NRS 429 V Week 1 Assignment VARK Analysis Paper

Learning styles represent the different approaches to learning based on preferences, weaknesses, and strengths. For learners to best achieve the desired educational outcome, learning styles must be considered when creating a plan. Complete “The VARK Questionnaire,” located on the VARK website, and then complete the following:

1. Click “OK” to receive your questionnaire scores.
2. Once you have determined your preferred learning style, review the corresponding link to view your learning preference.
3. Review the other learning styles: visual, aural, read/write, kinesthetic, and multimodal (listed on the VARK Questionnaire Results page).
4. Compare your current preferred learning strategies to the identified strategies for your preferred learning style.
5. Examine how awareness of learning styles has influenced your perceptions of teaching and learning.

In a paper (750-1,000 words), summarize your analysis of this exercise and discuss the overall value of learning styles. Include the following:

1. Provide a summary of your learning style according the VARK questionnaire.
2. Describe your preferred learning strategies. Compare your current preferred learning strategies to the identified strategies for your preferred learning style.
3. Describe how individual learning styles affect the degree to which a learner can understand or perform educational activities. Discuss the importance of an educator identifying individual learning styles and preferences when working with learners.
4. Discuss why understanding the learning styles of individuals participating in health promotion is important to achieving the desired outcome. How do learning styles ultimately affect the possibility for a behavioral change? How would different learning styles be accommodated in health promotion?

Cite to at least three peer-reviewed or scholarly sources to complete this assignment. Sources should be published within the last 5 years and appropriate for the assignment criteria.

Prepare this assignment according to the guidelines found in the APA Style Guide, located in the Student Success Center.

This assignment uses a rubric. Please review the rubric prior to beginning the assignment to become familiar with the expectations for successful completion.

You are required to submit this assignment to LopesWrite. A link to the LopesWrite technical support articles is located in Course Resources if you need assistance.

Sample Answer 2 for NRS 429 V Week 1 Assignment VARK Analysis Paper

A learning style refers to how different learners acquire, process, understand, and retain new information. It denotes the habitual cognitive and affective behaviors which influence how each learner interacts in learning environments or situations (Mangold et al., 2018). There are four primary learning styles: visual, auditory, tactile, and kinesthetic. Regarding learning styles, this paper will discuss the author’s learning style and preferred learning strategies and discuss how personal learning styles impact the level to which a learner can comprehend or carry out educational activities.

Personal Learning Style

The VARK questionnaire helps one identify their learning style by proposing the learning strategies one should employ to increase their capacity to understand and carry out the learning activities. According to the VARK questionnaire, I am a Very Strong Kinesthetic. The results were Visual-2, Aural-2, Read/Write- 2, and Kinesthetic-12. In the Kinesthetic learning style, the learner understands more effectively when experiences and real things are provided, even if presented as images or through screens (VARK, 2019).  Individuals who fall under the Kinesthetic learning style prefer to learn through experiences and real things. From the VARK assessment, I realized that I prefer encountering experiences since they foster comprehension of concepts. Besides, I identify ideas as valuable if they appear real, practical, and relevant to my life experiences.

Preferred Learning Strategies

A learning strategy refers to a person’s approach of organizing and applying a specific set of skills to understand the content or achieve other tasks more effectively and efficiently in academic and non-academic environments. I prefer to learn how to solve a problem by being presented with a real case scenario and applying it to learn the concepts of addressing similar issues. Besides, I prefer learning through practical experiences because I can understand concepts better and retain them in the long term compared to when I read a book or listen to a lecture. I also grasp new information more effectively from practical learning sessions such as field practicum and projects. Furthermore, I prefer tutors and instructors who teach using demonstrations and provide real-life scenarios and guide the learner to apply the learned concept in solving an existing issue.

My preferred learning strategies compare to most strategies under the Kinesthetic learning style. For instance, the preferred strategies in the Kinesthetic learning style include using real things and experiences when presented through images and screens. Other preferred strategies include documentaries and autobiographies, applying theories before theoretical learning, demonstrations, and applying learned concepts (VARK, 2019). Furthermore, people with the kinesthetic preference would rather discuss real things in their lives, have their own experiences, carry out activities with others, and achieve things using actions(VARK, 2019). Like my preferences,  kinesthetic individuals prefer solving practical problems and applying problem-solving approaches and desire to achieve measurable outcomes.

Effect on Educational Performance and Importance of Identifying Learning Styles for Learners as an Educator

A person’s learning style influences how they comprehend or carry out educational activities. A learner grasps the concepts more effectively when the teaching method is consistent with their learning style (Childs-Kean et al., 2020). Consequently, when the teaching method aligns with the learner’s learning style, they understand and perform educational activities more effectively than when forced to adjust to other learning styles. An educator should strive to understand the preferred learning styles of individual learners in order to modify the teaching style to suit each learner’s style. By identifying individual learning styles, the educator can plan the teaching session to incorporate teaching methods that match the learners’ learning styles (Childs-Kean et al., 2020). For instance, in a setting with learners having all the learning styles, the educator can include: chart and diagrams for visuals, a lecture and audio recordings for the aural, reading handouts and books for read/write, and case studies and demonstrations for the kinesthetic. By doing so, the educator will help each learner gain the most from the learning session.

Learning Styles and Health Promotion

Health providers conducting health promotion need to be familiar with the learning styles of the individuals receiving the health education. Understanding a patient’s learning style helps enhance their learning, understanding, and retention of the health messages.  Retention of health promotion messages increases the likelihood of individuals implementing them to adopt healthy lifestyle choices (Bokhari & Zafar, 2019). Individuals tend to have a greater interest in health promotion activities if the provider’s teaching method is consistent with their learning styles. Learning styles influence the likelihood of behavioral change if the individual effectively understands and retains the health messages and applies them in making healthier choices (Bokhari & Zafar, 2019). For instance, if a diabetic patient with a visual preference is educated on diet and exercise planning using charts and diagrams, they are likely to retain the information and apply the concepts to change their lifestyle practices.

Different learning styles can be incorporated in health promotion using various teaching methods aiming at aura, visual, read/write, and hands-on. For instance, the provider can give a health talk to target aural learners and use posters and charts containing health messages for visual learners (Mangold et al., 2018). In addition, handouts and pamphlets can be provided to target read/write learners, and demonstrations can be used for kinesthetic learners.

Conclusion

Learning styles are a major element of the comprehensive approach that should be considered when planning and facilitating a learning program. My preferred learning style is Kinesthetic since I grasp and retain concepts better when I learn them from practical activities, real-life experiences, and scenarios. Individuals comprehend differently based on whether they learn best when they visualize, hear, read, or engage in practical activities. Therefore, the educator should consider the learner’s style to make the best out of the learning session.

 References

Bokhari, N. M., & Zafar, M. (2019). Learning styles and approaches among medical education participants. Journal of education and health promotion, 8, 181. https://doi.org/10.4103/jehp.jehp_95_19

Childs-Kean, L., Edwards, M., & Smith, M. D. (2020). A Systematic Review of Learning Style Framework Use in Health Sciences Education. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. https://doi.org/10.5688/ajpe7885

Mangold, K., Kunze, K. L., Quinonez, M. M., Taylor, L. M., & Tenison, A. J. (2018). Learning Style Preferences of Practicing Nurses. Journal for nurses in professional development, 34(4), 212–218. https://doi.org/10.1097/NND.0000000000000462

VARK Learn Limited. (2019). The VARK questionnaire. Retrieved from http://vark-learn.com/the-vark-questionnaire/

Sample Answer 3 for NRS 429 V Week 1 Assignment VARK Analysis Paper

From birth, human beings continue learning and their learning styles differ based on individual circumstances and their environment. Therefore, it is essential for each person to identify their learning styles. The Visual, aural, read/write and kinesthetic (VARK) is an analytical tool that allows one to understand their learning style better and prepare them throughout their educational process. The tool consists of sixteen questions with assessment score (VARK, 2020). Based on the results that one obtains, the tool demonstrated where one falls in the five categories. The understanding of one’s learning styles enhances their capacity to teach other in various settings (Amaniyan et al., 2020). In this paper, I discuss my score of the VARK tool and compare them to known learning styles. The paper also discusses how learning styles affect the level of a learner to understand and perform educational activities. The paper also explores the importance of learning styles of individuals to participate in health promotion.

Summary of Learning Style

Based on the VARK questionnaire, my learning style is multimodal in nature, which style has strong emphasis on aural and visual preferences. As a nurse in school, I like converting my notes into learnable packages through reducing the nots through summaries. While in class, I may prefer taking few notes but I prefer listening than taking notes. I like reading my summarized work aloud and enjoy discussing my work and different topics or subjects with peers to get a better understanding. I like attending tutorials and discussion to get better understanding of issues, and discuss new topics with others. I also tend to recall facts clearly what I hear and what is said (VARK, 2020). In practice setting, I have a tendency to ask questions, especially those involved like leaders, facilitators and authorities.

By having a liking for visual learning style to supplement my aural learning, I enjoy making summaries of what I have learned through images and charts for a better understanding. I also take moments to try various spatial arrangement from what I have learned to get a better understanding. I also acquire knowledge through association with reality. I also create my symbols to attain a better understanding and have enhanced memory. Specifically, I use aural modality through engaging in discussions with colleagues during discussions as talking about a topic enhances my understanding

Comparison with Preferred Learning Style

My preferred learning strategy is a dual coding learning style which entails the use of both words and visuals. In most cases, printed information is accompanied by charts, images, and graphs or graphic organizers. By using the dual coding learning style, I can pay attention to the visuals and consistently associate them to texts and seek an explanation of what they men in their words. Through this, I create ideas and visuals of whatever that I am learning. Again, my preferred learning style reinforces my ability to retain the information, which I have learned in the brain in different ways. The visual learning style incorporates the utilization of sight as the main learning model (Horri et al., 2019). Therefore, I could, for example, prefer taking notes than being involved in discussions.

I would also prefer being in the front position in class to get a better view of the instructor. Again, if the instructors use colorful presentations and illustrations, I would get more knowledge and information. The implication is that as an active learner, I rely on questions that paint an image of a certain situation. Therefore, compared to the identified strategies based on the VARK tool, I believe that individuals with multimodal learning strategies are better equipped to process information in the most effective way as they combine the advantages of visual and aural abilities to understand what they learn.

Effects of Learning Styles

Learning styles show one’s preferred method or approach to learning. Some individuals learn best by seeing information in visual presentation while others prefer learning through doing things such as writing notes down to each explanation that they get. The implication is that one needs to understand their learning style as they process information and get a better perspective of what they are learning. Based on the review of the VARK analysis scores, I realized that I needed significant changes to enhance my learning capabilities. Significant alterations include the need to use other aspects like kinesthetic.

While I found it odd to learn from doing, I realized that it was important to change our approaches to learning, especially as nurses in healthcare environment. In the nursing profession, nurse practitioners should attain knowledge by understanding instead of memorizing material and content (Stirling & Alquraini, 2017). Therefore, it is important to know our learning styles as it enables one to know themselves and how they disseminate knowledge. Knowing one’s learning style is critical in appreciating the types of teaching strategies that instructors can use in nursing education. Through this knowledge, one can incorporate different strategies based on the situation to improve their intake of information and content.

Educators have a responsibility to diversify their teaching styles to meet the needs and preferences of each learner. Awareness about the preferred learning style for different learners is important as it allows teaching to shift from the more traditional teacher-centered modalities to student-centric reciprocating models (Amaniyan et al., 2020). Educators need to appreciate that having different learners with diverse interests and learning approaches is a challenge and the need to use a combination of styles as advanced by the VARK framework. Diverse knowledge modalities are essential to the practical molding of learners’ educational preferences. For example, individuals with multimodal preferences may require different strategies. Thus, educators must match their teaching with the preferred learning styles of their students to attain higher scores. Knowing these styles is essential as it makes learning easy and enjoyable to all involved.

Understanding Learning Style in Health Promotion

Nurses have a duty to promote health in different settings as educators. Therefore, they should understand the different styles of people that participate in health promotion to attain the desired outcomes. Individuals learn differently and the knowledge of these preferences will assist nurse educators to customize health promotion messages and information to suit the various learners. The participants’ learning style will impact the individuals’ ability to conceptualize instruction and process information disseminated to them in different ways (Horri et al., 2019). By understanding the style, the nurse educator can select the type of learning style to use and the activities that suit all the learners. The ability to decipher the various learning styles demonstrate that nurses should focus on effective strategies that allow participants in health promotion to enhance their engagement and generate most effective strategies.

Learning styles impact the possibility of behavioral changes as learners and educators understand the different ways of disseminating critical information. Behavioral change occurs through effective learning. For example, multimodal learners prefer using a combination of strategies to get information. Such learners have increased probability of getting information on behavioral change through different ways than kinesthetic learners who prefer task-based learning or activities (Stirling & Alquraini, 2017). The implication is that nurses and other providers must develop strategies that can accommodate the different learning styles when promoting health. The various learning styles imply that individuals have a better understanding of disseminated information as it is individualized based on their circumstances.

Conclusion

Conclusively, the VARK model allows individuals to know their learning styles. By using the tools designed for an individual, one can improve their learning and comprehension of different educational materials. As demonstrated, I am a multimodal learner who utilizes different styles to get information and use it in health promotion as a nurse.

References

Amaniyan, S., Pouyesh, V., Bashiri, Y., Snelgrove, S., & Vaismoradi, M. (2020). Comparison of

the conceptual map and traditional lecture methods on students’ learning based on the vark learning style model: a randomized controlled trial. SAGE Open Nursing, 6, 2377960820940550. https://doi.org/10.1177/2377960820940550

Horri, A., Hajmohammadi, S., Kamyabi, H., Asadipour, M., Rad, M., & Asadipour, E. (2019).

The relationship between learning style preferences from VARK model and academic performances among the students of Dentistry in 2016-2017. Journal of Oral Health and Oral Epidemiology, 8(3), 131-137. doi: 10.2147/AMEP.S235002

Stirling, B. V., & Alquraini, W. A. (2017). Using VARK to assess Saudi nursing students’

learning style preferences: Do they differ from other health professionals? Journal of Taibah University Medical Sciences, 12(2), 125-130. doi: 10.1016/j.jtumed.2016.10.011

VARK (2020). The VARK Questionnaire. Retrieved from

https://vark-learn.com/the-vark-questionnaire/

VARK Analysis Paper – Rubric

Collapse All VARK Analysis Paper – RubricCollapse All

Personal Learning Styles According to VARK Questionnaire

20 points

Preferred Learning Strategies

20 points

Learning Styles

20 points

Learning Styles and Health Promotion

20 points

Thesis Development and Purpose

5 points

Argument Logic and Construction

5 points

Mechanics of Writing (includes spelling, punctuation, grammar, language use)

5 points

Paper Format (use of appropriate style for the major and assignment)

2 points

Documentation of Sources

3 points