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The 7 Styles of Learning Explained with Examples

By Med Kharbach, PhD | Last Update: May 9, 2024

As I revisit the complex and often debated topic of learning styles in this post, it’s hard not to reflect on the diverse and passionate responses it elicits each time I address it. Previously, I have written posts featuring articles that critique the theory of learning styles , highlighting its contentious standing in academic circles.

Many educators have expressed dissatisfaction with the theory, pointing to its supposed debunking and questioning its relevance in modern pedagogy. Despite this, the concept has been a source of significant debate and discussion, impacting educational discourse profoundly.

In my dual role as a former teacher and a current educational researcher, I approach the theory of learning styles with a nuanced perspective. While I recognize its limitations and the controversies surrounding its empirical validation, I also see its value in understanding student diversity in learning preferences.

Rather than categorizing students into rigid learning styles, I find it more useful to consider their tendencies or natural leanings towards certain types of learning. This approach doesn’t confine learners but instead acknowledges the variety in their learning processes.

The intellectual framework provided by Howard Gardner has been pivotal in bringing the conversation around individual learning preferences to the forefront. Agree or disagree, the theory has illuminated many facets of educational practice. When integrated thoughtfully into teaching strategies, it can enrich our approach, enabling us to reach a broader spectrum of students.

The 7 Styles of Learning

Here are the seven learning styles as popularly advocated by the learning styles theory:

1. Solitary (Intrapersonal)

Solitary or intrapersonal learning style refers to learners who prefer to study alone and through self-reflection. These learners are typically very self-aware and thrive on introspection, understanding their own objectives and goals better when they work independently. They tend to keep personal diaries, enjoy quiet contemplation, and are adept at self-analysis.

Solitary learners often have a strong sense of their own thoughts and feelings and are able to set goals and plan work accordingly. They find that solitude helps them focus and understand subjects more deeply. For instance, a solitary learner might prefer reading a book on their own over participating in a group discussion about it. They may also opt for online courses or self-guided learning modules where they can pace their learning according to their personal preference.

In the classroom, solitary learners can be encouraged through assignments that require independent research or reflective journaling. Teachers can support these students by recognizing their need for private space and time to process information. In a world that often emphasizes collaboration, it’s important to acknowledge and nurture the strengths of solitary learners. Their ability to reflect and work independently is a skill that translates well into many professional fields, such as writing, programming, or scientific research, where focus and self-motivation are key.

2. Visual (Spatial)

Visual or spatial learners absorb information best when it is presented in a visual format. They prefer to use images, pictures, colors, and maps to organize information and communicate with others. These learners often have a good spatial understanding and a keen eye for aesthetic design. They excel in using visual aids such as graphs, charts, diagrams, and mind maps.

For example, when learning a new concept, a visual learner would benefit more from a chart or graphical representation than from verbal explanations. These learners also tend to be good at visual art subjects, such as painting, drawing, or designing, where they can express themselves through visual creations.

In the educational setting, visual learners can be supported by incorporating multimedia elements into teaching, like videos, infographics, and slideshows. Teachers can encourage these students to use highlighters and draw diagrams to help consolidate their learning. Visual learners often find color-coding notes particularly effective, as it helps them visually categorize and remember information. Their learning style is conducive to many modern careers, including graphic design, architecture, and urban planning, where visual processing and creativity are fundamental.

3. Social (Interpersonal)

Social or interpersonal learners show a strong preference for learning in groups or with other people. They enjoy and benefit from collaboration and are skilled at verbal communication and teamwork. These learners often prefer group discussions, study groups, and team-based projects.

They excel in roles that require negotiation, mediation, and listening, as they are often sensitive to the feelings and perspectives of others. For example, a social learner might understand a concept better when they have the opportunity to talk it out in a study group or teach it to a peer, as this allows them to process the information through discussion.

In the classroom, social learners can be engaged through collaborative activities, role-playing, and group discussions. Teachers can facilitate their learning by creating an interactive environment where these students can interact, share ideas, and receive feedback from their peers.

The ability to work well in teams and communicate effectively is a valuable skill in many professional environments, such as in business, education, and counseling, where interpersonal skills are crucial. Social learners often find themselves drawn to careers that involve working closely with people, where they can utilize their strengths in understanding and communicating with others.

4. Aural (Auditory-Musical)

Aural learners, also known as auditory-musical learners, absorb information best when it is presented in an auditory format. These individuals have a strong preference for listening and often excel in tasks involving spoken instructions or information. They are typically good at picking up nuances in tone, pitch, and rhythm, which makes them sensitive to music and sound. For instance, an aural learner may find it easier to remember facts or concepts if they are presented in a song or rhythm. These learners also benefit from discussions and lectures where they can listen to and process information through hearing.

In an educational setting, aural learners can be supported by incorporating auditory elements such as lectures, podcasts, and group discussions into the curriculum. Teachers can encourage these students to use mnemonic devices, rhymes, or even create songs related to the material to enhance their learning.

Additionally, allowing students to record lectures and review them later can be particularly beneficial. Aural learning skills are highly valued in fields that involve music, languages, oratory, and certain areas of law and diplomacy, where listening and sound interpretation are key.

5. Verbal (Linguistic)

Verbal or linguistic learners have a preference for using words, both in speech and writing, to understand and relay information. They excel in activities involving reading, writing, listening, and speaking. These learners often have a strong command of language, enjoying activities like reading, playing word games, and crafting stories. For example, a verbal learner would find it beneficial to write summaries of topics or engage in debates and discussions to process new information.

Educators can support verbal learners by encouraging activities that involve reading, writing, and speaking. This might include essay writing, oral presentations, and class discussions. Encouraging these students to keep a journal or participate in creative writing can also be beneficial. Verbal learners often find success in careers that rely heavily on language and communication, such as journalism, teaching, law, and writing.

6. Physical (Kinesthetic)

Physical or kinesthetic learners are those who learn best through movement and doing. They need to physically engage with material to understand it fully. These learners often have excellent hand-eye coordination and dexterity, and they remember things through physical movement.

They prefer hands-on learning, and activities such as role-playing or building models can be very effective. For example, a physical learner in a science class might benefit more from conducting an experiment than from reading about it in a textbook.

To cater to physical learners, educational activities can include hands-on experiments, physical activities, or even field trips that involve moving around and exploring. Teachers can also incorporate small movements into lessons, like having students write or draw on a board, to engage these learners. Physical learners often thrive in fields that require good motor skills and coordination, such as sports, dance, surgery, and crafts.

7. Logical (Mathematical)

Logical or mathematical learners have a strong inclination towards reasoning, logic, and systems. They are skilled at recognizing patterns, categorizing information, and working with abstract concepts like numbers and formulas. These learners think conceptually about the world and enjoy puzzles, experiments, and strategic games. For instance, a logical learner excels in mathematics or science, where they can apply logic and reasoning to solve problems.

In educational environments, logical learners benefit from activities that involve problem-solving, logical reasoning, and experimentation. Teachers can support these learners by using logical sequences in teaching and encouraging them to ask questions that lead to further investigation.

Activities like brain teasers, logical puzzles, and scientific experiments can be particularly stimulating for these students. Logical learning skills are essential in fields such as science, mathematics, computer programming, engineering, and economics, where analytical and strategic thinking are crucial.

Strengths and Weaknesses of the Theory of Learning Styles

The theory of learning styles, which categorizes students based on their preferred ways of learning, has been both widely adopted and critically debated in the field of education. Understanding its strengths and weaknesses is crucial for educators, students, and parents alike.

One of the major strengths of the learning styles theory is that it encourages a more student-centered approach to education. By recognizing that students have different ways of processing information, teachers can adapt their methods to suit diverse learning needs, potentially increasing engagement and effectiveness. This approach fosters an inclusive classroom environment where different abilities and preferences are acknowledged and valued.

Moreover, the theory promotes self-awareness among students. When learners understand their preferred learning style, they can take more control over their education, seeking out resources and techniques that align with their strengths. This self-knowledge can lead to increased motivation and confidence, as students feel more capable of mastering material in a way that suits them.

Despite these benefits, the learning styles theory faces significant criticism , primarily regarding its scientific basis. Numerous studies have challenged the validity of learning styles, suggesting there is little evidence to show that teaching to a student’s preferred style significantly improves learning outcomes. Critics argue that the theory oversimplifies the complexities of learning and fails to account for the fact that most people are capable of learning in multiple ways, depending on the context and nature of the material.

Another criticism is that the focus on individual learning styles might limit students’ exposure to diverse methods and types of content. For instance, if a student is labeled as a ‘visual learner,’ they might miss out on the benefits of engaging with material in an auditory or kinesthetic manner. This could inadvertently hinder the development of a well-rounded set of learning skills.

Learning Styles Infographic

Here is an infographic I created capturing the 7 types of learning styles. The PDF version is available for free download for subscribers. Subscribe HERE to get your copy!

Final thoughts

In concluding our exploration of the theory of learning styles, it’s important to acknowledge the dynamic and multifaceted nature of learning itself. While the debate surrounding the validity of learning styles continues, the theory undeniably offers valuable insights into the diverse ways students engage with and absorb information. As a former teacher and current educational researcher, my stance is one of pragmatic balance – recognizing the theory’s contributions without becoming overly reliant on its classifications.

The key takeaway is that learning styles should be viewed as one of many tools in an educator’s repertoire, offering a lens through which we can appreciate and cater to the varied needs of our students. It prompts educators to think more deeply about how we present information, engage students, and foster an inclusive and effective learning environment. However, we must avoid the pitfall of oversimplification, remembering that each student is a complex individual with the capacity to learn in multiple ways.

Ultimately, the goal should be to create a holistic educational approach that embraces a variety of teaching methods. This approach should challenge students to step out of their comfort zones while respecting their natural inclinations. By doing so, we can cultivate learners who are not only well-rounded but also adaptable, equipped with the skills to navigate the diverse challenges of both academic and real-world environments. The theory of learning styles, with all its nuances and controversies, thus continues to play a significant role in shaping progressive educational practices.

References and Further Readings

Here are some recommended references and sources for further exploration of learning styles theory:

• Debunking Learning Styles Theory : This is a collection of research papers I compiled that critique learning styles theory.
• “Frames of Mind: The Theory of Multiple Intelligences” by Howard Gardner – This seminal book by Howard Gardner is where the concept of multiple intelligences, closely related to learning styles, was first introduced. It’s a must-read for understanding the theoretical foundation of learning styles.
• “The Myth of Learning Styles” by Cedar Riener and Daniel Willingham – This article offers a critical perspective on the learning styles theory, discussing the lack of empirical evidence supporting its effectiveness.
• “Teaching and Learning in the Language Classroom” by Tricia Hedge – This book provides practical insights and strategies for language teachers, with a focus on accommodating different learning styles in the classroom.
• “Multiple Intelligences in the Classroom” by Thomas Armstrong – A practical guide for educators, this book explores ways to apply Gardner’s theory of multiple intelligences in classroom settings.
• “ Why Don’t Students Like School? ” by Daniel T. Willingham – Although not exclusively about learning styles, this book provides a cognitive scientist’s perspective on how students learn and how teachers can craft more effective teaching strategies.
• “Learning Styles: Concepts and Evidence” by Pashler, McDaniel, Rohrer, and Bjork – This paper critically assesses the learning styles hypothesis and suggests directions for future research.
• Conner, C. (2003). Learning Styles and School Improvement . Improving Schools, 6(1), 51–65. https://doi.org/10.1177/136548020300600109T : This paper delves into the longstanding research on learning styles, spanning 30 to 40 years, to address key issues and the potential of learning styles in enhancing school effectiveness. It concentrates on three pivotal questions: the rationale behind focusing on learning styles, the precise definition of learning styles, and how this knowledge can be optimally utilized to bolster student learning. The implications of understanding learning styles for educational practice are explored in three primary areas: the ways in which children and students learn, the methods employed by teachers in teaching, and the interaction between learners and teachers aimed at improving the learning process. These aspects underscore the importance o
• Educational Researcher – An academic journal that publishes articles on educational theory, policy, and practice, including studies and critiques related to learning styles.
• Educational Psychology Review – Another academic journal that frequently addresses topics related to learning styles and teaching methodologies.
• Journal of Educational Psychology – This peer-reviewed journal often features articles and research on learning styles, offering insights into the latest academic research and debates in the field.

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Meet Med Kharbach, PhD

Dr. Med Kharbach is an influential voice in the global educational technology landscape, with an extensive background in educational studies and a decade-long experience as a K-12 teacher. Holding a Ph.D. from Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Canada, he brings a unique perspective to the educational world by integrating his profound academic knowledge with his hands-on teaching experience. Dr. Kharbach's academic pursuits encompass curriculum studies, discourse analysis, language learning/teaching, language and identity, emerging literacies, educational technology, and research methodologies. His work has been presented at numerous national and international conferences and published in various esteemed academic journals.

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7 types of learning styles and how you can to teach them

We all absorb and retain information in different ways. Some people learn faster and more efficiently when content includes visuals like charts, photos, or videos. Others prefer to read and write to retain information. Course creators that know the different types of learning styles can use them to improve student experiences and outcomes. If you know your students and the ways they learn, you can adapt your teaching styles to suit them better.

Creating courses with learning and teaching styles in mind will set you and your students up for success. We’ll go over each learning method and how to identify them. Plus, we’ll provide examples and tips on how to create courses, coaching, and other educational products for each learning style.

What are learning styles?

Learning styles are the methods that people use to understand and remember information. By identifying your students’ learning styles, you can create course materials that suit their preferences.

There is some debate over how many types of learning exist. Most agree that there are four to seven learning styles. We’ll go over each in detail below.

It’s also important to note that one person can have multiple styles. These are known as multimodal learners. They retain information and may thrive using more than one learning style.

The seven types of learning

New Zealand educator Neil Fleming developed the VARK model in 1987. It’s one of the most common methods to identify learning styles. Fleming proposed four primary learning preferences—visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. The first letter of each spells out the acronym (VARK).

We’ll go over the VARK learning styles and three others that researchers and educators have identified below.

1. Visual learning

When you create a course curriculum , consider how many and what type of visuals to include. A 2019 study claims that around 65% of people are visual learners . In other words, visual learners make up the majority of the population. You’ll likely have several in your courses, so keep that in mind when creating materials for it.

To learn best, visual learners need graphs, illustrations, diagrams, videos, and other visuals. You can also teach visual learners better by incorporating these into your lessons.

• Infographics
• Illustrations
• Photographs
• Flashcards with images
• Virtual whiteboards

Using all of these visuals at once will overwhelm your students. Instead, identify opportunities to display information as a visual and choose the best method for it.

Video courses are the best way to help visual learners. If you’re new to recording videos, you can take a course or watch a tutorial on making high-quality videos for your courses. You can also design and voiceover slideshows.

Visual learners also read and write like other students but may add images to notes, highlight sentences, or draw graphs. It can be helpful to provide them with downloadable versions of course materials so that they can take notes. If you use Teachable, you can easily add digital downloads to your website and courses.

Teachable creator Lauren Hom’s lettering course combines visual and other types of learning styles. Course lessons include videos, live drawing practice, and printable workbooks.

2. Auditory learning

In the same study, researchers found that around 30% of people are auditory learners. Auditory learners like to listen to absorb information. Auditory learners may listen to lectures, podcasts, music, and videos.

They also tend to read their notes aloud to help them understand and retain information or listen to music to study.

You can cater to auditory learners by:

• Using music and songs to remember information
• Providing audio versions of notes
• Encouraging discussions of learning materials

In addition to adjusting your teaching methods to different types of learners, you should also consider the subject.

For example, if you teach guitar online , it will naturally have an audio element. However, you may combine the sounds of different guitar strings with images and videos of them. When you combine different teaching methods, you can cater to multiple learning styles.

3. Reading and writing

Learners who prefer reading and writing thrive with traditional textbooks, handouts, and written assignments. Reading and writing learners are similar to visual learners because they like to see the information on a page.

To teach reading and writing learners, try to present information in one of these forms:

• Written instructions
• Written assignments

You could also consider creating an ebook to supplement your course material. So if you have a video course, add transcripts to your lessons so students can read along and take notes.

4. Kinesthetic

The kinesthetic learning style is learning by doing. And people who are kinesthetic learners learn better when they’re physically moving and getting hands-on experience.

Kinesthetic learners prefer playing games or doing puzzles as part of the learning process. They tend to enjoy problem-solving and trying new activities to build skills.

Many people associate kinesthetic learning with physical activities and in-person learning environments. However, you can still cater to kinesthetic learners when you create an online course .

For example, many developer courses include coding challenges, hackathons, and other activities where students learn by doing.

Here are some ideas to help you teach kinesthetic learners:

• Schedule short breaks for live courses longer than 30 minutes.
• Add real-life assignments. For example, a course about plants may add a practical element where students transplant and care for a houseplant.
• Create project briefs based on real-life scenarios, so students can practice.
• Add physical activity. Some online courses—meditation, yoga, and fitness—will naturally be more interactive.

If you want to add a more physical element, you can also include printables and supplies. Another option is to send materials to students in the mail.

There are many ways to teach kinesthetic learners. One example is the Hands-on Kids Activities Club (HOKA), a membership club for teachers. Every month, teachers get downloadable printables and other resources to create hands-on learning experiences. In one bundle, students learn about an artist and do an art project in that artist’s style.

5. Verbal or linguistic learning

Verbal learners or linguistic learners retain information best by hearing and envisioning words. You may also hear this called verbal-linguistic learning. Similar to an auditory learner, a verbal learner speaks aloud to memorize information better. They tend to be avid readers and may be talented storytellers or poets.

Any of these can help a verbal learner:

• Presentations
• Flashcards with words
• Word games and puzzles

This type of learning is also common in language courses. If you teach students how to speak Spanish, English, French, or another language, verbal learning will come in handy. They’ll want to hear how you pronounce words and practice speaking them on their own.

6. Social or interpersonal learning

Some students learn better alone and others learn better while in groups. Social, also called interpersonal, learners thrive in group discussions and group coaching.

They enjoy speaking in front of groups and asking questions. A social learner will like to give and receive feedback from other students and bounce ideas off others.

Interpersonal learners prefer these types of activities:

• Group discussions and activities
• Public speaking—presenting their work
• Working with a partner
• Studying flashcards with a partner
• Team-building exercises

7. Solitary or intrapersonal learning

Solitary learners prefer to learn on their own rather than with groups of peers. The word intrapersonal is similar to introvert—they can feel drained from social activities.

These students don’t enjoy group work and would rather get a list of items to study and work independently. Instead of getting ideas and feedback from other students, solitary learners are more introspective. They can get lost in their work and are more hesitant to ask for feedback or ideas from others.

Here are some ideas to help teach solitary learners:

• Ask questions to build trust and learn more about them.
• Give them space to work independently.
• Explain the why behind projects. Solitary learners focus on the future and outcomes, so they like to know the importance of learning different concepts.

Solitary learners are self-starters, so they usually have the determination to complete a course. Even though they prefer learning independently, learning from others has many benefits too.

Sometimes getting a solitary learner to open up more, ask for feedback, and challenge themselves can improve their learning. You could also offer solitary learners coaching or feedback sessions with you to help them develop their learning in a one-on-one environment.

How to identify student learning styles

Most adults have a sense of their preferred learning style. You can ask students or coaching clients which methods they prefer via an intake form when they sign up for your courses or coaching.

To identify learning styles, you can:

• Include an intake form on your sign-up pages
• Ask new students about their preferred learning styles directly
• Observe your students throughout the course
• Use assessments to help students figure out the learning style they like best

You can also use an online quiz like the VARK questionnaire to understand new students better. Another option is to create your own assessment and tailor it to your teaching style and course topic. Some sample questions you can use to create a quiz or questionnaire to identify learning styles are:

• Do you prefer to work alone or in groups?
• Would diagrams and illustrations make it easier to understand a concept?
• Is it easier to remember something in words or images?
• To understand how a machine works, would you take the machine apart yourself?
• Do you remember facts and figures more by hearing them spoken or reading them?

Let students know this is the kind of quiz with no wrong answer. You’ll use the answers to understand what type of learning style they prefer and tailor your teaching to better suit them.

Note that this type of questionnaire works best with coaching or online courses that use cohorts with specific start dates. You can use it to fine-tune your course curriculum for each cohort or personalize coaching sessions.

How to teach different types of learning

As you plan your course, think about how you can accommodate each learning style. For example, auditory learners usually thrive on discussion. On the other hand, learners who prefer to read and write might struggle with group discussions or debates. Discussions can be harder for them because they like to write their thoughts down first before speaking.

To accommodate different types of learning styles, provide several options. In the example above, you could give your students a discussion prompt ahead of time. Reading and writing learners can write talking points down before and auditory learners get the benefits of learning through discussion.

The ui.dev online courses are perfect examples of how to consider different types of learning. Looking at their React coding course, you can see that they provide lessons in two forms—video and text. This way visual, auditory, and reading and writing learners can refer to the materials that they understand best. It also includes kinesthetic learning with practice coding activities and projects where students build real-world applications.

Share your knowledge online

No two students are exactly alike—a learning style that works for some students might not work for others. You can still offer your students or clients a meaningful learning experience.

Identifying how your students learn best helps you teach them in ways that will be the most successful. It also shows them that you care about their learning experience and outcomes. So by considering all the different learning styles, you’ll create an online course that appeals to a larger pool of people.

If you’re ready to share your knowledge with all types of learning styles, you can easily create a course on Teachable . And then you can create online courses, coaching services, and even digital downloads. To get started, sign up for free or choose from one of the paid plans .

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The 7 main types of learning styles (and how to teach to them), share this article.

Understanding the 7 main types of learning styles and how to teach them will help both your students and your courses be more successful.

When it comes to learning something new, we all absorb information at different rates and understand it differently too. Some students get new concepts right away; others need to sit and ponder for some time before they can arrive at similar conclusions.

Why? The answer lies in the type of learning styles different students feel more comfortable with. In other words, we respond to information in different ways depending on how it is presented to us.

Clearly, different types of learning styles exist, and there are lots of debates in pedagogy about what they are and how to adapt to them.

For practical purposes, it’s recommended to ensure that your course or presentation covers the 7 main types of learning.

In this article, we’ll break down the 7 types of learning styles, and give practical tips for how you can improve your own teaching styles , whether it’s in higher education or an online course you plan to create on the side.

Skip ahead:

What are the 7 types of learning styles?

How to accommodate different types of learning styles online.

• How to help students understand their different types of learning styles

How to create an online course for all

In the academic literature, the most common model for the types of learning you can find is referred to as VARK.

VARK is an acronym that stands for Visual, Auditory, Reading & Writing, and Kinesthetic. While these learning methods are the most recognized, there are people that do not fit into these boxes and prefer to learn differently. So we’re adding three more learning types to our list, including Logical, Social, and Solitary.

Visual learners

Visual learners are individuals that learn more through images, diagrams, charts, graphs, presentations, and anything that illustrates ideas. These people often doodle and make all kinds of visual notes of their own as it helps them retain information better. 

When teaching visual learners, the goal isn’t just to incorporate images and infographics into your lesson. It’s about helping them visualize the relationships between different pieces of data or information as they learn. 

Gamified lessons are a great way to teach visual learners as they’re interactive and aesthetically appealing. You should also give handouts, create presentations, and search for useful infographics to support your lessons.

Since visual information can be pretty dense, give your students enough time to absorb all the new knowledge and make their own connections between visual clues.

Auditory/aural learners

The auditory style of learning is quite the opposite of the visual one. Auditory learners are people that absorb information better when it is presented in audio format (i.e. the lessons are spoken). This type of learner prefers to learn by listening and might not take any notes at all. They also ask questions often or repeat what they have just heard aloud to remember it better.

Aural learners are often not afraid of speaking up and are great at explaining themselves. When teaching auditory learners, keep in mind that they shouldn’t stay quiet for long periods of time. So plan a few activities where you can exchange ideas or ask questions. Watching videos or listening to audio during class will also help with retaining new information.

Reading and writing (or verbal) learners

Reading & Writing learners absorb information best when they use words, whether they’re reading or writing them. To verbal learners, written words are more powerful and granular than images or spoken words, so they’re excellent at writing essays, articles, books, etc. 

To support the way reading-writing students learn best, ensure they have time to take ample notes and allocate extra time for reading. This type of learner also does really well at remote learning, on their own schedule. Including reading materials and writing assignments in their homework should also yield good results.

Kinesthetic/tactile learners

Kinesthetic learners use different senses to absorb information. They prefer to learn by doing or experiencing what they’re being taught. These types of learners are tactile and need to live through experiences to truly understand something new. This makes it a bit challenging to prepare for them in a regular class setting. 

As you try to teach tactile learners, note that they can’t sit still for long and need more frequent breaks than others. You need to get them moving and come up with activities that reinforce the information that was just covered in class. Acting out different roles is great; games are excellent; even collaborative writing on a whiteboard should work fine. If applicable, you can also organize hands-on laboratory sessions, immersions, and workshops.

In general, try to bring every abstract idea into the real world to help kinesthetic learners succeed.

Logical/analytical learners 

As the name implies, logical learners rely on logic to process information and understand a particular subject. They search for causes and patterns to create a connection between different kinds of information. Many times, these connections are not obvious to people to learn differently, but they make perfect sense to logical learners. 

Logical learners generally do well with facts, statistics, sequential lists, and problem-solving tasks to mention a few. 

As a teacher, you can engage logical learners by asking open-ended or obscure questions that require them to apply their own interpretation. You should also use teaching material that helps them hone their problem-solving skills and encourages them to form conclusions based on facts and critical thinking. 

Social/interpersonal learners 

Social or interpersonal learners love socializing with others and working in groups so they learn best during lessons that require them to interact with their peers . Think study groups, peer discussions, and class quizzes. 

To effectively teach interpersonal learners, you’ll need to make teamwork a core part of your lessons. Encourage student interaction by asking questions and sharing stories. You can also incorporate group activities and role-playing into your lessons, and divide the students into study groups.  

Solitary/intrapersonal learners 

Solitary learning is the opposite of social learning. Solitary, or solo, learners prefer to study alone without interacting with other people. These learners are quite good at motivating themselves and doing individual work. In contrast, they generally don’t do well with teamwork or group discussions.

To help students like this, you should encourage activities that require individual work, such as journaling, which allows them to reflect on themselves and improve their skills. You should also acknowledge your students’ individual accomplishments and help them refine their problem-solving skills. 

Are there any unique intelligence types commonly shared by your students? Adapting to these different types of intelligence can help you can design a course best suited to help your students succeed.

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How to help students understand their different types of learning styles 

Unless you’re teaching preschoolers, most students probably already realize the type of learning style that fits them best. But some students do get it wrong.

The key here is to observe every student carefully and plan your content for different learning styles right from the start.

Another idea is to implement as much individual learning as you can and then customize that learning for each student. So you can have visual auditory activities, riddles for logical learners, games for kinesthetic learners, reading activities, writing tasks, drawing challenges, and more.

When you’re creating your first course online, it’s important to dedicate enough time to planning out its structure. Don’t just think that a successful course consists of five uploaded videos.

Think about how you present the new knowledge. Where it makes sense to pause and give students the time to reflect. Where to include activities to review the new material. Adapting to the different learning types that people exhibit can help you design an online course best suited to help your students succeed.

That being said, here are some tips to help you tailor your course to each learning style, or at least create enough balance. 

Visual learners 

Since visual learners like to see or observe images, diagrams, demonstrations, etc., to understand a topic, here’s how you can create a course for them: 

• Include graphics, cartoons, or illustrations of concepts 
• Use flashcards to review course material 
• Use flow charts or maps to organize materials 
• Highlight and color code notes to organize materials 
• Use color-coded tables to compare and contrast elements 
• Use a whiteboard to explain important information
• Have students play around with different font styles and sizes to improve readability 

Auditory learners prefer to absorb information by listening to spoken words, so they do well when teachers give spoken instructions and lessons. Here’s how to cater to this learning type through your online course: 

• Converse with your students about the subject or topic 
• Ask your students questions after each lesson and have them answer you (through the spoken word)
• Have them record lectures and review them with you 
• Have articles, essays, and comprehension passages out to them
• As you teach, explain your methods, questions, and answers 
• Ask for oral summaries of the course material 
• If you teach math or any other math-related course, use a talking calculator 
• Create an audio file that your students can listen to
• Create a video of you teaching your lesson to your student
• Include a YouTube video or podcast episode for your students to listen to
• Organize a live Q & A session where students can talk to you and other learners to help them better understand the subject

Reading and writing (or verbal) learners 

This one is pretty straightforward. Verbal learners learn best when they read or write (or both), so here are some practical ways to include that in your online course:

• Have your students write summaries about the lesson 
• If you teach language or literature, assign them stories and essays that they’d have to read out loud to understand
• If your course is video-based, add transcripts to aid your students’ learning process
• Make lists of important parts of your lesson to help your students memorize them
• Provide downloadable notes and checklists that your students can review after they’ve finished each chapter of your course
• Encourage extra reading by including links to a post on your blog or another website in the course
• Use some type of body movement or rhythm, such as snapping your fingers, mouthing, or pacing, while reciting the material your students should learn

Since kinesthetic learners like to experience hands-on what they learn with their senses — holding, touching, hearing, and doing. So instead of churning out instructions and expecting to follow, do these instead: 

• Encourage them to experiment with textured paper, and different sizes of pencils, pens, and crayons to jot down information
• If you teach diction or language, give them words that they should incorporate into their daily conversations with other people
• Encourage students to dramatize or act out lesson concepts to understand them better 

Logical learners are great at recognizing patterns, analyzing information, and solving problems. So in your online course, you need to structure your lessons to help them hone these abilities. Here are some things you can do:

• Come up with tasks that require them to solve problems. This is easy if you teach math or a math-related course
• Create charts and graphs that your students need to interpret to fully grasp the lesson
• Ask open-ended questions that require critical thinking 
• Create a mystery for your students to solve with clues that require logical thinking or math
• Pose an issue/topic to your students and ask them to address it from multiple perspectives

Since social learners prefer to discuss or interact with others, you should set up your course to include group activities. Here’s how you can do that:

• Encourage them to discuss the course concept with their classmates
• Get your students involved in forum discussions
• Create a platform (via Slack, Discord, etc.) for group discussions
• Pair two or more social students to teach each other the course material
• If you’re offering a cohort-based course , you can encourage students to make their own presentations and explain them to the rest of the class

Solitary learners prefer to learn alone. So when designing your course, you need to take that into consideration and provide these learners a means to work by themselves. Here are some things you can try: 

• Encourage them to do assignments by themselves
• Break down big projects into smaller ones to help them manage time efficiently
• Give them activities that require them to do research on their own
• When they’re faced with problems regarding the topic, let them try to work around it on their own. But let them know that they are welcome to ask you for help if they need to
• Encourage them to speak up when you ask them questions as it builds their communication skills 
• Explore blended learning , if possible, by combining teacher-led classes with self-guided assignments and extra ideas that students can explore on their own.

Now that you’re ready to teach something to everyone, you might be wondering what you actually need to do to create your online courses. Well, start with a platform.

Thinkific is an intuitive and easy-to-use platform any instructor can use to create online courses that would resonate with all types of learning styles. Include videos, audio, presentations, quizzes, and assignments in your curriculum. Guide courses in real-time or pre-record information in advance. It’s your choice.

In addition, creating a course on Thinkific doesn’t require you to know any programming. You can use a professionally designed template and customize it with a drag-and-drop editor to get exactly the course you want in just a few hours. Try it yourself to see how easy it can be.

This blog was originally published in August 2017, it has since been updated in March 2023. 

Althea Storm is a B2B SaaS writer who specializes in creating data-driven content that drives traffic and increases conversions for businesses. She has worked with top companies like AdEspresso, HubSpot, Aura, and Thinkific. When she's not writing web content, she's curled up in a chair reading a crime thriller or solving a Rubik's cube.

• The 5 Most Effective Teaching Styles (Pros & Cons of Each)
• 7 Top Challenges with Online Learning For Students (and Solutions)
• 6 Reasons Why Creators Fail To Sell Their Online Courses
• The Advantages and Disadvantages of Learning in Online Classes in 2024
• 10 Steps To Creating A Wildly Successful Online Course

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Discover Your Learning Style – Comprehensive Guide on Different Learning Styles

People differ in the way they absorb, process, and store new information and master new skills. Natural and habitual, this way does not change with teaching methods or learning content. This is known as the Learning Style.

By discovering and better understanding learning styles, one can employ techniques to improve the rate and quality of learning. Even if one has never heard the term “learning style” before, they are likely to have some idea of what their learning style is.

For instance, one may learn better through DIY videos instead of reading manuals or pick up things faster by listening to audiobooks instead of sitting down to read. These preferences point to one’s learning style.

How can learning style help in the classroom?

Students can have a single dominant learning style or a combination of styles, which could also vary based on circumstances. While no learning style (or a mix of them) is right or wrong, knowing one’s style can significantly enhance learning.

Research has shown that a mismatch between learning style and teaching can affect students’ learning and behavior quality in class. Studies have found that good learning depends on the teaching materials used, which must align with students’ learning styles.

In recent years, there has been a big push in education on how teachers can better meet students’ needs. Learning style has proven very effective in achieving this. It helps teachers understand how students absorb information and teach effectively.

One study found that over 90% of teachers believed in the learning style idea.

Often, teachers have a lot on their plates, and adjusting instruction to suit different learning styles can sound overwhelming. However, once they master how to appeal to all learners, life in the classroom becomes much easier.

This guide will help you understand various learning styles and how teachers can use them to alter instructions and help students learn more effectively.

This improves classroom management and makes for happier students. The chatty student who constantly interrupts will finally find a positive place in the classroom. The quiet girl who knows all the answers but never raises her hand will feel confident sharing her knowledge.

How can learning style help parents?

As a parent, knowing your child’s learning style helps you find activities and resources tailored to their specific learning styles. This allows you to better connect with them and provide the support they need, which also improves relationships.

Knowing learning styles is also helpful beyond educational settings. It helps you understand how those around you learn—at work, in families, in relationships, or in other settings.

Theory Of Learning Styles

The study of learning styles began in 1910 , and formal learning style assessment instruments were developed for academics in the 1970s. By the 1980s, the VAK model, which stands for Visual, Auditory, and Kinesthetic, had gained popularity in the mainstream media.

Thanks to the Internet, VAK became freely available to teachers for assessment by 2000. Later, another dominant style, reading/writing (R), was added to the VAK model, which expanded it to the VARK model.

The VARK model

The VARK learning style model has been adjusted to include four learning modes:

• Visual (spacial) learners learn best by seeing
• Auditory (aural) learners learn best by hearing
• Reading/writing learners learn best by reading and writing
• Kinesthetic (physical) learners learn best by moving and doing

A short questionnaire is used to identify what a learner prefers to use when taking in, processing, and outputting information.

VARK helps explain why it can sometimes be frustrating to sit in a classroom and not get what’s being taught. It also explains why some students learn well from one teacher but struggle to learn from another.

As a student, if you have experienced feelings like this, they are more likely to originate from an incompatibility with your learning style.

According to Neil Fleming and David Baume , who developed VARK, teachers should understand how students learn, but it’s even more important that students themselves know how they learn.

By identifying their own learning process, students can identify and test strategies that significantly improve learning efficiency. According to Fleming and Baume,

“VARK above all is designed to be a starting place for a conversation among teachers and learners about learning. It can also be a catalyst for staff development – thinking about strategies for teaching different groups can lead to more, and appropriate, variety of learning and teaching.”

This kind of thinking is known as metacognition , which refers to an awareness and understanding of one’s thought processes and how to regulate them. Discovering your own learning style without engaging in metacognition would be impossible.

Learning styles can also be multimodal —some have one dominant style, while others combine several learning styles.

Various learning theories, in addition to VAK and VARK, have been developed over time . While the labels used in each theory differ, the learning styles they define often overlap.

Memletics is another theory that was created in 2003 by Sean Whiteley . It expands upon the VAK model by introducing seven learning styles:

As shown, Memletics adds four more learning styles (Verbal, Logical, Social, and Solitary) to the three learning styles defined in the VAK model. However, it leaves out “Reading/Writing,” added when VAK expanded to VARK.

Due to the nature of these categories, there can be an overlap in learning styles defined in Memletics. Take two solitary learners, for instance. While both learn best in solitary situations, one may learn using logic, while the other may learn by seeing (Visual).

In a study on learning styles, Aranya Srijongjai noted that according to the Memletics model, everyone has a mix of learning styles, and learning styles are not fixed, so instructors should also accommodate other types of learning styles by providing diverse learning environments.

They should vary activities so that students learn in their preferred style and have a chance to develop other styles. Matching and mismatching learning styles and instructional methods will complement the student’s learning performance and create more flexible learners in the long run.

As Srijongjai suggests, students and teachers should not consider learning styles as boxes into which students can be placed. They are just one small piece of the overall puzzle in a student’s learning process.

No matter what learning style theory appeals to you the most, knowing your style helps make learning easier and more successful. Most learners will have at least one dominant style in the VARK theory.

This guide will offer information and advice to teachers, students, and parents to help them understand why and how people learn the way they do.

For each learning style, we have included suggestions for career choices, which in no way are meant to be limiting, but they can be helpful. If you are a visual learner but feel pulled toward one of the fields listed in the auditory learner section, by all means, pursue your passion.

These suggestions merely show what careers a person with a particular style might gravitate toward and where they are likely to excel with minimal effort.

Understanding your learning style is helpful, but again, you should also be careful not to put yourself in a box and define yourself by your learning style. The key is understanding how you learn and avoiding getting caught up in labels and classifications.

Take what insight you can, but don’t let it overcome your thoughts about yourself, as you may very well lie at the intersection of the “standard” learning styles:

Visual Learners

Do you ever remember taking a test in school and thinking, “I don’t remember the answer, but I remember I had it highlighted pink in my notes”? If the answer is yes, then you might be a visual learner.

Visual learners remember and learn best from what they see. This doesn’t necessarily have to be restricted to pictures and videos. They do well with spatial reasoning, charts, graphs, etc. Visual learners often “see” words as pictures or objects in their heads.

Visual learners use their right brain to process information. The human brain processes visual information much faster than plain text. Some reports claim that images are processed 60,000 times faster than text .

As a visual learner, you can quickly take in and retain a lot of information because you prefer this processing method that humans are already very good at.

Visual learners prefer using maps, outlines, diagrams, charts, graphs, designs, and patterns when studying and learning. They are more likely to organize their notes into visual patterns or separate their pages of notes into different sections. Many visual learners also do well by color-coding their notes.

Careers For Visual Learners

Visual learners are often drawn to and do well in STEM fields (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math). Career options include Data Analytics & Visualization, Graphics Design, Photography, Architecture, Construction, Copy Editing, Interior Design, Physics, Advertising, Engineering, and Surgery.

A Note On Visual Learners For Teachers

Sometimes, students who are visual learners might stare out the window or doodle in their notes. If this is the case, let them do it. Locking their eyes constantly on you can be too visually stimulating for these students.

Sometimes, it’s the flower that they draw next to their notes that helps them remember the point by bringing out a visual connection.

It’s also easy for visual learners to get overwhelmed by a lot of visual input. If the classroom setting is chaotic, with many students moving around, it might be too much for these students to take in.

The design of a classroom is very important to visual learners. Clutter or too many posters adorning the walls can easily overwhelm their minds and processing.

Some visual learners may find it helpful to pay careful attention to your movements. They might even remember the silly hand motion you made or how you pointed to a country on the map. Keeping this in mind when delivering your lessons can be very effective.

Lesson Ideas To Help Visual Learners

Draw text and words.

Make it a habit to write new words and add a few quick context clues (e.g., putting the part of speech in brackets or underling the stressed syllable). Pick out a portion of the text with especially vivid imagery and instruct students to draw a picture of what the writing describes. This will help visual learners read and understand the text better.

Visual learners tend to color code things naturally. It can be helpful if you, as a teacher, also color code your notes as you write or post them. You could, for example, designate roles for certain areas of the board and use colors to organize information during the lesson.

Or, for homework or in-class assignments, you could have students annotate/read actively and use different colors for different things you want them to look for. For example, they could highlight dates in blue and names in yellow.

Use charts and graphs

Create charts and graphs to help students visualize information. While math and science subjects typically provide the ideal setting, they can be used in other disciplines as well.

For instance, in a social science class, students could track local election participation rates over ten years and create line graphs to visualize trends. This will give them a deeper understanding of civic involvement dynamics in their community.

Such assignments engage visual learners and allow them to recall information more easily, organize concepts, and articulate their thoughts more easily. Try:

• Venn Diagrams (that represent comparisons and contrasts)
• Timelines (to visually represent a series of events)
• Inverted Triangles (that go from broad topics to more specific ones).
• Story or Essay Planners (that guide students through the steps necessary to complete tasks)
• Charts to list word families – add columns for verbs, adjectives, adverbs, and nouns and fill them as words come up. (e.g., engage, engaging, engagingly, engagement)

Use posters and flashcards

As a project or class assignment, ask students to make posters illustrating key concepts. Students can even present their posters to the class – which would benefit auditory learners. Display these posters on the wall to help drive home important topics.

Flashcards also provide visual cues to young learners and can be used to teach various concepts. To build vocabulary, for example, the word “yummy” may be drawn as swirls of an ice cream cone that helps visual learners remember.

A number of classic games can also be designed using flashcards that help visual learners interact visually and learn better.

Draw reasoning

In math, teach students to draw out their reasoning. For example, instead of verbally explaining how to add 3 and 5, you could create a sketch that depicts two baskets with 3 and 5 apples each. Counting all the apples in your drawing visually demonstrates that 3 plus 5 equals 8, making it easier to understand.

Use gestures

Be aware of your body language when you teach. Including gestures and hand motions when you speak will help visual learners pay attention and make connections.

Auditory Learners

Do you sometimes talk to yourself when thinking hard, studying, or trying to organize something? If that sounds like you, you’re likely an auditory learner.

Auditory learners learn best by carefully hearing and listening. This can include listening to external sources and hearing themselves talk. They will likely volunteer to answer questions and actively participate in classroom discussions.

Auditory learners have a great advantage in the classroom because they are not afraid to speak their minds and easily get answers to their questions. Consequently, they process information very easily, right there in the classroom.

In contrast, reading/writing learners might not even realize they have a question until they’ve had time to go back and process their notes.

For auditory learners, any form of listening or speaking is the most efficient learning method. This can include lectures, audiobooks, discussions, and verbal processing. They are also typically good at storytelling and public speaking.

Many auditory learners prefer studying and working in groups because they prefer to talk through the information, which makes them “social learners,” as per Memletics.

Careers For Auditory Learners

Any job that requires a lot of listening and/or speaking will likely be an excellent fit for an auditory learner. Some career fields to consider include law, psychiatry or therapy, guidance counseling, customer service, sales, speech pathology, journalism, and teaching.

A Note On Auditory Learners For Teachers

Just like visual learners, even auditory learners might stare into space, but for a different reason. Since they process information best by listening, they don’t need to look at notes or PowerPoint very often. While this may seem like they are zoning out or not paying attention, it’s generally not the case.

If you’ve ever caught a student staring off into space and asked them a question, thinking you’ve caught them off guard, only to get the perfect answer, you’ve likely found a very auditory learner.

These students also tend to get chatty during class. This can be great when trying to get a lively class discussion or debate going but not when you need the class to listen intently.

Before this frustrates and angers you, remember that this is how their brain works and learns. As much as you can and as much as is practical based on the subject, try to facilitate discussions and play into this rather than squashing it.

Remember that auditory learners may really struggle with written and visual information.

These are the students who can answer every single question you ask in class and then score just 60% on an exam that tests the same information. If you suspect that a student who bombed a test actually knows much more, give them a chance to answer those questions verbally.

Lesson Ideas To Help Auditory Learners

For obvious reasons, audiobooks are perfect for auditory learners. Give these students the option to listen from an audiobook—this can be effective with both novels and textbooks.

Socratic Seminar

A Socratic seminar is a student-led discussion based on a text in which the teacher asks open-ended questions to begin with. Students listen closely to each other’s comments, think critically for themselves, and articulate their thoughts and responses to others’ thoughts.

They learn to work cooperatively and to question intelligently and civilly. Discussions usually occur in a circle, and the atmosphere is laid-back, encouraging every student to join the conversation.

Auditory learners often lead such discussions. It gives them a chance to shine and be rewarded for talking, which usually gets them in trouble otherwise.

Teacher Kelly Gallagher offers a great handout called Trace the Conversation that can help auditory and visual learners with Socratic seminars. There are many ways to conduct Socratic Seminars; the National Council of Teachers of English has a great explanation .

Speeches, the often hated but necessary school assignment many students dread, are a favorite of auditory learners. When it comes to speeches, auditory learners feel in their element. Speeches can be short and impromptu or long and planned, and they can be on any subject.

Recorded notes

You can either record yourself speaking or permit your students to record lectures so they can listen later. You can also encourage students to record themselves reading their notes.

Text to speech

Students can do this independently, but they might need your prompting or feel better about doing it if you permit them. Document processors like Microsoft Word and Google Docs have text-to-speech and speech-to-text embedded as standard.

Students can, for instance, use speech-to-text to capture their thoughts when writing essays. Text-to-speech can also be beneficial for proofreading and catching errors.

A structured debate is beneficial for auditory learners to get their ideas across. It can be done at all grade levels and in all disciplines. Here is a great resource for some debate ideas and different debate formats for different grade levels.

Reading/Writing Learners

Do you tend to zone out when people talk to you or when you hear a lecture? Would you instead read the transcript or get the information from a book? Then, you’re probably a reading/writing learner. You learn best by reading and writing.

Reading/writing learners often relate to the famous Flannery O’Connor’s quote: “I write because I don’t know what I think until I read what I say.”

For these learners, verbal input can often go into one ear and out from the other without much effect. Seeing notes on the board or a PowerPoint presentation is very important to them, as is taking notes.

These students learn best from books, lists, notes, journals, dictionaries, etc. They can also intuitively help themselves learn by rewriting notes, using flashcards, adding notes to pictures or diagrams, choosing a physical book over an audiobook, and using closed video captions.

Careers For Reading/Writing Learners

Writing is a common and obvious career choice for reading/writing learners, but if this is your learning style, you’re definitely not limited to writing. Editing, journalism, public relations, law, teaching and education, marketing, advertising, researching, translating, and economic advising are all excellent career choices.

A Note On Reading/Writing Learners For Teachers

Reading/writing learners are often your typical “good students.” However, they can really struggle to learn from lectures or completely auditory methods. They may not respond well to class discussions and need more time to process what they hear.

Help them by giving them time to write down their thoughts before asking them to share out loud. This will reduce their stress and allow them to process their thoughts.

As a teacher, you will likely encounter students who need more time to understand a concept, even after you have finished explaining it. These students are most likely reading/writing learners.

Knowing their learning style makes it easier to be more patient and provide them with the necessary support. They sometimes struggle to take notes because they try to write down everything you say. Help them by working with them to pull out the most important parts of your lecture and paraphrase what they hear.

Lesson Ideas To Help Reading/Writing Learners

No matter what the lesson is about, providing handouts highlighting the most important information is one of the best things you can do to help reading/writing learners. It’s also important to give them enough time to write detailed notes.

Essays and reading assignments

These simple assignments work best for reading/writing learners. This is why they often thrive in the traditional classroom setting.

Vocabulary stories

Have students create stories or plays to make their vocabulary words more fun and exciting. This can be done in any subject area that has vocabulary words.

You can give students a topic or let them be creative, but all they have to do is write a story containing x number of vocabulary words. You can also extend this activity to help kinesthetic learners by having students act out their stories for the class.

Think, pair, share

Reading/writing learners often struggle with sharing their thoughts out loud. They ace their tests but freeze when you call on them in the class. Think-pair-share can help give them the confidence they need to verbalize their thoughts and is suitable for most age groups in almost any subject area.

First, ask students an open-ended question and give them time to think silently and write their answers. Then, have students pair up in small groups to share their answers. Then, open the discussion to the whole class.

When you ask a question and want students to respond right away, you’ll likely get answers only from the auditory learners—they are the quickest at verbal processing.

With think-pair-share, the reading/writing learners get the time they need to process. In that time, they develop the confidence to construct a verbal response and are very likely to respond.

Kinesthetic Learners

Are you the first to stand up and volunteer to demonstrate an experiment for everyone else? Do you need to change the oil rather than look at a diagram to learn how to do it? If the answer is yes, then you are most likely a kinesthetic learner.

The root word “kines” means motion and a kinesthetic learner learns best by “going through the motion” or doing the task. It’s much easier for them to internalize the information when they are actively moving their body and combining that with what they are learning.

These students tend to shine in demonstrations and experiments. They also learn best from seeing something firsthand, like watching live videos and going on field trips.

Combining a physical motion, such as fidgeting, with a piece of information can help them learn better. They are likelier to use active gesturing and “talk with their hands.”

Careers For Kinesthetic Learners

Any career that allows physical activity and requires movement is right up the alley of a kinesthetic learner. These are the ones who often use the phrase “I don’t sit well.”

Kinesthetic learners typically don’t thrive well at desk jobs. Good career options for such learners include physical or occupational therapy, nursing, dance, theatre, music, automotive technology, welding, on-site engineering jobs, carpentry, agriculture, environmental science, forestry, and marine biology.

A Note On Kinesthetic Learners For Teachers

Just because you see a student fidgeting or being antsy, it doesn’t mean they aren’t paying attention or are bored. Their brain craves that movement to help them make connections.

There’s no need to force such students to sit entirely still as long as they aren’t distracting others in the classroom. Try to connect movement to the concepts you’re teaching as much as possible. Kinesthetic learners need to move, and they can benefit from active brain breaks.

Do your best to keep them active and allow movement in your classroom. If you notice a student with a glazed-over look, take a 30-second break from the lesson and have the entire class stand up, stretch, or do some jumping jacks.

Or you could ask your kinesthetic learner to run a quick errand to the office.

As students, kinesthetic learners often get punished for trying to move and follow their natural learning style. The more you can find ways to reward them for their learning style, the more engaged they will become.

Lesson Ideas To Help Kinesthetic Learners

Labs and experiments.

While labs and experiments are standard in science classes, they can also be successfully implemented in the curriculum of other subjects to benefit kinesthetic learners.

For example, an elementary math lesson could involve measuring each student’s height and creating problems based on the measurements. Geometry, for instance, could be taught using hands-on activities and tangible objects, like clay or building blocks, for better comprehension.

Field trips

With tightening school budgets, it can be hard to plan educational field trips, and that’s understandable. However, field trips need not have to be major events.

An art project, for example, could involve taking students outside and having them draw or photograph what they see. An English lesson could include a nature walk during which students journal or write a story about their little field trip.

Physical props

Use practical and/or memorable props; for example, when teaching a history lesson, dressing in the attire of the era you are teaching about will greatly impact kinesthetic learners. If you’re an anatomy teacher, consider using a model skeleton or demonstrating with your body as a helpful visual aid.

Take a stand

This activity is easy to set up and appeals to both kinesthetic and auditory learners. It requires you to prepare a series of questions that students can agree or disagree with.

For instance, if your students read “To Kill A Mockingbird,” your questions could revolve around racism. (Note: when tackling a sensitive subject such as racism, make sure you know your students and their maturity level)

Have signs on either side of your classroom indicating “agree” and “disagree.” Read through each question and have students move to the side of the room that fits their beliefs. Once there, they can discuss their thoughts with the group that follows their beliefs, and then you can open the discussion to the whole class.

This works well for literature and history lessons. Instead of reading silently, assign students parts and have them act out the story.

Tableaux Vivants

Tableaux Vivants is a time-tested process drama technique that can enhance students’ engagement and comprehension of abstract learning material across the curriculum. It works well in literature and history classrooms and is a great review activity. It is very similar to charades .

It involves breaking students into groups and assigning each group a “scene” – this could be from a work of literature or a scene from history. Each group then works together to create a silent re-enactment consisting of “snapshots” of the scene.

Students pose and pause for 5-10 seconds before moving on to their next pose. Once they have moved through all their poses, the rest of the class guesses what scene they were re-enacting.

Demonstration speeches

Einstein once said: “If you can’t explain it simply, you don’t understand it well enough.” Demonstration speeches allow students to explain something they understand well to their peers.

Ask your students to pick a topic, such as how to make a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  Ask them to give a speech explaining the process while simultaneously demonstrating it.

The demonstration part appeals most to kinesthetic learners. Since students can choose their topic, it also appeals to all other learners, creating an engaging learning experience.

Logical Learners

If a child is good with numbers and asks many questions, they might be a logical learner. A logical learner has a core need to understand what is being learned. For them, simply memorizing facts is not enough. They thrive on orderly and sequential processes.

Individuals who excel at math and possess strong logical reasoning skills are usually logical learners. They notice patterns quickly and have a keen ability to link information that would seem unrelated to others. Logical learners retain details better by drawing connections after organizing an assortment of information.

As a logical learner, you can maximize your ability to learn by seeking to understand the meaning and reasoning behind the subject you’re studying. Avoid rote memorization.

Explore the links between related subject matter and ensure you understand the details. Use ‘systems thinking’ to better understand the relationship between various parts of a system. This will not only help you understand the bigger picture but also help you understand why each component is important.

Social Learners

Social learners have excellent written and verbal communication skills. They are at ease speaking to others and adept at comprehending other people’s perspectives. For this reason, people frequently seek counsel from them.

Social learners learn best when working with groups and take opportunities to meet individually with teachers.

If you like bouncing ideas off others, prefer working through issues as a group, and thoroughly enjoy working with others, you may be a social learner. Seek opportunities to study with others. If your class doesn’t have formal groups, form one.

Solitary Learners

Solitary learners prefer working by themselves in private settings. They avoid relying on others for help when solving problems or studying and frequently analyze their learning preferences and methods.

Solitary learners tend to waste a lot of time on a complex problem before seeking assistance. If you are a solitary learner, you must consciously recognize this limitation and try to seek help more often/sooner when stuck.

Generally, solitary learning can be a very effective learning style for students.

Tips to Simultaneously Help Learners of All Types

Lessons tailored to suit multiple learning styles are often the most effective, as they reach and appeal to most students. Another reason they are best suited is because most people have a combination of learning styles.

The activities discussed in this article provide ample opportunities for all types of learners to benefit. As a teacher, if you try to be creative, you can make little tweaks in almost every lesson to reach different learning styles.

Following are some ideas and ways by which to reach all four VARK learning styles:

Split your space into multiple stations (or centers) spread throughout the classroom. Break your students into groups so there is a group at every station.

Then, assign activities for each station that focus on a learning style. Have the students rotate with their groups from one station to another.

While the obvious benefit of rotation is that it ensures the activities cover each type of learner’s needs, there is more to it.

Even if you don’t have a center that caters to kinesthetic learners, the simple act of getting up and moving around different stations in the classroom helps them. The same goes for auditory learners; being in small groups and rotating throughout the room encourages discussion.

Give options

Irrespective of what subjects you teach your students, give them options as far as possible. For instance, instead of assigning an essay at the end of a unit, assign a project that can be completed with multiple activities.

Don’t mention which choices align with which learning style—let the students decide. Here is an example of 4 different options for a homework project:

• Write an essay (appeals to reading/writing learners)
• Record a podcast or TED talk (appeals to auditory learners)
• Film a video (appeals to kinesthetic learners)
• Create a poster or multimedia project (appeals to visual learners)

Quite often, students will naturally gravitate toward the option that best suits their learning style.

Allow students to use headphones when working independently in class. This helps cut out distractions for most learning types. Particularly for auditory learners, it can help make connections between what they hear and what they’re learning, which can be very helpful for them when they need to work silently.

Technology has made great strides and deep inroads into education. Several apps and websites can help students in various ways. Here is a list of apps for elementary math that could appeal to all four learning styles.

Games that include pictures and sound can help visual and auditory learners. Reading explanations and lessons on apps helps reading/writing learners. Physically manipulating and touching a device helps kinesthetic learners.

A quick online search will reveal several beneficial websites and apps for almost any discipline.

Final Words

There is no right or wrong when it comes to learning styles; they are simply names and categories assigned to how people’s brains process information.

It is generally easier for those with a dominant reading/writing style to succeed in a traditional academic setting, thus securing the “good student” label. However, education has come a long way, and schools and teachers can cater to various styles.

As a teacher, it’s important to remember that every student is unique. Even two visual learners might differ significantly in terms of what works for them. The best approach is to learn about and understand each student’s unique educational requirements.

After all, students are human beings with unique needs and feelings; teachers who remember this can approach them empathetically.

If you are a student interested in knowing about your learning style, you can begin by taking the VARK questionnaire . Having your students take the questionnaire is a good idea if you’re a teacher. Not only will you discover your student’s learning styles, but they will also be able to identify which techniques work best for them.

Remember, learning style is only a partial explanation of a student’s preferred way of learning. It is never the complete picture. These styles change over time, and every student can have differing degrees of inclination toward a given style.

However, regardless of your position in education, recognizing both your own learning styles and those of others around you can be highly beneficial.

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Center for Teaching

Learning styles.

What are Learning Styles?

Why are they so popular.

The term  learning styles is widely used to describe how learners gather, sift through, interpret, organize, come to conclusions about, and “store” information for further use.  As spelled out in VARK (one of the most popular learning styles inventories), these styles are often categorized by sensory approaches:   v isual, a ural, verbal [ r eading/writing], and k inesthetic.  Many of the models that don’t resemble the VARK’s sensory focus are reminiscent of Felder and Silverman’s Index of Learning Styles , with a continuum of descriptors for how learners process and organize information:  active-reflective, sensing-intuitive, verbal-visual, and sequential-global.

There are well over 70 different learning styles schemes (Coffield, 2004), most of which are supported by “a thriving industry devoted to publishing learning-styles tests and guidebooks” and “professional development workshops for teachers and educators” (Pashler, et al., 2009, p. 105).

Despite the variation in categories, the fundamental idea behind learning styles is the same: that each of us has a specific learning style (sometimes called a “preference”), and we learn best when information is presented to us in this style.  For example, visual learners would learn any subject matter best if given graphically or through other kinds of visual images, kinesthetic learners would learn more effectively if they could involve bodily movements in the learning process, and so on.  The message thus given to instructors is that “optimal instruction requires diagnosing individuals’ learning style[s] and tailoring instruction accordingly” (Pashler, et al., 2009, p. 105).

Despite the popularity of learning styles and inventories such as the VARK, it’s important to know that there is no evidence to support the idea that matching activities to one’s learning style improves learning .  It’s not simply a matter of “the absence of evidence doesn’t mean the evidence of absence.”  On the contrary, for years researchers have tried to make this connection through hundreds of studies.

In 2009, Psychological Science in the Public Interest commissioned cognitive psychologists Harold Pashler, Mark McDaniel, Doug Rohrer, and Robert Bjork to evaluate the research on learning styles to determine whether there is credible evidence to support using learning styles in instruction.  They came to a startling but clear conclusion:  “Although the literature on learning styles is enormous,” they “found virtually no evidence” supporting the idea that “instruction is best provided in a format that matches the preference of the learner.”  Many of those studies suffered from weak research design, rendering them far from convincing.  Others with an effective experimental design “found results that flatly contradict the popular” assumptions about learning styles (p. 105). In sum,

“The contrast between the enormous popularity of the learning-styles approach within education and the lack of credible evidence for its utility is, in our opinion, striking and disturbing” (p. 117).

Pashler and his colleagues point to some reasons to explain why learning styles have gained—and kept—such traction, aside from the enormous industry that supports the concept.  First, people like to identify themselves and others by “type.” Such categories help order the social environment and offer quick ways of understanding each other.  Also, this approach appeals to the idea that learners should be recognized as “unique individuals”—or, more precisely, that differences among students should be acknowledged —rather than treated as a number in a crowd or a faceless class of students (p. 107). Carried further, teaching to different learning styles suggests that “ all people have the potential to learn effectively and easily if only instruction is tailored to their individual learning styles ” (p. 107).

There may be another reason why this approach to learning styles is so widely accepted. They very loosely resemble the concept of metacognition , or the process of thinking about one’s thinking.  For instance, having your students describe which study strategies and conditions for their last exam worked for them and which didn’t is likely to improve their studying on the next exam (Tanner, 2012).  Integrating such metacognitive activities into the classroom—unlike learning styles—is supported by a wealth of research (e.g., Askell Williams, Lawson, & Murray-Harvey, 2007; Bransford, Brown, & Cocking, 2000; Butler & Winne, 1995; Isaacson & Fujita, 2006; Nelson & Dunlosky, 1991; Tobias & Everson, 2002).

Importantly, metacognition is focused on planning, monitoring, and evaluating any kind of thinking about thinking and does nothing to connect one’s identity or abilities to any singular approach to knowledge.  (For more information about metacognition, see CFT Assistant Director Cynthia Brame’s “ Thinking about Metacognition ” blog post, and stay tuned for a Teaching Guide on metacognition this spring.)

There is, however, something you can take away from these different approaches to learning—not based on the learner, but instead on the content being learned .  To explore the persistence of the belief in learning styles, CFT Assistant Director Nancy Chick interviewed Dr. Bill Cerbin, Professor of Psychology and Director of the Center for Advancing Teaching and Learning at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse and former Carnegie Scholar with the Carnegie Academy for the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning.  He points out that the differences identified by the labels “visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing” are more appropriately connected to the nature of the discipline:

“There may be evidence that indicates that there are some ways to teach some subjects that are just better than others , despite the learning styles of individuals…. If you’re thinking about teaching sculpture, I’m not sure that long tracts of verbal descriptions of statues or of sculptures would be a particularly effective way for individuals to learn about works of art. Naturally, these are physical objects and you need to take a look at them, you might even need to handle them.” (Cerbin, 2011, 7:45-8:30 )

Pashler and his colleagues agree: “An obvious point is that the optimal instructional method is likely to vary across disciplines” (p. 116). In other words, it makes disciplinary sense to include kinesthetic activities in sculpture and anatomy courses, reading/writing activities in literature and history courses, visual activities in geography and engineering courses, and auditory activities in music, foreign language, and speech courses.  Obvious or not, it aligns teaching and learning with the contours of the subject matter, without limiting the potential abilities of the learners.

• Askell-Williams, H., Lawson, M. & Murray, Harvey, R. (2007). ‘ What happens in my university classes that helps me to learn?’: Teacher education students’ instructional metacognitive knowledge. International Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning , 1. 1-21.
• Bransford, J. D., Brown, A. L. & Cocking, R. R., (Eds.). (2000). How people learn: Brain, mind, experience, and school (Expanded Edition). Washington, D.C.: National Academy Press.
• Butler, D. L., & Winne, P. H. (1995) Feedback and self-regulated learning: A theoretical synthesis . Review of Educational Research , 65, 245-281.
• Cerbin, William. (2011). Understanding learning styles: A conversation with Dr. Bill Cerbin .  Interview with Nancy Chick. UW Colleges Virtual Teaching and Learning Center .
• Coffield, F., Moseley, D., Hall, E., & Ecclestone, K. (2004). Learning styles and pedagogy in post-16 learning. A systematic and critical review . London: Learning and Skills Research Centre.
• Isaacson, R. M. & Fujita, F. (2006). Metacognitive knowledge monitoring and self-regulated learning: Academic success and reflections on learning . Journal of the Scholarship of Teaching and Learning , 6, 39-55.
• Nelson, T.O. & Dunlosky, J. (1991). The delayed-JOL effect: When delaying your judgments of learning can improve the accuracy of your metacognitive monitoring. Psychological Science , 2, 267-270.
• Pashler, Harold, McDaniel, M., Rohrer, D., & Bjork, R.  (2008). Learning styles: Concepts and evidence . Psychological Science in the Public Interest . 9.3 103-119.
• Tobias, S., & Everson, H. (2002). Knowing what you know and what you don’t: Further research on metacognitive knowledge monitoring . College Board Report No. 2002-3 . College Board, NY.

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Overview of VARK Learning Styles

Sam Edwards / Getty Images

VARK Learning Styles

• Find Your Style
• Kinesthetic

Why It Matters

Frequently asked questions.

Learning styles are a popular concept in psychology and education and are intended to identify how people learn best. VARK learning styles suggest that there are four main types of learners: visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic.

The idea that students learn best when teaching methods and school activities match their learning styles, strengths, and preferences grew in popularity in the 1970s and 1980s. However, most evidence suggests that personal learning preferences have little to no actual influence on learning outcomes.

While the existing research has found that matching teaching methods to learning styles has no influence on educational outcomes, the concept of learning styles remains extremely popular.

There are many different ways of categorizing learning styles , but Neil Fleming's VARK model is one of the most popular. Fleming introduced an inventory in 1987 that was designed to help students and others learn more about their individual learning preferences.

According to the VARK model, learners are identified by whether they have a preference for:

• Visual learning (pictures, movies, diagrams)
• Auditory learning (music, discussion, lectures)
• Reading and writing (making lists, reading textbooks, taking notes)
• Kinesthetic learning (movement, experiments, hands-on activities)

The VARK model refers to the four sensory modalities that describe different learning preferences. The model suggests that these modalities reflect how students learn best.

What Type of Learner Are You?

In order to identify which type of learner people are, Fleming developed a self-report inventory that posed a series of situations. Respondents select the answers that best match their preferred approach to learning.

Imagine that you are learning how to perform a new physical skill such as riding a bike or dancing a certain style of dance. In which way would you learn this skill the best?

• Look at pictures of people performing the skill. (Visual)
• Listen to an expert explain how to do the task. (Auditory)
• Read about how to perform the task in a book. (Reading/Writing)
• Watch someone else perform the skill and then trying it yourself. (Kinesthetic)

Visual Learners

Visual learners learn best by seeing. Graphic displays such as charts, diagrams, illustrations, handouts, and videos are all helpful learning tools for visual learners.

Visual learners prefer this type of learning would rather see information presented in a visual rather than in written form.

Do you think you might be a visual learner? Then consider the following questions:

• Are art, beauty, and aesthetics important to you?
• Does visualizing information in your mind help you remember it better?
• Do you have to see information in order to remember it?
• Do you pay close attention to body language ?

If you can answer yes to most of these questions, chances are good that you have a visual learning style. You may find it helpful to incorporate things like pictures and graphs when you are learning new information.

Aural Learners

Aural (or auditory) learners learn best by hearing information. They tend to get a great deal out of lectures and are good at remembering things they are told.

Are you an auditory learner? Consider the following questions:

• Do you create songs to help remember information?
• Does reading out loud help you remember information better?
• Do you prefer to listen to class lectures rather than reading from the textbook?
• Would you prefer to listen to a recording of your class lectures or a podcast rather than going over your class notes?

If you answered yes to most of these questions, then you are probably an auditory learner. You might find things like audiobooks and podcasts helpful for learning new things.

Reading and Writing Learners

Reading and writing learners prefer to take in information that is displayed as words and text. Could you be a reading and writing learner? Read through the following questions and think about whether they might apply to you.

• Do you enjoy making lists, reading definitions, and creating presentations?
• Do you find reading your textbook to be a great way to learn new information?
• Do you take a lot of notes during class and while reading textbooks?
• Do you prefer it when teachers make use of overheads and handouts?

If you answered yes to these questions, it is likely that you have a strong preference for the reading and writing style of learning. You might find it helpful to write down information in order to help you learn and remember it.

Kinesthetic Learners

Kinesthetic (or tactile) learners learn best by touching and doing. Hands-on experience is important for kinesthetic learners.

Not sure if you're a kinesthetic learner? Answer these questions to find out:

• Are you good at applied activities such as painting, cooking, mechanics, sports, and woodworking?
• Do you enjoy performing tasks that involve directly manipulating objects and materials?
• Do you have to actually practice doing something in order to learn it?
• Is it difficult for you to sit still for long periods of time?

If you responded yes to these questions, then you are most likely a kinesthetic learner. Taking classes that give you practical, hands-on experience may be helpful when you want to acquire a new skill.

The validity of the VARK model as well as other learning style theories has been questioned and criticized extensively. Some critics have suggested that labeling students as having one specific learning style can actually be a hindrance to learning.

One large-scale look at learning style models suggested that the instruments designed to assess individual learning styles were questionable.  

The VARK model remains fairly popular among both students and educators despite these criticisms. Students may feel drawn to a particular learning style. Others may find that their learning preferences lie somewhere in the middle, such as finding both visual and auditory learning equally appealing.

People might find that understanding their own learning preferences can be helpful. If you know that visual learning appeals to you most, using visual study strategies in conjunction with other learning methods might help you remember and enjoy your studies more.

If no single learning preference calls out to you or you change preferences based on the situation or the type of information you are learning, you probably have what is known as a multimodal style .

For example, you might rely on your reading and writing preferences when you are dealing with a class that requires a great deal of book reading and note-taking, such as a history of psychology course. During an art class, you might depend more on your visual and kinesthetic preferences as you take in pictorial information and learn new techniques.

The four VARK learning styles are visual learners, aural learners, reading and writing learners, and kinesthetic learners.

According to some data, the most common is a multimodal learning style referred to as VARK Type Two, which involves exhibiting a range of learning preferences. People with this learning style tend to collect information more slowly and take time to make decisions.

In terms of single preferences, kinesthetic is by far the most common, accounting for 22.8% of respondents.

Pashler H, Mcdaniel M, Rohrer D, Bjork R. Learning styles: concepts and evidence . Psychol Sci Public Interest . 2008;9(3):105-19. doi:10.1111/j.1539-6053.2009.01038.x

VARK Learn Limited. VARK research - what do we know about VARK ?

Fleming N. Introduction to Vark .

By Kendra Cherry, MSEd Kendra Cherry, MS, is a psychosocial rehabilitation specialist, psychology educator, and author of the "Everything Psychology Book."

10 Types of Learning and How to Teach Them: A Complete Guide to Learning Styles

If you have been a part of the education sector, you probably already know how different each child is. Every student has their own set of strengths and weaknesses which make them unique. Similarly, every student has a preferred way of learning and retaining the material. These preferences are called “learning styles”. 

Each learning style describes how a learner best receives information, interprets it, organizes it, and stores it. A majority of the learners today even have multiple or overlapping learning styles, also called multimodal learning . As an educator, it is extremely important to know the different types of learning – since this will help your students build on their strengths and retain information better. The original model of VARK only describes four of these - visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. However, in this article we explore 10 types of learning and how to teach them. 

Another factor that contributes to learning and retaining information is the subject of the information. It is a well known fact that some people excel better in creative fields like design, fine arts, photography, while others might excel in practical or calculative fields like mathematics, engineering, science, and so on.

Thus, different people have different interests and these interests contribute to different learning areas or subjects as well. 

1. Physical (Kinesthetic) Learning

Physical or kinesthetic learners prefer a hands-on experience rather than listening to lectures or sitting in a class. They like interacting physically with things that are tangible in nature. These learners could see the idea of studying for hours as a daunting experience but are better with actually doing things themselves. They possess qualities like being restless, preferring to get their hands “dirty”, outgoing and energetic.

Ways to engage physical learners:

• Encourage movement within lessons. Example: role play
• Give them well-spaced breaks between lessons to move around
• Use props and interactive models
• Declutter desks to promote better focus

2. Visual (Spatial) Learning

Visual or spatial learners learn best with the help of visual cues like charts, images, diagrams, graphs, etc. These learners respond best to colours and mind maps . They use their visual memory to retain information for longer periods of time. Many visual learners possess characteristics like frequent planning and doodling, they have a good attention span and are extremely observant, and they prefer visual directions.

Ways to engage visual learners:

• Use maps, diagrams, imagery
• Include technology like projectors
• Use colour coding techniques
• Encourage mind maps and flowcharts

3. Auditory Learning

People who tend to understand and retain information by hearing it or saying it out loud (oral) are called auditory learners. These types of learners can quickly notice the change in someone’s pitch, tone, and other voice qualities. They usually prefer discussing topics, participating in debates, and conversing about things to remember them. Most auditory learners are easy to distract and might even hum, sing, or talk to self frequently.

Ways to engage auditory learners:

• Try using different pitches and tones while reading the material
• Record voice lessons
• Encourage class presentations, group discussions, debates
• Ask them to teach others verbally

4. Verbal (Read/Write) Learning

These types of learners prefer traditional methods like using multiple written resources for learning. Verbal learners learn best through written material or by writing the material themselves. They usually possess a broad vocabulary and might even like using tools like acronyms, rhymes, tongue twisters, among others. Verbal learners are known to be bookworms.

Ways to engage verbal learners:

• Make use of mnemonics while teaching (song, rhyme, acronym, phrase)
• Inculcate scripts
• Encourage students to jot down and voice their ideas
• Include word games like crossword

5. Logical (Mathematical) Learning

Logical or mathematical learners tend to categorize information into groups to learn them better. They have a knack for quickly recognizing patterns and sequences; and understand equations, numbers, and relationships easily. These learners love structure and logic to things. Naturally, mathematics comes easy to them.

Ways to engage logical learners:

• Create an easy to navigate system to your lessons
• Try and inculcate statistics to subjects other than mathematics
• Classify concepts into groups or categories
• Generate cause-effect relationships between variables throughout all subject areas

6. Musical Learning

Where music or background noise is a distraction to most of us, musical learners prefer them. They tend to learn better with music, beats, and rhythm. Like logical learners, they too find patterns and relationships, but between different sounds. Some sources say they even think in sounds and rhythms instead of words and pictures.

Clearly, these learners often grow up to be musicians or instrumentalists. More often than never, some people are a combination of auditory and musical learners. This is why strategies to engage these two kinds aren’t too different.

Ways to engage musical learners:

• Encourage listening to soft background music
• Promote podcasts

7. Naturalist Learners

Naturalist learners learn best through experimentation and practical experiences. They like making observations of the world around them. Just like the name suggests, naturalistic learners are also said to be one with nature. They retain information best when they are outdoors, around plants, animals, among others. 

These types can also be somewhat related to kinesthetic learners since they appreciate tactile sensations. All-in-all, they apply scientific reasoning to the world around them and are highly interested in nature, as well as the things created by man.

Ways to engage naturalistic learners:

• Take students out for a field trip 
• Give lessons in outdoor spaces 
• Promote journaling, drawing, sketching, photographing or natural phenomena
• Encourage work that involves getting into nature (especially in subjects like biology)

8. Linguistic Learners 

Linguistic learners are the combination of auditory and verbal learners. They absorb knowledge best by writing, reading, and sounding the material out. These learners can use the traditional methods of learning just like verbal learners and also prefer listening to the information. Linguistic learners also make their own notes while studying. 

Ways to engage linguistic learners:

• Read out to them and have them read it back to you
• Include written projects and assignments
• Avoid using too many diagrams; use verbal methods of engaging them 
• Avoid using a monotonous voice; use different pitches, voices, and characters

9. Interpersonal (Social) Learners

Social or interpersonal learners learn best while working in groups or with other people. They often make good leaders and others even come for advice to them. Social learners learn by relating their ideas and thoughts to the lives of other people. These learners are usually empaths and possess qualities like sensitivity to others, excellent communication, leadership skills, and  problem-solving skills. This type of learning can fall adjacent to one or more types mentioned above. 

Ways to engage social learners:

• Figure out their adjacent learning style and inculcate those strategies 
• Encourage role-playing
• Assign group activities and projects

10. Intrapersonal (Solitary) Learners

In a complete contrast to interpersonal or social learners, intrapersonal or solitary learners prefer solitude while studying. They are more independent and introspective by nature and prefer to be with their own thoughts and ideas without too much external interference. Usually, you can find these types sitting at the back of the class or you might refer to them as the “quiet kid” but they may end up acing the exam. Solitary learning too can fall adjacent with other learning styles. 

Ways to engage solitary learners:

• Designate a quiet area
• Check in with them every once in a while 
• Define a specific time for collaboration so they feel prepared enough

To summarize, remember to not put your students in a box. It is not necessary and probably unlikely that a student is only one type of learner. There can exist multiple variations and combinations between their learning styles. This is also called a multimodal approach. According to statistics, more than 60% of people are multimodal learners. 

Acknowledge that each child is different and you might have the need to find varying ways to approach their education. Again, these differences can also exist with regards to the subject area. Certain people are simply better suited and more interested in some, while others might have completely opposing interests. These learning styles only provide you with a framework to follow. 

If you're an educator committed to going the extra mile to help your students excel, Classcard is here to help your teaching and learning business in this meaningful journey. With our intuitive and practical class management software, you can seamlessly schedule classes, manage bookings, track attendance and payments, and much more. You nurture learners for the future while we streamline operations for you! 

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Reimagining Teaching with Flipped Classrooms: What, Why, and How

How to charge for your hybrid classes, learning strategies that actually work: boosting your learning efficiency.

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7 Types of Learning Styles: What You Need to Know

Did you know that there are different kinds of learners? We’ll break down the most common types of learning styles to help you figure out which one suits you best.

Brushing up on various learning styles is important for students of all ages. It can help them understand how they learn best and how to improve their study skills. By understanding their own learning preferences , students can tailor their study habits to better suit their needs. 

It can also help students communicate with their teachers about how they learn best and what strategies might work well for them. Teachers can also benefit from understanding different learning styles, as it can help them create a more inclusive and effective learning environment. 

By experimenting with different learning styles, students can find what works best for them and improve their overall learning experience.

The VARK Model: Four Types of Learning Styles

In this section, we'll explore the VARK Model, a widely recognized theory aimed at transforming the classroom experience. This model suggests that learners primarily fall into four categories: visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic.

1. Visual Learning Style

Visual learners excel in processing information through visual aids such as images, diagrams, charts, and graphs. They have a strong preference for seeing information presented in a visual format as it helps them understand concepts and retain information more effectively. 

These learners have a keen eye for details and are skilled at visualizing spatial relationships, allowing them to make connections between various ideas. To enhance their knowledge, visual learners can use various strategies. 

They can create mind or concept maps to organize information and establish connections between different concepts. They can also use flashcards or visual mnemonics to associate visual cues with specific information, aiding in recall and retention. 

Visual learners can also benefit from watching educational videos, utilizing online learning platforms that offer visual elements, and seeking out visual representations in textbooks and learning materials.

2. Auditory Learning Style

Auditory learners have a strong inclination toward learning through sound and oral communication. They have exceptional auditory processing skills that enable them to remember spoken words and discern subtle variations in tone, pitch, and rhythm. 

Auditory learners can employ several strategies to optimize their learning experience. They can record lectures or discussions and listen to them multiple times for better comprehension. Participating in group discussions, where they can actively listen and exchange ideas with others, helps reinforce their understanding of the subject matter. 

Auditory learners can also benefit from using text-to-speech software to convert written material into audio format, allowing them to absorb information effectively even when text-based resources are all they have.

3. Reading/Writing Learning Style

These students possess strong reading and writing skills and prefer engaging with information through text. They find great value in written texts, lecture notes, textbooks, and handouts. 

Reading/writing learners can employ various techniques to optimize their learning. They can actively annotate and underline important points while reading, which helps them engage with the material more deeply and reinforces their understanding. 

Taking comprehensive notes during lectures and organizing them in a structured manner assists in synthesizing information and retaining key concepts. Additionally, reading/writing learners can benefit from creating flashcards or writing summaries of their learned material to further reinforce their knowledge.

4. Kinesthetic Learning Style 

Kinesthetic learners acquire knowledge through physical movement and hands-on experiences. They learn best when actively engaging in activities where they can touch, move, and manipulate objects. These learners have a remarkable ability to retain information through physical actions and learn by doing.

For these students, enhancing their learning is best achieved by immersing themselves in the subject matter. Role-playing exercises and simulations offer them opportunities to apply their knowledge in real-life scenarios, optimally engaging their learning abilities. 

Participation in experiments, laboratory work, or even field trips allows students to physically interact with the subject, making it more tangible and understandable. 

Employing such hands-on approaches brings abstract concepts to life, making them easier to grasp. This physical engagement also increases the likelihood of retaining the information, giving students a practical edge in applying it to real-world situations. The result is a more engaging, meaningful, and successful learning experience.

Kinesthetic learners can also benefit from creating physical models or using manipulatives to enhance their understanding of abstract concepts. Incorporating movement breaks and physical activity into their study routine can help maintain their focus and energy levels.

Other Types of Learning Styles

Beyond the VARK Model, additional types of learning styles further diversify the landscape of how students absorb and process information.

Logical Learning Styles

Logical learners thrive on reasoning and systematic thinking. They excel in analyzing and solving problems and appreciate structured information that follows a logical progression. 

They find satisfaction in identifying patterns, creating frameworks, and drawing conclusions based on evidence and logical principles. These students can use specific strategies that align with their thinking style to enhance their learning. 

For example, logical learners can use critical thinking exercises, puzzles, or logic games to sharpen their analytical skills. Breaking down complex concepts into smaller, logical components helps them grasp the underlying principles. 

Utilizing flowcharts, concept maps, or visual representations of logical processes also helps them to understand complex relationships and decision-making processes. Additionally, logical learners can benefit from engaging in debates or discussions that require logical argumentation and reasoning.

Solitary Learning Style 

Solitary learners prefer to study and work independently. They are self-motivated and feel most productive in quiet environments. These learners enjoy reflecting and contemplating their own thoughts and ideas, and they can focus and concentrate when working autonomously.

To optimize their learning experience, solitary learners can incorporate various strategies that align with their independent nature. They can create and stick to a structured study schedule, setting specific goals and deadlines to maintain their motivation and productivity. 

Breaking down large tasks into smaller, manageable ones helps them stay organized and focused. Solitary learners can also use tools such as digital organizers, note-taking apps, or online research databases to access information independently. 

Solitary learners also need to create a dedicated study space free from distractions and develop effective time management techniques.

Social Learning Style 

Social learners thrive in collaborative environments and learn best through interactions and discussions. They enjoy group work, brainstorming sessions, and cooperative learning activities. These learners benefit from sharing ideas, perspectives, and experiences with their peers.

To make the most of their learning journey, social learners can adopt tactics that encourage teamwork and engagement. Active involvement in group tasks allows them to share their thoughts while gaining insight from the varied viewpoints of their team members.

Engaging in peer-to-peer teaching or tutoring provides an opportunity for knowledge sharing and solidifying understanding. Social learners can also benefit from joining study groups or online forums to engage in discussions and debates that allow for the exchange of ideas and deeper exploration of the subject matter.

It's crucial to recognize that individuals often possess a blend of learning styles, with one style typically more dominant than others. A student’s dominant learning style can also vary depending on the subject matter and learning context.

Incorporating strategies that resonate with different learning preferences empowers students to enhance their learning experiences, deepen their comprehension, and cultivate a lifelong passion for learning.

Understanding Your Types Learning Styles: Unlocking Your Potential

Understanding your diverse learning styles is a powerful tool that can greatly assist your academic journey. By recognizing how you learn best, you can take control of your education and achieve success. 

1. Self-Awareness

When you become aware of the types of learning styles, you gain valuable insights into how you process and remember information. This self-awareness lets you make informed choices about study techniques and strategies that work best for you. It puts you in the driver's seat of your learning experience.

2. Study Techniques

Knowing your learning style empowers you to discover study techniques that align with your preferences. Here are some examples:

• Visual learners can use mind maps, diagrams, and colors to organize and remember information effectively.
• Auditory learners can benefit from recording lectures or reading aloud to themselves.
• Kinesthetic learners can engage in hands-on activities, role-playing, or using manipulatives to reinforce learning.
• Reading/writing learners can focus on note-taking, summarizing concepts in writing, or creating flashcards.

Feel free to combine and explore various learning styles; doing so can enrich your overall learning journey and boost your understanding and retention of information.

3. Efficient Learning

Understanding the different learning styles helps you optimize your study time and resources. By focusing on methods that resonate with you, you can enhance your concentration, retention, and overall learning efficiency. This allows you to make the most of your study sessions and achieve better academic performance.

4. Advocacy

Finding your ideal learning style enables you to communicate your needs to teachers and peers effectively. You can advocate for instructional approaches that suit your preferences, ensuring an inclusive and personalized learning experience. 

Your self-advocacy empowers you and encourages educators to implement diverse teaching strategies.

5. Collaboration

By sharing your learning preferences with your peers, you can work together more effectively, leveraging each other's strengths and supporting identified weaknesses. This collaborative environment fosters mutual learning and appreciation for different approaches to learning.

5. Lifelong Learning

As you progress through different educational stages and encounter new learning environments, you can adapt your study techniques and seek out resources that cater to your preferred style. This adaptability nurtures a growth mindset and equips you with the skills needed for continuous self-improvement.

Understanding your types of learning styles empowers you to take an active role in your education. It helps you tailor your study techniques, advocate for your needs, collaborate effectively, and cultivate a lifelong love for learning. 

Discover your personal learning style by taking our What Type of Learner Are You? Quiz !

FAQs: Different Learning Styles

Curious to learn more about the different learning styles? Here are answers to some frequently asked questions that will provide you with valuable insights into embracing the diverse ways students process and engage with information.

1. How Do I Find Out My Learning Style?

Discovering your learning style involves self-reflection and observation. Take the time to reflect on your past learning experiences and identify the strategies that have been most effective for you. Consider whether you learn best through visual aids, auditory explanations, reading and writing, or hands-on activities. 

Pay attention to the activities that make learning enjoyable and help you retain information. Online learning style assessments can also provide insights into your preferred learning style. 

If you’re having trouble pinpointing your dominant learning style, consider consulting with an educational professional, such as a teacher or learning specialist, to help you gain a deeper understanding of your learning style.

2. What Are the Four Main Learning Styles? 

The VARK model outlines four main learning styles: visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. 

• Visual learners prefer visual aids to understand concepts
• Auditory learners thrive through sound and oral communication 
• Reading/writing learners excel in written materials
• Kinesthetic learners acquire knowledge through physical movement and hands-on experiences

Recognizing your unique learning style can pave the way for personalized study strategies, enabling you to grasp information more effectively and achieve greater academic success.

3. What Is the Most Common Learning Style? 

The most common learning style may vary depending on the context and the people being considered. However, research suggests that a significant portion of the population tends to be visual learners. 

This preference for visual learning can be attributed to the prevalence of visual stimuli in educational settings, such as the use of textbooks, visual aids, and multimedia resources, as well as our daily lives, where we are constantly exposed to images, videos, and graphical representations.

4. What Is the Best Learning Style? 

There is no universal "best" learning style, as students have different preferences and strengths. Whether or not a learning style is effective depends on various factors, including learning preferences, the subject matter being taught, and the instructional context. 

Each learning style offers unique advantages and can be beneficial in different situations. For example, visual learners may excel in understanding complex visual information, while auditory learners may thrive in discussions and oral presentations. 

It is important to incorporate a variety of instructional strategies that cater to different learning styles to allow students to engage with the material in ways that resonate with their individual preferences.

5. What Is the Rarest Learning Style? 

The kinesthetic learning style is often considered to be relatively less common among students. This may be attributed to the challenges associated with providing extensive hands-on experiences in traditional educational settings, as well as the dominance of visual and auditory teaching methods. 

6. Which Learning Styles Involve Doing and Feeling? 

Learning styles that involve doing and feeling are often associated with kinesthetic learning. Kinesthetic learners prefer hands-on activities and learn best through physical experiences and sensations.

7. Which Learning Style Acquired Through Hands-on Activities? 

Kinesthetic learning is also a learning style acquired through hands-on activities. This style emphasizes learning through movement, experiments, and active engagement with the material rather than passive listening or reading.

Final Thoughts

Understanding and accommodating different learning styles is essential for effective teaching and learning. Educators can tailor their methods to engage and support students by recognizing diverse processing and internalization approaches. 

Each learning style has unique strengths, and a balanced and inclusive environment is crucial to cater to all learners. Embracing our own learning styles empowers us to take ownership of our education, leveraging strategies that enhance comprehension. 

Flexibility and adaptability are important, enriching the overall learning experience. Let's celebrate diversity, promote inclusivity, and create an education that is accessible, engaging, and meaningful for all.

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What Are Learning Styles, and How Should Teachers Use Them?

Encourage every student to explore material in a variety of ways.

Teachers are often told to make sure their lessons include a variety of activities to cover all learning styles. But what exactly does that mean?

FAQ: What Are Learning Styles?

Imagine you’re teaching a lesson on the presidency of John Adams. You’ll be giving a quiz on Friday, and you ask your students how they’ll be preparing. Some might say they’ll reread the text, then write down the answers to the review questions you’ve given them. Others might plan to watch a video on John Adams’ life, then talk over what they learned with a study partner. Another could plan to take the timeline handout you provided, cut it up into sections, and practice putting those sections in the proper order.

Each of these students is using different ways of learning in an effort to retain and understand the same information. Some like written words, some prefer to hear it and talk about it. Others need to do something with their hands, or see images and diagrams. These are all various learning styles.

What is VARK?

Source: Nnenna Walters

In the mid-1980s, teacher Neil Fleming introduced the VARK model of learning styles. He theorized that students learned in these four general ways, known as styles or modalities:

• Visual: Seeing images, diagrams, videos, etc.
• Auditory: Hearing lectures and having discussions
• Read/Write: Reading the written word and writing things down
• Kinesthetic: Movement and hands-on activities

Fleming developed a questionnaire ( try a version of it here ) that a student could take to see which learning styles they preferred. The results indicate how their learning preferences spread across the spectrum.

One important detail Fleming noted was that just because you prefer or are good at a certain learning activity, that doesn’t mean it’s actually the style that helps you learn the most. “It is possible to like something (preference) and not be good at it (skill or ability). Similarly it is possible to be very skilled at using strategies aligned with one of the VARK modalities but not use that for learning,” he explained . “As an example, a learner who was very skilled at freehand drawing did not use it for her learning and did not enjoy doing it.”

Are learning styles a proven theory?

There’s a lot of argument over the validity of learning styles. Some studies claim to have debunked the theory entirely , stating that everyone uses each of the various styles at one time or another. Critics worry that pigeonholing a student as an “auditory learner” or a “visual learner” might cause them to limit the ways they approach new material.

That said, learning styles are accepted and used in most education programs. Fleming himself published an article in 2012 defending his theory , explaining that it has been misunderstood and misused. His intention was never to limit the ways in which individual students were encouraged to learn. Rather, he wanted teachers to better understand all the different ways they could reach their students.

Does a person have just one learning style?

Source: VARK Research

Absolutely not, says Fleming. “Because learners have different preferences between the four modes, it is unlikely that any particular mode will be dominant. That is why multimodality is the most common profile for two-thirds of learners.”

In other words, while some people lean strongly toward one learning type (modality), most are more evenly spread across the spectrum. The way they learn best will depend on the material and situation. The key isn’t to find a single best way for a student to learn. It’s to discover  all the ways all students can learn.

How should teachers use learning styles in the classroom?

The biggest takeaway for teachers is that they should design their curriculum with activities that fit all four learning styles. If you’re teaching students about earthquakes, plan to provide reading material, watch videos, explore diagrams, and do some hands-on classroom experiments. This array of activities allows all students to find a way of learning that suits them best.

Avoid classifying particular students as one type of learner, even if you note a particular preference. Rather than thinking of “visual learn ers ,” think of “visual learn ing .” Encourage every student to explore material in a variety of ways, finding the methods that help them the most.

If a student is having trouble mastering material one way, offer alternatives. For instance, one student can’t seem to memorize their math facts. They spend time doing flash cards with their parents every day at home, but it’s just not sticking. Encourage the student to try something different. Maybe they can watch a video that sets the math facts to music. Or they might benefit from playing a matching game with the flash cards, or even hopping along the floor from one card to the next as they practice. Engage different senses in the process until you find one that brings the learning home.

The Four Learning Styles in the Classroom

Take a closer look at what the various learning styles look like in the classroom, and discover activities that support those styles.

Visual Learning

Source: TeachThought

When you’re learning visually, you’re engaging your eyes. These activities involve bright colors, graphic representations of concepts or materials, and lots of visual aids.

What It Looks Like:

• Diagrams, charts, graphs, and maps
• Videos, photos, and other images
• Drawing and doodling
• Interesting layouts and formats of written material
• Colors and shapes

Classroom Activities

• Math: Represent numbers and problems in a variety of ways, including pictures , 10-frames , videos, and diagrams
• Language Arts: Add images to support the text, like photos, charts, and maps; encourage students to make drawings representing what they read
• Science: Watch videos, look at pictures, analyze charts and diagrams
• Social Studies: Explore maps in detail, look at pictures, provide charts and diagrams, watch videos

Auditory Learning

Source: Argo Prep

Auditory (also called aural) learning is all about sound, both listening and talking. The more students get a chance to hear, say, and discuss the information, the better.

• Videos with sound
• Text-to-speech translation
• Discussion and debate
• Asking and answering questions
• Teaching others
• Math: Sing songs to learn numbers or math facts, talk through problems out loud while solving them, repeat formulas out loud, watch math videos
• Language Arts: Read out loud (to self or others), listen to audiobooks , practice spelling words out loud
• Science: Watch videos with sound, learn songs about concepts, discuss ideas and experiments
• Social Studies: Debate or discuss a topic, read articles out loud, watch videos with sound

Read/Write Learning

Source: Kwik Pass

As the name suggests, this style focuses on the written word. Whether reading or writing, it all comes down to seeing things in words on the page. Some people lump this modality with visual learning, but this style relies much more on written text than images.

• Textbooks, articles, and handouts
• Video with subtitles turned on
• Essays and papers
• Speech-to-text translation and transcripts
• Making lists, with subheads, bullet points, etc.
• Taking detailed notes
• Writing answers to questions instead of answering out loud
• Math: Complete worksheets, write down math facts and formulas, turn numerical problems into word problems
• Language Arts: Read independently, write essays or answers to questions, take notes during discussions or lectures
• Science: Read texts and articles, watch videos with subtitles turned on, take detailed notes during hands-on experiments and activities, write down concepts in your own words during lectures
• Social Studies: Read texts and articles, watch videos with subtitles turned on, write answers to review questions, take detailed notes during lectures, provide transcripts of videos

Kinesthetic Learning

Source: Open Library

When you tie movement to learning, that’s the kinesthetic style. This modality involves lots of hands-on activities and the ability to try things for yourself. Dancing and even exercise can reinforce this type of learning.

• Hands-on practice
• Educational craft projects
• Experiments and demonstrations
• Trial and error
• Exploring real-life examples of concepts and ideas
• Moving while learning
• Math: Play active math games ( see a list here ), practice counting while jumping or performing other movements, show how concepts apply in real-life situations, use lots of math manipulatives
• Language Arts: Read nonfiction and autobiographies, write letters in the air while spelling the words, perform a skit that summarizes a story, use active reading games ( see a list here )
• Science: Complete hands-on demonstrations, design and perform experiments , apply the concepts to real life
• Social Studies: Visit museums and historic sites, draw timelines, reenact historical events, try the dances and arts of a culture

Next, try these 21 Differentiated Instruction Strategies Every Teacher Can Use .

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What are the 4 types of learning styles.

Teachers understand that each learner brings unique strengths and needs to the classroom. Some students can repeat every word of a lecture, while others only seem to retain information when they take detailed notes. And some students best absorb information through hands-on activities.

Investigating different learning styles can help educators design effective lesson plans that consider the needs of different learners. But what are the four types of learning styles? And are there more than four types? Experts in customized learning have shown how transformational technologies can help educators effectively instruct learners.

What Is Learning Style Theory?  

Every individual absorbs new information in different ways. Learning style theory investigates the most common styles of learning. For example, while some students learn well in a traditional lecture format, many may prefer more interactive learning methods. 

Educators can use learning style theory to design lesson plans and instructional delivery methods that appeal to different types of learners. 

Scholars have identified several theories of learning styles. For example, in 1984 psychologist David Kolb outlined a theory that identified four learning styles. The styles were based on abstract versus concrete thinking and active versus reflective observation.

The most widely known learning style theory is called VARK, which stands for visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. This learning style theory helps teachers create course material that meets the needs of diverse learners. 

4 Learning Style Types: What Are They?  

The primary categories of learning styles include the aforementioned VARK types. While visual learners prefer to absorb information visually, auditory learners benefit from listening. Reading/writing learners gravitate toward text, while kinesthetic learners prefer hands-on learning.

Identifying individual learning styles, and taking the extra step to design lessons that serve multiple learning types, can improve the effectiveness of student learning.

Visual learners thrive in learning environments that emphasize visuals, including charts, infographics, diagrams, and pictures. Videos can also help these learners retain information.

For example, watching a video of a famous speech allows visual learners to absorb the information in a more effective manner than reading text alone. 

2. Auditory

Auditory learners benefit from listening to material. Live and recorded lectures appeal to these learners, who also typically do well in verbal discussion groups. Podcasts, verbal directions, and reading texts out loud can benefit auditory learners.

Learners who prefer auditory information often do well in a traditional classroom setting. However, these learners may struggle in virtual learning environments that rely more heavily on reading and writing.

3. Reading/Writing

Reading/writing learners prefer to absorb and process information through the written word. In class, they retain information best by taking notes. Outside of class, these learners prefer to read content in the form of textbooks, worksheets, or other written materials.

These learners also benefit from referencing written texts. For example, reading/writing learners tend to excel on standardized test sections that provide a passage and ask questions based on the text.

4. Kinesthetic

Kinesthetic learners, also known as tactile learners, prefer to learn through hands-on methods. Lessons that incorporate physical activity and engage several senses appeal to these learners. Kinesthetic learners also thrive in laboratory coursework due to its hands-on nature.

In virtual learning environments, kinesthetic learners benefit from interactive content and simulations that create an immersive experience. Cutting-edge instructional tools make it easier for educators to integrate hands-on materials in courses. 

How Can Teachers Use Learning Styles?  

Considering learning styles when designing lessons helps teachers engage with different types of learners. However, educators must keep in mind that individual students often fall into multiple categories––learners are rarely purely auditory or kinesthetic, for example.

By integrating multiple instructional methods, teachers can keep learners engaged. For example, videos that feature audio and closed captions appeal to visual, auditory, and reading/writing learners. Pairing presentations with verbal instructions and interactive components likewise meets the needs of multiple learning styles.

Teachers can also offer students options for delivery methods. Providing a choice between written texts or audio recordings allows students to gravitate to the form that best serves their needs. Integrating assessments into lesson plans can also help teachers measure engagement and adapt their delivery methods.

Because learners often bring multiple learning needs and strengths to the classroom, educators should avoid matching learners to one method. Instead, a multimodal approach can help students progress while developing flexibility.

Improve Instructional Design With a Master’s in Mass Customized Learning from Wilson College Online  

Teachers explore instruction models and design learning models that reach diverse learners. The Master’s in Mass Customized Learning program at Wilson College Online empowers educators to learn and leverage emerging technology to improve student learning outcomes. 

In this specialized program, the curriculum examines the effectiveness of instructional strategies. Coursework prepares graduates to adjust instructional approaches based on data and assess learning through multiple methods. The program’s flexible online delivery also allows master’s students to work in the classroom while earning their graduate degree. 

Learn more about advancing your teaching career with Wilson College Online.

Recommended Readings

A Look Inside the Modern Classroom

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Continu, “Engaging With the 4 Different Types of Learning Styles”

Education Endowment Foundation, “Learning Styles”

Sphero, “4 Types of Learning Styles: Explaining the VARK Model”

We Are Teachers, “What Are Learning Styles, and How Should Teachers Use Them?”

Verywell Mind, “Kolb’s Cycle of Learning”

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8 Types of Learning Styles | The Definitive Guide

• March 7, 2024

Table of Contents

Visual learning style, auditory learning style, kinesthetic learning style, reading/writing, logical/analytical learners, social/linguistic learners, solitary learners, nature learners, how do students learn best, cognitive factors influencing learning styles, emotional factors impacting learning styles, assessment and feedback for learning optimization, what are learning styles, and why are they important, how can teachers accommodate diverse learning styles in the classroom, is there a single best learning style for all students, how can students identify their preferred learning style, are there other factors besides learning styles that influence how students learn.

Every student has a strategy they use to remember information more efficiently while studying. Some of them take notes; some make diagrams; some prefer to listen to lectures, etc. Since no learning style fits all students, scientists have conducted research in order to understand the way students learn new information best.

Let’s look at the different types of learning they have distinguished.

What Are the Main Four Types of Learning in Education?

We mentioned before that scientists have for years tried to understand the best ways students learn through research. One of the popular theories, to this day, is the VARK model. This model identifies four types of learners: visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing .

Most people are a combination of these four styles, but more times than not, they have a predominant style of learning. Each of these styles has a complementary way of teaching. Now, let’s see the characteristics each of these styles entails and how best to make use of them.

Visual learners are individuals who prefer to take in their information visually—be that with maps, graphs, diagrams, charts, and others. However, they don’t necessarily respond well to photos or videos, rather needing their information using different visual aids such as patterns and shapes.

The best way to present to visual learners is by showing them the relationship between different ideas visually. For instance, when explaining a scientific process, it can be done by using a flow chart.

Auditory learners are individuals who learn better when they take in information in auditory form when it is heard or spoken. They are prone to sorting their ideas after speaking rather than thinking ideas through before. Since, to them, saying things out loud helps them understand the concept.

If they are learning a second language or a new theory, auditory learners learn best when information is presented to them via strategies that involve talking, such as lectures and group discussions. They can benefit from repeating the lessons, utilizing technology for recordings of the lectures, doing group activities that require classmates to explain ideas, etc.

Kinesthetic learners are individuals who prefer to learn by doing. They enjoy a hands-on experience. They are usually more in touch with reality and more connected to it, which is why they require using tactile experience to understand something better.

The best way to present new information to a kinesthetic learner is through personal experience, practice, examples, or simulations. For instance, they can remember an experiment by recreating it themselves.

Reading/writing learners consume information best when it’s in words, whether that’s by writing it down or reading it. To them, text is more powerful than any kind of visual or auditory representation of an idea. These individuals usually perform very well on written assignments.

There are different ways to get a reading/writing learner to engage and understand a certain lesson. For instance, it would be best to have them describe charts and diagrams by written statements, take written quizzes on the topics, or give them written assignments.

Other Types of Learning Styles

Now that we have discussed some learning styles that have been around for a while, it’s time we dug a little deeper and introduced some other lesser-known learning styles. It is important to note that not everyone agrees on the types of learning styles, their names, or even their number. Recent studies and theories from psychologists and experts in the field suggest that there are anywhere between 3 to 170 different types of learning styles . Other types of learning styles, based on one of the senses and a social aspect, include:

As the name suggests, analytical learners depend on logic and analytical skills to understand a particular subject. These types of learners search for connections, causes, patterns, and results in their learning. A teacher can engage and motivate these students by posing questions that require interpretation, using material that activates problem-solving skills, and stimulating students to reach conclusions based on facts or reasoning.

These types of learners favor educational lessons that include peer work or participation. Social/ linguistic learners get two things out of this participation: socializing (which they love) and a better understanding of a subject. Teachers can motivate these types of learners by using role-playing and different communication activities , such as encouraging student interaction (asking questions, sharing stories, etc.).

Otherwise known as solo learners, these students are the opposite of social learners. Solitary learners prefer to study alone without having to interact with other learners. Individual work is a solo student’s forte. Teachers can help these types of learners by using activities that require individual work (including keeping a diary) and problem-solving skills, recognizing a student’s individual accomplishments, etc.

These types of learners excel when in contact with nature. A nature learner’s ideal study environment is a calm and relaxing environment. If we had to compare nature learners with another type, it would be tactile learners. The only difference is the nature part of this deal, as nature learners need to be outside to learn better. While learning in nature may not always be possible, teachers can still nurture this learning style in students by assigning hands-on activities, having classes outdoors when possible, and using nature examples when explaining a new lesson.

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Given that everyone has a unique learning method, it would be wrong to say that a specific learning style is the best way to go. However, understanding your or your child’s style of learning is very important.

Since the way someone best consumes information can be a deciding factor in their academic success, understanding what kind of learner they are is vital. You can do this by trying all four methods of learning and then deciding which one helps you remember best. Once you know what kind of style fits you, you can tailor your studies to fit your needs.

Additional Insights into Learning Styles

Understanding learning styles encompasses a broader spectrum beyond just the VARK model, delving into cognitive, emotional, and environmental factors influencing how individuals prefer to learn. 

Cognitive styles, such as sequential versus global processing, contribute significantly to learning preferences. Sequential learners thrive on step-by-step instruction, while global learners prefer grasping the big picture first. Factors like attention span, memory capacity, and processing speed also shape learning preferences.

Emotional elements, including motivation and self-esteem, play a crucial role in individuals engaging with different learning styles. Students with high confidence and motivation may readily explore various learning approaches, while those with lower self-esteem might stick to familiar methods. 

Moreover, the learning environment, encompassing aspects like noise level, lighting, and physical comfort, can significantly impact receptiveness to different learning styles. Flexibility in the environment, such as offering study location choices or adjusting classroom setups, helps accommodate diverse preferences.

Teaching Strategies for Diverse Learning Styles

Personalized strategies tailored to individual learning styles can enhance engagement and comprehension in teaching. Teachers can provide various learning materials, allow students to choose assignments, or offer alternative assessment methods to cater to varied preferences. 

Integrating technology, such as interactive multimedia presentations or online forums, further supports different learning modes. Collaborative learning opportunities, including group activities and peer tutoring, benefit students with social or linguistic learning preferences by fostering interaction and discussion. Conversely, solitary learners may thrive in environments where they can work independently.

Continuous assessment and feedback mechanisms are integral in identifying students’ preferred learning styles and adjusting instructional strategies accordingly. Regular feedback enables students to reflect on their learning processes and refine study habits based on their unique styles. 

Moreover, professional development programs for educators can provide training on recognizing and accommodating diverse learning styles in the classroom. Teachers can learn effective instructional strategies tailored to different preferences and gain insights into creating inclusive learning environments. 

By embracing the multifaceted nature of learning styles, educators can cultivate environments that cater to the diverse needs of all students.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

Learning styles refer to individual preferences and approaches to acquiring knowledge. Understanding one’s learning style can enhance comprehension and academic success by tailoring study methods to fit individual needs.

Teachers can accommodate diverse learning styles by offering a variety of learning materials, allowing for student choice in assignments, integrating technology, fostering collaborative learning opportunities, and providing personalized feedback and support.

No, there is no single best learning style for all students. Every individual has a unique learning method that suits them best. It’s essential to explore different learning styles and determine which one works most effectively for each student.

Students can identify their preferred learning style by experimenting with different study methods, such as visual, auditory, kinesthetic, and reading/writing techniques. Reflecting on which methods result in better comprehension and retention can help determine their preferred style.

Yes, besides learning styles, other factors such as cognitive abilities, emotional factors like motivation and self-esteem, environmental conditions, and teaching methods also influence how students learn. It’s essential to consider these factors holistically when designing educational strategies.

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4 Types of Learning Styles: How to Accommodate a Diverse Group of Students

By Callie Malvik on 08/17/2020

We all experience the world in unique ways, and with that comes variation in the ways we learn best. Understanding these different types of learning styles can drastically impact the way teachers handle their students, set up group projects and adapt individual learning. Without understanding and acknowledging these different ways of learning, teachers might end up with a handful of students lagging behind their classmates—in part because their unique learning style hasn’t been activated.

Part of your responsibility as an educator is to adjust your lessons to the unique group of students you are working with at any given time. The best teachers can cater to each student’s strengths, ensuring they are truly grasping the information.

So how do you meet the needs of different types of learners in your class? Join us as we outline the four types of learning styles and how teachers can practically apply this information in their classrooms.

Ways of learning: A closer look at 4 learning styles

Learning styles and preferences take on a variety of forms—and not all people fit neatly into one category. But generally speaking, these are the most common types of learners:

1. Visual learners

How to recognize visual learners in your class: Someone with a preference for visual learning is partial to seeing and observing things, including pictures, diagrams, written directions and more. This is also referred to as the “spatial” learning style. Students who learn through sight understand information better when it’s presented in a visual way. These are your doodling students, your list makers and your students who take notes.

How to cater to visual learners: The whiteboard or smartboard is your best friend when teaching these types of learners. Give students opportunities to draw pictures and diagrams on the board, or ask students to doodle examples based on the topic they’re learning. Teachers catering to visual learners should regularly make handouts and use presentations. Visual learners may also need more time to process material, as they observe the visual cues before them. So be sure to give students a little time and space to absorb the information.

2. Auditory learners

How to recognize auditory learners in your class: Auditory learners tend to learn better when the subject matter is reinforced by sound. These students would much rather listen to a lecture than read written notes, and they often use their own voices to reinforce new concepts and ideas. These types of learners prefer reading out loud to themselves. They aren’t afraid to speak up in class and are great at verbally explaining things. Additionally, they may be slower at reading and may often repeat things a teacher tells them.

How to cater to auditory learners: Since these students generally find it hard to stay quiet for long periods of time, get your auditory learners involved in the lecture by asking them to repeat new concepts back to you. Ask questions and let them answer. Invoke group discussions so your auditory and verbal processors can properly take in and understand the information they’re being presented with. Watching videos and using music or audiotapes are also helpful ways of learning for this group.

3. Kinesthetic learners

How to recognize kinesthetic learners in your class: Kinesthetic learners, sometimes called tactile learners, learn through experiencing or doing things. They like to get involved by acting out events or using their hands to touch and handle in order to understand concepts. These types of learners might struggle to sit still and often excel at sports or like to dance. They may need to take more frequent breaks when studying.

How to cater to kinesthetic learners: The best way teachers can help these students learn is by getting them moving. Instruct students to act out a certain scene from a book or a lesson you’re teaching. Also try encouraging these students by incorporating movement into lessons: pacing to help memorize, learning games that involve moving around the classroom or having students write on the whiteboard as part of an activity.

Once kinesthetic learners can physically sense what they’re studying, abstract ideas and difficult concepts become easier to understand.

4. Reading/writing learners

How to recognize reading/writing learners in your class: According to the VARK Modalities theory developed by Fleming and Mills in 1992, reading/writing learners prefer to learn through written words. While there is some overlap with visual learning, these types of learners are drawn to expression through writing, reading articles or books, writing in diaries, looking up words in the dictionary and searching the internet for just about everything.

How to cater to reading/writing learners: Of the four learning styles, this is probably the easiest to cater to since much of the traditional educational system tends to center on writing essays, doing research and reading books. Be mindful about allowing plenty of time for these students to absorb information through the written word, and give them opportunities to get their ideas out on paper as well.

Embrace all types of learning

Understanding these different learning styles doesn’t end in the classroom. By equipping students with tools in their early years, teachers are empowering them for their futures. Pinpointing how a child learns best can dramatically affect their ability to connect with the topics you’re teaching, as well as how they participate with the rest of the class.  Moreover, the role of parents in a child's education is crucial. Positive parental involvement in education can further enhance a child's learning experience, fostering academic success and overall development. Explore our article on " Positive Parental Involvement in Education " to discover effective strategies and insights on how parents can actively engage in their child's educational journey.

Now that you have some tactics in your back pocket to accommodate different ways of learning, you may be curious about classroom management strategies. Learn more in our article, " Proven Classroom Management Tips for Preschool Teachers ." Additionally, check out " What is Ableism? Teachers Share 8 Things They Wish the World Understood ."

Related Articles:

• What Is Inclusive Education? An Introduction for Early Childhood Educators

EDITOR’S NOTE: This article was originally published in 2018. It has since been updated to include information relevant to 2020.

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The 3 Main Learning Styles

• Posted by Stafford Global
• Categories Education Articles & Blogs
• Date July 23, 2024

Table of Contents

• Features of Visual Learners
• Characteristics of Visual Learners

Features of Auditory Learners

• Characteristics of Auditory Learners

Features of Kinaesthetic Learners

• Characteristics of Kinaesthetic Learners

A thorough understanding of learning is essential for both academic and personal success. Every person has a distinct learning style that affects how they take in, comprehend, and remember knowledge. There are three main types of learning styles: kinaesthetic, auditory, and visual. Every style has unique qualities that can assist students in making the most of their study habits and achieving better academic results.

Features of Visual Learners:

Information presented in a visual style is best processed by visual learners. They do best with pictures, charts, graphs, and other visual aids that make difficult ideas easier for them to understand.

Characteristics of Visual Learners:

• Good Visual Memory: Compared to textual learners, visual learners frequently have a strong visual memory and can recall details from visual stimuli with greater ease. They can readily recall faces and locations thanks to this skill. • Preference for Visual Aids: Visualisers typically favor learning from visual resources like maps, graphs, and movies. They may be more productive in subjects that use visual data due to this preference.
• Creative Ability: Since many visual learners have an innate need to express themselves through painting, drawing, or other visual media, they frequently succeed in creative pursuits. • Attention to Detail: Those who learn visually are frequently excellent observers, picking up on subtleties that others might miss. This level of detail-orientedness can be useful in many domains, such as science and design. • Mental Imagery: They have a lively imagination that helps them picture ideas and situations, which promotes creativity and problem-solving.

Teachers and parents may help visual learners by using strategies like mind mapping, color coding, and integrating multimedia into courses. These techniques can improve their educational experience and facilitate more successful engagement with the subject matter.

Sound is an excellent medium for communicating information to auditory learners. They are skilled in verbal communication because they learn best by speaking and listening.

Characteristics of Auditory learners:

• Excellent Listening Skills: Spoken material is easily remembered by auditory learners. They frequently remember information from talks or lectures more easily than from printed documents. • Preference for Verbal Instructions: Rather than written instructions, these students would rather hear them. While they might have trouble following written directions, they do well in situations where they can converse and ask questions. • Appreciation of Music and Rhythm: A lot of auditory learners are naturally drawn to music, and they frequently use rhymes or songs to help them remember facts. When they can connect new ideas to sounds, they frequently find learning new concepts easier.
• Excellent Storytelling Skills: Auditory learners are often adept at orally retelling stories and elucidating concepts. They can express their ideas clearly and frequently take pleasure in contributing to conversations. • Distractibility by Noise: Although auditory learners do best in auditory surroundings, too much background noise can be distracting. In calmer environments where they may concentrate on listening, they frequently perform better.

Teachers can use group projects, conversations, podcasts, and lecture recordings to improve the learning process for auditory learners. With the use of these techniques, auditory learners can interact with the content in ways that suit their personal learning style.

The greatest ways for kinaesthetic learners, sometimes referred to as tactile learners, to learn are through practical applications and physical exercises. More often than not, they would rather work directly with the content than observe or listen.

Characteristics of kinaesthetic learners:

• Preference for Movement: When seated stationary for extended periods of time, kinaesthetic learners frequently become restless. They do best in dynamic settings where they can move around and interact with the content in a hands-on way. • Hands-on Learning: When able to manipulate objects or take part in experiments, these learners do best. Whether it’s via role-playing, making models, or doing experiments, they frequently learn best by doing. • Difficulty with Conventional Learning Methods: Traditional lecture-based learning environments may be challenging for kinaesthetic learners. They frequently struggle to understand information that is conveyed only through reading or listening.
• Expressive Physicality: Movement is a common way for kinaesthetic learners to express themselves. When speaking, they could make gestures or choose to act out ideas rather than explain them vocally. • Good at Physical Activities: Because kinaesthetic learners naturally prefer to utilise their body as a means of self-expression and learning, they frequently succeed in sports and other physical activities.

Teachers can use movement in their courses by employing role-play, simulations, or hands-on activities to promote kinaesthetic learners. Giving them the chance to participate physically can greatly improve their learning process.

In conclusion, recognising and understanding the three main learning styles; visual, auditory, and kinaesthetic can greatly enhance educational outcomes. By tailoring teaching methods to accommodate these diverse learning preferences, educators can foster a more inclusive and effective learning environment. Whether pursuing a  master’s degree in education  or simply striving for personal growth, understanding these learning styles is essential for maximising potential and achieving success.

Written by Loulwa Kazoun,

Corporate Learning Partnerships Manager, Stafford Global

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• How to structure an essay: Templates and tips

How to Structure an Essay | Tips & Templates

Published on September 18, 2020 by Jack Caulfield . Revised on July 23, 2023.

The basic structure of an essay always consists of an introduction , a body , and a conclusion . But for many students, the most difficult part of structuring an essay is deciding how to organize information within the body.

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Table of contents

The basics of essay structure, chronological structure, compare-and-contrast structure, problems-methods-solutions structure, signposting to clarify your structure, other interesting articles, frequently asked questions about essay structure.

There are two main things to keep in mind when working on your essay structure: making sure to include the right information in each part, and deciding how you’ll organize the information within the body.

Parts of an essay

The three parts that make up all essays are described in the table below.

Order of information

You’ll also have to consider how to present information within the body. There are a few general principles that can guide you here.

The first is that your argument should move from the simplest claim to the most complex . The body of a good argumentative essay often begins with simple and widely accepted claims, and then moves towards more complex and contentious ones.

For example, you might begin by describing a generally accepted philosophical concept, and then apply it to a new topic. The grounding in the general concept will allow the reader to understand your unique application of it.

The second principle is that background information should appear towards the beginning of your essay . General background is presented in the introduction. If you have additional background to present, this information will usually come at the start of the body.

The third principle is that everything in your essay should be relevant to the thesis . Ask yourself whether each piece of information advances your argument or provides necessary background. And make sure that the text clearly expresses each piece of information’s relevance.

The sections below present several organizational templates for essays: the chronological approach, the compare-and-contrast approach, and the problems-methods-solutions approach.

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The chronological approach (sometimes called the cause-and-effect approach) is probably the simplest way to structure an essay. It just means discussing events in the order in which they occurred, discussing how they are related (i.e. the cause and effect involved) as you go.

A chronological approach can be useful when your essay is about a series of events. Don’t rule out other approaches, though—even when the chronological approach is the obvious one, you might be able to bring out more with a different structure.

Explore the tabs below to see a general template and a specific example outline from an essay on the invention of the printing press.

• Thesis statement
• Discussion of event/period
• Consequences
• Importance of topic
• Strong closing statement
• Claim that the printing press marks the end of the Middle Ages
• Background on the low levels of literacy before the printing press
• Thesis statement: The invention of the printing press increased circulation of information in Europe, paving the way for the Reformation
• High levels of illiteracy in medieval Europe
• Literacy and thus knowledge and education were mainly the domain of religious and political elites
• Consequence: this discouraged political and religious change
• Invention of the printing press in 1440 by Johannes Gutenberg
• Implications of the new technology for book production
• Consequence: Rapid spread of the technology and the printing of the Gutenberg Bible
• Trend for translating the Bible into vernacular languages during the years following the printing press’s invention
• Luther’s own translation of the Bible during the Reformation
• Consequence: The large-scale effects the Reformation would have on religion and politics
• Summarize the history described
• Stress the significance of the printing press to the events of this period

Essays with two or more main subjects are often structured around comparing and contrasting . For example, a literary analysis essay might compare two different texts, and an argumentative essay might compare the strengths of different arguments.

There are two main ways of structuring a compare-and-contrast essay: the alternating method, and the block method.

Alternating

In the alternating method, each paragraph compares your subjects in terms of a specific point of comparison. These points of comparison are therefore what defines each paragraph.

The tabs below show a general template for this structure, and a specific example for an essay comparing and contrasting distance learning with traditional classroom learning.

• Synthesis of arguments
• Topical relevance of distance learning in lockdown
• Increasing prevalence of distance learning over the last decade
• Thesis statement: While distance learning has certain advantages, it introduces multiple new accessibility issues that must be addressed for it to be as effective as classroom learning
• Classroom learning: Ease of identifying difficulties and privately discussing them
• Distance learning: Difficulty of noticing and unobtrusively helping
• Classroom learning: Difficulties accessing the classroom (disability, distance travelled from home)
• Distance learning: Difficulties with online work (lack of tech literacy, unreliable connection, distractions)
• Classroom learning: Tends to encourage personal engagement among students and with teacher, more relaxed social environment
• Distance learning: Greater ability to reach out to teacher privately
• Sum up, emphasize that distance learning introduces more difficulties than it solves
• Stress the importance of addressing issues with distance learning as it becomes increasingly common
• Distance learning may prove to be the future, but it still has a long way to go

In the block method, each subject is covered all in one go, potentially across multiple paragraphs. For example, you might write two paragraphs about your first subject and then two about your second subject, making comparisons back to the first.

The tabs again show a general template, followed by another essay on distance learning, this time with the body structured in blocks.

• Point 1 (compare)
• Point 2 (compare)
• Point 3 (compare)
• Point 4 (compare)
• Advantages: Flexibility, accessibility
• Disadvantages: Discomfort, challenges for those with poor internet or tech literacy
• Advantages: Potential for teacher to discuss issues with a student in a separate private call
• Disadvantages: Difficulty of identifying struggling students and aiding them unobtrusively, lack of personal interaction among students
• Advantages: More accessible to those with low tech literacy, equality of all sharing one learning environment
• Disadvantages: Students must live close enough to attend, commutes may vary, classrooms not always accessible for disabled students
• Advantages: Ease of picking up on signs a student is struggling, more personal interaction among students
• Disadvantages: May be harder for students to approach teacher privately in person to raise issues

An essay that concerns a specific problem (practical or theoretical) may be structured according to the problems-methods-solutions approach.

This is just what it sounds like: You define the problem, characterize a method or theory that may solve it, and finally analyze the problem, using this method or theory to arrive at a solution. If the problem is theoretical, the solution might be the analysis you present in the essay itself; otherwise, you might just present a proposed solution.

The tabs below show a template for this structure and an example outline for an essay about the problem of fake news.

• Introduce the problem
• Provide background
• Describe your approach to solving it
• Define the problem precisely
• Describe why it’s important
• Indicate previous approaches to the problem
• Present your new approach, and why it’s better
• Apply the new method or theory to the problem
• Indicate the solution you arrive at by doing so
• Assess (potential or actual) effectiveness of solution
• Describe the implications
• Problem: The growth of “fake news” online
• Prevalence of polarized/conspiracy-focused news sources online
• Thesis statement: Rather than attempting to stamp out online fake news through social media moderation, an effective approach to combating it must work with educational institutions to improve media literacy
• Definition: Deliberate disinformation designed to spread virally online
• Popularization of the term, growth of the phenomenon
• Previous approaches: Labeling and moderation on social media platforms
• Critique: This approach feeds conspiracies; the real solution is to improve media literacy so users can better identify fake news
• Greater emphasis should be placed on media literacy education in schools
• This allows people to assess news sources independently, rather than just being told which ones to trust
• This is a long-term solution but could be highly effective
• It would require significant organization and investment, but would equip people to judge news sources more effectively
• Rather than trying to contain the spread of fake news, we must teach the next generation not to fall for it

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Signposting means guiding the reader through your essay with language that describes or hints at the structure of what follows.  It can help you clarify your structure for yourself as well as helping your reader follow your ideas.

The essay overview

In longer essays whose body is split into multiple named sections, the introduction often ends with an overview of the rest of the essay. This gives a brief description of the main idea or argument of each section.

The overview allows the reader to immediately understand what will be covered in the essay and in what order. Though it describes what  comes later in the text, it is generally written in the present tense . The following example is from a literary analysis essay on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein .

Transitions

Transition words and phrases are used throughout all good essays to link together different ideas. They help guide the reader through your text, and an essay that uses them effectively will be much easier to follow.

Various different relationships can be expressed by transition words, as shown in this example.

Because Hitler failed to respond to the British ultimatum, France and the UK declared war on Germany. Although it was an outcome the Allies had hoped to avoid, they were prepared to back up their ultimatum in order to combat the existential threat posed by the Third Reich.

Transition sentences may be included to transition between different paragraphs or sections of an essay. A good transition sentence moves the reader on to the next topic while indicating how it relates to the previous one.

… Distance learning, then, seems to improve accessibility in some ways while representing a step backwards in others.

However , considering the issue of personal interaction among students presents a different picture.

If you want to know more about AI tools , college essays , or fallacies make sure to check out some of our other articles with explanations and examples or go directly to our tools!

• Ad hominem fallacy
• Post hoc fallacy
• Appeal to authority fallacy
• False cause fallacy
• Sunk cost fallacy

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• College Essay Format & Structure
• Comparing and Contrasting in an Essay

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The structure of an essay is divided into an introduction that presents your topic and thesis statement , a body containing your in-depth analysis and arguments, and a conclusion wrapping up your ideas.

The structure of the body is flexible, but you should always spend some time thinking about how you can organize your essay to best serve your ideas.

An essay isn’t just a loose collection of facts and ideas. Instead, it should be centered on an overarching argument (summarized in your thesis statement ) that every part of the essay relates to.

The way you structure your essay is crucial to presenting your argument coherently. A well-structured essay helps your reader follow the logic of your ideas and understand your overall point.

Comparisons in essays are generally structured in one of two ways:

• The alternating method, where you compare your subjects side by side according to one specific aspect at a time.
• The block method, where you cover each subject separately in its entirety.

It’s also possible to combine both methods, for example by writing a full paragraph on each of your topics and then a final paragraph contrasting the two according to a specific metric.

You should try to follow your outline as you write your essay . However, if your ideas change or it becomes clear that your structure could be better, it’s okay to depart from your essay outline . Just make sure you know why you’re doing so.

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The 5 Most Commonly Taught Writing Styles

Writing is critical to every single subject. Even mathematics often calls for argumentation in written form , especially in disciplines such as statistics.

By placing a significantly higher emphasis on a variety of writing types, we can help address the challenges regarding student writing proficiency . This is especially important in the middle school years, when students are transitioning from the foundational skills they learned in elementary school to the deeper levels of thinking required in high school and beyond.

If you have a teaching degree, it’s likely you’ve already learned about or taught many of the following types of writing styles. Whether you’re familiar with all of them or need to brush up on several, there are guaranteed to be new approaches with which you’re not yet familiar. That’s the goal of this post: to give you the tools you need to maximize your students’ learning experience, writing skills and persuasive power.

A little time taken today can substantially improve the value of your writing exercises tomorrow, so read on!

The Most Common Types of Writing Styles

The most common types of writing styles differ from their intended purpose to their structure to the level of emotional appeal for which they call. Understanding how each of these categories contributes to each type of writing will help you teach students to express themselves more proficiently, as well as reach higher levels of proficiency on state and national tests.

Here are the five most common types of writing styles, a quick exploration of each and some new strategies for teaching them.

• NARRATIVE WRITING

We Are Teachers defines narrative writing as “writing that is characterized by a main character in a setting who engages with a problem or event in a significant way. As writing instruction goes, narrative writing encompasses a lot: author’s purpose, tone, voice, structure, in addition to teaching sentence structure, organization, and word choice.”

You can assign students a wide variety of narrative writing assignments, from personal narrative to fiction to “fan fiction,” or stories that use main characters from books students love. For instance, a student could write a short story about one of Harry Potter’s untold side adventures.

As the above definition indicates, there are a number of elements required in good narrative writing. To weave together a compelling story, students must choose:

• A theme, or the main “human” idea that they want to convey
• A main character with a minimum number of well-defined personality traits
• Side characters, if the length and complexity of the story allows (for instance, a narrative capstone project might have 2-3 secondary characters)
• A setting or multiple settings in which the story takes place
• A particular structure – the style in which they will tell their story – with the various narrative elements represented: dialogue, description, action
• Literary elements, such as symbolism, simile and metaphor
• Vocabulary words, depending on your desires and requirements as a teacher

Teaching students to weave all of these elements together will take time, which is why each lesson should cover no more than one of the above. As students check off each item, they can incorporate it with the ones above. Eventually, the result will be a well-fleshed-out story they can be proud to share with the class and their family.

• ANALYTICAL WRITING

Bloom’s Taxonomy , a friend to all teachers and critical pedagogical guide, lists analysis in the top half of the pyramid. That’s because the ability to look at a statement, argument, character or theme and decide whether or not it has merit – and why it does or does not – is a necessary skill in secondary school, college and career.

This ability requires first identifying and then dissecting the subject at hand, after which the student can offer an argument about its meaning and merit.That’s where analytical writing comes in.

As the Educational Testing Service explains about the GRE,

“The Analytical Writing measure tests your critical thinking and analytical writing skills. It assesses your ability to articulate and support complex ideas, construct and evaluate arguments, and sustain a focused and coherent discussion. It does not assess specific content knowledge.”

While one might assume that postgraduates taking entrance exams are at a significantly different learning point than middle schoolers (which they are), the similarities between the skills needed then and needed in 7th grade are nearly identical. In fact, having those skills in later life is largely dependent on middle school teachers developing them now.

Note, however, that analytical writing is not pure explanation or description (as we will encounter in the next writing style). Instead, it requires that students read and comprehend either fiction or nonfiction, explain what is happening, and then analyze a particular facet of what they’ve read.

Analytical writing requires developing a thesis that supports their main claim, backing it up with proof from the text, and concluding with a summary that wraps the two together.

As with all forms of writing, it’s important to teach this skill slowly, starting with reading critically, identifying a thesis, finding evidence and tying it together in a paper – as well as peer examination of others’ analytical writing. It is also helpful to give examples of analytical theses, such as:

• Mockingjays from The Hunger Games are symbols of freedom, because they are genetically engineered species that have broken free from the Capitol, just as Katniss has
• The main theme of To Build a Fire is that nature is merciless and unforgiving
• Anne Frank’s arguments against war are so powerful because she herself is devoid of hatred

Help students understand that while the analysis can be opinion-based, students do need to back up everything they say with passages from the reading.

• EXPOSITORY WRITING

Expository writing, as the title suggests, is predicated on exposition, or the description and explanation of a particular idea. Topics cover pretty much the entire gamut of human experience, from inventions to nature, emotions to politics, family to hobbies and more.

Teachers can challenge students to pick their own subjects or can give them categories from which to choose or assign specific subjects. Each of these options helps develop a different skill set in kids.

There exist a number of good ways to develop expository writing skills, suggests The New York Times .

For one thing, it’s time to ditch the tired five-paragraph essay and write from a more “authentic” place. That means placing primary emphasis not on an introduction, three-body exposition and conclusion, but rather on what the piece calls for. Encourage students to take as many paragraphs as they need to express their idea well, and to be creative in their intros and conclusions.

In teaching your students, ask them questions such as:

• What’s the “newsworthy” piece of this paper?
• How can you introduce your piece other than giving away that newsworthy element upfront?
• How can you conclude it without simply rehashing the above information?
• What techniques can you use to vary sentence structure and make for a more interesting read?
• How can you incorporate supporting material in an engaging way?

While some of the techniques may feel a little advanced at first, almost all of them can be broken down into simple directions that middle school students can make use of.

• PERSUASIVE WRITING

“Persuasive writing is a form of nonfiction writing that encourages careful word choice, the development of logical arguments, and a cohesive summary,” as Reading Rocket explains. Note that there are two main components of persuasive writing: logic and emotional appeal.

Logic comes first in persuasive writing. In order to have any chance of convincing people, students have to develop a sound premise. That means choosing a topic and backing it up with good logic.

Give them examples, such as: Everyone should keep their cats indoors, because there are many dangers to cats outside . They can then expand on these dangers (coyotes, racoons, rabies) to convince people.

Help students understand that this topic should have an opposing stance. Simply stating that ‘we shouldn’t do wrong things’ isn’t a good stance, because it’s too vague and no one would argue against it.

Next, it’s time to work in sympathy. Persuading people relies heavily on reaching them emotionally. Not only must your point make sense, but you need to make them feel what you’re saying in their hearts as well as their minds.

For this reason, students should choose a topic or stance about which they feel passionate. They can save more formal academic positions for argumentative writing.

Speaking of which: Argumentative writing is the close cousin of persuasive writing, though as we shall soon see, it is not the same thing.

• ARGUMENTATIVE WRITING

At first blush, many people confuse persuasive and argumentative writing. This is common among teachers as well as laypeople, so if you’re scratching your head, don’t feel bad.

The main difference between persuasive and argumentative writing, as Empowering Writers explains, is that:

“While persuasive writing can get by with a heartfelt emotional appeal or a well-defended opinion, argumentative writing must cite scientific studies, statistics and quotes from experts. It also highlights evidence that the author has generated with his/her own surveys and questionnaires.”

The good news is that, in teaching persuasive writing, you can simultaneously teach kids the scientific method and statistical analysis by having them design and examine the results of questionnaires. Adds the above source, “You’ll find that writing those questionnaires or surveys and collecting responses from their classmates is not only fun for kids, but it encourages active learning and positive social interaction.”

Argumentative writing, calls for several elements:

• A formal writing style, typically in the third person
• Well-researched facts from reliable sources (this, by the way, is a good time to discuss why sites like Wikipedia are good as a starting point but not as final sources)
• Argumentation predicated on those facts
• An overall claim of which the writer is trying to convince the reader

When designing argumentative writing curricula and lessons, introduce students to the structure slowly. Their instinct is typically toward arguing for what they believe based on emotional appeal, but you can point out that they’ll have a chance to do this with persuasive writing. Instead, lead them through the process with the following steps:

• Research an interest area
• Choose a position or argument based on the results of that research
• Collect sources (assign a specific number, usually around 3-5) from which to draw facts
• Craft the flow of the argument, from initial statement of position through supporting facts (one per paragraph is a good approach) to conclusion
• Conclude by both restating the argument and leaving the reader with a good reason to think about it, such as a story or quote

The Writing Way: Implement These Strategies Today

So why wait any longer to implement smart and relatively simple new strategies into your writing time? By selecting and teaching the above skills a little more often – not to mention weaving them into other subjects more often – you can substantially improve your students’ writing abilities.

One caveat, though: Don’t attempt to incorporate all of these strategies at once. You’re a teacher; you have a long career and many moldable minds ahead of you.

Take your time to deepen your familiarity with each type of writing one by one. Incorporate one new strategy per lesson plan, and no more. You can even work to develop your teaching approach to one style of writing per year to avoid teacher burnout .

And lastly, take heart. There is something you can do to help improve the state of the American education system, one lesson at a time, one paper at a time, one child at a time. Keep these tips in mind and do your best, and you’ll do just fine.

Please read Marco Learning’s Terms and Conditions, click to agree, and submit to continue to your content.

Please read Marco Learning’s Terms and Conditions, click to agree, and submit at the bottom of the window.

MARCO LEARNING TERMS OF USE

Last Modified: 1/24/2023

Acceptance of the Terms of Use

These terms of use are entered into by and between You and Marco Learning LLC (“ Company “, “ we “, or “ us “). The following terms and conditions (these “ Terms of Use “), govern your access to and use of Marco Learning , including any content, functionality, and services offered on or through Marco Learning (the “ Website “), whether as a guest or a registered user.

Please read the Terms of Use carefully before you start to use the Website. By using the Website or by clicking to accept or agree to the Terms of Use when this option is made available to you, you accept and agree to be bound and abide by these Terms of Use. You may not order or obtain products or services from this website if you (i) do not agree to these Terms of Use, or (ii) are prohibited from accessing or using this Website or any of this Website’s contents, goods or services by applicable law . If you do not want to agree to these Terms of Use, you must not access or use the Website.

This Website is offered and available to users who are 13 years of age or older, and reside in the United States or any of its territories or possessions. Any user under the age of 18 must (a) review the Terms of Use with a parent or legal guardian to ensure the parent or legal guardian acknowledges and agrees to these Terms of Use, and (b) not access the Website if his or her parent or legal guardian does not agree to these Terms of Use. By using this Website, you represent and warrant that you meet all of the foregoing eligibility requirements. If you do not meet all of these requirements, you must not access or use the Website.

Changes to the Terms of Use

We may revise and update these Terms of Use from time to time in our sole discretion. All changes are effective immediately when we post them, and apply to all access to and use of the Website thereafter.

These Terms of Use are an integral part of the Website Terms of Use that apply generally to the use of our Website. Your continued use of the Website following the posting of revised Terms of Use means that you accept and agree to the changes. You are expected to check this page each time you access this Website so you are aware of any changes, as they are binding on you.

Accessing the Website and Account Security

We reserve the right to withdraw or amend this Website, and any service or material we provide on the Website, in our sole discretion without notice. We will not be liable if for any reason all or any part of the Website is unavailable at any time or for any period. From time to time, we may restrict access to some parts of the Website, or the entire Website, to users, including registered users.

You are responsible for (i) making all arrangements necessary for you to have access to the Website, and (ii) ensuring that all persons who access the Website through your internet connection are aware of these Terms of Use and comply with them.

To access the Website or some of the resources it offers, you may be asked to provide certain registration details or other information. It is a condition of your use of the Website that all the information you provide on the Website is correct, current, and complete. You agree that all information you provide to register with this Website or otherwise, including but not limited to through the use of any interactive features on the Website, is governed by our Marco Learning Privacy Policy , and you consent to all actions we take with respect to your information consistent with our Privacy Policy.

If you choose, or are provided with, a user name, password, or any other piece of information as part of our security procedures, you must treat such information as confidential, and you must not disclose it to any other person or entity. You also acknowledge that your account is personal to you and agree not to provide any other person with access to this Website or portions of it using your user name, password, or other security information. You agree to notify us immediately of any unauthorized access to or use of your user name or password or any other breach of security. You also agree to ensure that you exit from your account at the end of each session. You should use particular caution when accessing your account from a public or shared computer so that others are not able to view or record your password or other personal information.

We have the right to disable any user name, password, or other identifier, whether chosen by you or provided by us, at any time in our sole discretion for any or no reason, including if, in our opinion, you have violated any provision of these Terms of Use.

Intellectual Property Rights

The Website and its entire contents, features, and functionality (including but not limited to all information, software, text, displays, images, graphics, video, other visuals, and audio, and the design, selection, and arrangement thereof) are owned by the Company, its licensors, or other providers of such material and are protected by United States and international copyright, trademark, patent, trade secret, and other intellectual property or proprietary rights laws. Your use of the Website does not grant to you ownership of any content, software, code, date or materials you may access on the Website.

These Terms of Use permit you to use the Website for your personal, non-commercial use only. You must not reproduce, distribute, modify, create derivative works of, publicly display, publicly perform, republish, download, store, or transmit any of the material on our Website, except as follows:

• Your computer may temporarily store copies of such materials in RAM incidental to your accessing and viewing those materials.
• You may store files that are automatically cached by your Web browser for display enhancement purposes.
• You may print or download one copy of a reasonable number of pages of the Website for your own personal, non-commercial use and not for further reproduction, publication, or distribution.
• If we provide desktop, mobile, or other applications for download, you may download a single copy to your computer or mobile device solely for your own personal, non-commercial use, provided you agree to be bound by our end user license agreement for such applications.
• If we provide social media features with certain content, you may take such actions as are enabled by such features.

You must not:

• Modify copies of any materials from this site.
• Use any illustrations, photographs, video or audio sequences, or any graphics separately from the accompanying text.
• Delete or alter any copyright, trademark, or other proprietary rights notices from copies of materials from this site.

You must not access or use for any commercial purposes any part of the Website or any services or materials available through the Website.

If you wish to make any use of material on the Website other than that set out in this section, please contact us

If you print, copy, modify, download, or otherwise use or provide any other person with access to any part of the Website in breach of the Terms of Use, your right to use the Website will stop immediately and you must, at our option, return or destroy any copies of the materials you have made. No right, title, or interest in or to the Website or any content on the Website is transferred to you, and all rights not expressly granted are reserved by the Company. Any use of the Website not expressly permitted by these Terms of Use is a breach of these Terms of Use and may violate copyright, trademark, and other laws.

Trademarks, logos, service marks, trade names, and all related names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans are trademarks of the Company or its affiliates or licensors (collectively, the “ Trademarks ”). You must not use such Trademarks without the prior written permission of the Company. All other names, logos, product and service names, designs, and slogans on this Website are the trademarks of their respective owners.

Prohibited Uses

You may use the Website only for lawful purposes and in accordance with these Terms of Use. You agree not to use the Website:

• In any way that violates any applicable federal, state, local, or international law or regulation (including, without limitation, any laws regarding the export of data or software to and from the US or other countries).
• For the purpose of exploiting, harming, or attempting to exploit or harm minors in any way by exposing them to inappropriate content, asking for personally identifiable information, or otherwise.
• To send, knowingly receive, upload, download, use, or re-use any material that does not comply with the Content Standards set out in these Terms of Use.
• To transmit, or procure the sending of, any advertising or promotional material, including any “junk mail”, “chain letter”, “spam”, or any other similar solicitation.
• To impersonate or attempt to impersonate the Company, a Company employee, another user, or any other person or entity (including, without limitation, by using email addresses or screen names associated with any of the foregoing).
• To engage in any other conduct that restricts or inhibits anyone’s use or enjoyment of the Website, or which, as determined by us, may harm the Company or users of the Website or expose them to liability.

Additionally, you agree not to:

• Use the Website in any manner that could disable, overburden, damage, or impair the site or interfere with any other party’s use of the Website, including their ability to engage in real time activities through the Website.
• Use any robot, spider, or other automatic device, process, or means to access the Website for any purpose, including monitoring or copying any of the material on the Website.
• Use any manual process to monitor or copy any of the material on the Website or for any other unauthorized purpose without our prior written consent.
• Use any device, software, or routine that interferes with the proper working of the Website.
• Introduce any viruses, Trojan horses, worms, logic bombs, or other material that is malicious or technologically harmful.
• Attempt to gain unauthorized access to, interfere with, damage, or disrupt any parts of the Website, the server on which the Website is stored, or any server, computer, or database connected to the Website.
• Attack the Website via a denial-of-service attack or a distributed denial-of-service attack.
• Otherwise attempt to interfere with the proper working of the Website.

If you use, or assist another person in using the Website in any unauthorized way, you agree that you will pay us an additional $50 per hour for any time we spend to investigate and correct such use, plus any third party costs of investigation we incur (with a minimum $300 charge). You agree that we may charge any credit card number provided for your account for such amounts. You further agree that you will not dispute such a charge and that we retain the right to collect any additional actual costs.

User Contributions

The Website may contain message boards, chat rooms, personal web pages or profiles, forums, bulletin boards, and other interactive features (collectively, “ Interactive Services “) that allow users to post, submit, publish, display, or transmit to other users or other persons (hereinafter, “ post “) content or materials (collectively, “ User Contributions “) on or through the Website.

All User Contributions must comply with the Content Standards set out in these Terms of Use.

Any User Contribution you post to the site will be considered non-confidential and non-proprietary. By providing any User Contribution on the Website, you grant us and our affiliates and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors, and assigns the right to use, reproduce, modify, perform, display, distribute, and otherwise disclose to third parties any such material for any purpose.

You represent and warrant that:

• You own or control all rights in and to the User Contributions and have the right to grant the license granted above to us and our affiliates and service providers, and each of their and our respective licensees, successors, and assigns.
• All of your User Contributions do and will comply with these Terms of Use.

You understand and acknowledge that you are responsible for any User Contributions you submit or contribute, and you, not the Company, have full responsibility for such content, including its legality, reliability, accuracy, and appropriateness.

For any academic source materials such as textbooks and workbooks which you submit to us in connection with our online tutoring services, you represent and warrant that you are entitled to upload such materials under the “fair use” doctrine of copyright law. In addition, if you request that our system display a representation of a page or problem from a textbook or workbook, you represent and warrant that you are in proper legal possession of such textbook or workbook and that your instruction to our system to display a page or problem from your textbook or workbook is made for the sole purpose of facilitating your tutoring session, as “fair use” under copyright law.

You agree that we may record all or any part of any live online classes and tutoring sessions (including voice chat communications) for quality control and other purposes. You agree that we own all transcripts and recordings of such sessions and that these Terms of Use will be deemed an irrevocable assignment of rights in all such transcripts and recordings to us.

We are not responsible or liable to any third party for the content or accuracy of any User Contributions posted by you or any other user of the Website.

Monitoring and Enforcement: Termination

We have the right to:

• Remove or refuse to post any User Contributions for any or no reason in our sole discretion.
• Take any action with respect to any User Contribution that we deem necessary or appropriate in our sole discretion, including if we believe that such User Contribution violates the Terms of Use, including the Content Standards, infringes any intellectual property right or other right of any person or entity, threatens the personal safety of users of the Website or the public, or could create liability for the Company.
• Disclose your identity or other information about you to any third party who claims that material posted by you violates their rights, including their intellectual property rights or their right to privacy.
• Take appropriate legal action, including without limitation, referral to law enforcement, for any illegal or unauthorized use of the Website.
• Terminate or suspend your access to all or part of the Website for any or no reason, including without limitation, any violation of these Terms of Use.

Without limiting the foregoing, we have the right to cooperate fully with any law enforcement authorities or court order requesting or directing us to disclose the identity or other information of anyone posting any materials on or through the Website. YOU WAIVE AND HOLD HARMLESS THE COMPANY AND ITS AFFILIATES, LICENSEES, AND SERVICE PROVIDERS FROM ANY CLAIMS RESULTING FROM ANY ACTION TAKEN BY ANY OF THE FOREGOING PARTIES DURING, OR TAKEN AS A CONSEQUENCE OF, INVESTIGATIONS BY EITHER SUCH PARTIES OR LAW ENFORCEMENT AUTHORITIES.

However, we do not undertake to review material before it is posted on the Website, and cannot ensure prompt removal of objectionable material after it has been posted. Accordingly, we assume no liability for any action or inaction regarding transmissions, communications, or content provided by any user or third party. We have no liability or responsibility to anyone for performance or nonperformance of the activities described in this section.

Content Standards

These content standards apply to any and all User Contributions and use of Interactive Services. User Contributions must in their entirety comply with all applicable federal, state, local, and international laws and regulations. Without limiting the foregoing, User Contributions must not:

• Contain any material that is defamatory, obscene, indecent, abusive, offensive, harassing, violent, hateful, inflammatory, or otherwise objectionable.
• Promote sexually explicit or pornographic material, violence, or discrimination based on race, sex, religion, nationality, disability, sexual orientation, or age.
• Infringe any patent, trademark, trade secret, copyright, or other intellectual property or other rights of any other person.
• Violate the legal rights (including the rights of publicity and privacy) of others or contain any material that could give rise to any civil or criminal liability under applicable laws or regulations or that otherwise may be in conflict with these Terms of Use and our Privacy Policy .
• Be likely to deceive any person.
• Promote any illegal activity, or advocate, promote, or assist any unlawful act.
• Cause annoyance, inconvenience, or needless anxiety or be likely to upset, embarrass, alarm, or annoy any other person.
• Impersonate any person, or misrepresent your identity or affiliation with any person or organization.
• Involve commercial activities or sales, such as contests, sweepstakes, and other sales promotions, barter, or advertising.
• Give the impression that they emanate from or are endorsed by us or any other person or entity, if this is not the case.

(collectively, the “ Content Standards ”)

Copyright Infringement

If you believe that any User Contributions violate your copyright, please contact us  and provide the following information:

• An electronic or physical signature of the person authorized to act on behalf of the owner of the copyright interest;
• A description of the copyrighted work that you claim has been infringed;
• A description of where the material you claim is infringing is located on the website (and such description must reasonably sufficient to enable us to find the alleged infringing material);
• Your address, telephone number and email address;
• A written statement by you that you have a good faith belief that the disputed use is not authorized by the copyright owner, its agent, or the law; and
• A statement by you, made under the penalty of perjury, that the above information in your notice is accurate and that you are the copyright owner or authorized to act on the copyright owner’s behalf.

We may terminate the accounts of any infringers.

Reliance on Information Posted

From time to time, we may make third party opinions, advice, statements, offers, or other third party information or content available on the Website or from tutors under tutoring services (collectively, “Third Party Content”). All Third Party Content is the responsibility of the respective authors thereof and should not necessarily be relied upon. Such third party authors are solely responsible for such content. WE DO NOT (I) GUARANTEE THE ACCURACY, COMPLETENESS OR USEFULNESS OF ANY THIRD PARTY CONTENT ON THE SITE OR ANY VERIFICATION SERVICES DONE ON OUR TUTORS OR INSTRUCTORS, OR (II) ADOPT, ENDORSE OR ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THE ACCURACY OR RELIABILITY OF ANY OPINION, ADVICE, OR STATEMENT MADE BY ANY TUTOR OR INSTRUCTOR OR ANY PARTY THAT APPEARS ON THE WEBSITE. UNDER NO CIRCUMSTANCES WILL WE BE RESPONSBILE OR LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE RESULTING FROM YOUR RELIANCE ON INFORMATION OR OTHER CONENT POSTED ON OR AVAILBLE FROM THE WEBSITE.

Changes to the Website

We may update the content on this Website from time to time, but its content is not necessarily complete or up-to-date. Any of the material on the Website may be out of date at any given time, and we are under no obligation to update such material.

Information About You and Your Visits to the Website

All information we collect on this Website is subject to our Privacy Policy . By using the Website, you consent to all actions taken by us with respect to your information in compliance with the Privacy Policy.

Online Purchases and Other Terms and Conditions

All purchases through our site or other transactions for the sale of services and information formed through the Website or resulting from visits made by you are governed by our Terms of Sale, which are hereby incorporated into these Terms of Use.

Additional terms and conditions may also apply to specific portions, services, or features of the Website. All such additional terms and conditions are hereby incorporated by this reference into these Terms of Use.

Linking to the Website and Social Media Features

You may link to our homepage, provided you do so in a way that is fair and legal and does not damage our reputation or take advantage of it, but you must not establish a link in such a way as to suggest any form of association, approval, or endorsement on our part without our express written consent.

This Website may provide certain social media features that enable you to:

• Link from your own or certain third-party websites to certain content on this Website.
• Send emails or other communications with certain content, or links to certain content, on this Website.
• Cause limited portions of content on this Website to be displayed or appear to be displayed on your own or certain third-party websites.

You may use these features solely as they are provided by us, and solely with respect to the content they are displayed with and otherwise in accordance with any additional terms and conditions we provide with respect to such features. Subject to the foregoing, you must not:

• Establish a link from any website that is not owned by you.
• Cause the Website or portions of it to be displayed on, or appear to be displayed by, any other site, for example, framing, deep linking, or in-line linking.
• Link to any part of the Website other than the homepage.
• Otherwise take any action with respect to the materials on this Website that is inconsistent with any other provision of these Terms of Use.

The website from which you are linking, or on which you make certain content accessible, must comply in all respects with the Content Standards set out in these Terms of Use.

You agree to cooperate with us in causing any unauthorized framing or linking immediately to stop. We reserve the right to withdraw linking permission without notice.

We may disable all or any social media features and any links at any time without notice in our discretion.

Links from the Website

If the Website contains links to other sites and resources provided by third parties (“ Linked Sites ”), these links are provided for your convenience only. This includes links contained in advertisements, including banner advertisements and sponsored links. You acknowledge and agree that we have no control over the contents, products, services, advertising or other materials which may be provided by or through those Linked sites or resources, and accept no responsibility for them or for any loss or damage that may arise from your use of them. If you decide to access any of the third-party websites linked to this Website, you do so entirely at your own risk and subject to the terms and conditions of use for such websites.

You agree that if you include a link from any other website to the Website, such link will open in a new browser window and will link to the full version of an HTML formatted page of this Website. You are not permitted to link directly to any image hosted on the Website or our products or services, such as using an “in-line” linking method to cause the image hosted by us to be displayed on another website. You agree not to download or use images hosted on this Website or another website, for any purpose, including, without limitation, posting such images on another website. You agree not to link from any other website to this Website in any manner such that the Website, or any page of the Website, is “framed,” surrounded or obfuscated by any third party content, materials or branding. We reserve all of our rights under the law to insist that any link to the Website be discontinued, and to revoke your right to link to the Website from any other website at any time upon written notice to you.

Geographic Restrictions

The owner of the Website is based in the state of New Jersey in the United States. We provide this Website for use only by persons located in the United States. We make no claims that the Website or any of its content is accessible or appropriate outside of the United States. Access to the Website may not be legal by certain persons or in certain countries. If you access the Website from outside the United States, you do so on your own initiative and are responsible for compliance with local laws.

Disclaimer of Warranties

You understand that we cannot and do not guarantee or warrant that files available for downloading from the internet or the Website will be free of viruses or other destructive code. You are responsible for implementing sufficient procedures and checkpoints to satisfy your particular requirements for anti-virus protection and accuracy of data input and output, and for maintaining a means external to our site for any reconstruction of any lost data. TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, WE WILL NOT BE LIABLE FOR ANY LOSS OR DAMAGE CAUSED BY A DISTRIBUTED DENIAL-OF-SERVICE ATTACK, VIRUSES, OR OTHER TECHNOLOGICALLY HARMFUL MATERIAL THAT MAY INFECT YOUR COMPUTER EQUIPMENT, COMPUTER PROGRAMS, DATA, OR OTHER PROPRIETARY MATERIAL DUE TO YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE OR TO YOUR DOWNLOADING OF ANY MATERIAL POSTED ON IT, OR ON ANY WEBSITE LINKED TO IT.

YOUR USE OF THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE IS AT YOUR OWN RISK. THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, AND ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE ARE PROVIDED ON AN “AS IS” AND “AS AVAILABLE” BASIS, WITHOUT ANY WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, EITHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED. NEITHER THE COMPANY NOR ANY PERSON ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPANY MAKES ANY WARRANTY OR REPRESENTATION WITH RESPECT TO THE COMPLETENESS, SECURITY, RELIABILITY, QUALITY, ACCURACY, OR AVAILABILITY OF THE WEBSITE. WITHOUT LIMITING THE FOREGOING, NEITHER THE COMPANY NOR ANYONE ASSOCIATED WITH THE COMPANY REPRESENTS OR WARRANTS THAT THE WEBSITE, ITS CONTENT, OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL BE ACCURATE, RELIABLE, ERROR-FREE, OR UNINTERRUPTED, THAT DEFECTS WILL BE CORRECTED, THAT OUR SITE OR THE SERVER THAT MAKES IT AVAILABLE ARE FREE OF VIRUSES OR OTHER HARMFUL COMPONENTS, OR THAT THE WEBSITE OR ANY SERVICES OR ITEMS OBTAINED THROUGH THE WEBSITE WILL OTHERWISE MEET YOUR NEEDS OR EXPECTATIONS.

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, THE COMPANY HEREBY DISCLAIMS ALL WARRANTIES OF ANY KIND, WHETHER EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, STATUTORY, OR OTHERWISE, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO ANY WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, NON-INFRINGEMENT, AND FITNESS FOR PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY WARRANTIES THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

Limitation on Liability

TO THE FULLEST EXTENT PROVIDED BY LAW, IN NO EVENT WILL THE COMPANY, ITS AFFILIATES, OR THEIR LICENSORS, SERVICE PROVIDERS, EMPLOYEES, AGENTS, OFFICERS, OR DIRECTORS BE LIABLE FOR DAMAGES OF ANY KIND, UNDER ANY LEGAL THEORY, ARISING OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH YOUR USE, OR INABILITY TO USE, THE WEBSITE, ANY WEBSITES LINKED TO IT, ANY CONTENT ON THE WEBSITE OR SUCH OTHER WEBSITES, INCLUDING ANY DIRECT, INDIRECT, SPECIAL, INCIDENTAL, CONSEQUENTIAL, OR PUNITIVE DAMAGES, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO, PERSONAL INJURY, PAIN AND SUFFERING, EMOTIONAL DISTRESS, LOSS OF REVENUE, LOSS OF PROFITS, LOSS OF BUSINESS OR ANTICIPATED SAVINGS, LOSS OF USE, LOSS OF GOODWILL, LOSS OF DATA, AND WHETHER CAUSED BY TORT (INCLUDING NEGLIGENCE), BREACH OF CONTRACT, OR OTHERWISE, EVEN IF FORESEEABLE.

THE FOREGOING DOES NOT AFFECT ANY LIABILITY THAT CANNOT BE EXCLUDED OR LIMITED UNDER APPLICABLE LAW.

Indemnification

You agree to defend, indemnify, and hold harmless the Company, its affiliates, licensors, and service providers, and its and their respective officers, directors, employees, contractors, agents, licensors, suppliers, successors, and assigns from and against any claims, liabilities, damages, judgments, awards, losses, costs, expenses, or fees (including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of or relating to your violation of these Terms of Use or your use of the Website, including, but not limited to, your User Contributions, any use of the Website’s content, services, and products other than as expressly authorized in these Terms of Use or your use of any information obtained from the Website.

Governing Law and Jurisdiction

All matters relating to the Website and these Terms of Use and any dispute or claim arising therefrom or related thereto (in each case, including non-contractual disputes or claims), shall be governed by and construed in accordance with the internal laws of the State of New Jersey without giving effect to any choice or conflict of law provision or rule (whether of the State of New Jersey or any other jurisdiction).

Any legal suit, action, or proceeding arising out of, or related to, these Terms of Use or the Website shall be instituted exclusively in the federal courts of the United States or the courts of the State of New Jersey in each case located in the County of Monmouth although we retain the right to bring any suit, action, or proceeding against you for breach of these Terms of Use in your country of residence or any other relevant country. You waive any and all objections to the exercise of jurisdiction over you by such courts and to venue in such courts. You may not under any circumstances commence or maintain against us any class action, class arbitration, or other representative action or proceeding.

Arbitration

By using this Website, you agree, at Company’s sole discretion, that it may require you to submit any disputes arising from the use of these Terms of Use or the Website, including disputes arising from or concerning their interpretation, violation, invalidity, non-performance, or termination, to final and binding arbitration under the Rules of Arbitration of the American Arbitration Association applying New Jersey law. In doing so, YOU GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO GO TO COURT to assert or defend any claims between you and us. YOU ALSO GIVE UP YOUR RIGHT TO PARTICIPATE IN A CLASS ACTION OR OTHER CLASS PROCEEDING. Your rights may be determined by a NEUTRAL ARBITRATOR, NOT A JUDGE OR JURY. You are entitled to a fair hearing before the arbitrator. The arbitrator can grant any relief that a court can, but you should note that arbitration proceedings are usually simpler and more streamlined than trials and other judicial proceedings. Decisions by the arbitrator are enforceable in court and may be overturned by a court only for very limited reasons.

Any proceeding to enforce this arbitration provision, including any proceeding to confirm, modify, or vacate an arbitration award, may be commenced in any court of competent jurisdiction. In the event that this arbitration provision is for any reason held to be unenforceable, any litigation against Company must be commenced only in the federal or state courts located in Monmouth County, New Jersey. You hereby irrevocably consent to the jurisdiction of those courts for such purposes.

Limitation on Time to File Claims

ANY CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM YOU MAY HAVE ARISING OUT OF OR RELATING TO THESE TERMS OF USE OR THE WEBSITE MUST BE COMMENCED WITHIN ONE (1) YEAR AFTER THE CAUSE OF ACTION ACCRUES, OTHERWISE, SUCH CAUSE OF ACTION OR CLAIM IS PERMANENTLY BARRED.

Waiver and Severability

No waiver by the Company of any term or condition set out in these Terms of Use shall be deemed a further or continuing waiver of such term or condition or a waiver of any other term or condition, and any failure of the Company to assert a right or provision under these Terms of Use shall not constitute a waiver of such right or provision.

If any provision of these Terms of Use is held by a court or other tribunal of competent jurisdiction to be invalid, illegal, or unenforceable for any reason, such provision shall be eliminated or limited to the minimum extent such that the remaining provisions of the Terms of Use will continue in full force and effect.

Entire Agreement

The Terms of Use, our Privacy Policy, and Terms of Sale constitute the sole and entire agreement between you and Marco Learning LLC regarding the Website and supersede all prior and contemporaneous understandings, agreements, representations, and warranties, both written and oral, regarding the Website.

Communications and Miscellaneous

If you provide us your email address, you agree and consent to receive email messages from us. These emails may be transaction or relationship communications relating to the products or services we offer, such as administrative notices and service announcements or changes, or emails containing commercial offers, promotions or special offers from us.

Your Comments and Concerns

This website is operated by Marco Learning LLC, a New Jersey limited liability company with an address of 113 Monmouth Road, Suite 1, Wrightstown, New Jersey 08562.

Please contact us   for all other feedback, comments, requests for technical support, and other communications relating to the Website.

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Guide to Different Kinds of Essays

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An essay is a paper that discusses, describes or analyzes one topic. It can discuss a subject directly or indirectly, seriously or humorously. It can describe personal opinions, or just report information. An essay can be written from any perspective, but essays are most commonly written in the first person ( I ), or third person (subjects that can be substituted with the he, she, it, or they pronouns).

There are many different kinds of essays. The following are a some of the most common ones:

Descriptive Cause/Effect Argumentative Definition Narrative Critical Compare/Contrast Process

Descriptive:

Examples: A descriptive essay could describe . . .

The descriptive essay provides details about how something looks, feels, tastes, smells, makes one feel, or sounds. It can also describe what something is, or how something happened. These essays generally use a lot of sensory details. The essay could be a list-like description that provides point by point details. Or, it could function as a story, keeping the reader interested in the plot and theme of the event described.

Definition:

Examples: A definition essay may try and define . . .

A definition essay attempts to define a specific term. It could try to pin down the meaning of a specific word, or define an abstract concept. The analysis goes deeper than a simple dictionary definition; it should attempt to explain why the term is defined as such. It could define the term directly, giving no information other than the explanation of the term. Or, it could imply the definition of the term, telling a story that requires the reader to infer the meaning.

Compare/Contrast:

Examples:A compare/contrast essay may discuss . . .

The compare/contrast essay discusses the similarities and differences between two things, people, concepts, places, etc. The essay could be an unbiased discussion, or an attempt to convince the reader of the benefits of one thing, person, or concept. It could also be written simply to entertain the reader, or to arrive at an insight into human nature. The essay could discuss both similarities and differences, or it could just focus on one or the other. A comparison essay usually discusses the similarities between two things, while the contrast essay discusses the differences.

Cause/Effect:

Examples:A cause/effect essay may explain . . .

The cause/effect essay explains why or how some event happened, and what resulted from the event.

This essay is a study of the relationship between two or more events or experiences. The essay could discuss both causes and effects, or it could simply address one or the other. A cause essay usually discusses the reasons why something happened. An effect essay discusses what happens after a specific event or circumstance.

The example below shows a cause essay, one that would explain how and why an event happened.

If this cause essay were about a volcanic eruption, it might go something like this: “Pressure and heat built up beneath the earth’s surface; the effect of this was an enormous volcanic eruption.”

The next example shows an effect essay, one that would explain all the effects that happened after a specific event, like a volcanic eruption.

If this effect essay were about a volcanic eruption again, it might go something like this:

“The eruption caused many terrible things to happen; it destroyed homes, forests, and polluted the atmosphere.”

Examples:A narrative essay could tell of . . .

The narrative essay tells a story. It can also be called a “short story.” Generally, the narrative essay is conversational in style and tells of a personal experience. It is most commonly written in the first person (uses I ). This essay could tell of a single, life-shaping event, or simply a mundane daily experience.

Examples: A process essay may explain . . .

A process essay describes how something is done. It generally explains actions that should be performed in a series. It can explain in detail how to accomplish a specific task, or it can show how an individual came to a certain personal awareness. The essay could be in the form of step-by-step instructions, or in story form, with the instructions/explanations subtly given along the way.

Argumentative:

Examples: An argumentative essay may persuade a reader that . . .

An argumentative essay is one that attempts to persuade the reader to the writer’s point of view. The writer can either be serious or funny, but always tries to convince the reader of the validity of his or her opinion. The essay may argue openly, or it may attempt to subtly persuade the reader by using irony or sarcasm.

Examples: A critical essay may analyze . . .

A critical essay analyzes the strengths, weaknesses, and methods of someone else’s work. Generally, these essays begin with a brief overview of the main points of the text, movie, or piece of art, followed by an analysis of the work’s meaning. It should then discuss how well the author/creator accomplishes his/her goals and makes his/her points. A critical essay can be written about another essay, story, book, poem, movie, or work of art.

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Home • A guide to discovering your learning style

A guide to discovering your learning style

27 August 2024

If you’ve ever wondered why some subjects may come easy to you but have struggled with others, the answer could be linked to your learning style. For this reason, understanding how you best absorb information can not only help you with your studies but also actually help when it comes to career progression. 

You may be a visual learner who enjoys learning through diagrams and charts, or perhaps you’re an auditory learner who prefers lectures and discussions. If you’re a kinesthetic learner, you may like hands-on experiences. It’s also possible that you have a combination of learning styles.

Tailoring your study habits and learning environment to match your strengths can help improve your focus and retention, and make the learning process more enjoyable. Whether you’re a student, a professional looking to upskill through one of our Simply Academy online courses, or just curious about how you learn, this guide will help you discover your learning style.

What are the four learning styles?

Learning styles aim to identify how people learn best, and while there are many ways of categorising them, Neil Fleming’s VARK model is widely recognised in psychology and education. According to this model, there are four learning styles; visual, auditory, reading/writing, and kinesthetic. Let’s take a closer look at each of these.

Visual learners thrive on seeing information presented in a clear, concise way. They excel when information is displayed in charts, graphs, or illustrations. Those who prefer this learning method find it easier to remember concepts when they can visualise them. Additionally, observing body language can significantly improve their comprehension and retention. Incorporating pictures and diagrams into study materials is highly beneficial for visual learners.

Processing information through sound is best for auditory learners. Lectures and classes are a prime learning environment for them as they retain information effectively when it’s spoken. Participating in class discussions can solidify their understanding and when studying, creating songs and reading aloud can be helpful. Audio resources such as podcasts can help them when studying

Reading/writing 

Reading and writing are essential for those who prefer textual information. These learners find it best when words and written materials are displayed. Reading and writing learners enjoy making lists, creating presentations, and reading definitions. Textbooks, handouts and taking notes in class help them when learning and allow them to digest information easily. 

Kinesthetic

Kinesthetic learners enjoy learning through practical tasks like cooking, painting, or sports. Experiential learning is key for them, as they take in information best by doing things physically. These learners often find it challenging to sit still for extended periods. Classes incorporating practical elements are ideal for kinesthetic learners to understand new skills effectively.

How your learning style can help you choose an online course

Understanding your learning style can significantly influence your choice of an online course and enhance your learning experience. Reviewing the course syllabus and delivery methods is important to ensure they align with your learning preferences. Look for various content formats and teaching approaches that cater to the different learning styles. For example, our mortgage advisor courses offer a classroom setting, a virtual classroom to combine the classroom setting with a location of your choice, or a self-study option.

Visual learners should seek courses with plenty of diagrams, charts, videos, and visual presentations. Courses that offer audio lectures, podcasts, and discussion forums are great for auditory learners. Reading/writing learners should look for courses with comprehensive written materials, transcripts, and opportunities for written assignments. Kinesthetic learners should opt for courses with hands-on activities or practical exercises.

Some online courses offer adaptive learning technologies that adjust to your progress and preferences. This can be particularly beneficial if you have a mixed learning style. 

Remember that while catering to your preferred learning style can be helpful, it’s also useful to challenge yourself by exploring different learning methods.

The benefits of knowing your learning style

Knowing your learning style offers several benefits that can improve your educational and professional experiences. Here are some of the benefits:

• It can help you retain information better. Using study techniques suited to your learning style can improve your ability to recall information when needed, as information processed effectively is more likely to be stored in long-term memory. 
• It can help you develop more effective study strategies. Knowing your learning style allows you to tailor your approach to studying and will enable you to choose study methods that cater to your strengths. It also helps you create a study space that suits your needs such as a quiet study area for auditory learners. 

Leverage your learning style for career success

The benefits of knowing your learning style don’t just end with the studying process, they can also significantly impact your career success. Understanding how you process information best can help you select roles and work environments that align with your preferred style. For example, visual learners might excel in design or marketing, while auditory learners could thrive in customer service or sales. 

Knowing your learning style can help you develop effective time management strategies, tackle challenges creatively, and communicate ideas to colleagues with different preferences, helping you build strong relationships. Aligning your career path with your learning style can increase job satisfaction, productivity, and overall professional fulfilment.

Learning styles should not be the sole factor in selecting a career path. Regardless of the job you pursue, being aware of your learning style can help you discover the most effective methods for acquiring new skills, advancing your career, adapting to new environments, and supporting the growth of others.

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Academic Writing

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At Sheridan, you are likely to come across four types of essays. Each essay types has different requirements and produces different outcomes. In this section, you will find descriptions of the four essay types: Expository, Argumentative or Persuasive, Reflective, and Descriptive.

Expository Essay

The purpose of an expository essay is to inform, describe, or explain a topic. It requires you to help the reader understand a topic through your own insights and ideas. Using information from credible sources, your essay should provide definitions, facts, explanations, and details about the subject. The essay may also include examples, comparison and contrast and analysis of cause and effect.

Many academic and workplace writing assignments are expository. These topics, for example, often require expository type of writing:

• A medical or biological condition.
• A social or technological process.
• A marketing strategy.
• Life or character of a famous person.

Argumentative or Persuasive Essay

The purpose of an argumentative essay is to persuade readers on a certain point of view, opinion, or position on a topic. It requires you to identify key issues, present the common or existing arguments about the issues, evaluate evidence behind these arguments and argue why your position on the topic is more convincing or stronger than the opposing view. The subject you choose for an argumentative or persuasive essay needs to be debatable.

An argument is an evidence-based opinion supported and explained by sound, credible sources. "To argue in writing is to advance knowledge and ideas in a positive way" (Warkentin & Filipovic, 2019, p. 207). A well-thought-out argument is one that considers facts and various opinions, some of which may be opposing to each other, and analyzes strengths and weaknesses in each. An argumentative essay should not present only evidence on the position you are supporting. It is more convincing when the information presented is not biased towards a position.

Reflective Essay

This type of essay is more personal because you have to consider or "reflect" upon your own experiences and perspectives on the topic you are writing about.

Experiential reflection is commonly assigned in college courses. It involves reflecting on an experience by connecting theory and practice. For example, in an essay about a field placement experience, you may be asked to assess a theory or concept based on your observations and interactions. This type of writing is common in fields such as social work, health care, and business.

Another type of reflective writing involves examining what shapes your perspectives on an issue. The process helps you examine how your thoughts are shaped by your assumptions and environmental factors and may help you understand and appreciate the experiences of other people. Also, you may be challenged to re-examine your preconceived ideas and judgments.

Descriptive Essay

A descriptive essay allows you to describe something, usually an experience, in details so that the reader can get a good impression of it. Similar to the reflective essay, this type of writing is more subjective although information or data from sources may be incorporated to provide more context and support your descriptions. This type of essays tends to be brief. For example, describe an observation in one to two paragraphs.

• Last Updated: Sep 3, 2024 3:18 PM
• URL: https://sheridancollege.libguides.com/AcademicWriting

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• Assessment and feedback design

A guide to different types of assessment

Published on: 10/07/2023 · Last updated on: 03/09/2024

Introduction

Well-chosen assessment that motivates and develops individual knowledge and skills as well as validating student achievement is an essential part of course and unit design, and each type of assessment comes with particular attributes to be considered. This page sets out some of the main pros and cons of each type as described in the University’s  Assessment Taxonomy .

Examinations

Fixed time exam assessment to test knowledge and understanding of certain topics, no other reference material can be used during the exam. Questions can vary from MCQ, short or long answer. Questions can be ‘seen’ (known in advance) or ‘unseen’. Scheduled in formal assessment periods by the Exams office.

• All students complete the same assessment on a specific date/ time/ venue, which may increase equality of opportunity.
• Marking criteria may be easier to apply consistently.
• Marking time may be reduced if the time constraint limits the amount of work that students can produce.

Disadvantages

• Can be focused on memory recall, rather than application and analysis of knowledge.
• Can inadvertently become a test of how well students manage time or compose answers.
• Single point high stakes assessments can be stressful for many students. Consider whether students have had recent experience of this type of assessment or may need lower-stakes opportunities to encounter timed in-person exams.
• Some practical challenges for students with DAPs.

Further information and case-studies

• Successful Online Assessment Using Inspera

A written assessment occurring during the University’s official examination period. Students are expected to answer a question or set of questions relating to a particular area of study under timed conditions and with access to reference materials. The reference materials available to students can be limited (e.g. one page of notes, or a formula booklet), or can allow students to access any material. Open-book examinations may be ‘seen’ where the student is aware in advance of the question(s) they are expected to answer, or ‘seen’, where the questions are only revealed on the day. Open book examinations can be invigilated or not. Open book exams may be completed online.

• Can focus on higher level learning skills, testing understanding of a subject and application of knowledge and skills.
• Typically require students to design, compare, contrast, analyse, evaluate, synthesise, rather than recall.
• Can use real world scenarios or replicate workplace tasks and is therefore potentially more authentic as a form of assessment.
• Having access to a greater volume of information can hinder time management and performance if students aren’t fully prepared for the examination.
• Consider the time limit to complete the exam. If too long, with access to resources, students may continue working for longer than is desirable.
• Online modes require reliable internet access and a suitable location to take the exam.
• Online modes may require additional time and skill if students need to upload materials in various formats.

A timed test taken outside the University’s assessment period, in a normal classroom or online, during a timetabled session. In-class tests may be seen or unseen, and open- or closed book. MCQ and automarked quizzes allow for detailed personalised and specific feedback to be delivered to students in a timely and scalable manner.

• Well written questions can be used to check simple knowledge as well as more complex concepts across a broad range of subject content.
• An example of effective ‘retrieval practice’, identifying gaps in knowledge and strengthening connections. Staff can generate cohort insights into misconceptions and areas of difficulty.
• Supports smaller or more regular low stakes summative assessment which provided students with opportunity to act on feedback.
• Automated marking and provision of feedback to students supports use with large cohorts. Question banks can be retained and used for following cohorts.
• Feedback can be released and acted on during/at completion of quiz or some other fixed date.
• Poorly designed questions can make passing by guesswork easier. It can be challenging to write MCQ tests that probe ‘higher order’ assessment goals (evaluate, apply, analyse, etc).
• Time is needed when first writing the question bank and feedback for different answers (which is later offset by time saved in marking). Creating shorter questions and genuine distractors in MCQs can be difficult.
• Students may perceive in-class tests as easier than other methods of assessment and consequently reduce the time spent on exam preparation.
• Scheduling invigilators (if necessary) can be difficult outside of exam periods and where different venues are required (e.g. to support DAPs).

Essays require students to construct a reasoned argument in response to a specific question, assimilating into this argument relevant supporting ideas and evidence. Students are expected to introduce, build, and reinforce their argument, before concluding with an overall statement.  

• Essays usually have set word limits, usually ranging from 1000 to 5000 words, varying between discipline and level of study. 
• At undergraduate level, students are often given the specific problem or question. 
• At postgraduate level, students may be given a specific problem or question or may be asked to identify their own research questions. 
• Students may have familiarity with essays from their previous educational experiences. 
• A wealth of resources are available to provide support.  
• Essays can help students develop their critical thinking, evidence gathering, reasoning and written communication skills to make a coherent argument to a chosen audience.  
• Essay writing hones research and communication skills that can be transferred to other forms of professional writing. 
• Word counts encourage information selection and appraisal, succinct communication, and clear messaging.  
• Students and employers may consider essay writing as less authentic and transferable to a range of employment opportunities than other types of assessment.  
• Essays can be more time-consuming to write and mark than other types of assessment. 
• Interpretations of marking criteria for essays are sometimes subjective, especially where there is a common mark scheme for a range of essay titles.  
• Using Mahara for essays

A report requires a concise, factual style of writing that is likely to focus on a specific problem, event, or audience. A report may ask a writer to summarise key research, events, or problems and to offer actionable future steps. Reports typically have a prescribed format.

Reports differ between disciplines. Often students are required to produce a report after participating in a practical activity such as fieldwork, laboratory work, work experience or placement, though they may also be focused on appraising secondary sources or data.

• Report writing can be an authentic assessment; a task regularly given to employees and students on placement.
• Communicating knowledge clearly and succinctly is a highly transferable skill.
• Reports often follow a specific style within a subject area, therefore feedback can be specific and actionable in future assessments.
• Consider the frequency of report writing as an assessment. If the style is prescribed and replicated in each submission, it may limit the scope for learners’ development to practice the same set of skills each time.
• Reports can be time-consuming to mark and interpretations of marking criteria to reports are sometimes subjective.
• There is a vigorous industry of ‘essay mills’ that produce written assignment content for students, which can be hard to detect through plagiarism software.
• CLT guidance on using Moodle Groups  
• Designing maths e-Assessments  

A dissertation is an extended piece of research and writing, which follows many of the same conventions as the essay. Dissertations showcase a student’s ability to become a competent researcher at a level suitable to their programme of study and a producer of knowledge. 

• Students are more likely to have chosen their area of study, designed their own research, and undertaken any practical investigations or primary and secondary data searches themselves. 
• Dissertations tend to include more structural component than an essay, including not only an introduction, main body, and conclusion, but also an abstract, methodology and/or literature review, findings and discussion, and appendices.  
• The word counts tend to range from 5-20,000 words, although this varies between disciplines. 
• Writing in this style supports students to develop their critical thinking, evidence gathering, reasoning and written communication skills to make a coherent argument to a chosen audience.  
• Writing a dissertation requires information selection and appraisal and a clear narrative throughout a large body of work.
• Dissertation writing is an exercise in academic commitment and supports students in developing a range of research and written communication skills applicable to future projects in academia and employment.  
• Students and employers may see dissertation writing as less authentic and transferable to a range of employment opportunities than other types of projects set to assess the end of a course. 
• Dissertations can be more time-consuming to write and mark than other types of final year assessment. 
• Interpretations of marking criteria can be subjective and vary widely between assessors. 

Any reflective assessment that focuses on critical analysis of the learning, and/or development that has taken place over a period of time or following a specified event. Typical examples may include learning journals and/or diaries, blogs, audio/video reflections, personal development planning, placement or work-based learning synthesis, reflective essays.

• Personalised. Can show originality and creativity. 
• Allows students to present and reflect on wide-ranging evidence of achievement to show development over time.  
• Good way to bring together synoptic/programme level assessment. Allows supervisors a dynamic view of learner progress.
• Students can demonstrate complex learning outcomes such as critical thinking and analysis.
• Helps develop independent learning and increased learner autonomy.
• Students may be less familiar with reflective writing and need more support before writing than traditional forms of assessment.  
• Need to be clear how each element of the reflective assessment contributes to a mark. Clear instructions/checklist can help guide student effort. 
• Time may be needed to ensure learners understand the value and purpose of reflective assessments, e.g. by making explicit links to learning outcomes.  
• If introducing a new learning technology (e.g. e-portfolio platform), this involves a learning curve. Allow time for staff development and plan to scaffold learner development.
• Reflective assessment can be time-consuming to mark and interpretations of marking criteria are sometimes subjective.
• Using Mahara for Reflective Assessments  
• Case study: Boosting engagement with feedback and development of employability skills with an eportfolio (Teaching Development Fund project)

Questions or tasks designed to assess the application of knowledge, analytical, problem solving, or evaluative skills. This type of coursework can be used for either individual or group assessment.

Examples of set exercises – problem sheets; programming tasks; team-based learning activities; in-tray exercise; problem-based learning activities; translation exercises; reading comprehension exercises.

• Can be a good example of authentic assessment, linked to real world situations/data, which also aligns well with assessing ‘real-world’ graduate attributes such as problem-solving.
• Collaborative working on group tasks builds interpersonal skills and prepares students for the workplace.  
• Provides a regular opportunity for feedback which the student can then apply to their future learning. Staff can use this form of assessment to shape and adjust their teaching in response to the students’ needs (e.g. revisiting topics, refining a skill). 
• Set exercises can encourage students to transfer and assimilate knowledge across a unit. 
• This form of assessment provides a useful approach for helping to shift students’ perspective on the purpose of assessment; it can help them to see assessment as a fundamental part of their learning rather than simply as an end-point. 
• Set exercises that involve group working need careful scaffolding and management by the academic.
• Problem sheets – consider whether it’s helpful to provide just the final solution, or whether a fully worked example would help students identify incorrect steps. 
• Consider whether students are likely to have had the opportunity to encounter and practice any ‘new’ type of assessment.   
• Case study: The use of Stack for formative and summative assessment in Physics by Dr Fran Laughton  
• Case study: Contextualising NUMBAS resources in Economics by Dr Simona Montagnana  
• Blog: Designing Maths e-Assessments

This type of coursework results in output from project work, often of a practical nature, other than a dissertation or written report. Examples are diverse and may include a new product, model, design or poster. It can be the product of a group or individual effort. 

Supporting learning activity (process) and project output. This type of coursework provides a more creative approach for students to demonstrate their learning. 

• Promotes application of knowledge to a real-world context. This enables authentic assessment and more opportunities for greater student choice, responsibility and agency. 
• Supports students to transfer knowledge across units and offers opportunities for reflection.  
• Project work can develop transferable skills (time management, research, and analysis). 
• Encourages problem solving and can develop education for sustainable development skills (critical thinking and innovation) and reinforces higher order thinking skills. 
• Project output that results in a physical artefact (e.g. a model) can be digitised. For example, a series of photos, a 360o photo or video can be submitted to Moodle if ‘evidence’ is required
• Consider how to maintain student effort and motivation over a longer period.  The learning design may require pre-planned scaffolding activities to aid this.
• Group tasks might be divided into separate tasks completed by individuals, not encouraging the collaboration intended by the assessment design.  
• If prior learning has not prepared students for working through setbacks and hurdles, (which is a natural and useful feature of project work) they may need support to navigate this and recognise the value in this type of learning. 
• Consider how to support groups to work with others, as some students may have not worked in this way before.  
• Using Mahara for Portfolios 
• Case study: Boosting engagment with feedback and development of employability skills with an eportfolio by Dr Cressida Lyon
• Case study: Hybrid Learning and Peer Assessment in Engineering by Dr Steve Cayzer
• Blog: Groupwork and Peer Assessment  

A collection of work that relates to a given topic or theme, which has been produced over a period of time, usually associated with work-based or experiential learning. Portfolios can include diverse forms of material including text, image, audio, notebooks, journals, etc.

• Provides a personalised and student-centred approach to assessment allowing the student to demonstrate originality and creativity. Opportunity for digital skills development.
• Allows students to present and reflect on wide-ranging evidence of achievement. Students can showcase their development over time. Allows supervisors a dynamic view of learner progress.
• Good way to bring together synoptic/programme level assessment and encourage students to make links in their learning across units. 
• Can offer student choice about what to include in the portfolio by reflecting on their work and choosing best examples. 
• Students may require guidance on how to engage in reflective writing in order for this to be effective. 
• Need to be clear how each portfolio element contributes to a mark. Clear instructions/checklist can help guide student effort. 
• Assessment workload can be high in terms of student preparation and staff marking. 
• Need to be explicit regarding how the evidence in the portfolio links to learning outcomes. This will help assess the quality of the portfolio. 
• If introducing a new learning technology (e.g. e-portfolio platform), this involves a learning curve. Allow time for staff development and plan to scaffold learner development. 
• Case study: Boosting engagement with feedback and development of employability skills with an eportfolio by Dr Cressida Lyon

The visual or recorded presentation of work on a particular topic which does not use a traditional written form. There are many different formats that could be used including posters, infographics, webpages, blogs, podcasts, vlogs, narrated presentations and short films and assessments of this nature can be very authentic. It is essential that clear information on the expected format is provided to students. 

• This method recognises that presenting incorporates far more than simply verbally communicating information and allows students to showcase their skills and knowledge in a more flexible way. This can be particularly important if students experience anxiety associated with more traditional forms of presenting. 
• Enables students to employ a creative range of approaches to presenting information visually. This is very useful for assessing higher order thinking skills where students need to make links between ideas or concepts, as visual presentations can support and evidence this type of thinking. 
• Provides an opportunity to develop skills for the modern workplace. 
• Students may not have equitable access to technology.  
• Students may not have the existing technological skills required and may need to invest time in familiarising themselves with the technology and developing the digital skills required, in advance. Certain considerations may therefore make the assessment more accessible i.e., introducing the assessment in advance, (giving students the opportunity to develop a greater awareness of any tools required) or highlighting a preferred tool that all students should use. 
• Staff need to be confident in providing ( appropriate technological)  guidance. 
• Blog: Can VR and AI Improve Soft Skills?  
• Blog: Does Being Off Camera (Still) Matter?  

An oral presentation on a given topic which could also be followed by a question-and-answer session. The timing and format of the presentation should be specified. 

• Oral presentations enable us to assess a student’s verbal skill, which is particularly useful when trying to evidence a student’s ability to engage an audience and present ideas in an informative and persuasive way. 
• Enables a subject based discussion (promoting greater student engagement, interaction and feedback) with a level of immediacy that might not be provided through other forms of assessment. 
• Oral presentations are a principal professional skill in a variety of industries; it is important to provide students with opportunities to practice and hone such skills  throughout  their academic journey. 
• Fear of presenting, when not appropriately managed and scaffolded via prior opportunities to practise this skill, may undermine a student’s ability to demonstrate their true potential. 
• Although students will need to demonstrate verbal skills in future employment, presenting in a traditional format to a large audience is not necessarily something that  all  graduates will be required to do. Therefore, when using this form of assessment, ensure that it aligns with the course learning outcomes and consider whether more flexible forms of presenting could be used e.g., presenting to smaller groups or pre-recording presentations. 
• This form of assessment provides a snapshot of a student’s verbal ability at a specific time, therefore, as with other assessment types it does not necessarily evidence their subject knowledge or ability to apply this in other settings. 
• Blog; Can VR and AI Improve Soft Skills?

Related Articles

• An introduction to ‘Authentic Assessment’ 
• Examples of Generative AI’s use in Learning and Teaching at Bath
• Generative AI assessment categorisation
• How to write effective multiple choice questions (MCQs)
• Copyright considerations for Learning and Teaching
• Generative AI and Assessment

Article Contents

The Effects of Problem-Based Learning on the Writing Skills of Students Across Various Personality Types

• Jumariati Jumariati Universitas Lambung Mangkurat
• Elvina Arapah Universitas Lambung Mangkurat

Problem-based learning (PBL) is an approach where group discussions and collaboration are apparent during problem-solving activities. Accordingly, learners’ personality types that affect the way they think, feel, behave, and interact may potentially have a role in PBL classrooms. This study tries to reveal the possible roles personality types play in PBL by investigating the effects of PBL on the argumentative essay writing of both extroverted and introverted students. This study employed a quasi-experimental design by randomly selecting students in academic writing courses for both the experimental and comparison groups and involving them in the intact classes. The findings revealed that the students in the PBL group scored higher than those in the guided writing group. Moreover, the extroverted students in the PBL group achieved higher mean scores than the extroverted students in the comparison group; however, the difference was insignificant. On the contrary, the statistical analysis showed that the introverted students in the experimental group outperformed those in the comparison group. This is to say that the introverted students taught using PBL had better skills in writing argumentative essays compared to those taught using guided writing techniques. This finding implies the need to use suitable teaching strategies that facilitate both extroverts and introverts in developing their writing skills while also sharpening their communicative and social skills.

Author Biographies

Jumariati jumariati, universitas lambung mangkurat.

English Language Education Study Program

Elvina Arapah, Universitas Lambung Mangkurat

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• Published: 28 August 2024

One size doesn’t fit all: how different types of learning motivations influence engineering undergraduate students’ success outcomes

• Xi Wang   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0002-2902-4327 1 ,
• Minhao Dai   ORCID: orcid.org/0000-0003-4030-3965 2 &
• Kathleen M. Short 2  

International Journal of STEM Education volume  11 , Article number:  41 ( 2024 ) Cite this article

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Motivation is the inherent belief to guide students learning goals and behaviors to make continuous efforts and strengthen learning outcomes. Previous research reported the positive impacts of learning motivation on student success, but there have been limited efforts in systematically and structurally studying different types of motivations and their impacts on students’ success in engineering education. The current study contributes to the literature by systematically examining two important types of motivations and their influences on undergraduate engineering students in a theoretically grounded manner while using an advanced analytical approach.

The current study conducted a cross-sectional survey with undergraduate engineering students ( n  = 514) from 18 different schools across nine U.S. states. The survey assessed students’ self-report scores on six types of motivations to study developed based on formative research and the current literature and then collected students’ self-reported learning outcomes, current GPA, university satisfaction, engineering program satisfaction, and individual demographic factors. The data were then analyzed using structural equation modeling.

The results showed that motivations related to family, personality, and academic expectations were consistently positively associated with all measured students’ success outcomes; motivations related to educators were associated with all four outcomes but student GPA; motivations related to course contents were associated with learning outcomes and student GPA; and motivations related to peers did not predict any of the four measured students’ success outcomes.

We explain some of the unexpected results with further literature that examines engineering culture and ecology. We also make recommendations related to cognitive training, tailored engineering education, peer culture interventions, and family orientation programs.

Introduction

As an integral part of higher education missions, student success commonly includes academic achievement, engagement in educationally purposeful activities, satisfaction, acquisition of desired knowledge, skills and competencies, persistence, attainment of educational outcomes, and post-college performance (York et al., 2019 ). According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics ( 2023 ), economic projections point to a need for approximately 1 million more STEM professionals than the U.S. will produce at the current rate by 2025. However, the increased demand for engineers is not proportionate to the increase in engineering graduates due to issues such as relatively low retention and graduate rate (Boles & Whelan, 2017 ). For example, an academic pathways study conducted by the Center for the Advancement of Engineering Education found that engineering has the most significant percentage decrease in students relative to other majors (Sheppard et al., 2010 ). Their results showed that students may have significant doubts about staying in engineering majors during their time at school, and those who leave engineering majors are disproportionately from underrepresented minority student groups (e.g., women) and racial minority groups (Atman et al., 2010 ). Thus, these issues call for engineering education research to identify factors that improve student success so they can effectively retain and supply future workforces. Among all the factors examined in engineering education, motivation, precisely motivation to learn, has been identified as an essential contributor to student success (Nadelson et al., 2015 ).

From an educational perspective, “motivation to learn” has been described as a student’s energy and drive to learn, work effectively, and achieve their potential (Dökme et al., 2022 ; Plante et al., 2013 ). Motivation is not a single construct but rather subsumes a variety of different constructs like motivational beliefs, task values, goals, and achievement motives (Murphy & Alexander, 2000 ; Wigfield & Cambria, 2010 ). The self-determination theory explains two types of motivations that encourage someone to reach satisfaction and achieve outcomes: intrinsic and extrinsic motivations (Ryan & Deci, 2017 ). Intrinsic motivations (e.g., competitive personality) motivate learners to reach within themselves to find a motive to accomplish tasks. In contrast, extrinsic motivations (e.g., family expectations) motivate learners with external expectations other than their inherent satisfaction (Ryan & Deci, 2020 ). Prior studies sought to understand the relationships between various school and student characteristics (e.g., school type, race, gender) and student success outcomes (Boles & Whelan, 2017 ; Fletcher and Nusbaum, 2008 ; Kuh et al., 2006 ). However, most studies focused either on how motivations influence students’ occupational choices or how motivation influences students’ learning effectiveness in one engineering topic (e.g., Kunicina et al., 2018 ; Meyer & Marx, 2014 ). To the best of our knowledge, there has been limited work to systematically and structurally examine the relations between different types of motivation and student success outcomes. To address this gap, the current study seeks to systematically examine both intrinsic and extrinsic motivations and their potential multiple points of influence on undergraduate engineering students in a theoretically grounded manner.

Literature review

Students’ success outcomes.

Previous studies conceptualized and operationalized student success in a variety of ways, but usually with all student success measures divided into two groups: objective measures and subjective measures. Based on the previous literature and instructive perspectives, the current study conceptualizes students’ success outcomes as grade point average (GPA), learning outcomes, program satisfaction, and university satisfaction. First, one of the most often utilized objective student success measures is GPA (Al-Sheeb et al., 2019 ). However, solely relying on GPA as the student success outcome might not be sufficient, so it is important to triangulate student success outcomes with other measures. Second, we include learning outcome as a student success indicator, which is commonly defined as a statement of what a student understands and can do after completing a learning process (Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005 ). Learning outcomes (both objective and subjective) could measure student success according to students’ perceptions of progress toward their goals and/or their cognitive investment in and emotional commitment to their learning (Zepke & Leach, 2010 ). The scope of learning outcomes could include, but is not limited to, theoretical knowledge, practical skills and strategies, and social competencies (Sahinkarakas et al., 2010 ). Lastly, students’ overall satisfaction with both the university and the program has been considered to be a critical subjective student success outcome, as it is related to a wide range of crucial constructs, such as retention and graduation rates (Wach et al., 2016 ; Weerasinghe & Fernando, 2017 ).

Learning motivations and self-determination theory

Motivation is critical to learning as learning is an active process requiring conscious and deliberate activities (Steel & König, 2006 ). Previous studies showed that stronger learning motivation was positively related to students’ success outcomes, commonly conceptualized as academic achievement, satisfaction, and learning outcomes (Caruth, 2018 ; Marbouti et al., 2021 ). Motivation has been defined as an internal state of desire or wants that energize and direct goal-oriented behaviors (Kleinginna & Kleinginna, 1981 ). The internal state of desire or wants is often influenced by external factors, such as grades and opinions from others, as well as internal factors, such as interests and curiosity. The intricate interplay among those factors and their influences on human behavior are stated and researched under the Self-Determination Theory (SDT). The SDT represents an overarching and broad framework for understanding human motivation and personality (Chiu, 2022 ). The theory defines and describes the types and respective roles of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation in cognitive development and individual differences (Ryan & Deci, 2000 ). The SDT has been widely adopted to understand and predict motivation in the classroom (Savage et al., 2011 ). The theory states that motivation is enhanced when satisfaction of three psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness is achieved (Ryan & Deci, 2000 ). In higher education, a student’s level of satisfaction with these needs could be determined by various motivational factors, such as self-efficacy, expectations, interactions with others (e.g., peers), personality, and learning content.

Firstly, Ryan and Deci ( 2017 ) describe the need for autonomy as a self-endorsed behavior that originates from within and is not controlled by others. Satisfying the need for autonomy could lead to a sense of competence in students’ behaviors, thoughts, and feelings (Vansteenkiste et al., 2004 ). The need for competence can be activated when a student encounters a challenge and is satisfied by receiving positive feedback, which is related to the experience of mastery and effectiveness in the learning activities that students are engaging in (Deci & Moller, 2005 ). Education research has shown that self-efficacy positively correlates with this intrinsic motivation, and improving self-efficacy could develop students’ needs for autonomy and competence (Niemiec & Ryan, 2009 ). Self-efficacy is an internal desire to overcome challenges, produce high-quality work, or interact with others (Bandura & Schunk, 1981 ). Resources of self-efficacy, such as mastery experiences and social persuasion, could provide students with support and opportunities to develop autonomy and competence and eventually promote intrinsic motivations (Bandura, 1978 ).

Second, students’ expectations of academic success could largely influence their satisfaction with those needs defined by SDT (Gómez-Gómez et al., 2021 ). In the academic context, it could depend on the degree to which individuals believe how successful they should be in their learning experience (Cook & Artino, 2016 ). Students’ previous experiences could influence their achievement expectations and eventually influence the ways they deal with future academic challenges (Török et al., 2018 ).

Third, the SDT stated the need for relatedness, which often manifests in a feeling of connectedness and belongingness to others. Connectedness can exist between individuals, including peers, family members, and educators (Foster et al., 2017 ), or between individuals and the academic environment. The need for relatedness is activated when a student interacts with others and is satisfied when one perceives that the other person values their true self and is concerned for their well-being (Beachboard et al., 2011 ). For example, a study has found that encouragement from friends helped motivate their learning and increase their sense of belonging to school (Glaser & Bingham, 2009 ).

Lastly, under the guidance of the SDT, personality is a motivational factor influencing the satisfaction of all three types of needs. For example, previous research has found that a student with a high level of conscientiousness is likely to acquire higher grades and consequently satisfy the need for competence to a greater degree (Zhen et al., 2017 ). Moreover, a highly extroverted person often has a broad social network, which enhances their ability to meet their need for relatedness through frequent social interactions. Conversely, a conscientious student might achieve greater competence by engaging in diligent study habits, thus feeling more capable (Demirbaş-Çelik & Keklik, 2019 ).

As the SDT suggests, to truly understand what satisfies the psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness in learning among students in higher education settings, we need to understand the various factors that could facilitate or boost this mechanism. Thus, the current study sets out to examine various intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors specific to this student population, including self-efficacy, expectations, interactions with others (e.g., peers), personality, and learning content, as shown in Fig.  1 . The reasons for selecting these six factors are twofold. First, the SDT only describes the psychological and behavioral mechanisms behind motivation without specifying what motivational factors influence a given behavior; the selection of motivational factors should be based on empirical research. These six motivational variables were chosen as they were most often linked to student achievements, success, and fulfillment in education research and are also directly linked to meeting the psychological needs of autonomy, competence, and relatedness among students (as previously discussed). Second, the selection of these motivational factors, along with our formative research results, suggests these, indeed, could be the most salient motivators among engineering understanding students.

Intrinsic and Extrinsic Motivational Categories and Factors

Intrinsic motivational factors

Based on the SDT, the current literature, and our formative research, the current project includes three intrinsic motivational factors, namely, self-efficacy, personality, and academic performance expectations. First, self-efficacy is defined as a student’s self-judgment concerning the capability to organize and execute the courses of action required to manage prospective situations (Bandura, 1982 ; Chyung et al., 2010 ). Studies surrounding self-efficacy suggest that motivations in learning activities are based on a student’s self-perceived ability to accomplish the task (Hutchison et al., 2006). In other words, when students believe in their ability to achieve educational tasks, they become motivated to act in ways that lead to success (Bandura et al., 1999 ). Mastery experiences of successfully solving problems using necessary pre-requisite skills are considered the most effective source for developing confidence and self-efficacy in learning (Vitasari et al., 2010 ). The reason is that these experiences can help students build cognitive foundations for determining the level of effort necessary for success (Heydarnejad et al., 2022 ). In the context of engineering education, studies have shown that undergraduate engineering students’ academic self-efficacy predicts their academic performance and success (Concannon & Barrow, 2010 ; Mamaril et al., 2016 ; Robinson et al., 2019 ). For example, Mamaril et al. ( 2016 ) found that engineering students with high levels of self-efficacy tend to strive to develop new skills and acquire knowledge in their education. Moreover, Robinson et al. ( 2019 ) found that self-efficacy is closely related to engineering students' intentions to remain in their majors instead of leaving the engineering discipline.

Second, individual differences in personality determine thinking, feeling, and behavior patterns that influence learning (Dirzyte et al., 2021 ). The role of personality traits as a determinant of student success has been well studied in engineering education (Baruth & Cohen, 2023 ; Hall & Goh, 2017 ). There are several personality traits that are relevant to student success outcomes within engineering education, namely, conscientiousness and competitiveness. On one hand, conscientiousness, which denotes a tendency to show self-discipline, has a significant relationship with academic performance (Zhen et al., 2017 ). Self-discipline facilitates learning behaviors and motivates learners (Furnham et al., 2013 ). Self-disciplined students are less likely to be disengaged (Van Der Molen et al., 2007 ). On the other hand, competitiveness, defined as “the enjoyment of interpersonal competition and the desire to win and be better than others,” is another facet of conscientiousness related to student success (Spence & Helmreich, 1983, p. 41). Students who demonstrate academic competitiveness tend to desire positive outcomes (e.g., better grades) and often report high levels of learning motivation (Moke et al., 2018 ). For example, competitive students may participate more in class and attempt to interact with instructors more often outside the classroom to maximize their chances for academic success (Frisby & Martin, 2010 ). Interestingly, some scholars came to the conclusion that competitiveness might lead to heightened anxiety, distractions from learning, and reduced self-confidence (Bailey et al., 2023 ; Katz et al., 2011 ). No matter which direction might the relationships between two constructs be, individual personality and its impacts on student success have been generally under-researched in engineering education, and the current study hopes to contribute to this gap in the literature (Kuh et al., 2006 ; Simon et al., 2015 ; Sithole et al., 2017 ).

Lastly, the third relevant intrinsic motivational factor related to student success is the expectations of academic success, which is the degree to which individuals believe how successful they should/ought to be in their learning (Cook & Artino, 2016 ). Previous studies showed that academic success expectations predicted engagement in learning activities and achievement (Crisp et al., 2009 ; Rosenqvist & Skans, 2015 ). For example, students with limited or negative expectations of their academic performance would show a lower level of willingness to engage in academic activities both inside and outside class, as they perceive future attempts as “time-wasting” (Kuh et al., 2006 ). Such a lack of engagement would consequentially lead to poor student success outcomes. Overall, this intrinsic motivational factor at the individual level (with some studies examining how expectations differ between parents and students, e.g., Yamamoto & Holloway, 2010 ) is under-researched in engineering education research. However, understanding what motivates engineering students within themselves and how that influences student success would be the first step in building motivational and persuasive messages to entice performance. Thus, the current study examined how intrinsic motivational factors, including self-efficacy, personality, and academic performance expectation, influence undergraduate engineering students’ success outcomes, including academic achievement, satisfaction, and learning outcomes. Thus, the current study asks the following research question:

RQ1: How do intrinsic motivational factors, including (a) self-efficacy, (b) personality, and (c) academic performance expectation, influence undergraduate engineering students’ success outcomes, including academic achievement, satisfaction, and learning outcomes?

Extrinsic motivational factors

Based on the SDT, the current literature, and our formative research, the current project includes four extrinsic motivational factors, namely, family influences, educator influences, peer influences, and course content. First, the literature reveals a trend that family members get more involved in students’ academic careers and have a stronger impact on their academic performance (Waithaka et al., 2017 ). For one, in educational settings, supportive and caring relationships with parents are positively associated with greater interest in learning activities, higher expectations of success, and increased perceptions of competence (Moss & St-Laurent, 2001 ). Moreover, students are more comfortable accepting the risks inherent in learning if they live in a home environment that nurtures a sense of competence (Akey, 2006 ). Other research suggests that siblings could also play an imperative role in influencing college major selection, overall educational attainment (Björklund & Salvanes, 2011 ), and extended family members (Godwin et al., 2014 ). Specific to engineering students, researchers found that students who have family members in engineering fields possess an advantage with early exposure to a greater understanding of the profession, often resulting from informal discussions or at-home educational activities (Jarvie-Eggart et al., 2020 ).

The second extrinsic motivational factor related to engineering student success outcomes is the educator, including teachers and academic advisors. Previous studies in engineering education highlight that teachers can significantly affect engineering students’ academic performance (Chen et al., 2008 ; Marra et al., 2012 ; Wilson et al., 2020 ). The literature shows that the interactions between engineering teachers and students inside and outside the classroom could positively influence student academic achievements, satisfaction, and degree attainment (Christe, 2013 ; Pascarella & Terenzini, 2005 ). For example, research on high-quality teaching has identified positive teacher–student relationships as a key factor that undergirds student learning outcomes and facilitates student success in engineering (Carberry & Baker, 2018 ; Neves et al., 2021 ). A positive teacher–student relationship could continuously develop students’ interests in learning and valuing academic tasks (Strayhorn, 2018 ). Besides teachers, academic advisors play a vital role as motivational factors related to student success by encouraging students to identify issues affecting their academic progress and providing expert advice and resources to enhance their learning effectiveness (Jamaludin et al., 2021 ). All of these mentioned positive interactions contribute to student’s academic performance and learning outcomes, as well as students’ sense of belonging to the institution, which increases the likelihood of social integration with others and ultimately impacts students' degree progress and satisfaction with both the program and institution (Barnett, 2011; Jamaludin et al., 2021 ; Vogt, 2008 ).

The third extrinsic motivational factor related to student success is peers. In general, peers influence each other in learning motivations, which is a benefit of normative or group-based learning. For example, suppose a student perceives peers who actively and enthusiastically engage in learning activities. In that case, the student, too, will engage in learning and might study harder on the learning tasks (Kozaki & Ross, 2011 ). Shin et al. ( 2017 ) suggest that motivations from peers might be more impactful than the influences from instructors. In engineering, the use of groups to promote student active learning is prevalent. Activities in many engineering courses are cooperative project based, which require students to work together in groups to complete tasks (Dawes & Senadji, 2010 ). Previous engineering education literature suggested peer interactions, as one of the leading predictors of engineering student performance and satisfaction has positively affected student performance (Elliott et al., 2021 ; Martínez-Caro & Campuzano-Bolarín, 2011 ). Many studies highlight the value of using group work for learning and ultimately increasing student persistence in engineering fields (Kalaian et al., 2018 ; Marra et al., 2016 ). In addition, Xu et al. ( 2023 ) explored the influences of engineering students’ peer pressure on learning behavior. They found that positive peer pressure can increase engineering students’ learning motivation and thus promote student success. Besides the interactions regarding coursework, peer relationships can be seen as personal relationships that have the potential to provide emotional support, which is associated with positive academic motivation, including the pursuit of goals to learn, interest in schoolwork, and perceived academic competence (Wentzel & Ramani, 2016 ).

The last extrinsic motivational factor related to student success is the content of the courses and instructions at large. The amount of effort invested in course learning is a significant predictor of the academic achievement of engineering students, such as GPA (Osunbunmi & Fang, 2023 ). However, these efforts largely depend on the student’s interest in the course content and the course workload (Law et al., 2019 ; Martin et al., 2008 ). Previous research has identified that tapping into students’ learning interests is an excellent way to motivate students to learn and eventually promote their academic success (Haramain & Afiah, 2022 ). For example, several studies have noted that engineering students often put more effort into a course with many real-world examples because they highly value and show more interest in the relevance of knowledge to the work of an engineer in reality (Whitcomb et al., 2020 ; Winkelman, 2009 ; Zavala & Dominguez, 2016 ). Students reported that such course content enhances their learning outcomes and is helpful in their short- or long-term goals (Pomales-Garcia & Liu, 2007 ). In addition, the literature identifies that an excessively heavy course workload could impede a student’s learning motivations and success outcomes (Pu et al., 2020 ). On one hand, students could not see the value in an excessively heavy workload that is not conducive to better learning. On the other hand, having a proper level of rigor could benefit students in terms of outlining the expectations in engineering education and fields. For example, Attewell et al. ( 2012 ) noted that an undergraduate’s academic course workload in their first year sets a trajectory that strongly influences subsequent degree completion. Students who begin with heavier course loads could display greater motivation and commitment to their academic goals and studies (Attewell et al., 2012 ).

Overall, there is a robust body of research in general education related to extrinsic motivational factors and their relations with student success, but less is known regarding engineering education. Given the unique peer culture (Jarvie-Eggart et al., 2020 ), educator–student relationships (Vogt, 2008 ), and course contents (Martin et al., 2008 ) in engineering, it is important to examine extrinsic motivational factors in a systematic manner among engineering students. Moreover, understanding what motivates engineering students externally could lead to feasible and implementable program changes that could promote student success. Thus, the current study examined how extrinsic motivational factors, including family’s influence, educator’s influence, peers’ influence, and course content, influence undergraduate engineering students’ success outcomes. Thus, the current study asks the following research question:

RQ2: How do extrinsic motivational factors, including (a) family’s influence, (b) educator’s influence, (c) peers’ influence, and d) course content, influence undergraduate engineering students’ success outcomes described in RQ1?

The current study conducted a cross-sectional survey with undergraduate engineering students from 18 different Midwestern and Northeastern U.S. schools, ranging from large state universities to liberal arts colleges. The current project is part of a larger project seeking to understand how demographic, individual, and environmental factors influence undergraduate engineering students’ success outcomes. A previous article (Wang et al., 2022 ) examined how multi-level factors influence these student success outcomes, but there is no significant overlap between the current manuscript and the previous article. The current study examines the impacts of different individual-level student motivations on students’ success outcomes, controlling for relevant confounding demographic variables (e.g., age).

We recruited a convenience sample of undergraduate students enrolled in an engineering program from 18 Midwestern and Northeastern United States schools. We recruited undergraduate students by using snowball sampling. Snowball sampling is a non-probability sampling method that identifies and recruits participants with assistance from individuals who have already participated or qualified to participate (Field, 2013). We sent out a recruitment email to a total of 921 full-time instructors and faculty members at 18 higher education organizations, and we asked the instructors/faculty to share the survey link with their current students. A total of 514 students from 18 different schools responded to the survey, and we removed 46 responses for missing a significant amount of data (> 60%). After the consent process, the survey collected the student’s demographic information, including age, sex, race, and whether the student was a first-generation college student (i.e., nobody from the core family has ever graduated from college). Then the survey assessed students’ self-report scores on six categories of motivations to study, developed based on formative research and the current literature. Lastly, the survey assessed students’ self-reported learning outcomes, current GPA, university satisfaction, and engineering program satisfaction. Each participant received an Amazon gift card as compensation upon completion of the survey. The institutional review board at the University of Mount Union approved all research procedures.

Participants

The final sample consisted of 468 undergraduate engineering students from 18 different schools in the Midwestern and Northeastern United States. The age of the students ranged from 18 to 49 ( M  = 20.97, SD  = 3.10). Most participants were male ( n  = 301, 64.3%). Most participants identified as White/Caucasian ( n  = 375, 80.1%); 22 (4.7%) identified as Black/African American; 35 (7.5%) identified as Asian; one (0.2%) identified as Native American; 18 (3.8%) identified as Latinx; five participants (1.1%) identified as Middle Eastern; and 12 (2.6%) participants identified as multiracial. Out of the 468 participants, 119 (25.4%) identified as first-generation students.

Survey instruments

Student motivations.

We first gathered information from the current literature and some preliminary data (Wang et al., 2022 ) regarding what motivates undergraduate engineering students to study. The search yielded six categories of motivations: educator’s influences, family influences, peers’ influences, course content, personality and academic performance expectations, and self-efficacy. Educators’ influences refer to various interactions between instructors/advisors and students (e.g., “efficiency of feedback from the educator(s)”). Family’s influences refer to support from various family members (e.g., “motivational support from parents”). Peers’ influences refer to the interaction with peers in various settings (e.g., “interactions with peers outside the classroom”). Course content motivations are related to various characteristics of course content (e.g., “the subject is intriguing”). Personality and academic performance expectations refer to intrinsic characteristics that are related to learning (e.g., self-discipline, competitiveness, fear of disappointment). Self-efficacy refers to the self-perceived ability in learning (e.g., “having the pre-required skills (e.g., math) to complete and excel in engineering”).

We then conducted an informal focus group with undergraduate engineering students ( n  = 11; who did not participate in the final cross-sectional survey) to validate these six categories of motivations and specific factors under each category. The formative focus group first validated the six categories that we presented as, indeed, the factors that motivated them to study. Then, the group confirmed 19 motivational factors (out of 29) yielded from the previous literature and our preliminary study (Wang et al., 2022 ). Lastly, the focus groups generated ten new additional motivational factors across these six categories. We developed 29 motivational factors and asked students to report how much each factor motivates them to study (i.e., “Please evaluate how much each of the following factors motivates you to study”) on a scale from 1 to 7 (1 = Not at All, 7 = Very Much So). As these categories of motivation factors are not pre-validated measures, we performed a confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) in the measurement model following the conventional methods (more details in the Analysis Plans; Schreiber et al., 2006 ) using AMOS 27. We assessed the factor loadings of each item in the CFA and dropped three items that had a factor loading smaller than 0.60 per MacCullum et al.’s (2001) recommendations. The self-efficacy category presented unacceptable CFA results and reliability scores, and the self-efficacy scale and its four items were removed from future computations and analysis. The descriptive statistics and factor loadings of all final motivational factors that were included in the final analysis (after CFA screening) within each category are presented in Table  1 .

Learning outcomes

We measured two sets of learning outcomes, including the self-reported GPA and a 16-item survey instrument. The student’s GPA ranged from 1.88 to 4.00 on a four-point system ( M  = 3.45, SD  = 0.45). The 16-item instrument measuring students’ learning outcomes was created based on the Associations of American Colleges and Universities (AACU) guidelines on important learning outcomes for engineering students. AACU listed four categories of essential learning outcomes, including intellectual and practical skills, communication and collaboration skills, personal and social responsibility skills, and advanced learning skills. We assessed student’s utilization of these 16 in their engineering education on a 4-point Likert-type scale (1 = never; 4 = frequently; Ma & Klinger, 2000 ). Higher scores indicated more frequent applications of essential skills learned in engineering education. The items formed a measure ( M  = 3.15, SD  = 0.56) with acceptable reliability ( α  = 0.90). As this is an established and validated measure, we did not perform CFA and reported the reliability of the scale instead.

Satisfaction

We measured students’ satisfaction with their program and university. We used five pairs of opposite adjectives (i.e., bad–good, harmful–beneficial, unimportant–important, invaluable–valuable, uninspiring–inspiring) on a 7-point semantic differential scale to evaluate students’ satisfaction with their program and university. Higher scores indicated more favorable evaluations of their program and university. The items formed a program satisfaction measure ( M  = 5.72, SD  = 1.04) with acceptable reliability ( α  = 0.85) and a university satisfaction measure ( M  = 5.43, SD  = 1.32) with great reliability ( α  = 0.93). As this is an established and validated measure, we did not perform CFA and reported the reliability of the scale instead.

Analysis plans

We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to test the relationships between different categories of motivations and the student success outcomes, while controlling for the relevant confounding demographic variables. SEM is considered a more accurate analytical approach to data structure that includes directionality and latent structure (Kaplan, 2001 ). This is particularly suitable to our data as (1) motivations directly influence student outcomes (not the other way around) and (2) there are multiple factors under each motivation type (as shown in Fig.  2 ) that work together to influence outcomes. Establishing the optimal sample size for SEM remains controversial in research, but our sample size meets the highest requirement for SEM established by a previous statistical simulation study (Wolf et al., 2013). For demographic variables, we first dummy-coded race (0 = White, 1 = all other races), sex (0 = male, 1 = female), and first-generation college student status (0 = not first-generation, 1 = first-generation). We then checked the assumptions of the test variables in the dataset. The univariate normality of each endogenous variable was checked using the skewness and kurtosis values. Three of the 16 learning outcome items were not normally distributed (kurtosis > 1). We then used the methods of forming percentile ranks and then normally distributed z-scores based on the previously formed percentile ranks to normalize these variables (Templeton, 2011). All three variables were successfully transformed into normally distributed variables (kurtosis < 1). We did not detect any issues of multicollinearity as no correlations among the two variables were greater than 0.92. Then, the variance inflation factor (VIF) was computed to check for multicollinearity. The VIF for the exogenous variables was all below 3, which indicates there was no significant issue with multicollinearity. Lastly, the endogenous variables (i.e., four student success outcomes) were not significantly associated with each other, so they were analyzed as separate constructs rather than being loaded onto a latent variable.

Structural equation model with significant path and standardized path coefficients. This figure only shows statistically significant paths; the path coefficients are all standardized. * indicates p  < .05, ** indicates p  < .01, *** indicates p  < .001. GPA = grade point average. An oval shape represents a latent variable; a rectangular shape represents an observed variable

We first built a full measurement model where all variables can freely associate with each other. We specified the five latent motivation variables (self-efficacy was dropped due to factor loading and reliability issues), latent learning outcomes variables, latent program satisfaction variable, and latent university satisfaction variable using items shown in Table  1 . GPA (single construct) was entered into the model as observed variables. Then, based on the model fits of the full measurement model, we used standardized factor loadings to identify potential issues with the full measurement model. Using the results of the final measurement model, we then built the structural model. The factor loadings of all the final items included in the structural model are listed in Table  1 . In the structural model (Fig.  2 ), each of the five categories of motivational factors predicted each of the four students’ success outcomes. To control for the potential variance related to confounding demographic variables, we added four prominent demographic factors in prior engineering education research. These factors, namely age, re-coded sex, re-coded race, and re-coded first-generation student status, were included in the model. The demographic variables were set to be associated with all endogenous variables. Both measurement and structural models were tested using AMOS 27. The measurement and structural models were tested using 500 bootstrap samples using the maximum likelihood estimation. We used the guidelines offered by Schreiber et al. ( 2006 ) when assessing and reporting the results of both the measurement and structural models. We assessed and reported the model fit indices (i.e., χ 2 / df, CFI, GFI RMSEA, 90% CL and , PCLOSE; per Schreiber et al.’s ( 2006 ) recommendations), standardized factor loadings, and p values of factor loadings for the measurement model. We assessed and reported the model fit indices, standardized path coefficients between exogenous and endogenous variables, and p values of standardized path coefficients for the structural model.

Measurement model

We specified the full measurement model according to our Analysis Plans, where all variables can freely associate with each other. The model fit indices presented a marginal fit to the data, χ 2 (1092, N  = 468) = 3850.42, χ 2 / df  = 3.53 , p  <  0.0 01 , CFI  = 0.79 , GFI  = 0.80, RMSEA  = 0.07 (90% CL = 0.06–0.07 , PCLOSE  = 0.00). We then examined the standardized factor loadings and found one educator’s influence factor (i.e., “motivational support from the academic department administrator,” β  = 0.23), one family’s influence factor (i.e., “motivational support from the romantic partner,” β  = 0.40), and one course content factor (i.e., “the courses have materials that are too difficult,” β  = 0.23). Those three observed variables were consequentially removed from the model. The model fit of the new measurement model, χ 2 (962, N  = 468) = 2943.50, χ 2 / df  = 3.06 , p  <  0.0 01 , CFI  = 0.90 , GFI  = 0.90, RMSEA  = 0.05 (90% CL = 0.04–0.06 , PCLOSE  = 0.00) improved. We used the final measurement model to build the structural model.

Structural model

We specified the structural model according to the Analysis Plans . The model fit indices presented an acceptable fit to the data given a large number of observed variables in the model, χ 2 (1347, N  = 468) = 4723.88, χ 2 / df  = 3.51 , p  <  0.0 01 , CFI  = 0.82 , GFI  = 0.88, RMSEA  = 0.07 (90% CL = 0.06–0.08 , PCLOSE  = 0.00), SRMR  = 0.08. We then used the standardized path coefficients between latent motivational factor categories and endogenous variables (i.e., four student success outcomes) and their significance levels to examine the significant main paths. The results showed that family influences ( β  = 0.13, p  < 0.05), course contents ( β  = 0.20, p  < 0.001), and personality and academic performance expectations ( β  = 0.30, p  < 0.001) all predicted student GPA. Educator’s influence ( β  = 0.26, p  < 0.001), family’s influences ( β  = 0.20, p  < 0.001), course contents ( β  =  − 0.24, p  < 0.001), and personality and academic performance expectations ( β  = 0.24, p  < 0.001) all predicted learning outcomes. Educator’s influence ( β  = 0.42, p  < 0.001), family’s influences ( β  = 0.20, p  < 0.001), and personality and academic performance expectations ( β  = 0.24, p  < 0.001) predicted program satisfaction. Educator’s influence ( β  = 0.28, p  < 0.001), family’s influences ( β  = 0.23, p  < 0.001), and personality and academic performance expectations ( β  = 0.28, p  < 0.001) all predicted university satisfaction. Peers’ influence did not predict any of the four students’ success outcomes. Overall, family’s influences and personality and academic performance expectations were consistently associated with all four students’ success outcomes, and educator’s influences were associated with all four outcomes but student GPA. Moreover, some confounding variables were directly related to some of the students’ success outcomes. Being older significantly predicted ( β  = 0.11, p  < 0.01) learning outcomes; being a female student significantly predicted learning outcomes ( β  = 0.11, p  < 0.01), university satisfaction ( β  = 0.14, p  < 0.01), and GPA ( β  = 0.19, p  < 0.001); being a racial minority student significantly predicted program satisfaction ( β  = 0.18, p  < 0.01); and being a first-generation student significantly negatively predicted program satisfaction ( β  =  − 0.15, p  < 0.01). In Fig.  2 , we presented only the statistically significant paths for clarity, not the non-significant paths and factor loadings onto latent variables for readability. The full results of all standardized path coefficients in the full structural model are shown in Table  2 .

Students’ motivation levels affect their engagement with and contribution to learning activities, which eventually influence their academic success. Motivation is not a single construct; it could be intrinsic factors within the student or extrinsic within the student’s overall environment. Most studies in engineering education focused on students’ motivations to choose engineering as their career choice and mainly attempted to identify ways to prevent high dropout rates. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first study that comprehensively examined the roles of both intrinsic and extrinsic motivational factors on student success. Our study examined how different learning motivations influence student success outcomes among undergraduate engineering students with a more comprehensive list of motivations and an analytical approach that reflects the intercorrelated and latent structure of the multi-faceted motivational factors. We used a structural equation modeling approach to test the relationships between different motivations and student success outcomes while controlling for the relevant confounding demographic variables. Overall, the extrinsic motivations influenced students’ success outcomes to varying degrees, except for peers’ influence. As for the intrinsic motivations, all but self-efficacy (excluded due to low-reliability scores) were positively associated with all measured students’ success outcomes. We further expand on some of the interesting findings and their practical implications in engineering classrooms and programs. Specifically, we found two points of unexpected results: (1) the educator’s influence did not significantly and almost negatively impact GPA, and (2) the influence of peers did not predict any of the four students’ success outcomes. We expand on the discussion of these unexpected results in the following sections.

Personality and academic performance expectations

Our results showed that personality and academic performance expectations were mostly consistently and positively associated with all four student success outcomes, and such finding is consistent with findings in the current literature on engineering education. First, considerable research found that self-discipline skills are essential for success in their studies and personal pursuits. Students with stronger grits over their behaviors could strengthen their overall academic performance, making them more likely to persist, have interpersonal success, attain good grades, and remain in college (Horton, 2015 ). In addition, many of the surveyed participants in the current study experienced significant distance learning during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Successful online learning requires students to discipline themselves to maintain their schedule and focus on learning tasks (Waschull, 2005 ), so it makes sense that the distance learning environment coupled with stronger self-control would positively influence student’s academic performance. Second, the result affirms the positive outcomes of competitiveness in driving student performance, which aligns with some of previous educational studies on student success (Baumann & Winzar, 2016 ; Krskova & Baumann, 2017 ). Competitiveness has been tested and validated both as a driver of educational performance and its outcome (Baumann & Harvey, 2018 ). Competitive students have been characterized as being more engaged in class (Nguyen & Nguyen, 2010 ). Furthermore, a true competitive nature has not been found to affect group academic outcomes negatively (Onwuegbuzie et al., 2009). By considering the uniqueness of different student populations within their classrooms, engineering educators and administrators should have more comprehensive views of student success than GPA, DFW rates, or test scores. In addition to the important technical knowledge and skills to prepare students for college and careers, engineering educators could incorporate some factors in their teaching and curriculum design that focus on cognitive and/or self-control skills such as time management, conflict management, help-seeking behaviors, and communication skills. Previous successful programs incorporated conflict negotiation training that focused on the basics of conflict, negotiation, and styles for constructive negotiation in senior capstone courses. The program evaluations indicated that the workshop was effective, and such effectiveness was positively associated with students’ cognitive learning outcomes (Sollitto & Mehrubeoglu, 2020 ).

The case with engineering educators

Our results showed that educator’s influence did not significantly and almost negatively impacted GPA. The following reasons might explain such unexpected and seemingly counterintuitive results. First, the overall expectations of the course content do not necessarily align with what the instructor (s) offers, which indicates that there might be a match issue, particularly for students with higher GPAs. Nowadays, students come from a variety of academic backgrounds. The diversity is not only in learning ability but also in behaviors, study goals, and learning style, which could potentially influence student success, as proven by the vast literature on education (Boles & Whelan, 2017 ). For instance, students come to class with different goals and focus. Some focus on acquiring and developing competence, while others focus on demonstrating their competence and outperforming others (Senko et al., 2011 ). The former favors instructors who challenge them intellectually for a deep understanding of the course subject, while the latter favors instructors who present the material clearly and provide clear guides about how to succeed. Instructors could easily make incorrect assessments about a student's learning effectiveness without familiarizing themselves with students’ characteristics and tailoring the content and pedagogical methods, which eventually leads to inconsistent and poor student success. One ongoing debate in higher education research and pedagogy is whether instructors should educate a diverse student population with a universal approach or whether students should be sorted by learning ability or other characteristics. Most education scholars agree that students’ characteristics could significantly influence their learning outcomes and effectiveness (Podell & Tournaki, 2007 ). However, engineering instructors might not consider students’ characteristics during interactions in the classroom because they might see personal characteristics as irrelevant in the scientific environment (Bilimoria & Stewart, 2009 ; Miller et al., 2021 ). If students feel uncomfortable around “chilly” classrooms, they might become unconfident and put less effort into learning, which could eventually lead to academic stress and failure (Vogt et al., 2007 ).

Second, the interactions with engineering instructors might not always be perceived as positive by students. In some cases, engineering instructors might consider students’ individuality in a negative light. Much of the research suggests that there are disparities in the effects of instructor interactions on student success (Cole & Griffin, 2013 ; Kim, 2010 ; Park et al., 2022 ). The positive influence of the interaction on student outcomes varies on student characteristics such as gender and race. For example, Park et al. ( 2022 ) suggest that students who interacted more frequently with the instructor were also more frequently exposed to racial discrimination from the instructor, which eventually negatively affected college GPA. Similarly, Kim and Sax (2009) found that positive relationships with engineering instructors tend to be more pronounced among male students than female students. Moreover, some engineering instructors, especially at research-intensive institutions, often value science more than practical impact and applications to society for the advancement of knowledge (Karakas, 2009 ). It may not align with values, such as social responsibility and civic outcomes, that motivate students of color and women to be successful in engineering education (Garibay, 2018 ).

Lastly, engineering instructors might lack the motivation to improve their teaching quality and actively integrate innovations in their courses. Driven by the increasing number of National Science Foundation (NSF)-sponsored engineering education programs, a lot of effort has been invested in engineering education, such as creating innovative pedagogies and curricula (Trapani & Hale, 2022 ). However, it raises the question of how many of these changes result in major systematic improvements in engineering classrooms (Chalmers et al., 2017 ). Moreover, a related question is how many engineering instructors would read the literature and subsequently change their teaching practices (Stains et al., 2018 ). Most engineering instructors are trained as researchers in their discipline, so the study of teaching and learning theories might not usually be part of their formal education (Oreovicz, 2002). Engineering instructors could lack formal and systematic training and professional development regarding learning theories and pedagogical practices during and after graduate school. Their teaching might simply replicate that of their instructors when they were students (Borrego et al., 2010 ; Cuevas, 2015 ; Oleson & Hora, 2014 ).

Our results suggest some of the issues related to engineering instructors and perhaps the misalignment between students’ preferences/expectations and what engineering instructors offer. Thus, we recommend that engineering educators and program administrators consider the following recommendations. First, engineering instructors should understand students and meet where students are. For example, an engineering instructor could conduct a student expectation assessment at the beginning of the semester to foster a positive and supportive assessment culture in the classroom. It helps students become more aware of their perceptions of course topics and their own strengths and limitations (León et al., 2023 ). More importantly, it could help instructors understand what backgrounds, skills, and values students are entering the classroom with. This understanding can help improve the instructor’s course plans on pivotal details such as in-class activities, term project topics, cognitive skill training, and group assignments. Second, engineering instructors need to create a “warm” atmosphere, which means a positive and inclusive learning environment in the classroom. As suggested by studies in the field of communication, immediate behavior identified by vocal expressions, smiling, engaging in eye contact, and exhibiting body gestures is associated with reducing the psychological distance between instructor and student (Witt & Wheeless, 2001 ). Also, engineering instructors should maximize the classroom learning process's transparency by making students comfortable to be wrong. Students can learn from an error than a perfectly executed example (Canning et al., 2019 ; Farrell et al., 2021 ). Lastly, engineering instructors should integrate as many socially relevant applications as possible into their teaching and curriculums, such as engineering ethics studies. The purpose is to better align with students who attach great importance to a culture of social responsibility (Rulifson & Bielefeldt, 2017 ). It could eventually help the instructor enhance engineering students’ sense of belonging, which is inextricably linked to students’ overall success outcomes in an engineering program.

Peers do not matter?

Our results showed, at least at the face values, that peers’ influence did not predict any of the four students’ success outcomes, which contradicted prior general education research. Such discrepancies in our results could be related to the unique nature and culture of engineering fields. A widespread belief about modern engineering is that it requires superior intellectual ability (Heil et al., 2013 ), which is frequently and mostly assessed with individual grades and test scores to represent student academic success in engineering (Dringenberg et al., 2022 ). Engineering students are often expected to be self-reliant, capable, and not emotionally demonstrative due to the fact they self-expect themselves and their peers to be all high achievers academically with above-average ability in mathematics and scientific understanding (Godfrey & Parker, 2010 ; Jensen & Cross, 2021 ). Such engineering culture might lead to dire consequences in peer culture among engineering students. Instead of fostering collaborative and supportive peer support, such a culture could lead to engineering peers who have diminished expectations and trust in each other. Consequentially and perhaps unsurprisingly, such peer culture combined with “unrealistic” expectations of high academic performance leads to isolation, missed opportunities, and eventually poor success outcomes. For example, Dringenberg et al. ( 2022 ) found that engineering undergraduate students described a common belief that being recognized/perceived as smart (or not) greatly influences their access to interpersonal opportunities. Engineering students who were not perceived as smart or having low academic ability by their peers were often not welcomed in discussions and teamwork, as well as in day-to-day interactions in engineering classrooms (Dringenberg et al., 2022 ; Secules et al., 2018 ).

The peer culture in engineering might influence female and underrepresented (e.g., racial and sexual minority) engineering students more than any others. The negative bidirectional cycle exists between the objective poorer student success outcomes and their peers' unjust and subjective interpretations of their intelligence/ability among female and underrepresented engineering students. Many studies revealed the unequal learning opportunities that female and underrepresented students could have in their learning experience (Isaac et al., 2023 ; Meadows & Sekaquaptewa, 2013 ). Female and underrepresented students are more likely than others to feel singled out because their peers do not respect their intelligence or experience. For instance, in the Vooren et al. ( 2022 ) study, female students reported that their male peers gave their ideas less credit and failed to trust them with technical work on group projects. Such culture and negative cycles are often criticized as one of the main reasons for the underrepresentation of women and students of color in engineering (Pawley, 2019 ). Female and underrepresented students often have to study harder to overcompensate for the unjust peer interpretation or leave engineering majors to reduce the psychological cost of the interactions with peers who question their competence (Vazquez-Akim, 2014 ).

Success starts and ends with cultural changes, and peer culture among engineering students is no exception. We recommend that engineering educators and program administrators consider the following recommendations to address the peer culture issues where students might distrust or unfairly assess each other inside and outside the classroom. First, classrooms are socially dynamic places for each student. What identities students have and what matters to students are inextricably linked to their sense of belonging and ability to engage in learning and participating (Steele & Cohn-Vargas, 2013 ). Engineering educators are responsible for creating an equitable, intellectually exciting, and socially supportive learning environment and carefully managing collaborative work to support positive and inclusive interactions. However, most of the time, engineering educators believe that “flat-out” or “universal” equal treatment for all students is an effective strategy for creating inclusive and equitable classrooms. Unfortunately, simple equality is often not enough to develop and enhance the sense of belonging for all engineering students (Farrell et al., 2021 ). Educators could improve this situation by 1) giving more recognition of improvement instead of solely focusing on objective scores, 2) devoting resources and attention to individualized communication, feedback, and assessment, and 3) intentionally creating intercultural dynamics among diverse students to improve psychological safety and innovations in teams (Butterfield et al., 2018 ; Farrell et al., 2021 ; Reed et al., 2016). Second, engineering programs could facilitate intraminority understanding and shared solidarity among underrepresented minority and female students instead of focusing on one specific minority group. Intraminoirty understanding refers to mutual understanding across different minority groups, including but not limited to gender, race, and sexual orientation (Craig & Richeson, 2016 ). Previous research has shown that intraminority understanding promotes shared solidarity, positively contributing to resilience, perceived social support, and group bonds across various minority groups (Cortland et al., 2017 ; Craig & Richeson, 2012 ). To foster intraminority understanding, engineering educators and programs could implement workshops that address the history and current manifestations of broad-spectrum bias and common strategies to improve overall diversity, inclusion, and equity (DEI) in engineering across various minority identities. Students could engage in intercultural interpersonal conversations that develop critical consciousness and mutual understanding, which could eventually foster broader support and form a shared identity despite the differences (Lake, 2017 ).

The key roles of family

In contrast to peers’ influence, the results showed that family influence was consistently and positively associated with all four students’ success outcomes. This finding is largely consistent with many previous studies that acknowledged the importance of considering family influences in college success (Jarvie-Eggart et al., 2020 ). College students today depend on their families for a longer period of time than half a century ago (Settersten & Ray, 2010 ). Students frequently communicate with their families and receive various forms of support (Sax & Wartman, 2010 ). Family influence, in the forms of financial and social capital, advice, social support, and development opportunities, could have a substantial overall effect on the desire to enroll and complete a post-secondary program (Bers & Galowich, 2002 ; Puccia et al., 2021 ; Sundly & Galway, 2021 ). In recent years, higher education institutions have increasingly been considering engaging parents to foster student success (Hamilton, 2016 ). Besides recruiting family members to serve on councils and represent the university in marketing initiatives, they could also be engaged in discussions about engineering students' academic and social needs. Family members may be more likely to detect academic, social, or emotional challenges that influence students learning motivation and academic performance, which can facilitate early intervention before challenges lead to academic departure or failure. For example, a family orientation could effectively engage family members to understand the student learning environment better. Such orientation could include a resource fair and meeting with faculty, staff, and fellow students. Also, engineering programs could support family engagement by developing workshops that give students and their families hands-on experience in engineering practices. Zimmerman et al. ( 2021 ) created a series of workshops related to aerospace engineering for students and parents to learn and work together on weekends. Their work suggests that parents as learning partners could add critical learning support during engineering-making activities of such informal programs (Zimmerman et al., 2021 ).

In the current study, the family’s influence was shown as a positive type of motivation for student success, but it might not be the case for first-generation students. The results showed that being a first-generation student significantly negatively predicted program satisfaction. The reason could be that first-generation students might feel out of place in their higher education due to their lack of social capital (Verdín & Godwin, 2015 ). Social capital indicates the resources gained through relationships, which first-generation students might lack (Holland, 2010 ). In other words, the resources available in first-generation student families’ social networks might not be able to provide valuable educational support like their peers, such as financing help, positive academic role models, and connections with engineering companies for potential job opportunities in the future (Martin et al., 2020 ; Moschetti & Hudley, 2015 ). To help first-generation students be successful in their academic careers, engineering educators and program administrators could first build peer mentoring programs. Studies have shown that peer mentoring helps first-generation students overcome academic challenges and build a sense of belonging in engineering programs (Ahmed et al., 2021 ; Martin et al., 2020 ). Engineering programs could also create more dedicated extracurricular activities, either social events or student competitions tied to a specific engineering project, to increase the opportunities for first-generation students to build connections with instructors and professionals from industries, which could positively contribute to their social capital.

Contributions

The current study utilized empirical evidence, formative research with the target student population, and, more importantly, stayed within the bounds of the SDT. The findings extend the empirical understanding of the SDT and other motivational theories to an understudied population and reveal nuanced differences between engineering students and others. For example, many motivational theories (i.e., the need for relatedness in the SDT) suggest the important influences of peers, but our data did not support those theoretical stances. This calls for further replication studies among engineering studies and studies that examine the underlying mechanisms that explain why peers did not serve as an important motivator. Further understanding could make new theoretical propositions and extend the bonds of motivational theories.

In addition, there are instruments and frameworks that have been useful in conducting motivation research, such as the Expectancy-Value Theory (Wigfield, 2000 ) or MSLQ (Motivational Strategies for Learning Questionnaire) (Duncan & McKeachie, 2005 ). However, these instruments and frameworks are not particularly designed for engineering students. Since every discipline has its specialized learning outcomes and requirements, the instruments should be tailored to measure students’ learning motivations. This study makes important contributions to the literature by applying a well-known motivational framework to investigate factors specifically influential for engineering students. This study investigates factors influencing students' motivation to learn and how motivation can be nurtured. If motivational influences vary or differ based on the discipline, pedagogical methods should be adjusted to enhance learning experiences, improve student success, and eventually reduce dropout rates. In addition, although the current study focuses on students majoring in engineering, the results could also be referenced and applied in other STEM disciplines due to the similarities in pedagogical content knowledge and thinking. For example, engineering and other STM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) disciplines of learning and thinking are usually situated in the context of problem solving (Leung, 2020 ), which means there is a high probability that educators could have similar teaching philosophies such as project-based learning.

Limitations

The current study should be interpreted within its four limitations. First, due to the limited sample size and article length, the current study did not test any effects of different motivational factors on student success outcomes. It is plausible that the combination of two or more motivational factors could have amplified effects on student success. For example, as previously discussed, alignments between educator’s influence and course content expectations could potentially be influential to all four student success outcomes. The current study focuses on testing the motivational factors and student success outcomes comprehensively and systematically, but future studies should consider exploring such moderation effects. Second, the reason why the self-efficacy items that we used did not form a reliable measure could be related to the broad and varied interpretation of self-efficacy in the literature and our preliminary research. The current study had to balance between including the unique facets of self-efficacy in engineering and established measures. Future research could reexamine self-efficacy with conventional pre-established self-efficacy scales commonly found in social science and behavioral research (e.g., Witte et al., 1996 ). Although unlikely given the anonymous survey format, self-report GPA could include some social desirability bias, especially considering our previous discussion of engineering student peer culture. Future studies could include subjective education records as a measure of student success. Lastly, the data were collected from students in only the Midwestern and Northeastern United States to control for the variance related to regional differences. For example, students from different countries might have drastically different educational experiences than those from the United States. In order to more accurately account for such regional variance, a much larger nationwide and international-wide sample of students is needed, but such a project, unfortunately, was beyond the scope of the current study. Due to the constraints of resources, schools were chosen based on geographical proximity. Future studies should consider regional differences by including a wide variety of schools and recruitment.

To the best of our knowledge, the current study is the first to systematically examine different types of motivations and their influences on undergraduate engineering students’ success outcomes. The current study examined intrinsic and extrinsic motivations by applying motivation theories in learning. As engineering education is a multi-faceted issue requiring more systematic research, our findings uniquely contribute to understanding both positive and negative impacts on students’ success outcomes from each type of motivation. We hope our findings help educators understand students’ learning motivations and inform better class design, pedagogical methods, communications with students, and policymaking.

Availability of data and materials

The datasets used and analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

Abbreviations

Science, technology, engineering, and mathematics

Grade point average

Associations of American Colleges and Universities

Confirmatory Factor Analysis

Variance Inflation Factor

The percentage of grades of D or F or Withdraw

National Science Foundation

Institutional Review Board

The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act

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Wang, X., Dai, M. & Short, K.M. One size doesn’t fit all: how different types of learning motivations influence engineering undergraduate students’ success outcomes. IJ STEM Ed 11 , 41 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1186/s40594-024-00502-6

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The Top 20 Literary Devices Every Writer Should Know

Literary devices are vital tools that all writers should learn to use to bring their writing and stories to life.

They can add depth, emotion, and subtle layers of meaning to even the simplest forms of writing, transforming words into vivid mental images.

When you understand and start using a few basic devices, you can engage your readers by creating memorable imagery and conveying complex ideas with a little bit of style.

Whether you’re writing a novel, a poem, an article, or an essay, trying and using some of these techniques can only improve your writing.

Article Contents

What are literary devices?

They are techniques writers use to improve the quality of their storytelling by creating memorable imagery and conveying deeper meanings in their work.

They are the building blocks of literature, helping shape how a story is told and how it affects readers.

These devices can take many forms, from the subtle use of symbolism to represent abstract ideas to the more overt use of metaphors to draw comparisons between different concepts.

Irony adds a layer of complexity by highlighting contrasts between appearance and reality while foreshadowing hints at events to come, creating some suspense and anticipation.

Literary devices are not just abstract literary terms.

They are vital to writing, guiding how readers perceive and interpret a text.

Whether you use them to evoke emotion, emphasize a theme, or add rhythm to prose, these tools are essential for effective communication in literature.

You can choose from a wide array of devices to suit your style or purpose, making your writing more engaging and impactful.

Learning to use these devices will help you engage and retain your readers.

In essence, literary devices are the means of breathing life into your words, transforming simple text into powerful and memorable narratives.

Learning the basics

For new or inexperienced writers, learning to use literary devices can seem daunting at first. But starting with a few simple ones can make a significant difference to your writing.

Perhaps begin with similes and metaphors . These powerful tools can help you draw comparisons and create vivid ideas.

Practice these by describing everyday objects or feelings and comparing them to something else in an unexpected yet relatable way.

Alliteration is another simple device to experiment with. It adds a musical quality to your writing by repeating the first letter of words, making your sentences more memorable.

Imagery is crucial for bringing your scenes to life.

When describing a setting  or a moment, focus on the five senses of sight, sound, smell, taste, and touch.

This technique pulls readers into your world, making your story more realistic and relatable.

Foreshadowing  is a subtle but effective device for adding depth.

Try hinting at future events without giving too much away, which can build suspense and keep readers hooked.

You can start experimenting by using a few devices in short pieces, like a short story or poetry, which you can try quite easily.

As you become more comfortable, gradually introduce other devices like irony or personification to add a little more complexity to your writing.

Remember, the key is to use these tools for a reason, not just for the sake of it.

Over time, you’ll learn when and how to apply them to improve your storytelling and make your writing more engaging.

My top 20 literary devices

I could have made this a very long list because there are a lot of devices and literary terms.

But I have narrowed it down to what I believe are the essential ones writers should learn how to use.

You won’t suddenly use all of them at once. However, with a bit of time and practice, most are relatively easy to grasp and use.

I have added two examples for each device to help you understand how they work.

1. Metaphor

A figure of speech that makes a direct comparison between two unrelated things by stating that one is the other to highlight a shared quality.

Her voice was music to his ears.

The world is a stage, and we are merely players.

It is similar to a metaphor but uses like or as to compare two different things.

The night was as black as coal.

His temper was like a storm, brewing and unpredictable.

3. Alliteration

The intentional repetition of the same sound at the beginning of closely connected words is often used to create rhythm or mood.

Alluring alliteration always adds awesome appeal.

The wild wind whipped through the willows.

4. Foreshadowing

This technique hints at what will come later in the story, creating suspense or preparing the reader for future events.

The old man’s ominous words lingered in her mind, hinting at the danger ahead.

As they entered the dark forest, the sudden silence hinted that something wasn’t right.

A device where the intended meaning is opposite to the literal sense. It’s often used to create humor or emphasize a point.

The doctor’s clinic had a sign that read, closed due to illness.

He posted a video on Facebook explaining how pointless and annoying social media is.

6. Personification

Assigning human characteristics to non-human objects, animals, or abstract ideas to create vivid imagery.

The flowers danced in the gentle breeze.

Time crawled at a snail’s pace during the long meeting.

7. Hyperbole

An exaggerated statement is not meant to be taken literally; it is used for emphasis or comedic effect.

I’ve told you a million times to clean your room!

He’s so hungry he could eat a horse.

It is using descriptive language that appeals to the senses (sight, sound, smell, touch, taste) to create vivid mental pictures.

The golden sunset spilled across the horizon, painting the sky with shades of pink and orange.

The aroma of freshly baked bread filled the room, making it warm and inviting.

9. Onomatopoeia

A word (usually a verb) that imitates the sound it represents  is often used to make writing more dynamic and engaging.

The bees buzzed busily among the flowers.

The door creaked open, sending a shiver down her spine.

10. Allusion

A brief and indirect reference to a person, place, event, or piece of art to add depth or context.

He’s a real Romeo with the ladies.”* (Reference to Romeo from Shakespeare’s *Romeo and Juliet*)

The software update was her Achilles heel. (Reference to the mythological Achilles)

11. Symbolism

The use of symbols—objects, characters, or colors—to represent abstract ideas or concepts.

A dove flew overhead, a sign of a wish for peace in the war-torn land.

The broken mirror in the story signifies the protagonist’s shattered identity.

12. Oxymoron

A figure of speech that combines contradictory terms to create a paradoxical effect.

The comedian’s jokes were seriously funny.

She gazed at him with an icy warmth in her eyes.

13. Juxtaposition

It places two or more contrasting elements close together to highlight their differences and create a more complex meaning.

The calm before the storm was eerie and unsettling.

The bright, colorful flowers grew amidst the ruins of the old building.

14. Flashback

A literary device to present events that occurred before the story’s current timeline, providing background or context.

As she walked through the old neighborhood, she had a vision of her childhood days spent playing in the park.

The soldier remembered his first day of training as he prepared for battle.

15. Allegory

A narrative in which characters and events represent broader concepts to convey moral, social, or political messages.

In George Orwell’s Animal Farm, the farm animals represent different classes in society.

The tortoise and the hare in Aesop’s fable represent the virtues of persistence versus arrogance.

A recurring element (such as an image, theme, or symbol) in a story that helps to develop the overall theme or mood.

The recurring mention of darkness in the novel emphasizes the feeling of despair.

The use of hands symbolizes both connection and separation.

17. Euphemism

A polite or mild word or expression refers to something more blunt or harsh, often to avoid offending or soften the impact.

She said her grandfather had passed away instead of died.

They were let go from their jobs instead of being fired.

18. Paradox

A statement that appears self-contradictory but reveals a more profound truth.

This is the beginning of the end.

To bring peace, we must prepare for war.

The author’s attitude or approach  to the subject matter is conveyed through word choice, style, and viewpoint.

The author was bitter and sarcastic, highlighting his disillusionment with society.

Her warm and inviting writing made the reader feel at home in the story.

The underlying message, central idea, or insight into life that a literary work explores, often through the story’s characters, plot, and setting.

The forces of good, represented by Harry Potter and his allies, and the forces of evil, embodied by Voldemort.

The Great Gatsby critiques the idea of the American Dream, showing how the pursuit of wealth and status can lead to moral decay, emptiness, and the destruction of personal relationships.

Literary devices are the secret sauce that can change your writing from good to memorable.

I’ve noted what I believe are the top 20 literary devices that every writer should have in their toolkit.

From the simple power of a metaphor or simile to the richness of juxtaposition and plain fun of an allegory, these tools help you add depth, emotion, and meaning to your writing.

Understanding these devices can make your writing more engaging and impactful, whether you’re just starting out or looking to polish your work.

So, give them a try, experiment, and see how your words come to life on a page.

Related Reading: Learn From Writers – The Easy Way To Improve Your Writing

About The Author

Derek Haines

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• Library of Congress
• Research Guides
• American Folklife Center

Folklife and Creative Writing: Resources in the American Folklife Center

Cowboy poetry.

• Introduction
• Veterans poetry
• Living Nations, Living Words
• Brazilian Chapbooks
• Veteran Memoirs
• Plays and Novels
• Non-Fiction
• Library Blog Posts and Podcasts
• Additional Resources
• Searching the Collection

In 2000, Congress designated the annual cowboy poetry gathering in Elko, Nevada, as the National Cowboy Poetry Gathering. The gathering had taken place since 1985 and grown into a week-long event that drew participants from around the country. The popularity of the gathering emphasizes the prevalence of cowboy poetry and the importance poetry plays within the community. Cowboy poetry has existed since the late nineteenth century and cites a variety of influences, including the Bible, Shakespeare, and cowboy films and novels. Though the cowboy may exist in popular imagination as an old timer, cowboys continue to adapt to current circumstances, and their poetry reflects contemporary social, environmental, and political issues. Cowboy poetry is one of the most popular forms of occupational poetry. Several examples from our collections are featured here. Others can be found online or through the American Folklife Center's reading room.

Selected Collections

Public Programs: Cowboy Poetry

A working cowboy, D. W. Groethe performed his own compositions as well as traditional songs in this concert at the Library of Congress on July 20, 2005. Groethe was born and grew up in western North Dakota, the third generation descendant of Norwegian immigrants. He talks about the region locally known as "MonDak" that spans the border of Montana and North Dakota. 

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