Perceptual Learning Style Inventory |
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In addition to personality type and learning style, researchers also consider how we learn best. The following is an instrument developed by some adult educators, See how you rate.
Circle below the numbers of the strategies/techniques through which you think you learn best.
- Motion pictures
- Lecture, information- giving
- Reading assignments
- Role playing with you as a participant
- Project construction
- Television programs
- Audiotapes
- Written reports
- Nonverbal/ body movements
- Drawing, painting, or sculpturing
- Slides
- Records
- Independent reading
- Physical motion activities
- Model building
- Graphs, tables, and charts
- Recitations by others
- Writing
- Participant in physical games
- Touching objects
- Photographs
Circle below the numbers you circled above. If a majority of numbers for a particular style are circled, you may have a learning style similar to the one indicated.
STRATEGY NUMBERS |
STYLE |
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1, 3, 6, 8, 11, 13, 16, 18, 21 2, 7, 12, 17 4, 5, 9, 10, 14, 15, 19, 20 |
VISUAL/PRINT AURAL KINESTHETIC/HAPTIC |
Question to Identify Perceptual Learning Style |
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identifying strong perceptual elements |
identifying weak perceptual elements |
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| PRINT/VISUAL: | |||
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do you remember quickly and easily what you read? can you learn something better after seeing it or after writing it? do you need to have a "picture" in your mind before comprehending something? do you "see" what others are trying to tell you? do you create visual images as you think? |
do you have to read articles several times before grasping the important concepts? do the words on the page all seem to run together? do visual representations such as graphs or tables leave you wanting an explanation? do you find it difficult to picture things in your mind? do you fail to understand displays or charts? |
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| AURAL: | |||
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do you tend to remember and repeat those ideas you heard verbally presented? do you "hear" what others are telling you? |
do you find it difficult to remember Information presented in lectures? Do audio tapes leave you wanting to read the information? |
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| KINESTHETIC/HAPTIC: | |||
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do you think you learn better when you are able to move during your learning? do you like to move your hands (knit, crochet, doodle) while learning, not from boredom, but because it helps you concentrate? do you feel that you have to touch the new things you are learning? are "hands on" experiences important to you? In your mind? |
do you find movement distracting? is it hard to concentrate on learning something if you move? do you find it difficult to distinguish the feel of different items? does touching objects fail to create a visual Image? |
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Adapted from Waynne B. James and Michael W. Galbraith, "Perceptual Learning Styles: Implications and Techniques for the Practitioner." Lifelong Learning: An Omnibus of Practice and Research 8 (January 1985) : 20-23.
Three Types of Perceptual Learning
PRINT/VISUAL LEARNERS
- Learn best through reading, writing, observing
- Love to read
- Retain printed information easily
- Copious note takers
- Appreciate pictorial language
- Enjoy visual stimuli--pictures illustrations, graphs, slides, demonstrations
- Use visualization to remember
AURAL LEARNERS
- Learn best through listening
- Love the sound of speech-- their own as well as others
- Retain easily from lectures and audiotapes
- May read aloud or sunvocalize when they read
- Can learn in a noisy environment
- Adept at discriminating sounds
- Remember by verbalizing information to themselves
KINESTHETIC/HAPTIC LEARNERS
- Learn best from hands on experience
- Love to manipulate items
- Retain best when was done
- Speak with their hands and gestures; appreciate physical contact
- Need to be active and take frequent breaks
- Like to use their hands while listening or watching
- Use activity to remember
Adapted from Waynne B. James and Michael W. Galbraith, "Perceptual Learning Styles : Implications and Techniques for the Practitioner," Lifelong Learning : An Omnibus of Practice and Research 8 (January 1985) : 20-23; and Russell Esfahani, "Ed Tech and Learning Styles," Instructor xcix (August 1989) : 16-17.
