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      However, try not to be quick to place learners in one of the four styles, as they may be multi-modal, i.e. a mixture of two or more styles, enabling their learning to take place more quickly.

       Activity

       Think about the subject you will teach. What activities could your learners carry out to cover the visual, aural, read/write and kinaesthetic learning preferences? Do you agree with Frank Coffield that the whole teaching and learning environment has an impact rather than just the learning preferences? If so, how and why?

      In 1992, Fleming, along with Mills published their findings in a journal. Other publications have since become available which have different views. Styles and preferences of learning can change over time depending upon many factors, such as lifestyles or particular events. Table 2.3 gives some examples of meeting the VARK learning preferences for various topics. However, it’s best to use a mixture of each to ensure variety during your sessions.

       Honey and Mumford (1992)

      Honey and Mumford suggest learners are a mixture of four styles: activist, pragmatist, theorist and reflector. This could be interpreted as:

       Activist

      Activist learners like to deal with new challenges and experiences, often learning by trial and error. They like lots of practical activities to keep them busy and they enjoy a hands-on approach. They love challenges and are enthusiastic.

       Pragmatist

      Pragmatist learners like to apply what they have learnt to practical situations. They like logical reasons for doing something. They prefer someone to demonstrate a skill first before trying it for themselves.

       Theorist

      Theorist learners like time to take in information, they prefer to research and read lots of material first. They like things that have been tried and tested and prefer reassurance that something will work.

       Reflector

      Reflector learners think deeply about what they are learning and the activities they could do to apply this learning. They like to be told about things so that they can think it through. They will also try something, think about it, and then try it again.

       Example

       Matt has just bought a new mobile phone. He is an activist learner and therefore enjoyed learning to use it by tapping the icons and trying out the functions. If he was a pragmatist, he would have asked someone to show him how to use it. If he was a theorist, he would have read the instructions thoroughly before carrying them out. If he was a reflector, he would have used the functions he was familiar with before thinking about different ways of using them, followed by using the phone’s other functions.

      It can be useful to ask your learners to complete a learning preference questionnaire. It can be fun and lead to an interesting discussion, as well as helping you plan your approaches to reach all learning preferences. A free online questionnaire is available at www.vark-learn.com.

       Retention of learning

      Whatever teaching and learning approaches and activities you choose to use with your learners, you will want them to retain what they have learnt. There have been many studies regarding the retention of learning, which are usually expressed in percentages. One is Dale’s (1969) Cone of learning and experience, as in Figure 2.7. This shows in percentages how much people remember what they read, hear, see and do. However, Dale said it was not to be used literally, the bands within the cone are not rigid but flexible, and the cone in Figure 2.7 has been adapted, revised and disagreed with over the years.

      Using activities from the top of the cone (passive) through to the bottom of the cone (active) might help your learners to realistically experience your subject. They should then remember more because they have said and done what they have read and heard, i.e. they have put theory into practice.