VARK was developed by Neil Fleming and C Mills in 1992 after years of working as an inspector and lecturer in New Zealand. VARK is an acronym for Visual, Aural, Read/Write and Kinaesthetic. Fleming added the R to the pre-existing VAK systems because he believed that while learners may be visual some prefer the written word to the use of images and/or symbols. (FLEMING, Neil and Baume, David) The VARK system is considered advisory rather than predictive or diagnostic.
The VARK questionnaire provides participants with a profile of their learning style and is not a learning style in itself. A learning style would have 18 or more different dimensions to it which would include participant’s preferences for light, heat, working in groups or solo, food intake etc. Learning styles is a term used to refer to the methods of gathering, processing, interpreting, organizing, and thinking about information (MARCY, Vanessa, 2001)
VARK Modes are
Visual
Aural
Read/Writer
Fleming looks mainly at how learners receive information-rather than how the information is processed.
Visual – Visual Learners process information if it can be seen or visualised using images, graphs, flowcharts, mind maps and pictures. The Seers
Aural learners are best suited to lecture style situations where they can hear the information being presented. They can also benefit from tape and radio playback systems to receive their information. Aural learners also like to talk about their learning so that they can hear it back. The emergence of the podcast has hugely aided this group of learners. The Hearers
Read/Write learners are visual except that their preference is for the written word. Note taking is one of their strong points so that they can read over them again and again. Text based information is also a major source of information so the internet, PowerPoint and computers in general are a Mecca of knowledge awaiting these learners. The Readers
Kinaesthetic learners like to acquire their information through experience and practice. Learning happens best when demonstrations, videos of real things, and case studies. The Doers (RAMAYAH ET AL, 2011)
However many learners can be multimodal, which means that they can learn though more than one mode, for example a learner may be Aural and Read/Write.
In one case study carried out in Emory University entitled “Adult Learning Styles: How the VARK© Learning Style Inventory Can Be Used to Improve Student Learning” first year students were provided with the VARK questionnaire and there appeared to have had a positive effect on the first year students and merited further trials and evaluations. (MARCY, Vanessa, 2001)
4.6 Conclusion
This chapter provided an overview of some of the many different learning styles that are in use in education and business.
Myers- Briggs Type Indicator tests are very complex and without the proper training could be very easy to misinterpret the results. The other main criticism with the test is that the user has to select one of the choices for every question even if none seem appropriate. “The ipsative scores that derive from forced-choice measures tend to yield negative intercorrelations that are difficult to interpret” (GIRELLI, SA & Stake J, 1993)
The Dunn and Dunn Model while it covers many external stimuli and environments to facilitate the learning experience of the learner would not be an appropriate model for a classroom environment. The Dunn and Dunn model is extremely personalised to each individual’s preference for a learning environment. In a large group this model could become unattainable; some learners would prefer noise/music while other learners would demand silence, some a cold room while other a heated room, some early in the morning while other would prefer later in the day.
The 4Mat system as proposed by McCarthy is more aligned to the teaching of a subject rather than the learning of the subject, so for the experiment this would be ineffective.
Gregorc’s Mind Style Delineator has the traits of a complex and time consuming exercise and the outcomes would be complex to apply.
The Gordon-Bull metamodel recognises the need to ascertain the level of ICT of the learners before taking on some of this learning style surveys. That is why I have decided to look at the paradigm of the Digital Native and the Digital Immigrant as part of the experiment.
I have chosen to use the VARK model to ascertain the learning style of the learners involved in the experiment. The reasons are as follows
The VARK Model is easy to use and understand and there is no need for complex training.
VARK allows learners to omit questions not to be deemed appropriate or unable to answer
VARK allows for multiple answers to each question. Because sometimes one answer just doesn’t fit perfectly.
Learners can be deemed to be Multimodal in other words they may use two or more modes of learning equally
5
E-LEARNING TOOLS
The focus of this chapter will be to discuss the aspects of e-learning and how to utilize them with reference to teaching of ICT.