On my blog for girls here, I posted about learning styles today and included a quiz from The Christian Girl's Guide to Me: The Quiz Book to help them figure out their learning style. It's just a fun quiz, though, and there are better online quizzes published by professionals in the field.
I thought for this blog, I post an article I wrote about kinesthetic learners several years ago. Leave your thoughts about learning styles in the comment section.
As a
mother, foster mother and former teacher, I've had the chance to interact with
children from a variety of backgrounds. At times I've been told that a child
doesn't have much potential. This isn't true. Every child has potential and can
learn, but each will do it in his own way and time. When we discover how a
child best learns, we can make the process easier and provide more chances for
success.
If a
child isn't learning, have ears and eyes checked first. A child who can't see
the blackboard or words a page won't learn well. A child who can't hear
instructions has little chance of getting things right. Request testing to
eliminate special learning disabilities such as dyslexia.
Learning
styles
If
everything has been ruled out and your child still seems to have trouble
learning, take a look at his learning style. There are three kinds of learners:
Auditory.
The auditory learner does best when things are explained verbally. He enjoys
books on tape more than reading books, and he may need to study with music in
the background or learn his multiplication tables by singing them rather than
writing them.
The
auditory learner does best when traditional teaching methods are used such as
teacher lectures, explanations, and discussions.
Visual.
The visual learner gets his information from books, charts, and graphs. He does
well with worksheets and workbooks. Films, overhead transparencies, and things
written on the blackboard benefit the visual learner.
The
visual learner does well with to-do lists, calendars, and written assignment
pages.
Kinesthetic.
The kinesthetic learner has the toughest time at school. He needs to touch,
hold, and manipulate things to learn. He needs to count beads to learn to add
and subtract and to perform a science experiment to understand it.
The
kinesthetic learner does well when he can perform an experiment, act out a
story, or go on a field trip.
The
traditional classroom
Most
classrooms benefit the auditory and visual learners. A teacher writes things on
the board as she explains them. She hands out a worksheet with written
instructions that she also reads aloud to the class. The kinesthetic learner is
the one who has the most problems. In preschool and kindergarten,
there are many opportunities to touch and manipulate. There may be a sand or
water play area, plastic bears to use for counting, and all sorts of things in
a science center to touch.
Once a
child is past these early grades, the kinesthetic activities are reduced. Often
touching and manipulating things is discouraged. The kinesthetic learner
struggles unless the parents and teacher can work together to produce an
environment that allows for the child's learning style.
If your
child doesn't seem to be learning well, observe him and try to figure out his
learning style. Then ask yourself, "Does my child's teacher teach in a way
that benefits my child?" If you suspect that your child's learning style
isn't compatible with the teaching methods in his classroom, schedule a
conference. Ask the teacher how the classroom work could be modified to help
your child learn. You may have to do some brainstorming and offer positive
suggestions to the teacher and even the principal or administrator but the
effort will be worth it when you see your child come alive and begin learning.
What kind of learner is your child? Check out the quiz on my other blog using the link above.
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