Instructions for Administering the Self Scored Inventory to a Class

The questionnaire alerts students and teachers to the variety of different approaches to learning. It also supports students who have difficulties with their studies and teachers who would like to develop additional learning strategies for their classrooms. It can be used with a group, class or one-to-one counseling. It requires some explanation to prevent users from leaping to inappropriate conclusions.

Administering the Questionnaire

1. When you are verbally instructing others to fill in the questionnaire advise them to make a selection (a, b, c or d) for each question. They may omit a question or choose two or three options if appropriate. Some may contest the meaning of words in the questionnaire and others may ask for additional contextual or situational information before they choose their answers. Avoid giving further information. It may prejudice responses to the questions.

2. You should indicate the use to which the data will be put and what is being done to protect confidentiality. Voluntary postings of the results (on an overhead or blackboard) can be helpful in analyzing preferences and letting participants gain an understanding of the diversity in their learning environment.

Analyzing the Results

1. Ask participants to determine the total number of responses they have selected on the questionnaire then find the horizontal row that applies to the number of responses they have selected.

Findings

It is not expected that any one preference will be dominant or that all participants will be multimodal.

Initial data suggests that the number of multimodal students in a class can range from approximately 50% to 90%, depending upon the context.

Approximately 50% of faculty seem to be multi-modal, although they usually show a preference for Read/write as one choice.

Correspondingly, there are some students and faculty that have a strong or very strong preference that stands out from all others.

The most consistent finding from questionnaire results is that our classrooms are very diverse. Faculty members cannot assume that all students learn in the same manner.

It is important to pay particular attention to zero scores on any mode and even more attention to them if the total number of responses is high. Zero scores are unusual and the respondent will often have an interesting story to tell.

Discussing the Results with a Group

The acronym VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read/write, and Kinesthetic sensory modalities that are used for learning information.

Fleming and Mills (1992) suggested four categories that seemed to reflect the experiences of their students. Although there is some overlap between categories, for purposes of our discussion, they are defined as follows in the table below. Although such an experience may invoke other modalities, the key is that the student is connected to reality, "either through experience, example, practice or simulation" [See Fleming & Mills, 1992, pp. 140-141]. The power of VARK is that students and faculty understand it intuitively and it seems to fit practice. For a detailed description of the initial construction and limitations of VARK, and for other works on learning styles, see the bibliography.

This preference includes the depiction of information in charts, graphs, flow charts, and all the symbolic arrows, circles, hierarchies and other devices that instructors use to represent what could have been presented in words.

This perceptual mode describes a preference for information that is "heard." Students with this modality report that they learn best from lectures, tutorials, tapes, and talking to other students.

This preference is for information displayed as words. Not surprisingly, many academics have a strong preference for this modality.

Stress that the results indicate preferences not strengths. This reduces the respondent's anxiety, sometimes expressed as "But I am good visually!" or "But I like reading!"

Make the point that any differences may lessen as individuals mature. Work experiences and life experiences will blur the boundaries as people learn to use aural, visual, Read/Write and kinesthetic modes equally well. Preferences may be masked by experiences.

Students should take advantage of their preferences and use the study and test-taking strategies listed in the accompanying materials. These can be used by students or the teacher to investigate the preferences shown and to explore the students' own views about whether they recognize the preference. For example, a student with a strong visual (V) preference could be asked: How important is color in your life? Do you consider yourself a visual person? Are there aspects of your life where your visual preference is obvious? Do you think you have a strong sense of space or shape?

Some multi-modal students may need to process information in more than one mode in order to get effective understanding. Students should be encouraged to try study strategies listed under their preferences that they may not have tried before. Experience tells us that many students become much more successful if they develop a range of study strategies based upon their preferences. It also indicates that it is not helpful to use strategies that lie outside their preferences (e.g. mind-maps may not help if they do not have some Visual preference; mnemonics may not help if they have low scores for Read/Write.)

A westernized education system places heavy emphasis upon the Read/Write mode in both instruction and in assessment. Most teachers express a Read/Write preference, which may constrain students with different modalities. Therefore, teachers should use a variety of modes in their presentations if they are to reach diverse students. 7. Finally, users may ask questions about output preferences rather than input preferences. Research indicates that those who have a strong preference for "taking in the world" in any particular mode (V, A, R, or K) will want to output in the same mode.

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