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Learning Styles for Online Students
Online Learning Styles
Before determining whether an online class will be as productive for a student as classroom instruction, it is important to ascertain the type of learning best suited to the individual student: auditory, visual, or kinesthetic.
Auditory Learning
Approximately 30% of all individuals are auditory learners, meaning that they learn best by hearing the material read aloud. Auditory learners have the ability to focus intently on the words spoken, including their intent and context. Because of this, auditory learners tend to be easily distracted by extraneous noise that shifts attention away from the focal point. Written words have little meaning to auditory learners, and many find it hard to fully understand or retain the same information until heard spoken. Often, these learners are articulate speakers, due in part to their recognition of auditory tones, vocal inflections, dramatic pauses, and keyword placement within sentences.
Auditory learners are particularly adept at classroom learning, due in part to their ability to follow and engage in lectures and oral instructions and to engage in classroom discussions. These are also the classroom students most likely to record a speech or lecture for review at a later time. While auditory learners are by no means precluded from potential online educational success, it is important that online coursework be designed to include audio components, in order to meet the needs of this segment of students.
Visual Learning
In stark contrast, visual learners need to see or read material to better grasp its meaning and remember its content. During lectures, visual learners tend to pay greater attention to physical surroundings, body posture, facial expressions, and hand gestures. While auditory learners might record a classroom lecture, visual learners are more likely to take detailed and extensive notes. Visual learners are also quite sensitive to aesthetics and appearance, but usually prefer to compose written presentations rather than giving oral presentations. These students learn best while reading, watching instructional videos, presentations, or viewing classroom demonstrations.
Visual learners also have trouble following verbal directions, and are typically the students that highlight textbooks or sheets of notes. In an online class, visual learners glean the most understanding of content through interactive games, instructional animations and videos, and graphs, charts, and diagrams. Online classes are generally designed to include these medium, and generous colors and pictures, specifically for visual learners.
Kinesthetic Learning
Approximately 30% of learners are also tactile, or kinesthetic learners. Students with this learning style are often referred to as "hands-on learners," because of their tendency to concentrate, learn, and retain more successfully when movement is involvement. Kinesthetic learners remember what was done, rather than what was heard or seen. They do not pay close attention to speeches or lectures, and have a hard time studying through reading. Rather, kinesthetic learners like to imitate, act out scenarios, and to touch objects to get a sense of what they are. Many kinesthetic learners are also athletes, dancers, sculptors, painters, or regularly participate in other physical activity and recreation. A well-designed online class will address the needs of kinesthetic learners by including interactive games, drag-and-drop quizzes, or even discussion board assignments.
Additional Resources
The following resources provide in-depth explanations of the various learning styles, tips and techniques for academic success, and questionnaires to help determine your own learning style:
Burbine, Matt. "Auditory Learning Style." Tutoring and Academic Success Centers. Three Rivers Community College 2010.
Hutton, Shannon. "Helping Visual Learners Succeed." Education.com, Inc. 2010.
James, Brad. "Three Different Learning Styles." 2009.
Soloman, Barbara and Richard M. Felder. "Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire." Index of Learning Styles. College of Engineering, North Carolina State University 2010.
