But that doesn\u2019t mean that educators have to go without the information. Creating a learning style quiz with Interact<\/a> is an effective way to gather this information in the current situation, plus an online quiz is significantly easier to administer and it identifies the results automatically.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In this blog post, I cover:<\/p>\n\n\n\n Let\u2019s get started!<\/p>\n\n\n\n The early roots of learning styles<\/a> can be traced back to the early 1900s and Dr. Maria Montessori. The Montessori education method contrasted greatly with traditional education as students were given freedom in what they learned and how they learned it. Learning styles didn\u2019t emerge as a part of educational theory until the 1950s, and then grew in popularity during the 1980s and 1990s. Training on identifying student learning styles and how to help students use those learning styles for academic success are commonplace in colleges and universities in the United States and beyond.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning styles<\/a> refer to the different methods in which people prefer to learn. Auditory or aural learners learn best through listening to information. Visual learners prefer to see information in charts, graphs, and images. Linguistic learners learn through words, and kinesthetic or tactile learners learn through touch or movement. Other learning styles include logical (mathematical), interpersonal (working in groups), or intrapersonal (working alone). <\/p>\n\n\n\n Over time, a multitude of different learning-style theories have developed. The VARK<\/a> modalities was developed by Neil Fleming in the early 1990s and suggests that students learn through visual, aural, read\/write, and kinesthetic means. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Other common learning style theories were developed by Honey and Mumford<\/a> and David Kolb<\/a> in the 1980s. Honey and Mumford\u2019s learning styles are activists, reflectors, pragmatists, and theorists, which share some of the characteristics of the VARK modalities, but are more high-level. Pragmatists and activists are both active learners, but pragmatists prefer to figure out how things work in real life. Reflectors have to spend time thinking about what they\u2019re learning, so they\u2019re similar to the intrapersonal learners mentioned earlier. Theorists are all about logic and theories, so mathematical\/logical learners fall into this category. The same is true for David Kolb\u2019s styles of assimilating, converging, diverging, and accommodating. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Most people use a mixture of learning styles to achieve academic success. Some students prefer only one style of learning, but successful students are usually competent in multiple learning styles and regularly use numerous types of study habits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The validity of learning styles<\/a> and learning style quizzes has fallen out of favor with researchers. Studies have shown that students don\u2019t necessarily perform better when they use their preferred learning style to prepare for assessments. Even so, plenty of educators rely on learning styles in their classrooms. As teachers and professors work to educate a variety of students, they need an understanding of multiple learning styles and preferences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n To truly understand why practicing learning styles grew in popularity, it\u2019s necessary to understand what education looked like in the past. Well into the 20th century, there was a one-size-fits-all approach<\/a> to educating children. Teachers used lectures and rote memorization to teach entire classrooms. With the turn of the century came the Progressive approach to education, which focused on the students as individuals and meeting the needs of those individuals. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning style theory fit well within the Progressive movement. Recognizing that students learn differently meant that educators had to move away from using only one method of teaching. They recognized the value of including activities that meet the needs of all of their students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This doesn\u2019t mean that teachers are expected to only teach each student in their preferred learning style. It means that teachers are encouraged to vary how they teach material and how they assess content. The Progressive movement in education and its focus on meeting the individual needs of students has changed how education works in the United States. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Learning styles are often assessed and identified through paper learning style inventories<\/a>. These questionnaires ask students or parents a range of questions about how the student learns best. Some inventories take the approach of statements that students (or parents) state as true or false for the student or ask the students to state whether they \u201cAlways,\u201d \u201cSometimes,\u201d or \u201cNever\u201d use the suggested learning strategies. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Creating an online learning styles quiz allows a similar experience for your students and parents, but it is completely virtual. Using a digital version also works for in-person learning. Many districts are choosing to utilize digital options inside the classroom because it reduces contact between students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Another benefit of using an online quiz to assess students\u2019 learning styles is that it encourages students to think about how they learn. An important part of education is helping students understand how they think, how they learn, and what they need to be successful. This focus on metacognition<\/a> empowers students to become independent learners who are able to succeed, no matter what content they might study in the future.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Customization is another benefit of a learning style quiz. If a student scores high in the kinesthetic learning style, teachers can customize study strategies that work best for kinesthetic learners. For auditory learners, quiz results could recommend that students record themselves reading notes aloud after class so they can relisten, or to choose a study spot away from other people to avoid distraction. For visual learners, quiz results could suggest types of graphics that work best for the relevant content., including tools like downloadable blank graphic organizers. Creating quality results pages that fit with the various learning styles is a way that you can meet the individual needs of your students inside and outside of the classroom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n One of the concerns with focusing on learning styles<\/a> is that a teacher who focuses solely on a student\u2019s preferred learning style does not provide them the opportunity to learn other, possibly more successful, learning strategies. A better approach allows students to learn multiple strategies, so they can use the most effective strategy for each situation they encounter. It\u2019s an excellent idea to share all of the results pages with your students or quiz-takers, because someone who gets the visual learning style as their result might benefit from one of the strategies provided to your interpersonal, or social, learners.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Most people use a variety of strategies that fit with a wide range of learning styles, and it\u2019s always a good idea to teach them a few more. The more \u201ctools\u201d (strategies) someone can implement, the more successful they can be. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Now that you\u2019ve reviewed what learning styles are, it\u2019s time to make the quiz! <\/p>\n\n\n\n When you\u2019re creating your quiz, consider who your quiz is for. Your audience<\/a> should influence the questions you ask, the wording you use, and the results you provide. A quiz for high school students will look substantially different than a quiz for parents of early elementary students. Creating an online quiz for college students looks nothing like a quiz for fifth graders. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Because there\u2019s such a wide range between these different audiences, I\u2019m going to walk through the process of creating a learning style quiz for adults and another for children. That way you\u2019ll be prepared for whatever type of quiz you choose to create.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Once you identify that your quiz audience is adults, you\u2019ll still need to narrow this down further. Are you writing for adult students or for the parents of your younger students? (By adult students, I mean 10th grade or older students. While 10th grade students aren\u2019t legally adults, their vocabulary and reading level are more similar to those of an adult than a young child.) Once you\u2019ve established an age group, you can start writing your quiz.<\/p>\n\n\n\n From your Interact dashboard, choose a template and then a template category. If you look in the Education templates<\/a>, you\u2019ll find templates for learning styles quizzes. Make it easy on yourself and start with one of those!<\/p>\n\n\n Choosing a quiz template that matches the purpose of your quiz has several benefits. You\u2019ll likely find included stock images that will fit with your quiz. You might also find questions and results to include in your quiz that you hadn\u2019t considered. You can often build your quiz within a few hours.<\/p>\n\n\n\n If you look in the image above, there are two learning style quiz templates that you can use. They\u2019re the two quizzes in the middle column. Both of these quizzes listed are personality quizzes<\/a>. Since personality quizzes sort quiz-takers into categories based on their answers, that\u2019s the best choice for a learning style quiz. <\/p>\n\n\n\nLearning styles\u2014a review<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
What learning styles are <\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why learning styles are important in education<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
Why you should make a learning style quiz<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
Creating a learning style quiz<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
How to write a learning style quiz for adults<\/h3>\n\n\n\n
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