Albert Einstein once said: “Everybody is a genius. But if you judge
a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing
that it is stupid.” Each child learns in a different way. If lessons
are presented to your child in a way that does not suit their learning
style, they will struggle to understand or remember new information. A
visual learner will have trouble staying focused in a class where the
teacher drones on and does not utilize teaching aids or visual stimuli
to reinforce their lesson. If your child is struggling to learn, or you
want to optimize their ability to learn, then finding their learning style
will help you to present information in ways that make the most sense to them.
Visual Learners
Like the name suggests, these learners like to see the information they
need to process. Charts, illustrations, mind maps, written notes, videos
and presentations work best for this kind of learner. Making to-do lists
that can be ticked off really helps them to stay focused and organized.
Tactile Learners
These are learners who like to move. They like to learn by touch and experience.
Experiments, presentations, field trips and building models are the best
way to get these learners to pay attention. Create activity-based learning
for the tactile student who struggles to stay focused.
Auditory Learners
Listening is this learner’s strength. They like traditional lectures
where the teacher talks and they are able to listen to new information.
Taping lectures or reading texts aloud will help these learners to excel.
Discussion is a fantastic way for them to assimilate new information,
explain complex ideas or formulate opinions about different subjects.
Although teachers should present new information in a number of different
ways to accommodate different learning styles, many teachers have too
little time or too many students to do so successfully. Use homework and
study time to find new ways to present information to your child. For
example, if you need to teach your child the names of bones that make
up the human skeleton, there are a number of different approaches to take
for different learning styles. If your child is a visual leaner, get them
to draw the skeleton and label each part or watch a video on the subject.
Tactile learners need a model skeleton that they can label and assemble.
Auditory learners will discuss the various skeleton components, read the
names of the bones aloud and make up sentences, songs and word games with
these names.
Once you have found the learning style that suits your child best, think
of ways to help them improve their other learning skills. Incorporate
different learning styles into their homework and study schedule. This
will help them to excel, no matter which learning style their teacher
favours. Using different teaching styles will help them to connect complex,
abstract concepts and reinforce information. Ask a professional for help
testing your child to ascertain learning style. For a quick test, try
online sites such as
ID Pride or
VARK.
