Liz Mance

OT 7440
Self-Assessment of Learning Styles

After completing the VARK self-assessment tool, I was surprised by my results. My

learning style identified was mild kinesthetic. I always thought that I was a visual learner during

my years of school because I learned best by seeing examples, but after the questionnaire, I

learned that this is considered being a kinesthetic learner because my preference to see “things

that are real,” like practical examples. My second highest score was reading/writing to learn.

This makes sense because my favorite study strategy involves reading my PowerPoint and then

rewriting the words on the slides to reinforce learning the material. Visual learning was my

lowest score, which I do not think is entirely accurate. The questionnaire defined this learning

style as using models and diagrams, which are not my preference; however, I use flashcards and

pictures to facilitate learning. I did not score zero points in any of the categories, and I feel this

indicates that I use a variety of tactics to support knowledge retention. Desiring only one learning

style might become repetitive, and the utilization of many learning styles allows you to be

flexible to many different types of management.

I enjoyed taking the Index of Learning Style Question to identify my favored style of

being a reflective, sensing, visual, and global learner. I was educated the most while reading the

results of this assessment about the different types. Being an active learner means that I retain

and comprehend new information best by physically doing it versus picturing it mentally.

Sensing learners are more practical versus intuitive learners. They enjoy and are proficient at

learning concrete facts instead of abstract thinking, which appropriately fits my academic

learning preferences. I found it interesting that I scored high in visual learning preferences for

this questionnaire compared to the first assessment. I think the reasoning behind this was my

predilection to demonstrations and pictures, which were evident in many of the questions of this
 Liz Mance
OT 7440
test. Lastly, my results revealed that I was almost tied in being a sequential and global learner

equally but was slightly more a global learner. Global learners learn best by seeing the big

picture of the task instead of breaking it down into steps, like sequential learners.

My preference for multiple learning preferences would be beneficial within a fieldwork

setting. One assessment showed that I scored within each learning preference: visual, aural,

read/write, and kinesthetic. This might work during the fieldwork setting because every

fieldwork educator’s teaching and supervisory style will be different, giving me the option to

adapt to their style, significantly if it changes throughout my fieldwork experience. According to

the first assessment, my favorite learning style is kinesthetic. Additionally, the second

assessment displayed that I score high in favoring active learning, which is synonymous with

kinesthetic. The learning style might not work for a fieldwork setting with an educator who is

hands-off and prefers to show me things with diagrams or auditory instructions instead of having

me come with them to see how they evaluate and treat patients. If this is the case, I could ask my

educator if they would feel comfortable shadowing them before I begin a caseload of my own. If

the educator does not prefer to teach me this way, I could see real case studies instead.

I plan to discuss my needs with my fieldwork educator by first asking them their

preferred teaching upon first reaching out to them via email then after meeting them in-person on

my first day at my fieldwork site. Based on the way the educator wishes to teach, I will make

sure to adjustments to match her style as I am able. Additionally, I will let my fieldwork educator

know about my preferred learning as well of being an active and kinesthetic learner and ask if it

would be a possibility to go through patient charts and real-life examples before, I jump into my

duties. This will be done in person during the first meeting to be able to collaborate with my

style and hers more efficiently than through email. During this conversation, I will also mention
 Liz Mance
OT 7440
to my educator about seeing her work with patients to witness practical examples and even spark

conversation about trials and errors that she had when she had her first fieldwork and full-time

position as an occupational therapist. I look forward to using this information to be able to grow

and learn as much as I can during all my fieldwork placements.