Joan Johnsen

Vark Self Analysis

My scores were:

• Visual          8
• Aural           5
• Read/Write 14
• Kinesthetic    8

     When I completed the VARK , I found it hard to choose just one answer. As I read through the choices I found myself saying "... I do that sometimes. " Then I would read the next choice and say the same thing. After doing this a few times, I limited myself to no more than two choices for each question.

     In many ways, I am not surprised by my results. The summary sheet describes me as having a "mild Read/Write learning preference."  I could agree with this statement, but I can also see how I use my other high score areas, Visual and Kinesthetic, in combination with my Read/Write tendencies.

     When I think bout how I learned best in high school, I remember those classes that I struggled with, sciences and social studies. To me these were classes where I had to remember a lot of information that I may just hear once or twice. In these classes I found that I would remember the most if I listened in class without taking notes. (That's the Aural component), but then for homework, I would write notes. I see that as the combination of the Read/Write and the Kinesthetic, because the physical act of writing was helpful to my remembering. Then when I studied, I would re-write those notes, sometimes into some kind of symbolic representation using circles and arrows. When I took exams, I would actually remember things by visualizing the page that I had written.

     In terms of my current application of this learning style, it still sort of works. I tend to write notes as I talk to students on the phone or attend meetings. Sometimes I rewrite these notes as a summary which helps to organize what I learned. From the results that i got from the VARK and after analysis of my past learning techniques, I think that I could be more effective if I used my Read/Write tendencies even more. I would like to try to use To Do lists at work more (now I do this only when I feel overwhelmed). I think that writing a list and then reading what I need to do, could keep me on track.