In 1987, Neil Fleming developed the acronym,

VARK:

Visual

Auditory 

Reading 

Kinesthetic 

(WGU, 2023)

From our textbook:

Learning “styles” are basically just preferences. Students may indicate that they prefer to learn through listening, whereas others may indicate that they prefer to learn visually. Nevertheless, these preferences are just that—preferences. It is not the case that students with one preferred style cannot learn just as well when information is presented in other ways. (Ormrod, 2020, p. 158)

While it is important for educators to impliment some teaching around learning styles, we don't want to get caught up in soley using this method. Here are some healthy alternatives that drive educators closer to a well-balanced classroom!

HEALTHY ALTERNATIVES:

"Stimulation seeking: 

Eagerly interacting with one’s physical and social environment in order to gain new experiences and information.

Need for cognition: 

Regularly seeking and engaging in challenging cognitive tasks.

Critical thinking: 

Consistently evaluating information or arguments in terms of their accuracy, credibility, and worth, rather than accepting them at face value.

Open-mindedness: 

Flexibly considering alternative perspectives and multiple sources of evidence, and suspending judgment for a time rather than leaping to immediate conclusions."  (Ormrod, 2020, p. 158)