VAK learning styles

Suffolk Country Council and North Somerset Education Department mentioned that boys are kinaesthetic learners compared to girls. Is that true? Let's think about it.                                                                          
Noble and Bradford encourage teachers to focus more on teaching and learning styles which emphasize on variety, social engagement and the potential to change the learning. whereas Ofsted focus on certain criteria that a teacher must focus on such as:

• lessons that have clear aims which is a short term target
• variety of activies including hands on activities and ICT
• teacher makes the students to work independently by setting a high expectation for them
• questioning
• humour
• feedback that could improve teaching 

 There is a project carried out by Smith which is named as'Raising boys achivement project' . This survey was conducted to identify the student's learning styles based on Smith's context of accelerated learning in primary school (ALPS). what is ALPS and what is the purpose of this? Accelerated learning in primary school (ALPS) is a brain based reaserch which is aimed to encourage student's motivation and their achivement by identifying their learning styles. Smith mentioned that accelerated learning framework is about the modification in school that allow students to think and learn using the three teachniques which is visual, auditory and kinaesthetic (VAK) such as mind-mapping, musical stimulation and hands on activities. Smith's work is mostly about practical and modelling but definately it is not about research work because it is believed that brain based learning is a powerful tool that engage both students and teachers in learning. (Smith,2001b,p 173 &DfES, 2004). So as we can see now there is such a big difference between research and practice. Basically accelerated framework was to identify the effectivess of learning styles in schools. It also be able to allow students to identify their own VAK learning styles which will help them in their achivements and also education.


Althought this ALPS term is more towards primary school, This project was conducted with two groups of secondary schools and one group of primary school using VAK test from ALPs by Smith and Call. The purpose of this survey was to enable to identify their own learning styles which works for them well, therefore they also  could be able to reflect on their learning by extending their learning style in a partcular subject of filed to become an effective learners. The schools identify their learning styles through questionaires by incorparating a learning style approach in a particular subject areas with particular teaching group using VAK teachniques. Lessons in particular subjects will be incooparated with VAK activities to identify and dicuss the children's preferred learning styles during lessons or time to time.

In oder to answer the question which i posted very begining of this journal review. Let's take a look at the findings from preferred learning styles. The findings shows that there is no connection between gender and preferred learning styles because the percentage of boys and girls whom preferred kinaesthetic learning were very similar. Moreover, boys and girls prefere doing skills rather than sitting and listening to the teachers through out the whole lessons. When they were assessed by learning styles in terms of the hardest and the easiest, the results were quite suprising. Because nomally visual learners would find looking is the easiest skill and for autitory learners listening would be the easiest skills. But both visual and auditory learners prefference were equally divided with all the three skills. In addition, kinaesthetic learners did not choose doing as the hardest skills and they choosed it as the easiet skills. Therefore, from the test it is very obvious that students find listening is the hardest skill and doing as the easiest skill. The reason for students saying such because some of them could not hear what the teacher is talking during the lessons, some of them find it very boring to sit still at a place and so on. Whereas the reasons behind why they chosed doing as the easiest skills because some of them find it that doing things is easier, some of them said that it was interesting and so on. Students preferred to have active learning environment which engage them with physical experience because they learn better through experince and modelling  (Smith 2001b, p 173).
 The subjects that the students preferred to have kinaesthetic learning is core subjects such as mathemastics, english and science and also active subjects such as PE and so on. The results of likes shown during the year were increased in subjects such as English, PE, ICT, expressive arts, maths and practical science after incoporating the learning style approachs. At some point, the likes for girls in core subjects increased whereas for boys it decreased. Boys quite preferred active subjects because its more student centred and it also gives them freedom to make their own choices.

The reasons for students dislike the lessons is because of poor class control, no varations in teaching, too much writing and lack of critical teaching methods. Students complaint that they dislike listening as the resultd mentioned earlier in the test of preferred learning styles. Students also felt that copy pages of notes frm textbooks or from the whiteboard does not benefit them at all, it is just waste of time. They would like to do things in different varities such as numeracy games, scrabble, group discussion, experiment, ICT and so on which will allow them to understand the lesson even better. Moreover, it also will make the classroom environment more lively and active.

My personal opinions about this VAK learning styles incoporating with Smith and call Brain based acceleated learning will be very useful in any classroom. As we can see from the findings above, students prefere active learning environment where they can voice out their opinions, do more hands on activities, group discussion and so on. So here comes the teachers responsibilities where they need to have varied teaching methods that engage all the students in the classroom. They also could incoporate VAK learning approaches into their lessons to make it more active rather than just focusing on one type of learning style. In malaysian contexts classroom, the methods that is being used is more to auditory and visual learning styles. This is because teachers are just concerned about finishing the syllabus. This will reall bored out the students, they will lose their concentration. For each particular subjects, teachers can try to come up with active lesson by incorporating VAK techniques. As a future teacher, I would plan my lesson more interestingly by having all three VAK learning styles and Smith & Call 's APLS. I would like my students to have more interaction with teachers and their peers while doing any lesson. I also want my students to voice out their opinions, have more hands on activities, having games that is relevant to the topic and so on. By doing all this, my student would not feel that the teachers is talking all the time and they have to listen and also have no chance to voice their opinions. by incorporating VAK and ALPS learning styles will my lesson as active learning classroom and student centered learning.