How do you learn best? By seeing? By doing? By hearing?

Most of us learn in different ways at different times, and it’s important to remember that there is no "right" way to learn. Some of us rely more heavily on sight, others learn by hearing or doing or combinations of all three. Understanding your learning style may help you recognize how online courses may work for you.

Researchers generally categorize learning into three styles--visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. We’d like to suggest a fourth characteristic of successful students--motivation!

More information on learning styles is available at:

• McVay, M. (1998). How to be a successful distance student: Learning on the Internet. Needham Heights, MA: Simon and Schuster.
• DVC Online
• NC State University
• University of Northwestern Ohio
• VARK Questionnaire

Visual learning
Visual learners rely on sight, pictures or visual representations to learn concepts. They may draw pictures to help them understand a new idea or be drawn to watch a how-to program on television. They are better at reading maps than at understanding oral directions.

Visual learners generally do well with the written material of traditional courses, but they find classroom instruction to be challenging. They appreciate when the instructor provides overhead lecture points or writes assignments on the board.

The online learning environment favors visual learners. Online courses may contain more visual information and graphic presentation.

Auditory learning
Auditory learning relies more heavily on what learners hear. These learners pick up ideas quickly from lectures and discussions. They may find that talking out ideas is a helpful way to learn.

Auditory learners have traditionally done well in the classroom. Their ability to hear and coordinate important concepts helps them take good notes and recall important ideas at a later time.

They may need to find ways to adapt their learning style to the online medium and to encourage their instructors to provide auditory as well as visual examples.

Kinesthetic learning
Kinesthetic learning style seeks to be physically involved. Kinesthetic learners thrive in apprenticeship models where they can watch an expert and then do what they’ve been shown.

They may learn better by building a model to visualize a problem. They prefer active to passive learning.

Kinesthetic learners may also be challenged by parts of the online learning environment. They may seek projects that allow them additional opportunities to think in three dimensions, but they must also learn to accommodate the greater reading and graphic interpretation that internet-based courses require.

Motivated learning
No matter what your learning style may indicate, perhaps the biggest indicator of your success as a distance learner is your motivation. Students who are highly motivated to complete a distance course often achieve a high level of success.

Factors that affect motivation may come from external and internal sources. External motivations might be to complete a college degree or to earn a promotion at work. Internal motivations might include your interest in the course content or a strong desire to give your best effort.

While motivation is sometimes hard to measure, successful distance learners are generally self-motivated and self-disciplined learners. They study and submit assignments regularly throughout the class term, they take advantage of learning opportunities such as instructor chats and emails, and they plan ahead to make sure they have time to access materials, time to assimilate their readings and activities, and time to reflect their thoughts back to the instructor.