Educators tend to view learning styles as one of three of the following categories: kinesthetic, auditory and visual. You may have heard about this concept, but may not have discovered where your child falls. Children generally learn using all three styles but really thrive when their main learning style is identified and harnessed. With the help of a private school in Richmond, I have compiled some tips to help you shed light on your child’s optimum learning style, so you can help them meet their full potential.
Watch Your Child Play
What kind of activities does your child lean towards in their downtime? If they enjoy building things, or putting on performance for the family, they may be a kinesthetic learner, as they enjoy being tactile and using their bodies. Are you more likely to find your child colouring, writing stories or reading a book? These are the traits of a visual learner. If your child is a chatterbox who enjoys singing and listening to music, then they most likely fall into the auditory learner category.
Identify Their Strengths
Kinesthetic learners tend to have better coordination and athleticism than the other two categories. They often have a natural aptitude for sports or physical performance such as dance. Visual learners generally have neat handwriting and remember spellings easily. Auditory learners are usually outgoing by nature and enjoy striking up conversations with everyone and anyone.
Harness Their Abilities
Once you’ve decided on your child’s primary learning style, you can use this to help them flourish. To help a kinesthetic learner to remember information, take a hands on approach and get them to act something out or use props to teach them. Visual learners respond better to written instructions which they can follow sequentially. They will also benefit from writing things down and mind mapping to remember information. The auditory learners will retain information if they hear it out loud and they respond best to verbal instructions. These learners could benefit from audiobooks or recording their own voice and playing it back to help them grasp a new topic.
*Collaborative post