to put parts together first and read later.
11. To keep occupied while waiting for class to begin I:
V. Look around the room, stare, read or look at my notes.A. Talk or listen to others.
K. Walk around, manipulate things with my hands, or move/shake my feet as I sit.
12. If I had to verbally describe something to another person I:
V. Would be brief because I do not like to talk at length.A. Would go into great detail because I enjoy talking.
K. Would have to gesture and move around when talking.
13. If someone was verbally describing something to me I would:
V. Try to visualize what she was saying.A. Enjoy listening but would want to interrupt and talk myself.
K. Become bored if she got too long and detailed in her description.
14. When try to recall names:
V. I remember faces but forget names.A. I remember names but forget faces.
K. I remember the situation where I met the person better than their name or face.
Scoring Instructions: Add the total number of responses you had for each letter and enter them below. The area with the highest number of responses is probably your primary mode of learning. Because most people learn through a mixture of all three sytles, read all of the learning suggestions given and select those you feel will work best for you.
Visual(V)=Auditory (A)=
Kinesthetic (K)=
Visual Learners. Visual learners learn best by seeing. The following list of suggestions would enhance the visual learner's ability to store and recall information:
1. Your study environment should be clutter free, away from windows and movement.
2. Highlight and write as you study. Use different colors to select and organize.
3. Always write down what you need to remember. This includes using notes as reminders and using a calendar to list due dates and dates to begin assignments.
4. Make class notes visual with drawings, spacing, symbols, etc.
5. Make use of text visuals such as charts and pictures. If you have to recall them from memory, practice reproducing them on a piece of paper.
6. Use study cards with written information organized into outlines, wild drawings, or diagrams. Review them by writing to reproduce the information.
7. Make your recall cues as visual as possible. Use capital letters, colors, illustrations.
8. Recall information for exams by visualizing text pages, notes, or study cards.
9. When solving problems, draw or illustrate the problem and solution.
10.If permitted, make notations on test questions. Underline key words or draw what you do not understand.
Auditory Learners. Auditory learners learn best by hearing. The following list of suggestions would enhance the auditory learner's ability to store and recall information.
1. Have a quiet place to study. If you cannot eliminate background noise, conceal it by quietly playing classical music or an environmental sound track.
2. Recite aloud as you study.
3. Attend all lectures. Copying another's notes is not as effective for you as hearing the material.
4. Use a tape recorder to record lectures in addition to taking notes. Always ask the instructor for permission to tape a lecture. As you review your notes after class, use the tape for those parts of the lecture that were difficult to understand. Play lecture tapes in your car to make good use of commuting time.
5. Study in groups or with a friend. Explain information in your notes to another person. If you find a study group distracting, have a person you can call on a regular basis to discuss class content over the phone.
6. Talk to yourself! Describe diagrams or practice answering test questions out loud.
7. Recite study cards into a tape recorder and play it back for repeated practice.
8. When solving problems, talk yourelf through each step.
9. Recall information during exams by hearing yourself recite in your head.
10.Chunk test questions and recite each part to yourself in your head.
Kinesthetic Learners. Kinesthetic learners learn best by doing and moving. They often have difficulty sitting still for long periods of time. The following list of suggestions would enhance the kinesthetic learner's ability to store and recall information:
1. Use many of your senses as possible when you study: see, hear, touch, taste, smell.
2. Move around when you study. Put as much as you can on study cards. Lay study cards out on the floor in various locations and practice reciting them as you move around the room.
3. Carry study cards with you everywhere and use them whenever you have to wait.
4. Study in small, frequent chunks. Give yourself breaks and rewards.
5. Use a timer and decide upon an amount of time you feel you can effectively sit and work. Underestimate and work up to longer time periods if possible. When the timer sounds, take a break and do something physical.
6. Set a goal as to a specific amount of information you will cover such as five pages, etc. When you reach your goal, take a break.
7.For surface learning, use a mnemonic device called the method of place. When you have to recall items on a list, mentally imagine them placed in sequential locations in your home and associate them with those places. For example, if you have to remember the names of the presidents of the United States, begin in your kitchen. Wash Washington in the sink, bake Adams' apple in the oven, and so on. In order to trigger recall for a test, imagine yourself walking to each area.
8. Study with another kinesthetic person. Their gestures and activities may give you additional input.
9. When solving problems, move around and manipulate items to represent parts of the problem.
10.When taking exams, try to "feel" how you stored information by remembering what you physically did as you studied.
COPYRIGHT 1993 JONELLE A. BEATRICE
Beatrice: LrnStInv.S94
