Commonly, researchers identify auditory, visual, kinesthetic, and tactile styles. The field of accelerated learning also relies heavily on modality to explain how learners can process information faster. Howard Gardner established another way of grouping modalities. He asserts there are at least seven modalities or intelligences that link to our individual styles. While Gardner s work encourages us to think about modality in new and creative ways, a solid grasp of the core modalities applies immediately to everything we do.
Most people retain a dominant and an auxiliary learning modality.
We access through all senses, but generally favor one. Visual learners prefer seeing what they are learning. Pictures and images help them understand ideas and information better than explanations. A drawing may help more than a discussion about the same. When someone explains something to a visual learner, he or she may create a mental picture of what the person talking describes.