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Deciphering Learning Styles and Unlocking Education: Part Two
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Deciphering Learning Styles and Unlocking Education: Part Two

31 January 2024

Planning effective lessons based on learning styles from learning environments to classroom and homework activities.

By Dr. Jennifer Denlinger, CCC, CHEP
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OK, now what? In the first installment of Deciphering Learning Styles, you read about the sensory learning modalities of VARK, Visual, Aural, Read/write and Kinesthetic. You now know your students may have different ways of learning best. I provided you with a VARK assessment for culinary students to help determine their specific styles. Did you find it interesting? I like to compare the results of my pastry program students to my culinary program students. Wow! There is a such difference in learning styles between the two groups!

I assume you took the assessment and have a good understanding of your learning style too. Did the results surprise you or did you already know? This is important to teaching effectively, understanding how you receive and learn information may be very different than the majority of your students.

Jennifer Denlinger photo option one webFocusing on how students learn (and not necessarily how you learn) concerns all educators. If lessons can be broken down into components, and then each component is taught in a way that is most beneficial to the audience/students, then the delivered materials may be more successfully absorbed by learners. A simple awareness of differences in student learning styles is vital for educators to aid in the learning process. Effective instruction reaches out to all students, not just those with one particular learning style.

Now that you know about the learning process, let’s look at how this information can be utilized in lesson planning. The information for this article comes from my dissertation, “The Effects of Brain Dominance on Pastry and Culinary Students’ Learning Styles.” My work focused on identifying different learning styles and how to use that information to teach more effectively.

(All references are at the end.)Jennifer Denlinger photo option two web

Teaching tactics based on learning styles
Looking at similar studies in other fields, culinary instructors can see how this research could be useful in our education area. Medical students, when taught in their preferred learning style, learned and performed better than those taught with just the traditional lecturing method.i “While it might not be practically tenable to undertake the teaching of the entire syllabus by dividing a class into learning style-based groups, it is suggested that multiple audio, video, and kinesthetic resources be made available to students. They may then be encouraged to use learning style-specific resources for learning to enhance their academic performance and improve their understanding of subjects,” according to the Anbarasi study.

Table 1 – Learning preferences based on VARK® characteristicii 
Check out the next two tables. The first one details how each learning style likes their information presented and how they record the information. It also details the least-liked way to receive information. The second table explains how each learning style has a very different environment where they like to learn.

  Likes Uses Avoid
Visual
  • Maps
  • Charts
  • Graphs
  • Symbols
  • Diagrams
  • Overviews
  • Flow Charts
  • Handwritten notes instead of printed/ typed cartoons
  • Underlining
  • Highlighters
  • Different colors
  • Color is important
  • PowerPoints
  • Webpages
  • Video
  • Lists and bullet points
  Likes Uses Avoid
Auditory
  • To explain
  • Discussions
  • Texting summaries
  • Using a recorder
  • Training and teaching sessions
  • Leaving lots of spaces in their notes
  • Sharing ideas with others
  • Describing the [overheads]
  • Pictures and other visuals
  • Remember the interesting examples
  • Quiet atmosphere
  • Meetings
  • Self-talk
  • Recording devices
  • Recall of information
  • Email/texting/blogs
  • Twitter
  • Phones
  • Verbal explanations
  • Stories
  • Note taking/ notebook requirements
  Likes Uses Avoid
Kinesthetic
  • Videos
  • Field trips
  • Case studies
  • Trial and error
  • Applied opportunities
  • Examples of principles and doing things to understand them
  • Exhibits
  • Samples
  • Photographs
  • Laboratories/practical sessions
  • Real-life examples
  • Hands-on approaches recipes
  • Solutions to problems using all your senses
  • Pictures collections of similar subjects to compare
  • Documentaries
  • Responds physically to music or drama
  • Condensed notes
  • Search for the reality and the applications of any ideas
  • Find pictures and photographs that illustrate an abstract idea, theory or principle
  • Role-playing
  • Put plenty of examples into your notes and your answers
  • Builds notes backward filling in information once the outcome has been achieved
  • Practice makes perfect
  • Hands-on approaches
  • Too many instructions
  • Lengthy instructions
  Likes Uses Avoid
Reading/Writing
  • Lists
  • Notes
  • Essays
  • Reports
  • Textbooks
  • Glossaries/definitions
  • Quotations
  • Dictionaries
  • PowerPoints
  • Printed handouts
  • Wordy mind maps
  • Laboratory manuals
  • Websites
  • Taking notes (verbatim)
  • Journaling
  • Multiple choice tests
  • Dictionaries and thesaurus
  • Mnemonics
  • Lists
  • Textbooks
  • Repeating
  • Notes
  • Pen/paper
  • Meetings/ conferences
  • Discounting the value of books
  • Having concrete definitions
  • Discussions/ arguments

 Table 2 – Learning habits and environments based on the learning characteristicsiii,iv,v

  Visual Kinesthetic Auditory
Learning
  • At desk
  • Supplies handy
  • Makes summaries
  • Enjoys research
  • Does detailed summaries
  • Practices subject matter
  • Practical applications
  • Timetable for studying
  • Sits/lies down, seldom at desk
  • Diagrams
  • Learning games
  • Tries new methods
  • Rarely does a timetable
  • Mind wanders
  • Amongst people
  • Emotional about contents
  • Likes music in the background
  • Talks aloud to memorize
  • Non-verbal communication
  • Roleplay
Environment
  • Neat
  • Info always available
  • Displays work on a [blackboard]
  • Accurate
  • Quiet
  • Programs handy
  • Detailed [whiteboard] work
  • Challenging info
  • Colorful
  • Humorous
  • Exhibitions
  • Artistic
  • Changing
  • Room for movement
  • Music
  • Person oriented
  • Exhibitions
  • Friendly
  • Colorful
  • Comfortable

Now, think about your teaching tactics. Are you covering several learning styles when you present your lessons? Or are you presenting with one learning style in mind, for example lecturing with a PowerPoint deck that supports the Reading/Writing learning style but is not as effective for the Visual learner?

The next table provides classroom activities that cater to each learning style. How many of these options do you include during a course’s duration?

Table 3 – Preferred activities based on learning characteristics

Visual Analyze; critique; mathematical functions; scientific meanings; show the components; come up with a solution; exact measurements; gather facts; efficiency; give just the facts; individual tasks; collecting data; listening to informational lectures; reading textbooks; judging ideas based on facts; criteria and logical reasoning; summarize; identity specific outcom
Kinesthetic Games; show an overview of desired goal; artistic; creative/designing; experimental; mystery basket; visual presentations; coming up with new concepts; variety of options and solutions; selling ideas; looking at the big picture; taking initiative; simulations (what if questions); visual aids; appreciate beauty of a problem; brainstorminges
Auditory Physical activities; roleplay; social interactions; group work; reading assignments; demonstrations; participatory work where mistakes aren’t penalized; communication activities; teaching/training others; listening to and sharing ideas; looking for personal meaning; sensory input; group study; studying with music; discussion
Read/Write Note taking in 90 min maximum segments; research; sequential information; set pattern or routine; exact replication; organize; action-oriented tasks; consistency; order and control; explanation; building things; paperwork tasks; following directions; repetitive detailed homework problems; making timetables; categorization

How do culinary students usually classify?
In my culinary education research, the data for Learning Styles showed most respondents were visual learners. (The Read/Write category was not employed for this study. It was VAK, not VARK). For males, the most frequently observed category of Learning Style was Visual 2 (n = 32, 30%). For females, the most frequently observed category of Learning Style was Kinesthetic (n = 21, 24%). There are two visual categories (V1 and V2) as this is how the Learning style correlates to the brain region. I have folded these two categories together. As you can see, Auditory and Kinesthetic are both pretty low.

  Table: Learning Styles  
Learning Style N Percent
Visual 1 52 27.66
Visual 2 59 31.38
Kinesthetic 37 19.68
Auditory 40 21.28
Total 188 100

Note. Due to rounding errors, column-wise percentages may not equal 100%.

  Frequency Table for Nominal Variables by Gender  
Learning Style Male Female
Visual 1 31 (29%) 13 (15%)
Visual 2 32 (30%) 11 (13%)
Auditory 13 (12%) 19 (22%)
Kinesthetic 6 (6%) 21 (24%)

Note. Due to rounding errors, column-wise percentages may not equal 100%.

Conclusion
If you haven’t already, have your students take the learning style quiz (attached below) and make an assignment where they create a study plan based on their quiz results. As an instructor, you will then know how to change your teaching’s visual presence with the right among of demos, more colors, more patterns, and more categories. 

I hope this helps you and your students.

Attachments
PowerPoint
Learning Style Self-Assessment

References
Anbarasi, et. Al, 2015).

ii Fleming, N. (2012). Teaching and learning styles: VARK strategies. Retrieved from http://varklearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/VARK-Teaching-and-Learning-Styles.pdf

iii Fleming, N. (2012). Teaching and learning styles: VARK strategies. Retrieved from http://varklearn.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/08/VARK-Teaching-and-Learning-Styles.pdf

iv Morris, R. J. (2006). Left Brain, Right Brain, Whole Brain? An examination into the theory of brain lateralization, learning styles and the implications for education. PGCE Thesis, Cornwall College St Austell. Retrieved from http://singsurf.org/brain/rightbrain.html

Whole Brain Thinking. (2005). Whole Brain Thinking and the NBI. Retrieved from http://www.wholebrainthinking.com.au/pdf/WBTintro.pdf


Chef Jennifer M. Denlinger, PhD., CCC, CHEP, is the Culinary Management Program Department Chair at the Poinciana Campus of Valencia College. She is also the vice president of ACF’s Central Florida Chapter. Additionally, Chef Denlinger earned the 2020 Innovation Award, sponsored by CAFÉ and the Idaho Potato Commission, for a creative escape room based on safe food handling procedures. She also earned the 2021 Green Award sponsored by the United Soybean Board and was runner-up in 2021 for the Postsecondary Education of the Year sponsored by Sysco Corporation.