Learning style quiz

What a learning style is

A learning style is the way you like to take in new information. Most quizzes, including this one, use four: visual (pictures, maps, diagrams), auditory (listening and talking), reading/writing (text, lists, notes) and hands-on (trying things, also called kinesthetic).

The best-known version is VARK, created by the New Zealand teacher Neil Fleming in 1987. VARK stands for Visual, Aural, Read/write and Kinesthetic. Fleming described VARK as a way to get people thinking about how they learn. Our quiz uses the same four ideas, but the questions are our own, not VARK's.

Most people have a preference. You might reach for a map before a list of directions, or tap around a new app before reading the help page. That part is real and worth knowing about yourself.

What the research says (please read this)

Here's the honest part. Many people believe that you learn best when lessons are matched to your style, so a visual learner should only get pictures. Researchers call this the meshing hypothesis.

In 2008, the psychologists Harold Pashler, Mark McDaniel, Doug Rohrer and Robert Bjork reviewed the evidence. They found almost no good studies showing that matching teaching to a learning style improves results. Some well-designed studies found no effect at all. Later reviews have mostly agreed.

So your result tells you what you enjoy and what feels easy. It does not mean you can only learn one way, and it's not a reason to skip other methods. Often the content itself decides the best format. You learn a map from a map and a song by listening, whatever your style.

The four results in brief

Visual: you like to see it. Maps, diagrams, colour-coded notes and demos help things click.

Auditory: you like to hear it and talk it through. Conversations, podcasts and explaining out loud work well for you.

Reading/writing: you like words on a page. Lists, manuals and writing things in your own words are how you get a grip on new material.

Hands-on: you like to learn by doing. You try first, make mistakes, adjust and remember the skill rather than the theory.

How your result is worked out

There are 12 questions, each with four answers. Every answer gives 2 points to one style and 1 point to a related second style. For example, "Watch a short cooking video first" gives 2 to visual and 1 to auditory.

In every question, each style is the main style of exactly one answer and the second style of exactly one other. So all four styles can reach the same maximum of 24 points, and the layout doesn't favour any of them.

We turn each style's points into a score from 0 to 100. Your highest score is your top preference and the next highest is your second. If two are exactly tied, we pick one based on your answer pattern, so the same answers always give the same result. Most people get a mix, so look at all four bars, not just the winner.

Study tips that work for every style

Test yourself. Close the book and write or say what you remember, or answer practice questions. This is called retrieval practice, and it's one of the best-supported study methods there is.

Space it out. Three short sessions over a week beat one long session the night before. A 2013 review led by John Dunlosky rated practice testing and spaced practice as the two most useful techniques it looked at.

Mix formats. Pair words with a simple picture, explain things out loud, and practice the real task. Using several routes gives your memory more than one way back to the idea.

Use your preference as the way in, not the only way. If you're visual, start with a diagram, then explain it and quiz yourself on it. If you're hands-on, start by trying, then write down what you learned.

How much to trust your result

It's a fun way to notice your habits, not a measure of how smart you are or what you can learn. Twelve questions can't capture everything, and your answer may change with the subject. Plenty of people are hands-on with cooking and reading/writing with history.

If you or your child is struggling with learning in a way that's affecting school or work, talk to a teacher, a school counselor or a doctor. A quiz like this one can't spot learning difficulties.