NOTE: This is an original and personal journal entry that ‘cites’ the work of others in a “Bibliography” (see below). A Bibliography like mine is one way of giving authors credit for their work. A Bibliography can take many forms; there are various different styles. However you choose to do this in your own writing, it’s the “giving credit” that’s important. If you wish to quote me, or use my original elements for inspiration, please acknowledge this source using the information above and the address of this website, as I have acknowledged my sources. This way, you will not be infringing copyright or plagiarising. Also, if you like anything you see here, I’d be grateful if you could drop me a line or leave a comment. Information about citing (a.k.a. referencing) is abundant on the internet – try http://www.essex.ac.uk/myskills/skills/referencing/referencingSkills.asp by Essex University, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation by Wikipedia Contributors, or the automatic bibliography maker at http://www.easybib.com/, by ImagineEasy Solutions. Thanks, Peter Buckley.

1. ’
Title: Teacher’s Journal – Session 4 - Inclusive Learning, Individual Learning
Styles (VA(R)K and PRAT Analyses)
Author: Peter Buckley
Date of last revision: 3/8/2009
NOTE: This is an original and personal journal entry that ‘cites’ the work of others in
a “Bibliography” (see below). A Bibliography like mine is one way of giving authors
credit for their work. A Bibliography can take many forms; there are various different
styles. However you choose to do this in your own writing, it’s the “giving credit”
that’s important. If you wish to quote me, or use my original elements for inspiration,
please acknowledge this source using the information above and the address of this
website, as I have acknowledged my sources. This way, you will not be infringing
copyright or plagiarising. Also, if you like anything you see here, I’d be grateful if
you could drop me a line or leave a comment. Information about citing (a.k.a.
referencing) is abundant on the internet – try
http://www.essex.ac.uk/myskills/skills/referencing/referencingSkills.asp by Essex
University, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation by Wikipedia Contributors, or the
automatic bibliography maker at http://www.easybib.com/, by ImagineEasy
Solutions.
Thanks,
Peter Buckley.
In this journal, I will offer a personal account of where I stand within the veritable
matrix of learning styles that exist and how I have demonstrated them in class.
“We all have preferred ways of learning and learn better from some activities than
others”. (http://www.peterhoney.com/, 30th July 2009) Honey and Mumford broke
learning down into four learning types. As we learnt in Session 4, the learning styles
are as follows (Excerpted from http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/styles.htm, 30th July
2009)
• ‘Pragmatist' - A person who likes to learn practical things. Pragmatists like
relevance to real problems, immediate chances to try things out and experts
they can emulate.
• 'Reflector' - A person who likes to observe, analyse and research. Reflectors
like thinking things through, careful research and unemotional observation.
• 'Activist' - An active person who likes new things. Activists like new
problems, being 'thrown in at the deep end' and team work.
• 'Theorist' - A person who is interested in theories and research - Theorists
like interesting concepts, structured situations and opportunities to ask
questions.

2. In one of our sessions we were given a communication exercise where one learner
would sit with his or her back to another and describe a shape or object to a fellow
learner, who would have to draw it.
It is my belief that our choice of images was telling in terms of our respective learning
styles. My colleagues’ chosen picture was an intricate, precise and geometrical
pattern. I might guess that the learner who described this pattern has a tendency
towards Theorist and - due to the pattern’s complexity - Activist learning styles. I, on
the other hand, described a naïvely simplistic evocation of a house. The nostalgic
element of this may suggest ‘Reflector’, but the practical element (it is a well known
shape of some architectural coherence) may also be indicative of a Pragmatist. This is
an abstract understanding of learning styles, yet it is worth reporting here since my
colleague and I both commented on this possible significance of the task in relation to
Honey and Mumford’s theory.
Neil Fleming’s defined learner types in terms of learner’s preferred styles of learning,
and learning strategies. These (‘VARK’) strategies are as follows (excerpted and
adapted from Fleming’s VARK help sheets at http://www.vark-
learn.com/english/page.asp?p=helpsheets, accessed 31st July 2009):
• Visual Study Strategies (V) - receptive to pictures, videos, posters, slides.
interested in drawing, colour, layout and design. Holistic rather than
reductionist.
• Aural Study Strategies (A) – The learners prefer to have things explained
through speech. More receptive to sound, and what is heard/spoken rather than
written.
• Read/write Study Strategies (R) – Word-orientated. In Fleming’s words, “talk
is OK but a handout is better.”
• Kinaesthetic Study Strategies (K) – Concerned with the “practical, real, and
relevant”. Understanding through “doing”. Action-orientated.
• Multimodal Study Strategies (MM) - multiple preferences
In my peer evaluations of our microteaching day, I praised a fellow colleague’s
session for its kinaesthetic element. I admire this, in the main, because it’s a style of
learning and teaching which is not my strong point. Historically, when the opportunity
has arisen, I have chosen to learn art and literature over sport; disciplines that play to
my learning style. As such, my own microteaching session was focussed on Visual
(PowerPoint slides with high pictorial content) and Read/Write styles (inherent in its
subject of poetry). I tried to appeal to Aural learning styles by explaining things
verbally and encouraging learners to “shout out” examples of personification.
Kinaesthetic strategies, I feel, were noticeably absent. As a result of my recent
university studies, my teaching and learning styles are still influenced by the
conventions of that environment. This is a bias I will work to avoid in future.
As teachers must be aware of their biases, my own learning style preferences might
be best explained with an example from my music collection. Music often seems the

3. place where we play out our sympathies, in our choice of genre for example. And
there is a certain song whose character could be a learner in a class. The song Alec
Eiffel, from the 1991 album Trompe Le Monde by Pixies, tells of a future “Pioneer of
aerodynamics” who learns in an idiosyncratic way
(http://aleceiffel.free.fr/lyr_tlm.html, 31st July 2009). He spends a lot of time standing
in an archway - reflecting on, thinking of, staring at who-knows-what, to the extent
that he attracts ridicule from those who are not inclined towards this learning strategy.
Alec Eiffel is, in Honey and Mumford’s terms, a Reflector, who is able to convert the
result of his reflections into theory. In terms of VARK, he is a visual learner, who is
intellectually stimulated by the shape of the archway. He is described as “panoramic”
– or “Holistic rather than reductionist” in Fleming’s definition of visual learners. As
an adult he is able to apply this to practical kinaesthetic action. Though I don’t spend
so much time staring at archways, I believe that a VARK analysis of my own learning
could look a lot like Eiffel’s. My choice of this song as an example also demonstrates
my investment, to a greater or lesser extent, in a certain prevalent but naïvely
romantic ideal of learning, which as I continue my journey into “real” experience in
the classroom, may be a help, a hindrance, or both.
During the sessions of this PTLLs course, I have been frantically taking written notes.
What I have been trying to capture in each session is a synthesised combination of
what was spoken by the tutor, and the text of the slides. I suspect, given my
inclination towards the “R” in VARK, the text of the slides “won out”, or at least
framed my understanding of the spoken content. In previous courses, I have also used
a Dictaphone to capture the aural aspect of lessons, but even then, I was likely to
transcribe them.
The piece I am most proud of in my portfolio is my Scheme of Work. It was this I
most enjoyed. I surprised myself in that I enjoyed the practice of record-keeping.
During the creation of my Scheme of Work, I was able to visualise the content of my
course. If something did not work in my mental visualisations, I discounted it. If it
did, I committed it directly to my Scheme of Work. I could have recorded and played
back some of what I might say to learners in my sessions, and “heard” the Scheme of
Work this way, aurally. There are kinaesthetically-minded people who might pace the
floor while planning their Scheme of Work, gesturing to learners he or she imagines
occupying a certain space in the room. He/she might even go to the classroom prior to
the lesson to walk around it, “get a feel for it”, spatially, before committing anything
to paper.
Teachers must avoid their biases negatively restricting the ‘learning-style
opportunities’ available to learners. For example, the kinaesthetic learner-teacher may
be tempted to let his/her persuasions inform the tasks that he/she provides for learners.
However, this is not in learner’s best interests. To nurture an inclusive learning
experience, teachers must differentiate their teaching and session content to suit all
learning styles on the VARK and PRAT spectrums.

5. Bibliography
Black, F. and AlecEiffel.net (1997) Lyrics: Trompe Le Monde, [Online], Available:
http://aleceiffel.free.fr/lyr_tlm.html [31 July 2009].
Centre for Independent Language Learning, (2004) Learning Styles, [Online],
Available: http://elc.polyu.edu.hk/CILL/styles.htm [30 July 2009].
Fleming, N. (2007) The VARK Helpsheets: Study Practices Keyed to VARK
Preferences, [Online], Available: http://www.vark-
learn.com/english/page.asp?p=helpsheets [31 July 2009].
Peter Honey Publications, Honey & Mumford Learning Styles Questionnaire (LSQ),
[Online], Available: http://www.peterhoney.com/ [30 July 2009].