A few children prefer seeing something and then grasping it, few of them prefer listening to it to understand the concept. Each child has a different way of learning.
To make sure that your child can get the best learning experience, it is important to identify his/her learning technique. Let’s talk about the different kinds of learning techniques to ensure that your child enjoys the process of learning and looks forward to it.
Visual Learning
It’s a form of learning that utilizes graphic media. Visual learners are those who prefer the use of videos, images and anything else that they can use to visually process the information.
Auditory Learning
Auditory learners prefer attending lectures, organizing group discussions and learning content through listening or speaking. They also consider repetition as an effective learning technique and might include audio mnemonic devices into their routine.
Learning Through Reading & Writing
This kind of student learns best through the written word. The techniques consist of note taking or voracious reading. They tend to express their ideas and concepts in the form of words and essays.
Kinesthetic Learning
Kinesthetic learners prefer learning through hands-on experiences and by figuring things out by themselves. Their learning technique can be described as experiential learning, in which learning and gaining experience happen simultaneously.
Strategies
Now that you are aware of the different methods that are associated with different learning styles, you can identify your child’s learning style by designing various strategies for them.
Visual Strategy
Graphic organizers such as charts, graphs, diagrams, etc can be used to determine if the visual technique is your child’s preferred learning style. You can check if your child remembers better by using symbols for important words or if color coding key terms in the content makes learning better for them.
Auditory Strategy
This can be determined easily by considering how vocal they are about their lessons. Do they like to talk it out or have group discussions about their lessons? Auditory learners do like to record their summarized notes. Reading their assignments out loud or explaining it to their peers also helps them with their learning.
Reading & Writing Strategies
This strategy involves rewording or rephrasing concepts, a lot of writing and organizing diagrams, images, and ideas into sentences and statements to gain a deeper understanding.
Kinesthetic Strategy
Using real-life examples and case studies can enhance the learning experience for kinesthetic learners. Projects, lab experiments, and picture illustrations can be used to make learning quick and effective for them.
These strategies that are associated with different learning styles can be used to identify what works for your kid. It is better to take some time and figure this out before diving head first into regular classes and exams.
There is a possibility that certain children might not have a learning style yet. In that case, you can help them in developing their learning style that they can improve upon later. It doesn’t necessarily have to be one of the previously mentioned styles. A mix and match of these strategies can make learning a dynamic experience for them.
Other ways of determining the perfect learning style
To make the entire process simpler, just follow these simple steps.
Observe
Simply observing your children while they are studying can give you a general idea about their learning habits. How quickly they can learn their lessons and which kind of learning process they are comfortable with says a lot about their style.
Consider your child’s personality
As a parent, you know the kind of personalities your children have. How active they are, how much time they spend to understand a concept, what are their hobbies, their ethics, their learning morals, etc. are few of the traits that can be helpful in identifying their learning style.
Talk it out with your child
Having a discussion about this with your children can make the entire process much simpler. Talking with children about their preferences will help you in coming up with a strategy for helping them.
In the end, it all comes down to making learning more fun and engaging for your child.
