How to Study Based On Your Learning Style

Learning styles estimate the subconscious mental processes that each unique person uses to learn and memorise information. These preferences are determined as a result of several factors such as your genetic inheritance from your biological parents, the learning habits that you formed while exploring the world yourself through play and what you were nurtured to do during your youngest years. 

Most people are a mixture of all learning styles but often are extremely dominant in at least one compared to the others. Your brain is always learning, and if you are reading this; you’re probably aware of some of your preferences already!

The learning styles (or VARK) model has been around for a while and has helped countless students find what works for them in terms of their revision. Each style commands a variation in teaching to give the best possible chance of a student fully understanding the information and being able to recall it later, especially under stressful situations such as exams. 

First introduced to the world in 1992 by Neil Fleming, the four main types of learning styles were labelled as the VARK model - each letter representing one of the main four styles; Visual, Auditory, Reading - Writing and Kinesthetic. 

Deciding which category best suits you can be beneficial, but I would encourage you to use the model as a way to branch out and experiment with different approaches to your learning rather than pigeonholing yourself into one category. Often, we are receptive to all types of learning in different ways. You might be surprised by what helps more with one subject compared to another! 

Below is a quiz to help you find out what kind of learner is most dominant in you, and then there are some suggestions to help you begin experimenting.

Which Learning Style are you?

Take the Quiz!

Visual Learners 

The visual learning style is sometimes referred to as “spatial” learning. Students who are dominant in this learning style absorb information best by seeing and observing. This includes media such as images, drawn directions and diagrams. They are much more attuned to visualising how something works in their head in these forms rather than words for example - it just makes more sense that way and this improves memory retention. 

Visual learners tend to be intuitive with positive space, negative space and patterns and make very good designers. Densely packed information such as novels are not their strong suit. They don’t respond well to low-contrast photos, movies, videos or poorly designed powerpoint presentations. 

Study Tips for Visual Learners

1. Try Turning Your Notes Into Images. 

Need to memorise some quotations for an English assessment on Macbeth? Sketching a sinister snake beneath a beautiful rose might linger in your head better than staring at ‘look like the innocent flower, / But be the serpent under't’ in plain black and white. 

Concentrating on drawing the image and taking the time to make it look beautiful will allow the information to sink in as you work. 

This works for general concepts too. For your geography revision, what might you draw to illustrate the larger carbon footprint of imported foods versus the lower impact of locally sourced foods?

2. Use Colour! 

If you’re revising different topics for a subject, keep your notes colour-coordinated. For example, for maths, all of your algebra notes might be in green, all of your geometry notes in purple, and your ratio and proportion notes in orange for example.

The strong association with colour can organise your thoughts and help you easily access the information you need during an exam. Simply seeing the word ‘ratio’ will begin to light your brain orange!

Auditory Learners

The auditory - or “aural” - learning style excels when the topic of study is supported by noise. This can be anything from music, to sound effects, a poem or a song. They retain information much better by listening to lectures or podcasts compared to scanning notes or reading books. To stimulate this strength, reading aloud or explaining a topic to someone is a popular method of reinforcing their memory.

Auditory learners are often the kind of people to read slowly, as they almost have to hear their own voice speaking the words in their head and so might often tell you to repeat what you tell them. They will struggle with a densely packed textbook but love the sound of their own voice and studying with music that fits the mood. 

Study Tips for Auditory Learners

1. Record Yourself. 

There are so many ways to do this to great effect. You could record yourself reading your notes to simply listen back to later, record yourself with the intention of debating everything you say when you listen back, pretend to teach someone else or record a podcast.

I know…lots of people cringe at the idea of listening to themselves speak, but it’s a double whammy of revision: you have to go through your notes to record them, then go through them again as you listen. Speak like an expert and you will become one!

2. Curate Playlists for Different Topics. 

Whether you match the feeling of the topic with a particular genre (sad, moody, imagery-filled Phoebe Bridgers for studying poetry? Yes, please!) or stick to a theme (‘Maroon’, ‘Golden’, ‘Blue’ while studying colour theory? Cute), pairing your music to a topic works in a similar way to the colour-coding outlined above. 

Alternatively, you might experiment with using music to relax your mind into absorbing as much information as possible with instrumental music (Olafur Arnalds is like a warm bath for your brain), a great movie score, or brown, pink or white noise.

Reading & Writing Learners

Alternatively called the “linguistic” learning style, students who are dominant in this area prefer written communication. They perform best by re-reading and writing notes as well as books or articles. They may rely heavily on research done by consulting a dictionary or internet searches to best commit the information to memory. 

This sort of learner struggles with listening to lectures, watching videos and drawing out a plan or design. They are not likely to make great conversation on a topic or explain it out loud but will describe it in great detail given the chance to write it down. 

Study Tips for Read-Write Learners

1. Get Organised! 

Students who are read/write learners tend to write a lot of notes. A LOT. This can be more of a hindrance than a help if you write so much that you become overwhelmed, write more than you need to remember, or your notes are so chaotic that you can’t organise your thoughts.

 Knowledge organisers, Cornell notes and well-organised mind maps with lots of topic headings are all ways of achieving this. Making your notes neat and look appealing with colour and images always helps too.

2. Try Minimising! 

Try reducing your notes on a topic to one A3 page, then to A4, then A5, then a post-it. This will allow you to really narrow focus on the key parts of a topic and absorb that information as you repeatedly read through it to dig out the most essential elements. 

Don’t worry, the parts you deem less important don’t just fall out of your brain! They’re still in there and you’re likely to remember them once prompted by the keywords or ideas you have written down on your post-its.

Kinesthetic Learners

Kinesthetic learners are also referred to as “tactile” learners as they mainly learn about the world in physical terms using their hands. They enjoy the “learning by doing” philosophy and as a result can often memorise a task or movement just by attempting it themselves a few times. 

As a result, kinesthetic learners often fidget or can’t remain seated while trying to concentrate on a topic. It usually helps them to take frequent breaks during study periods so remain focussed. They usually excel at sports and physical skills but the more abstract concepts that can’t be acted out easily (like the flow of electricity) do not come naturally. 

Study Tips for Kinesthetic Learners

1. Play Pretend! 

Similarly to auditory learners, kinaesthetic learners might benefit from speaking aloud, or more specifically, acting out their notes. You might lead your own private (or not!) lecture on Aristotelian virtue ethics to revise for philosophy or explain protein synthesis to an imaginary group of younger students for biology, but whatever you do, make sure you emphasise the acting! 

Move around the room, use your hands to gesticulate or act out an abstract process using props as you refer to your notes. Be yourself or imitate your favourite teacher! It might seem embarrassing to act like an expert when you don’t feel like one, but no one has to see you and you’re helping yourself learn, so who cares if it’s embarrassing?

2. Get Moving! 

Listen to a history podcast while out for a walk or a run, repeat key phrases in French while bouncing a ball for each syllable, match a particular movement to different forces for physics revision, and whatever you do, just do it while moving! 

Kinaesthetic learners also often find it helpful to keep revision sessions short with frequent breaks (move to a different room or have a stretch) to allow them to stay focused.

Other types of Learning Styles

Since 1992, there has been a lot of study into the way we learn things, especially as we develop an understanding of (and dependence on) technology through the digital age. New types of learning have been observed and are becoming more prevalent.

Logical Learners

The logical or “mathematical” learner uses certain rules and strategies to encompass a more scientific understanding of topics. It is of no surprise then that this type of learner does best when dealing with numbers and logical reasoning. 

They are well adept at recognising patterns and the links between different concepts making sciences, maths and technology their strengths. To understand something they often collect a lot of information and sort it into categories, then find a pattern and use it to solve new problems - much like a mental experiment!

Study Tips for Logical Learners

Logical learners require something to follow a form of reasoning. You will see everything as a problem that has to be solved to if it is a creative task that doesn’t have a right or wrong answer - create your own rules perhaps relating to the structure or word count of a paragraph and that should help you see it as a puzzle. 

If you want to remember how something scientific works, it often takes a starting phrase, word, or drawing that will kickstart the logic that carries you through explaining the whole process step-by-step from memory.

Social Learners

The social learner is also known as an “interpersonal” learner. This sort of person often requires a group of similar students to discuss ideas and feel confident in understanding them. They may be more curious by nature, interested in people's points of view and opinions on a topic and builds their own understanding as a result of brainstorming together. 

Social learners make great listeners who are very empathetic and patient towards other people's opinions and theories. They would make great therapists, politicians or social enterprise leaders!

Study Tips for Social Learners

To absorb information for something like school revision, it is best practice to include a few others in the process. This could be creating a test or organising a debate with friends or family. Forcing yourself to explain something in front of others or trying to teach it to them is a very effective way to test your understanding. 

Social learners would benefit from group revision sessions online or in person with their student peers, or by joining a group class on Sherpa!

Solitary Learners

Solitary—or “intrapersonal”—learners prefer to use self-study and work alone in a quiet place when learning. They learn best when they can focus without the distraction of others.

Lastly, solitary (also known as “intra-personal”) learners are rather predictably the opposite of social learners. Self-study works best for these students and usually, they prefer a quiet environment with very little interruption from other people. 

Solitary learners may have a very particular way of learning that they are precious or self-conscious about, so they are not well suited to discussing their reasoning with others. This sort of learner can be quite expressive and usually takes to the creative arts very well.

Study Tips for Solitary Learners

This type of learner may benefit from assignments that focus on individual learning and problem-solving. You can ask them to keep personal journals. They aren’t likely to be boastful so it may be up to you as the teacher to acknowledge their individual accomplishments.

These learners benefit from an assignment style of assessment, something that offers their opinion or requires the development of interest in a topic. They are very internally focused, so it can be difficult to teach something that they have no interest in. They are rarely boastful, so it always helps to get acknowledgement of their accomplishments to maintain confidence.

Try keeping a personal journal reflecting on what you are studying and why you think you are struggling with certain things. Framing the task like a challenge in personal development can drive solitary learners to find something in a topic that relates to them personally.

Remember to experiment with as many different strategies as possible and avoid revision becoming even more of a chore by enjoying some variety. Happy studying!