Humans are a diverse and interesting bunch. Just as our passions and interests vary, so do our learning methods. There are several commonly-accepted learning styles that help to provide some framework for those who are developing content and interestingly, online education can open up appeal and value for many of these learning styles.

Some students may favour a logical approach, others may gain more from a visual or audio source and others still may learn equally well with all styles. Let’s take a look at the variations now.

Visual or spatial students learn by seeing.

Visual aspects can help many students to solidify concepts and interpret context. Things like colour, photography and illustrations can help these types of learners to make sense of ideas.

Aural students learn effectively through sound and music.

Aural students will learn well from lectures and from musical mnemonics. Combine audio and visual and you have video – one of the key techniques we use to make our resources more engaging.

Verbal students like to talk or write about concepts.

These are the note-takers you would usually see in a lecture theatre. People who favour a verbal learning style gain benefit from writing out ideas in short answer assessments and reinforcing concepts via forum discussions.

Logical students learn using reasoning and systems.

Logical learners like having access to models and systems that help them make sense of a process or practice. Information should be set out clearly and with effective hierarchy of importance, and a well-defined course outline is a must.

Physical or kinaesthetic students use their sense of touch to learn.

Kinaesthetic students do well from shorter lessons and regular breaks, so content is best broken into smaller sections. As with verbal students, typing or writing out answers can be of benefit.

Social students gain value from interpersonal interactions.

Social-type learners love to work in groups and bounce ideas off one another. This is where the forum and messaging functionality within our LMS platform really proves its worth.

Solitary or intrapersonal students like to use self-study.

This style perfectly suits a self-paced online course, as students can progress through units in their own style and access one-on-one support from training staff as needed.

Remember, students aren’t generally limited to just one learning style but by appealing to all approaches a well-designed course will see strong engagement and completion rates.

To see all of the learning types in practice, jump into a demonstration of Learning Vault’s modern training content today.