Adult learning styles : auditory, visual, and tactual-kinesthetic sensory modalities

Abstract

The purpose of the study was to determine if adults learn more effectively through a dominant sensory modality across or within subject matter. A set of 12 activities and tests was designed to teach concepts and rules and to measure concept, rule, and problem solving learning in four modes: auditory, visual, "auditahm", and "visitahm", the latter two being subcategories of the tactual-kinesthetic mode. Three activities containing language, science, and mathematics types of subject matter were presented in each mode. A questionnaire was designed to obtain the participants' age, sex, years of formal schooling, levels of school achievement, and preferred and most effective learning modes. The sample for the study consisted of 63 adult volunteers whose ages ranged from 25 to 74. The measurement of the participants1 learning resulted in the formation of the following groups: 16 auditory, 16 visual, 16 auditahm, and 15 visitahm dominant mode learners. The findings of the study showed that each dominant mode group learned mare effectively in the activities presented in their dominant mode across at least two subject matter areas. There was no single prevailing mode in which the majority of the participants learned mare effectively in any subject matter area. Dominant mode learning was related to sex, but was independent of age, years of formal schooling, and self-reported levels of school achievement. A substantial amount of qualitative information, was provided by the adult learners who participated in the piloting and measurement phases of the study. This information was used to identify the elements in learning activities and tests which characterize a meaningful learning experience for adults. The study had three major conclusions: (a) adults do possess a dominant sensory modality through which they learn more effectively across subject matter, (b) multimodal instruction is not as beneficial for adult learners as instruction presented in their dominant learning modes, and (c) auditahm and visitahm learners are two distinct types of tactual-kinesthetic learners.