Introduction to VARK

http://www.vark-learn.com/index.htm

Do You Know How You Learn?

VARK tells you something about yourself that you may or may not know. It can be used to
understand your boss, your colleagues, your parents, your relatives and yourself. It is a short,
simple inventory that has been well received because its dimensions are intuitively understood
and its applications are practical. It has helped people understand each other and especially
students to learn more effectively and faculty to become more sensitive to the diversity of
teaching strategies necessary to reach all students. Although copyrighted, VARK is free for
use in student or faculty development as long as attribution is given. It may not be published
in paper or electronic form without permission of the authors. If used commercially, say for
training, a small fee must be paid.
Although we have known for centuries about the different modes, this inventory, initially
developed in 1987 by Neil Fleming, Lincoln University, New Zealand, was the first to
systematically present a series of questions with help-sheets for students, teachers, employees,
and others to use in their own way.
Once you know about VARK, its power to explain things around you will be a revelation.

The VARK Categories

The acronym VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read/write, and Kinaesthetic sensory modalities
that are used for learning information. Fleming and Mills (1992) suggested four categories
that seemed to reflect the experiences of their students. Although there is some overlap
between categories, for purposes of our discussion, they are defined as follows. [For a
detailed description of the initial construction and limitations of VARK, and for other works
on learning styles, see the bibliography.]
Visual (V):

This preference includes the depiction of information in charts, graphs, flow charts,
and all the symbolic arrows, circles, hierarchies and other devices that instructors use
to represent what could have been presented in words.
Aural (A):

This perceptual mode describes a preference for information that is "heard." Students
with this modality report that they learn best from lectures, tutorials, tapes, and talking
to other students.
Read/write (R):

This preference is for information displayed as words. Not surprisingly, many

academics have a strong preference for this modality.
Kinaesthetic (K):

By definition, this modality refers to the "perceptual preference related to the use of
experience and practice (simulated or real)." Although such an experience may invoke
other modalities, the key is that the student is connected to reality, "either through
experience, example, practice or simulation" [See Fleming & Mills, 1992, pp. 140141].

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Advice to Teachers
Instructions for Using VARK with a Class
The questionnaire alerts people to the variety of different approaches to learning. It also
supports students who have been having difficulties with their studies. Teachers who would
like to develop additional learning strategies for their classrooms can also benefit from
VARK. It can be used with a group or class or with one-to-one counselling, but it does require
some explanation to avoid students or teachers leaping to inappropriate conclusions.
If you do not wish to use the online version of the questionnaire with the class, you can
download a printable (PDF) version:

Printable general VARK questionnaire

Printable VARK questionnaire for younger people

Printable Spanish VARK questionnaire

Administering the questionnaire

1. When you are instructing others to fill in the questionnaire they should be verbally
advised to make a selection (a, b, c or d) for each question, but they may omit a
question or choose two or three options if appropriate. Some may contest the meaning
of words in the questionnaire and others may ask for additional contextual or
situational information before they choose their answers. Avoid giving further
information, as it may prejudice responses to the questions. Encourage them to choose
more than one response if they think the context is not clear. Some may want to
discuss the purpose of the questionnaire or its validity or reliability. Ask them to hold
such questions till later when they can be more appropriately answered.
2. Stress, in whatever ways you can, that the results indicate their preferences but are not
necessarily their strengths. This reduces the anxiety for respondents who may express
the view that the questionnaire says they are not good readers or not visually strong.
3. You should make the point that some strong preferences may lessen as individuals
mature. Work experiences and life experiences will blur the between preferences as
people learn to use aural, visual, read/write and kinaesthetic modes equally well.
Preferences may also be masked by experiences.
4. No one mode is superior. Although our academic institutions may be strongly
read/write, life is much more varied. And you can be successful with almost any
combination. You may be different but you are not dumb. Students and teachers can
investigate the preferences shown and explore their own views about whether the
preference fits. For example, a student with a strong visual (V) preference could be
asked: How important is colour in your life? "Do you consider yourself a visual
person?" "Are there aspects of your life where your visual preference is obvious?"
"Do you think you have a strong sense of space or shape or position or location?" "Do
the study strategies fit with what you do now?"
5. Finally, some may ask questions about output preferences rather than input
preferences. "How is it that I like reading but I hate writing?" Research indicates that
those who have a strong preference for "taking in the world" in any particular mode
(V, A, R, or K) will want to output in the same mode.
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Analyzing the results

If the participants are not using the online version of the questionnaire, ask participants to
determine the total number of responses they have selected on the questionnaire. Using an
overhead or copies of the scoring instructions, ask participants to calculate their results.

Talking the results through with a group

Have a look at the page on understanding the results, and on the VARK categories.
Stress that the results indicate preferences not strengths in whatever way you can. This
reduces the respondent's anxiety, sometimes expressed as "But I am good visually!" or "But I
like reading!"
PREFERENCES ARE NOT THE SAME AS STRENGTHS

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Scoring Instructions
What Is My Preference?
If you have a single preference it will be either V, A, R or K. If you have more than a single
preference the word multimodal is used and your preferences could be any one of these:
VA

VR

VK

AR

AK

RK

VAR

VAK

VRK

ARK

VARK

To find out if you have a single preference (V, A, R or K) or if you have two or more
preferences (Multimodal) you will need to use your scores from the questionnaire.
Scoring Instructions
Instructions for manually calculating VARK preferences from your questionnaire results are
available here as a pdf file. You can view the file or print it.
Some Examples:

Name

Total number of
responses

Preference

Maria (13)

10 0

Strong Visual (V)

Adam (21)

Multimodal

Vila

(19)

Multimodal

Peter

(14)

Mild Read/Write (R/W)

Marias total number of responses (13) is in the row named less than 17and the
difference between her highest score (V=10) and her next highest (R=2) is 8. She has a
Very Strong Visual preference (V).
Adam is multimodal (VAK) with his strongest choice (V) being little different from
his others (A and K).

Vila is multimodal (V and R) and

Peter has a Mild preference for Read/Write.

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Visual Study Strategies

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You want the whole picture so you are probably holistic rather than reductionist in your
approach.. You are often swayed by the look of an object. You are interested in colour and
layout and design and you know where you are. You are probably going to draw something.

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Aural Study Strategies

If you have a strong preference for learning by Aural methods (A = hearing) you should use
some or all of the following:
INTAKE
To take in the information

attend lectures
attend tutorials

discuss topics with other students

discuss topics with your lecturers

explain new ideas to other people

use a tape recorder

remember the interesting examples, stories, jokes...

describe the overheads, pictures and other visuals to somebody who was not there

leave spaces in your lecture notes for later recall and 'filling'
SWOT - Study without tears
To make a learnable package:

Convert your lecture notes into a learnable package by reducing them (3:1)

Your lecture notes may be poor because you prefer to listen. You will need to expand
your notes by talking with others and collecting notes from the textbook.
Put your summarised notes onto tapes and listen to them.

Ask others to 'hear' your understanding of a topic.

Read your summarised notes aloud.

Explain your notes to another 'aural' person.

OUTPUT
To perform well in the examination:

Talk with the examiner

Listen to your voices and write them down.

Spend time in quiet places recalling the ideas.

Practice writing answers to old exam questions.

Speak your answers.

You prefer to have all of this page explained to you.
The written words are not as valuable as those you hear.
You will probably go and tell somebody about this.

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Read/Write Study Strategies

If you have a strong preference for learning by Reading and Writing (R & W) learning you
should use some or all of the following:
INTAKE
To take in the information

lists
headings

dictionaries

glossaries

definitions

handouts

textbooks

readings - library

lecture notes (verbatim)

lecturers who use words well and have lots of information in sentences and notes

essays

manuals (computing and laboratory)

SWOT - Study without tears
To make a learnable package:

Convert your lecture notes into a learnable package by reducing them (3:1).

Write out the words again and again.

Read your notes (silently) again and again.

Rewrite the ideas and principles into other words.

Organise any diagrams, graphs ... into statements, e.g. "The trend is..."

Turn reactions, actions, diagrams, charts and flows into words.

Imagine your lists arranged in multiple-choice questions and distinguish each from
each.
OUTPUT
To perform well in the examination:

Write exam answers.

Practice with multiple choice questions.

Write paragraphs, beginnings and endings.

Write your lists (a,b,c,d,1,2,3,4).

Arrange your words into hierarchies and points.

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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.
You are heading for the library.

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Kinaesthetic Study Strategies

(Try dragging the second purple ball to the next circle)

If you have a strong preference for Kinaesthetic (doing) learning you should use some or
all of the following:

all your senses - sight, touch, taste, smell, hearing ...

laboratories

field trips

field tours

examples of principles

lecturers who give real-life examples

applications

hands-on approaches (computing)

trial and error

collections of rock types, plants, shells, grasses...

exhibits, samples, photographs...

recipes - solutions to problems, previous exam papers

SWOT

Convert your lecture notes into a learnable package by reducing them (3:1).
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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 your lab manual.

Recall the experiments, field trip...

OUTPUT

Write practice answers, paragraphs...

Role play the exam situation in your own room.

You want to experience the exam so that you can understand it.
The ideas on this page are only valuable if they sound practical, real, and relevant to you.
You need to do things to understand.

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Multimodal Study Strategies

If you have multiple preferences you are in the majority as somewhere between fifty and
seventy percent of any population seems to fit into that group.
Multiple preferences are interesting and quite varied. For example you may have two strong
preferences V and A or R and K, or you may have three strong preferences such as VAR or
ARK. Some people have no particular strong preferences and their scores are almost even for
all four modes. For example one student had scores of V=9, A=9, R=9, and K=9. She said
that she adapted to the mode being used or requested. If the teacher or supervisor preferred a
written mode she switched into that mode for her responses and for her learning.
So multiple preferences give you choices of two or three or four modes to use for your
interaction with others. Some people have admitted that if they want to be annoying they stay
in a mode different from the person with whom they are working. For example they may ask
for written evidence in an argument, knowing that the other person much prefers to refer only
to oral information. Or they may ask for concrete examples knowing that the other person
has a low preference for kinaesthetic input and output. These are what some people do when
they feel negative. Positive reactions mean that those with multimodal preferences choose to
match or align their mode to the significant others around them.
If you have two dominant or equal preferences please read the study strategies that apply to
your two choices. If you have three preferences read the three lists that apply and similarly for
those with four. You will need to read two or three or four lists of strategies. One interesting
piece of information that people with multimodal preferences have told us is that it is
necessary for them to use more than one strategy for learning and communicating. They feel
insecure with only one. Alternatively those with a single preference often get it by using the
set of strategies that align with their single preference.

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