Auditory learners best understand information in spoken form.
Do you understand information best when it is told to you? Or perhaps you're more apt to comprehend something if you take part in completing a task involving it. Learning modalities, also referred to as learning styles, refer to the processes by which individuals best remember information. The three main modalities are visual, auditory and kinesthetic. However, there are both pros and cons to learning information delivered in a manner tailored to individual learning styles.
Maximization of Understanding
On a positive note, once an individual's primary learning modality has been identified, they are then able to seek educational opportunities that are tailored to their best learning interests. For instance, a college auditory learner may choose to enroll in classes that are primarily lecture-based, while a kinesthetic learner can seek additional lab-based courses. The ability to seek tailored educational settings helps give students the best chance of success based on their unique learning style.
Improved Communication
Understanding the different learning modalities may provide improved communication with peers, co-workers and loved ones. Once you are able to identify how you best comprehend information, you can ask those around you to modify information to clarify questions or confusion. For example, if a co-worker is verbally giving you directions to a meeting, but they're not making sense, you will be able to quickly draw a map or jot down notes to better coincide with a visual learning style.
Limitations
Unfortunately, some individuals rely too heavily upon their primary learning modality, thus limiting their ability to easily comprehend information in a variety of formats. It is important to remember that regardless of an individual's primary learning style, that everyone is capable of learning via all three major modalities. By avoiding situations that are not tailored to an individual's primary modality, educational opportunities are limited. For that reason, it is important for individuals to consciously practice improving their ability to comprehend information through all three primary learning styles.
Lack of Adaptation
The typical kindergarten through 12th-grade class is set up to teach primarily through the auditory learning style. Information is presented to students by an instructor in a lecture format. Unfortunately, not every lesson can be tailored to include the three primary learning modalities, which leaves some students frustrated or confused. Learners must be able to recognize their primary style preference while using the other learning styles as necessary to be successful in a standard learning environment.
Tags: primary learning, learning style, learning styles, comprehend information, individual primary, educational opportunities, individual primary learning