Use the Four Learning Styles To Teach More People Effectively or ‘How to Rock Your VARK’

Three Minute Train the Trainer #4

This article is a short Train the Trainer tip for those new to training others.

I’ve spent the last four decades working in the Training/Learning & Development field as a practitioner and manager. I’m keen to share what I know to help newbie trainers.

People learn in different ways. None of them are good or bad. None of them are better than the others. Just different.

As a trainer, you will have to learn to adapt your teaching style to the trainee’s learning style.

The four learning styles are known as VARK. Visual, Auditory, Read/Write, Kinesthetic/Kinetic.

People can have any mix of the four learning styles.

You may find one trainee learns things visually and by listening rather than doing or reading and writing. Another trainee may learn using all four styles. Yet another may learn primarily by the read/write style.

It is up to you as the trainer to find out the learning styles of your trainees.

The Learning Styles

Visual

People visual learners learn by looking at charts, graphs, and diagrams. For example, a visual learner would learn a process quicker if they had a diagram of a process rather than bullet points. The photo at the top of the article is an example of this.

Showing photographs, videos, or slides (unless they are charts, graphs, and diagrams) does not count as visual learning.

Auditory

Auditory learners like to hear information. For example listening to lectures, participating in discussions, reading aloud to themselves, or listening to podcasts or books.

Telling your auditory learner how to do a task by verbally running through it in detail will help them far better than written instructions or a diagram.

Read/Write

Read/Write learners love to write information down or read it. I am a read/write learner, and I always take notes.

I prefer to read information rather than watch a video or listen to someone explain how to do something. Read-write learners like lists, notes, and bullet points.

Kinesthetic/Kinetic

While kinesthetic is the correct term, many trainees prefer to say ‘kinetic’. As long as they understand what it means, that’s fine by me.

Kinesthetic learners learn by doing and need to do the task to understand it fully.

If your learner doesn’t pick up the task until they physically do it, they are a kinesthetic learner. Notes and diagrams may support their learning but it is doing the task that cements their learning.

Using VARK in your training

If you are training one person, make sure you ask them how they like to learn. Many trainees will not know about learning styles so ask them questions like:

• Do you need to take notes to learn?
• Would you like me to talk through the process first or jump straight in and show you?
• Would a diagram of the process help you pick it up faster?
• Would a handout be helpful to you?

Creating training materials to suit different learning styles does mean that you have to have a variety of training aids and handouts for your trainee. If you don’t have them, get your trainee to design something as part of their learning.

For example, ask them to turn what they are learning into a diagram. Check and correct the diagram to make sure it is correct.

The same goes for when you are training a group of people, except in this case you have to make sure you meet the learning needs of the whole group rather than just one person.

Remember, you are the trainer, and it is your job to adapt to the training style of the trainee/trainees.

I hope you found this helpful. Please let me know your most significant challenges as a trainer in the comments.

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