Sensory learning preferences
Monday, May 16, 2011, 10:28 GMT+7
Level: Pre-intermediate and above
Brief description:
This material is designed to raise students’ awareness of the different ways people learn things. Most people learn using one of their senses more than the others.
• A person who likes to use sound to learn will enjoy listening to a lecture.
• A person who likes to use sight will want the lecturer to give notes that they can read.
• A person who likes to use touch to learn will want a more interactive project rather than a lecture.
The following quiz is a short, quick way of assessing your sensory learning preference. Circle your answer.
|
Question |
Answer O=Often S=Sometimes R=Rarely |
|
1 I remember best when people tell me something through speaking. |
O S R |
|
2 I prefer to see information written on a whiteboard. |
O S R |
|
3 I like to write things down or take notes. |
O S R |
|
4 I like to have posters, models and practical activities in class. |
O S R |
|
5 I need someone to explain diagrams, graphs or visual directions. |
O S R |
|
6 I enjoy working with my hands and making things. |
O S R |
|
7 I find graphs and charts easy to understand. |
O S R |
|
8 I like music very much. |
O S R |
|
9 I remember things by writing them down over and over again. |
O S R |
|
10 I can understand maps and follow written directions. |
O S R |
|
11 I learn well by listening to lectures and CDs. |
O S R |
|
12 I play with coins or keys in my pockets. |
O S R |
|
13 I learn to spell better by saying words out loud than by writing them down. |
O S R |
|
14 I want to learn about the news by reading it rather than hearing it on the radio. |
O S R |
|
15 I chew gum, smoke or snack when I study. |
O S R |
|
16 I believe the best way to remember something is to picture it in my head. |
O S R |
|
17 I learn to spell by tracing the shape of the words with my finger. |
O S R |
|
18 I would rather listen to a lecture or speech than read about the same subject in a textbook. |
O S R |
|
19 I am good at solving jigsaw puzzles and mazes. |
O S R |
|
20 I hold objects in my hands when learning. |
O S R |
|
21 I prefer listening to the news on the radio than reading about it in the newspaper. |
O S R |
|
22 I like to read things to get information. |
O S R |
|
23 I like touching other people, hugging them and shaking their hands. |
O S R |
|
24 I understand spoken instructions better than written ones. |
O S R |
Your sensory learning preference questionnaire: scoring
Give each question a score as follows:
Often: 5 points Sometimes: 3 points Rarely: 1 point
Add the number of points in each column. The highest score shows your preference.
| Visual Question | Points | Sound Question | Points | Touch Question | Points |
| 2 3 7 10 14 16 19 22 | 1 5 8 11 13 18 21 24 | 4 6 9 12 15 17 20 23 | |||
| Total: |
Now that you know which kind of learner you most likely are, you might say the following about yourself or show preferences like:
Auditory Learner (sound)
• “I find that music helps me concentrate.”
• “I have always liked to listen in class rather than read.”
Visual Learner (sight)
• “I like PowerPoint presentations that include diagrams and charts.”
• “I notice and remember advertisements that I see when I’m walking down the street or driving past in a bus.”
• “I prefer to read what I’m trying to learn and figure it out for myself.” • “I write out notes in different colours.”
• “I close my eyes to imagine pictures in my heads.”
Tactile Learner (touch)
• “When I buy clothes I like to touch them to feel the fabric.”
• “I will learn a phone number—or their PIN number—by remembering where their fingers go on the keys.”
• “I learn especially well by touching.“
• “I doodle when I’m listening to a lecture. It helps me remember.”
Glossary:
• Jigsaw (noun): a puzzle made up of separate pieces that can be fitted together to form a picture or design (Trò chơi ghép hình)
• Maze (noun): a printed puzzle in which you have to draw a line that shows a way through a complicated pattern of lines (Trò chơi giải mã mê cung)
• To doodle (verb): to draw or scribble (write) idly (lazily) (Vẽ nguệch ngoạc)
• Sensory (adj.): related to the senses (Thuộc về giác quan)
• Learning preferences (noun) = ways in which a person learns best (Thiên hướng học tập)
• To prefer (verb): to like better; to favor; to choose someone or something over another (Ưu tiên)
• Lecture (noun): a speech read or delivered before an audience or class (Bài giảng)
• Interactive (adj.): interacting or communicating with two or more persons or computers (Có tính tương tác)
• Questionnaire (noun): a list of questions on a form given to people to get information for research or survey (Bảng câu hỏi)
• PIN (noun): personal identification number (Mã số nhận dạng riêng)
• Figure out (phrasal verb): to understand or solve by thinking deeply about (Tìm ra)
• Graph (noun): or ‘chart’; a drawing showing the relationships between numbers or quantities by dots, lines or bars (Biểu đồ)
• Diagram (noun): or ‘model’; a drawing or plan that explains the parts of something or how something works (Sơ đồ)
• Fabric (noun): a cloth; the texture or ‘feel’ of a cloth (Vải)
This material is provided by the Australian Centre for Education and Training (ACET).
