1. Learning Preferences as we age

2. Part 1: VARK Learning Styles

3. VARK is a questionnaire that provides users with a profile of their learning preferences. These preferences are about the ways that they want to take-in and give-out information.

5. Auditory

6. Kinesthetic VAK was a originally a sales model established in the 1920s. VAK is still taught today in sales training.

7. VAK Sales Model Visual & Auditory Talk about the key features whilst showing them the product or brochure. Kinesthetic Encourage them to touch or use the product.

8. VARK began in 1987 and was designed by Neil D Fleming a New Zealand teacher. He added Read / Write to the VAK model and is the main author of the questionnaire. The VARK website has collected statistical data from users who have completed the online survey since 2001.

9. VARK Visual Auditory Read / Write Kinaesthetic

11. Our age

12. Our physical and neurological health

13. The generation we belong to

14. Our educational history

16. Part 2: VARK as we age

17. Visual Generation X have the highest Visual preference Visuals began to be used more heavily in the 1970s and 1980s in school education due to emerging technologies. They also watch more TV than other generations

18. As we age, our eyes and lenses change shape causing changes to our colour perception and reducing vision sharpness. Monet and eyesight research Monet painted the same places in his garden throughout his life. By studying his paintings, it was discovered that the way we perceive colour changes as we age. Blue is more dominant when we are younger, yellow is more dominant when we are older. The following slides show paintings of the same bridge in Monet’s garden. The first was painted in his 20s. The last in his 60s. Monet suffered from cataracts in his later life.

23. Auditory Typically, our hearing starts to decline from our mid-30s. Around age 65 our hearing starts to rapidly deteriorate –particularly our ‘directional hearing’ . This affects our ability to distinguish different sounds in noisy environments. Yet, this is the second dominant preference for persons over 65. Builders listen to more radio than any other generation.

24. Healthy Inner Ear Hair Cells (Person in their mid-20s) Deteriorated Inner Ear Hair Cells (Person in their late 50s)

25. Read / Write This is the dominant preference for persons over 45 years old. Generation Y also show a strong preference for Read / Write. It is thought that Gen X prefer to read for pleasure rather than for learning.

26. Kinaesthetic Kinaesthetic is based on touch and ‘doing’ This is the dominant learning preference for young persons It is thought that reduced mobility and slower neurological functions is why this preference reduces with age

27. Some Learning Professionals believe that VARK should become VARKO to include Olfactory Senses

28. Olfactory Our olfactory senses continue to develop throughout our lives. A healthy 65 year old will have a more refined sense of taste and smell than a healthy 25 year old.

29. Part 3: Find out more

30. Information for this slide show was derived from a variety of sources, including: CTL Center for Learning McCrindle Research VARK-Learn.com Scientific American NCVER Research Papers I have posted links regarding NCVER on my Wiki if you wish to find out more