Learning styles

Teaching professionals often rely on the categories of the VARK model to help tailor their teaching strategies and give students more than one way into the material. VAK, the three-part model in common use before VARK, groups visual, auditory and kinesthetic preferences. VARK separates visual information into symbolic or diagrammatic material (visual) and text-based material (read/write), according to the model’s originators.

VARK’s creators now describe the model as a reflection tool that helps learners think about how they study, not as a way to sort students. Their main ideas are as follows:

• Students can have preferred learning modes, or favorite ways of taking in information.
• Learners can use those preferences to choose study strategies that suit them.
• The aim is metacognition: noticing how you learn so you can guide your own studying.

Sometimes, teachers may find that a combination of all the sensory modalities may be the best option for their classroom. Mixing modalities gives every student more than one way into the material.

How many learning styles are there?

It depends on the model. VARK names four preferences: visual, auditory (also called aural), reading/writing and kinesthetic. VAK, the earlier model, names three: visual, auditory and kinesthetic. Both describe how people say they prefer to learn. The definitions below follow VARK’s own descriptions of the four modalities.

The notion of individualized learning styles has gained widespread recognition in education theory and classroom management strategy. Students differ in their prior knowledge, interests and comfort with different formats. In other words: everyone’s different. Understanding those differences helps educators plan daily activities, curriculum, and assessments that give every student a way in. If you want to go deeper on how students learn, a doctorate of education is one path.

Do learning styles improve learning?

Not in the way the label suggests. In the 2025 review by Hattie and O’Leary, studies that tested matching instruction to a student’s preferred style showed an average effect near zero, and the authors concluded there is still no evidence for matching. They recommend teaching adaptable learning strategies suited to the task and goals instead. VARK’s own creators make a similar point: the model was never meant to match teaching to a learner’s style.

What this means for your classroom:

• Offer more than one way into a lesson, such as a diagram, a discussion and a hands-on task.
• Try retrieval practice, where students recall material from memory instead of rereading it, as one study strategy. VARK’s visual helpsheet, for example, suggests recreating your notes from memory.
• Use the VARK questionnaire as a prompt for students to reflect on how they study, not to label them.

SWOT strategies

VARK’s helpsheets offer advice on how students can use their learning modalities and skills when studying for an upcoming test or assignment. VARK refers to the collection as SWOT (“study without tears”), as shown on its German-language helpsheet. Treat these as suggestions to try, not a diagnosis. You can try any of them, whatever your preference.

Visual SWOT strategies

• Utilize graphic organizers such as charts, graphs, and diagrams.
• Recreate your notes from memory.
• Replace important words with symbols or initials.
• Highlight key terms in corresponding colors.

Aural SWOT strategies

• Record your summarized notes and listen to them.
• Have a discussion with others to expand upon your understanding of a topic.
• Reread your notes or assignment out loud.
• Explain your notes to your peers or fellow aural learners.

Read/write SWOT strategies

• Write and rewrite your notes.
• Reword main ideas and principles to gain a deeper understanding.
• Organize diagrams, charts, and graphic organizers into statements.

Kinesthetic SWOT strategies

• Use real-life examples, applications, and case studies in your summary to help with abstract concepts.
• Redo lab experiments or projects.
• Utilize pictures and photographs that illustrate your idea.

Curious how you prefer to study? The VARK Questionnaire asks about your current learning preferences, which you can use as a prompt to reflect on possible study strategies. Treat the results as a starting point, not a fixed type.

READ MORE: Teaching Methods