One of the earlier theories of learning styles, or "modalities," was put forward by Walter Barbe and Michael Milone. Barbe and Milone advanced the idea that every individual has a dominant learning style, also referred to as the VAK Model.
The three learning styles they described are:
Visual learners tend to learn best by "seeing" information. While an instructor may be lecturing, the visual learner is actually digesting more information through displays such as diagrams, illustrations, videos, or simply text on a handout, slide deck, or whiteboard.
Auditory learners benefit more from hearing information. These learners respond well to lectures, like to debate or talk through problems in order to solve them, follow spoken directions well, and may tend to read things out loud in order to better understand written text. Incorporate auditory experiences with group discussions and question-and-answer sessions.
Kinesthetic learners, sometimes referred to as tactile learners, prefer to learn through the process of doing. They want to be "hands on" and can learn and remember things better when leveraging their desire for movement during a lesson. Examples of kinesthetic activities include role playing and diagramming.
Most people use all of the three learning styles. However, it is common for an individual to have a dominant, or preferred learning style.
In the next section we will learn about a final theory, adult learning assumptions.