Part 1: Learning Styles

Learning style are the way in which learners "most efficiently and effectively perceive, process, store and recall what they are attempting to learn. "¹

A1: How the Brain Perceives Information

Consider how many different ways a learner can get information. When Hyun-Chu was taking her English class, she would read the assigned text, write down words the teacher wrote from the board and listen to the teacher speak.

She found that, whenever she could see and write something down, she remembered the information much better than if she just heard it. Often, she would forget new vocabulary or confuse it with something else if she didn't see it in print.

Every person has a preferred way of learning. Hyun-Chu likes to read when she learns something new; other people would rather listen to a lecture or involve their other senses.

Because information is taken in through the senses, it is important to identify how people learn using these senses. There are four different ways that people learn: by reading, by listening, by touching and by doing. Certain characteristics for each type of learner are described in the Saskatchewan Level 1 Tutor Training Kit.)²

Visual learners

(take in messages through the eyes; they learn by reading)

• Can recall words after seeing them a few times
• Like written directions
• Discriminate between letters and words that look alike (pass, past)

Auditory learners

(take in messages through the ears; they learn by listening)

• Can remember words after hearing them a few times
• Like oral explanations
• Discriminate between sounds that sound alike (pail/bail)

¹ James et al. as cited in Bettina Lankard Brown. (1998). Learning Styles and Vocational Education Practice. ERIC Clearinghouse on Adult, Career, and Vocational Education . [on-line], Columbus, OH. Available: ericacve,org/pab.asp. [2003, April 15]

² Saskatchewan Literacy Network, Saskatchewan Level 1 Tutor Training Kit (Saskatoon, Saskatchewan: Saskatchewan Literacy Network, 2000), p. 14.