WNY Collegiate Consortium and Disability Advocates

Read each question carefully and think about how it applies to you. Keep in mind that you are thinking about learning new, difficult information. On the line next to the question, put the NUMBER of the response that you choose:

1 - NEVER APPLIES

2 - SOMETIMES APPLIES

3 - OFTEN APPLIES

1. It is better for me to get work done in a quiet place.

2. I am not skilled at giving VERBAL explanations for directions.

3. I have trouble reading if the print is small, blurry, or smudged.

4. It is hard for me to read other people’s handwriting.

5. I cannot study sitting at a desk.

6. If I can’t think of a word I wave my hands and call it a ‘thingee’.

7. I remember something better if I write it down.

8. My eyes get tired fast although the eye doctor says they are OK.

9. It is hard for me to understand what a person is saying when there are other people talking or there is music playing.

10. I remember things that I hear better than things I read or see.

11. When I read, I mix up words that look alike, like them and then and bad and dad.

12. I don’t like to read directions first; I would rather just start doing.

13. I enjoy doodling and even my notes have lots of pictures, arrows, etc. in them.

14. I think better when I have the freedom to move around.

15. I often get lost or am late if someone TELLS me how to get to a new place and I don’t write the directions down.

16. Before I follow directions, it helps me to SEE someone else do it.

17. I had trouble learning to read out loud when I was younger.

18. It helps to use my finger as a pointer when reading to keep my place.

19. If I am taking a test, I can ’see’ the textbook or notebook page where the answer is.

20. If I had the choice to learn new information by lecture or a textbook, I would choose to HEAR it rather than read it.

21. I tend to solve problems through a more trial-and-error approach, rather than a step-by-step method.

22. When trying to remember someone’s telephone number, it helps if I try to picture it in my head.

23. I find myself needing frequent breaks when studying.

24. My written work doesn’t look neat to me. My papers have crossed out words and erasures.

25. It’s hard for me to understand a joke that someone tells me.

26. I understand how to do something BEST if someone TELLS me rather than if I read the directions myself.

27. It helps me to LOOK at the speaker when I am listening. Looking helps me focus on what she is saying.

28. I learn BEST when someone SHOWS me how to do something and then I have the opportunity to do it myself.

29. Handwriting is tiring; I press down really hard with a pencil or pen.

30. I do not get lost easily even in a strange place.

Find each numbered question from the list and place your answer of 1, 2, or 3 on the line matching that question on the chart above. When you have filled in all the numbers, add up your total in each column.

Interpreting the scores:

The higher the score, the BETTER you are at using those skills. For example, if your total scores are: visual 19; auditory 25, tactile 23 you learn BEST by listening, then using hands-on (tactile). You are not as comfortable with a textbook or a chart that no one has explained to you.

Your high scores are in auditory or listening skills and tactile or hands-on skills, with a low score in visual. This would indicate that you are probably weaker in reading and comprehension, but do very well with oral directions and hands-on or paper and pencil tasks.

College faculty will employ combinations of visual, auditory and tactile teaching techniques. The information on the following chart will help you identify strategies and accommodations that you can use to reinforce learning in those modes where you are weak.