Why the Four Learning Modalities Are Important?

How did do you like to learn? This is the most common question that educators ask learners to better deliver instruction. There are four learning modalities that are associated with how individuals learn and they are the following:

1. Visual Learning: Individuals who are visual learners are considered to love to learn by watching others, videos, or looking at pictures or diagrams. These learners tend to perform better when they are able to visualize how the information relates to their learning situation or environment. Specifically, these types of learners enjoy drawing pictures when trying to figure out complex information to construct meaning so that they can apply it in either their personal or professional life.

2. Auditory Learning: Auditory learning involves individuals desiring to listen to instruction to learn how to do a certain task or procedure. This type of learning can be found either in the classroom or online. Online learners use auditory learning when listening to podcasts or videos, in addition to visuals such as videos or pictures.

3. Kinesthetic Learning: Individuals who are considered kinesthetic learners enjoy moving around when learning or listen to music while they learn. For some reason, when individuals listen to music, they are able to capture a rhythm that enables them to learn better. In the traditional classroom, individuals should design lessons in which learners are able to move around or participate in the learning process by using some form of movement.

4. Tactile Learning: Individuals who are tactile learners tend to use manipulatives or some type of hands-on approach to learn new concepts. For most abstract topics in subjects, such as math and science, individuals should use some type of hands-on learning activities to grasp the information. For example, educators who are trying to teach students how to identify quadrilaterals according to their attributes should allow students to draw the shapes or touch the shapes to describe them accordingly. This will make the math lesson come to life for tactile or hands-on learners.

These four learning modalities are important because educators can use this information to design effective lessons that will reach more learners and the chance of retaining the information is higher. When all learning modalities are utilized in one classroom setting, the instruction is more effective and learners are more engaged. For example, in most online courses, they are designed to address all learning modalities resulting in individuals desiring to take online courses. As an added bonus, online courses afford learners to learn on their own time, which seems to be in demand in the 21st century society.