According to the VARK questionnaire, my learning style is mild kinesthetic. In general, this style relies on practical information and real-world phenomena. Here, every theoretical idea should have a physical representation to show how and why everything works. For example, individuals with a kinesthetic preference would make a chair with their own hands rather than identify why people have invented this piece of furniture. Thus, a learning process is organized to find outcomes that can be measured and applied in practice. In this case, specific attention is drawn to skills and experience. It means that individuals with a mild kinesthetic learning style appreciate others’ experiences, but they consider their personal ones more valuable.
Learning Strategy Explained
It is not a surprise that the style above implies appropriate learning strategies. A strategy stands for a set of techniques and tools that a person uses to find new information. As for a kinesthetic approach, the identified learning strategy makes people use all their senses to acquire new knowledge, and specific emphasis is given to touch sensation (Ibrahim & Hussein, 2016). It is so because people need to feel what they learn.
As for any theoretical concepts, they are extracted from relevant case studies and credible articles because these sources present specific experience on a topic. In addition to that, a learning process becomes more successful when it focuses on real-world examples. Thus, the identified learning strategy above has demonstrated how it is possible to achieve the best learning outcomes.
At the same time, it is necessary to comment on my current preferred learning strategy. In general, I can say that it meets the requirements of the kinesthetic style. Firstly, when I need to understand how a theoretical concept works, finding a specific and real-world example is the best variant to cope with the task. Secondly, peer-reviewed articles and official reports are useful sources for me to become familiar with new concepts.
However, my current learning strategy has some features that are not integral to the kinesthetic framework. On the one hand, it refers to the fact that I like using lists, bullet points, and subheadings to understand the content of a message precisely. This fact is a characteristic feature of a read/write learning style. On the other hand, my current strategy implies a component of a visual style, which is represented by the use of graphs and diagrams.
Even though the information above stipulates that my current learning strategy is different from the identified one, this dissimilarity does not seem to be crucial. It relates to the fact that both the structural and graphic elements above bring some physicality to any theoretical idea. Consequently, my current preferred learning strategy is a combination of a kinesthetic approach and suitable features of other styles. Thus, this mixture makes it possible for me to achieve decent learning outcomes.
The Role of Individual Learning Styles
To begin with, one should explain what a learning style is. According to Bullinaria (2018), the term stands for an essential cognitive process that “is crucial for the success of many species” (p. 429). Furthermore, Saffari, Jahan, Mahmoudi, Pakpour, and Sanaeinasab (2016) stipulate that such a style is “one of the main components of proper educational planning” (p. 89). This information means that an adequately selected learning style can help people better understand some information and perform educational activities more willingly. Here, one should mention that a mistakenly chosen style does not mean that a learner will not achieve educational success.
Brannan, White, and Long (2016) argue that representatives of different learning styles do not have any significant difference in knowledge and professional confidence. However, the right learning style allows learners to spend less time and effort to understand new ideas. That is why educators should identify learners’ preferences and provide them with suitable materials to help them save their resources.
Learning Styles in Health Promotion
When it comes to a behavioral change, it is impossible to overestimate the significance of learning styles to achieve successful outcomes. When an educator knows what the most effective way for a learner to perceive information is, it is possible to influence the latter ones just like teachers effectively facilitate students (Bokhari & Zafar, 2019). Thus, addressing those senses that are dominant for an individual will contribute to a higher probability of a behavioral change. Even though learning styles are not the only phenomenon to result in the transition, they are useful because they allow patients to understand that it is necessary to modify their behavior.
In health promotion, all four learning styles can make a difference. For example, one can imagine that an educator needs to make a patient stop consuming much sugar. If the patient is a representative of a visual style, they can be affected by showing appropriate videos and posters. If an individual prefers an aural style, an educator should come to this patient and present the speech with reasonable arguments against excessive sugar consumption.
At the same time, a read/write style stipulates that it is reasonable to provide the patient with official documents containing many lists and subheadings that explain the harmful effects of the given behavior. Finally, according to kinesthetic preferences, it can be beneficial to provide the patient with a model of, for example, damaged teeth, which is caused by excessive sugar consumption.
Conclusion
Learning styles stand for an essential phenomenon because they show that different people perceive information through various senses. This information stipulates that there exist multiple learning strategies that help achieve the best educational outcomes. Thus, correctly chosen learning styles make it possible for individuals to achieve desired results. When it comes to health promotion, educators should use various methods, including visual, aural, read/writer, and kinesthetic, to contribute to behavioral changes.
References
Bokhari, N. M., & Zafar, M. (2019). Learning styles and approaches among medical education participants. Journal of Education and Health Promotion, 8. Web.
Brannan, J. D., White, A., & Long, J. (2016). Learning styles: Impact on knowledge and confidence in nursing students in simulation and classroom. International Journal of Nursing Education Scholarship, 13(1). Web.
Bullinaria, J. A. (2018). Evolution of learning strategies in changing environments. Cognitive Systems Research, 52, 429-449.
Ibrahim, R. H., & Hussein, D.-A. (2016). Assessment of visual, auditory, and kinesthetic learning style among undergraduate nursing students. International Journal of Advanced Nursing Studies, 5(1), 1-4.
Saffari, M., Jahan, J. R., Mahmoudi, N., Pakpour, A., & Sanaeinasab, H. (2016). Relationship of learning styles in students of health sciences with lifelong learning. Iranian Journal of Health Education and Health Promotion, 4(2), 89-100.