The VARK Questionnaire - for younger people

How Do I Learn Best?

Debra Jones, Coordinator of the University of California Gateways Project, wanted to develop a VARK questionnaire for high school students which has now been done. Sponsored by the University of California, Office of the President. The Gateways Project is an outreach project designed to reach "under-served students and assure their successful articulation to higher learning".  This version of VARK is therefore modified for High School students. Debra anticipates using an online version of VARK with 30,000 students and the version is likely to be modified after these trials. Acknowledgment of this draft version should be made to Debra Jones, Cabrillo College, Aptos, California 95003 (831-479-5071), Charles C. Bonwell and Neil Fleming.

This questionnaire aims to find out something about your preferences for the way you work with information. You will have a preferred learning style and one part of that learning style is your preference for the intake and output of ideas and information. 

Choose the answer which best explains your preference and click on the box next to the answer. Please select more than one response if a single answer does not match your perception. Leave blank any question that does not apply.

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If your teacher/lecturer has asked you to fill out this questionnaire, please fill in your student ID and class code so that your results can be included in the results for your class. Otherwise, you can leave the student ID and class code boxes blank. 
Student ID: Subject Code:
  • When you have a few minutes with nothing better to do would you be more likely to:
stare into space or doodle.
talk to yourself or to others.
pick something up to read.
do something practical, like fix something or straighten up your room.
  • You are not sure whether a word should be spelled 'dependent' or 'dependant'. I would:
look it up in the dictionary.
see the word in my mind and choose by the way it looks
sound it out in my mind.
write both versions down on paper and choose one.

  • You want to plan a surprise party for your best friend’s birthday. Do you:?

talk about it on the phone with your other friends.
make lists of what to do and what to buy.
picture the party activities in your mind.
invite friends and let it develop.

  • You are going to make or build something special for your family. Do you:?

make something without the need for instructions.
thumb through some books and magazines looking for ideas.
refer to a specific handbook where there are good instructions.
talk it over with some friends

  • You are really pleased with your acceptance for a summer program. This is also of interest to two friends. Do you:?

take them to see the program in action.
show them the brochure and information you’ve found about it
start practising the activities you’ll be doing in the program.
describe to your friends the activities you’ll be doing each day of the program.

  • You are about to buy a new CD player. Other than price, what would most influence your decision?

  the salesperson telling you about it
reading the details about it.
playing with the controls and listening to it.
it looks really nice and it is something you could picture in your room.

  • Recall a time in your life when you learned how to play a new board game or computer game. How did you learn best? By:

  watching others do it first
  reading instructions.
listening to somebody explaining it.
doing it or trying it for yourself.

  • After reading a play you need to do a project on it for your English class. Would you prefer to:?

read a speech from the play in front of the class.
  draw a poster showing something that happened in the play.
act out a scene from the play.
  write your own review on the play

  • You are about to try to hook up your parent’s new computer. Would you first:?

  unpack the box and start trying to put the pieces together.
read the manual that comes with the computer.  
telephone a friend and ask questions about it.
look at the pictures in the manual and on the box

  • You need to give directions to two friends to go to a house nearby. Do you:

  draw a map on a piece of paper.
  tell them the directions.
  write down the directions on a piece of paper.
walk them over there yourself.

  • You have a problem with your knee and it hurts when you play your favourite sport. Would you prefer that the doctor:

describe to you what is wrong.
  give you an article or brochure that explains the common problems with knees.
show you a diagram of what is wrong.
demonstrate with a model what is wrong.

  • A new movie has arrived in town. What would most influence your decision to go (or not go)?

  you hear friends talking about it
  you read what others say about it in a magazine.
you see a preview of it.
it is similar to others you have liked.

  • Do you prefer a lecturer or teacher who likes to use:

  a textbook and handouts.
  diagrams, charts, pictures and slides.
  field trips, labs and hands-on sessions.
class discussions and guest speakers.

Copyright ?2001 Neil Fleming