Thursday, July 1, 2010
The VARK questionnaire
I'm not convinced by the VARK questionnaire. We don't actually make the answers we want, but select from a pre-determined list. The nature of the questions, and the selection of answers did not always adequately reflect my learning preferences. That's the trouble with these sort of questionnaires.
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I agree Simon. There were a few questions where I would have done a few of the things and questions where I would have done none of the things listed. Therefore, it may not be that accurate. I suppose it does give a view really that there are different learning styles and, as educators we need to take them into account.
ReplyDeleteHi Simon,
ReplyDeleteI too agree on what you and Lea said about the issue of accuracy of determining learner's learning style from answering a few questions. I think for us as the adult educators we need to help students to understand their learning needs and provide them with suggestions of how to accommodate their needs in the most efficient way rather than putting a label on them. Personally, I disagree with labelling students in such way because it could potentially impact on their learning experience. Just think how knowing that you are not a good writer can put you off from trying your best in essay writing.
Simon, I am not a fan of this type of questionnaire and feel they can oversimplify things. I suppose the best approach is to think that it shows trends but not read too much into the result. I do think the important issue is knowing that students learn in different ways and trying to take this into account in out teaching.
ReplyDeleteI feel that the VARK questionnaire can be helpful in pointing you in the right direction, although I totally agree on the issue of its accuracy. I think the real value of the VARK website was to remind us about the importance of catering to all learning styles. I also found it quite useful to read the helpsheets for each of the different styles. Roselynn
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