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There are at least three recognized styles. Some trainers subdivide these styles
to arrive at a fourth style. They are also known by different names.
Tactile or Kinesthetic Learning Style
Tactile or kinesthetic learners are physically oriented, i.e., they like to touch their environment
and manipulate what they see. They are hands-on learners; they like activity, and prefer to move as
they learn. They like to see demonstrations and to participate.
If the subject to be learned is entirely cognitive, some suggestions for tactile-kinesthetic
learners are to use objects such as flash cards or, if the subject involves a series, cards that
represent steps to be put in a particular order. Other suggestions for this style include pacing and
read material aloud, note taking that includes creating charts, diagrams, building models, and summarizing
notes on any large writing surface after class.
Auditory or Verbal Learning Style
Auditory or verbal learners do well when material is presented audibly and they are able to participate
by verbalizing his or her understanding or by asking questions. They do well listening to lectures and
appreciate group discussions. Speech patterns, word choice, voice inflection, and implications from tone
of voice may be more meaningful to auditory-verbal learners than to others. They benefit by the use of
recordings. Study groups, reading text aloud, any platform where the learner is able to verbalize him or
herself, are incorporated with advantage by this style learner.
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Visual, Visual-Verbal, and Visual Non-verbal Styles
Visual learners depend primarily on sight to absorb new information. Pictures, moving or still, diagrams,
white-boards, flip charts, and written language are modes that suit them best. They will take notes and refer
back to them. When they recall something, they “visualize” it. They may prefer forward rows in
classroom settings to reduce the visual obstruction of others’ heads. The trainer’s posture and
facial expressions are important to the visual learning experience. Color variety, symbols, seeing charts,
diagrams, and models are helpful to visual learners.
Some trainers draw distinctions between verbal and non-verbal visual learners. For verbal visual learners,
objects (charts, diagrams, models, etc.) are enhanced by annotations providing the details in language.
Handouts are valuable to them and therefore effective. Visual verbal learners will learn from seeing
others engage in a group discussion but shy away from study groups. The visual non-verbal learners may
not benefit from the additional language. They prefer a quiet environment to discussion.
Read-Write Learners
Rather than splitting the visual style into two, some trainers identify visual verbal learners as read-write
learners. They are visual learners who learn best from information provided in text and who participate in
learning through writing.
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