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The VARK Questionnaire - for Athletes

How Do I Learn Best?

Copyright: This version of VARK may be used for coach or athlete/player development if attribution is given. It may not be published in either paper or electronic form without the consent of the authors. Acknowledgment should be made using these words: Copyright for this version is held by by Julia L. Dunn, Whitman College, Walla Walla, Washington, 99362, USA (509-527-5911), dunnjl@whitman.edu. Charles C. Bonwell, Green Mountain, Colorado, USA and Neil Fleming, Christchurch, New Zealand hold the copyright for the original version.

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 letter. Please select more than one response if a single answer does not match your perception. 

Leave blank any question which does not apply.

[Note: Your browser must support JavaScript to be automatically scored. If it does not, download the Athletes' Questionnaire and complete it on paper.]

  • You are about to give directions to an athlete who is standing with you. The athlete is new to town and needs to get to a sports venue. He/she has a bike. I would:
draw or provide a map.
tell him/her the directions.
write down the directions (without a map).
bike with them to the complex.
  • You are not sure whether a word should be spelled 'xyphoid' or 'xiphoid'. 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 have just received a copy of your itinerary for a team trip. This is of interest to a friend. I would:

phone him/her immediately and tell him/her about it.
send the itinerary as an email attachment.
show him/her on a map each place we will be visiting.
share what the team plans to do at each place we visit.

  • You are going to make a fruit smoothie for a pre-practice snack. I would:

mix something familiar without the need for instructions.
thumb through a cookbook looking for ideas from the pictures.
read the descriptions to find a good recipe.

  • A group of international athletes will be arriving to the campus or sports complex. To familiarize them with the venue I would:

walk them around campus/complex when they arrive.
give them a map of the campus/complex highlighting key places and resources.
give them pamphlets or the campus/complex brochure detailing available resources.
talk with them about available resources.

  • You have been asked to assist in selecting team gear for a team. What would most influence your decision to select it?

My teammates told me I should select it.
I read the product catalogue that described its features.
I tried the piece out and it met my needs.
The equipment looked good and was well designed.

  • Recall a time in your life when you learned how to keep the official score or results (in a scorebook or statistics sheet) for your particular sport. I learnt best by:

visual clues -- pictures, diagrams, charts.
written instructions.
listening to somebody explaining it.
doing it or trying it.

  • You have a knee injury. I would prefer that the doctor or sports therapist:

told me what was wrong.
showed me a diagram of what was wrong.
used a model of the knee to show me what was wrong.

  • You are about to learn to use a new statistics program on a computer. I would:

experiment with the program's features.
read the manual that comes with the program.
telephone a friend and ask questions about it.

  • You are on the road with a sports team. You are staying in a hotel and have use of the team van. You need to go to the venue early, but you don't know the address or location. I would like someone who has been there to:

draw or provide a map.
tell me the directions.
write down the directions (without a map).
come with me in the team van.

  • There is a new book on innovative strategies for your sport. Besides price, what would most influence your decision to buy?

You have used a copy before.
You overheard your coaches discussing the book at practice.
Quickly reading parts of it.
It has plenty of diagrams and charts.

  • A video analysis of the opposition has arrived in the coach's office. What would most influence your decision to watch (or not watch)?

I heard my teammates critique it.
I saw the result and statistics sheet.
I saw parts of it when I was in the office.
  • Do you prefer a coach who likes to teach a new technique, skill or tactic by:
using a playbook and/or handouts.
mapping it out on the chalk or whiteboard.
using practical skill and technical sessions.
involving my teammates and me in a discussion.


© copyright 2001 - 2010 Neil Fleming