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When trying to learn something new, we all take in and understand information at different rates. Some students understand new ideas immediately, while others have to think about them before coming to the same conclusions.

Why? The answer lies in the different ways that students feel most comfortable learning. In other words, how information is given affects how we react to it.

There are different ways to learn, and education has a lot of discussions about what they are and how to work with them.

For practical reasons, ensure your lesson or presentation covers the 7 main ways people learn.

In this piece, we’ll talk about the 7 different ways people learn and give you tips on improving your teaching style, whether you’re in college or planning to make an online course on the side.

What are the 7 ways people learn styles?

VARK is the most popular name for a model of the different ways people learn in academic writing.

Visual, Auditory, Reading and Writing, and Kinesthetic are what VARK means. Even though these are the most common ways to learn, some people don’t fit into these categories and would instead learn differently. So, we’re adding Logical, Social, and Solitary to our list of ways to learn.

1. Visual Thinkers

People who learn better from pictures, maps, charts, graphs, presentations, and anything else that shows how something works are called “visual learners.” Because it helps them remember things better, these people often draw and make other kinds of visual notes on their own. 

When teaching people who learn best by seeing, the goal isn’t just to use pictures and graphs. It’s meant to help them see how different pieces of data or knowledge fit together as they learn. 

Gamified lessons are a great way to teach people who learn best by seeing and touching things. You should also give out handouts, make presentations, and look for helpful infographics to support your lessons.

Give your kids enough time to take in all the new information and make their connections between visual clues since visual information can be pretty dense.

2. Audio/Aural learning

People learn through hearing very differently from how they learn through seeing. People who are auditory learners take in information better when it is spoken (i.e. when the lessons are read out loud). This type of student likes to learn by listening and might not take notes. They also ask many questions or say out loud what they just heard to help them remember it.

Most people who learn by hearing don’t mind speaking up and are good at describing themselves. Remember that they should be quiet briefly when teaching people who know by listening. So plan a few things to do where you can talk or ask questions. You can also remember what you learn in class by watching movies or listening to audio.

3. Writing and Reading (or verbal) learning

Read and write The best way for students to learn is to use words, whether they are reading or writing. Written comments are more solid and specific to verbal learners than pictures or spoken words, which is why they are great at writing essays, articles, books, etc. 

To help reading-writing kids learn the best way for them, make sure they have enough time to take notes and give them more time to read. This type of student also does well when they learn on their own time and from a distance. Having them do reading and writing as part of their homework should also help them do well.

4. Kinesthetic/tactile learners

Kinesthetic learners take in knowledge in different ways. They prefer to learn by doing or experiencing what they are being told. These people learn by touching things and must live through them to understand them. Because of this, it can be hard to prepare for them in a regular class setting. 

When teaching physical learners, remember they can’t sit still for long and need breaks more often than others. You need to get them up, move, and think of tasks to help them remember what they just learned in class. Playing different parts is fun, and so are games. Even writing together on a whiteboard should be fine. You can also set up workshops, immersions, and hands-on lab lessons.

To help kinesthetic learners achieve, try to bring every abstract idea into the real world.

5. Logical/Analytical Learners 

Logical learners use logic to sort through knowledge and understand a subject, which is what the name suggests. They try to find links between different kinds of information by looking for reasons and patterns. People who learn differently don’t always see these links, but logical learners immediately see them. 

Most of the time, logical learners do well with facts, statistics, sequential lists, and jobs that require them to solve problems, to name a few. 

As a teacher, you can get rational learners interested by asking them vague or open-ended questions they must figure out for themselves. You should also use teaching materials that help them improve at solving problems and push them to conclusions based on facts and critical thinking. 

6. Social/interpersonal learners 

Social or interpersonal learners like to talk to other people and work in groups, so they learn best when they have to speak to their classmates. Think about study groups, talks with classmates, and tests. 

Teamwork needs to be a big part of your lessons if you want to teach people how to get along with others. Ask questions and tell stories to get students to talk to each other. You can also have role-playing and group tasks in your lessons, and you can put the students into study groups.  

7. Individual/solitary learners 

Learning alone is the opposite of learning with others. Solo, or solitary, learners like to study by themselves without talking to other people. These students are good at getting themselves going and working independently. On the other hand, they usually don’t do well when working as a team or talking in a group.

To help these students, you should push them to do things independently, like keeping a journal, which gives them a chance to think about themselves and improve their skills. You should also let your kids know what they’ve done well and help them get better at solving problems. 

How to help kids understand how they learn in different ways 

Unless you’re teaching preschoolers, most of your kids probably already know how they learn best. But some kids do get it wrong.

The key is to pay close attention to each student and plan your lesson for different learning methods from the start.

Another idea is to let students learn as much as possible independently and then make their learning fit their needs. So you can have reading activities, writing jobs, drawing challenges, riddles for logical learners, games for kinesthetic learners, and more.

How to make online learning work for different ways of learning

When making your first online course, it’s essential to spend enough time working out how it will be set up. Don’t just think that more than five uploaded movies are needed to make coursework.

Think about how you will show what you’ve learned. Sometimes it makes sense to stop and give kids time to think. Where to put tasks that help you review the new information, taking into account the different ways people learn, can help you make an online course to help your students do well.

Here are some tips to help you make your coursework for each type of learner, or at least give it a good mix. 

1. Visual Learners

Solo students like to learn on their own. So, when you make your course, you must remember this and give these students a way to work independently. You could try the following: 

• Add photographs, cartoons, or drawings to explain ideas. 
• Use flashcards to remember what you’ve learned. 
• Use flowcharts or maps to put things in order. 
• To arrange your materials, highlight and color-code your notes. 
• Use tables with different colors to compare and contrast things. 
• Use a whiteboard to show what’s essential.
• Students should try different font types and sizes to make the text easier to read. 

2. Auditory/Aural learners

Auditory learners prefer to learn by listening to spoken words, so it works well for them when teachers give directions and lessons in spoken words. Here’s how to make your online course work for this type of learner: 

• Talk to your kids about the subject or subject matter. 
• Ask your kids questions at the end of each lesson and let them talk back to you.
• Record their studies and go over them with them. 
• Give them papers, essays, and passages to read and understand.
• Explain your methods, questions, and answers as you teach. 
• Ask to hear recaps of what you’ve learned. 
• Use a talking calculator if you teach math or any other lesson related to math.
• Make a recording for your kids to listen to.
• Make a video of yourself giving your student the speech.
• Include a YouTube movie or an episode of a podcast for your students to watch or listen to.
• Please set up a live Q&A where students can talk to you and others to help them understand the subject better.

3. Reading and writing (or verbal) learners 

Students who learn to read and write (or speak) 

This one is easy to figure out. Verbal learners acquire best when they write or read (or do both), so here are some practical ways to include this in your online course:

• Have your students write recaps of the lesson. 
• If you teach language or literature, give them stories and articles they must read aloud to understand.
• If your course is built on videos, add transcripts to help your students learn.
• Please list the essential parts of your lesson to help your students remember them.
• Give your students downloadable notes and checklists they can review after each part of your course.
• Include links to a blog post or another website in the course to get students to read more.
• Use some body movement or rhythm, like snapping your fingers, moving your mouth, or pacing, while you tell your kids what they need to know.

4. Kinesthetic/tactile learners

Since kinesthetic learners like to hold, touch, hear, and do what they learn, they want to use their senses to learn. So instead of giving out lots of instructions and asking people to follow them, try these: 

• Please encourage them to try writing on different kinds of paper and with varying sizes of pencils, pens, and crayons.
• If you teach speech or language, give them words they should use when talking to others daily.
• Please encourage students to act out lessons so they can better understand them. 

5. Logical/Analytical Learners

Logical learners are great at finding patterns, analyzing knowledge, and fixing problems. So, you need to set up your online lessons in a way that helps them improve these skills. Here are some suggestions:

• Give them tasks that require them to figure out how to do things. If you teach math or a math-related subject, this is easy.
• Make graphs and charts your students must figure out to understand the lesson fully.
• Ask open-ended, critical-thinking questions. 
• Make a mystery for your students to solve using hints that require them to use math or logic.
• Give your kids a problem or topic and ask them to look at it from different points of view.

6. Social/Interpersonal learners 

Since social learners like to talk with others or do things together, you should set up your course with group tasks. Here’s how that can be done:

• Please encourage them to talk with their peers about the course idea.
• Forum discussions are an excellent way to get your students interested.
• Set up a place (like Slack, Discord, etc.) for a group to talk.
• Students in the same social class are paired up to teach each other the topic.
• If you teach a course built on groups of students, you can ask them to make their presentations and tell the rest of the class about them.

7. Individual or solitary learners 

Solo students like to learn on their own. So, when you make your course, you must remember this and give these students a way to work independently. You could try the following: 

• Tell them to get their work done.
• Divide large jobs into smaller ones to help them better manage their time.
• Give them things that will force them to do their research.
• Let them try to figure out how to deal with problems on their own when they come up. But let them know that if they need help, they can come to you.
• When you ask them questions, tell them to answer out loud. This helps them improve their speaking skills. 
• If you can, look into blended learning, which combines teacher-led classes with self-guided tasks and other ideas that students can look into independently.

How to make an online lesson that everyone can take

Now that you’re ready to teach something to everyone, you might be thinking about what you need to do to make your online courses. So, let’s start with a base.

Thinkific is an innovative, easy-to-use platform that any teacher can use to make online classes that work for all kinds of learners. Include videos, audio, presentations, quizzes, and tasks in your curriculum. You can guide lessons live or record information ahead of time. It’s up to you.

Also, you can learn how to code to make a lesson on Thinkific. You can use an adequately made template and a drag-and-drop editor to create the exact course you want in just a few hours. Try it yourself, and you’ll see how easy it is.