Have you discovered your child’s learning style yet? ⠀
Every child has a learning style and also learns at his or her own pace. My first daughter is a visual learner, the second daughter is a reading & writing learner while my third daughter is an auditory learner.
This is why one of the best ways to avoid frustration when homeschooling or teaching your child is understanding his or her learning styles.⠀
And of course, when you read up on the common learning disabilities like Dyslexia or ADHD you would make informed decisions.
Here’s how to know your child’s learning style:
1. Pay attention to how they express themselves.
The more comfortable a child is learning in a certain way, the more comfortable they will be expressing themselves through that same style. For example:
- Auditory learners express themselves best through words and have a tendency to read out loud instead of quietly to themselves.
- Visual learners are quick to express themselves and reveal their emotions via facial expressions and may appear to be always watching others’ faces, and storing them for future use.
- Kinesthetic learners tend to express themselves through body language. They often imitate others, especially when it comes to the movement (such as walking patterns and hand gestures.) Also, these kinds of learners don’t worry about getting their hands dirty. They like to touch everything, objects, and people alike.
2. Observe how your child solves problems.
Naturally, we all capitalise on our areas of strength when attempting to solve problems. Children are no exception to this. When faced with a difficult situation, they tend to utilise the attributes that aligns with their learning styles.
- Auditory learners are talkers. You will possibly catch them talking through/discussing possible solutions to problems. If on a basis of pattern, you catch your child mumbling to themselves as they tackle homework assignments.
- Visual learners are quick to use their eyes to solve problems, which means they are the ones to notice quickly if something is out of place. They are often excellent at matching games or anything that tests their ability to look at something and identify changes at a later point in time. They also tend to keep a tidy room, as they are quick to observe when things are amiss and are lovers of order.
- Kinesthetic learners try to solve problems with their hands. You will catch them counting with their fingers while trying to solve math problems. They often like flash cards or any object that give them the privilege to count as a learning tool, since they can interact with and touch the cards. They often love art and crafts, and building projects.
3. Pay attention to your child’s interests.
A child’s predominant learning style can also be shown in their interests. For instance, auditory learners usually show an interest in music and sounds.
They may be able to remember all the things their teacher said in school the previous day, while possibly struggling to remember what they just read in a book.
They may find it tasking to retain new information when the room is grave silent and find learning far more exciting when music is involved, and probably love music class in school.
Visual learners often exhibit interests both in reading, watching TV, looking at photographs and other interesting objects as a result of the common thread of visual stimulation.
Visual learners often have rich vocabularies (due to their time spent reading) and may have imaginations that are equally broad.
With a kinesthetic learner, you are on the lookout for an interest in physical activities.
They are great lovers of physical activities and like to do everything from swimming to running, playing football, baseball or basketball.
Physical and Health Education (PHE) or art class may be kinesthetic learners’ favorite subjects, as they love to keep their hands busy.
These types of learners also enjoy games, but often can’t sit still long enough to read several pages.
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4. Try not to make assumptions based on genetics.
It might be helpful to do away with rootless assumptions when it comes to children and especially their learning style.
Some scholars say there is good evidence supporting that females are more likely to be auditory learners, while males tend to be visual learners.
What all of this could do for you is provide a good baseline to begin your analysis on.
That is, you can factor it into your initial assessment, but don’t totally conclude its final.
Related: How to know if your child has learning disabilities
5. Speak with your child’s teachers and caregivers regularly.
No matter how active you are as a parent or how closely you observe your own child, sometimes other people will pick up on signs and tendencies that you miss.
A school teacher, babysitter, nanny, etc. may be in the best position to provide keen insights into your child’s learning styles or tendencies.
Also, you may want your kid’s teachers to have a hand in shaping your child’s learning experience after you determine his or her learning style.
This is why it’s important for you to involve them earlier in the process as well by asking for their insights on your child.
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6. Ask your child to take multiple learning-style quizzes.
A child’s learning style isn’t something that exactly needs to be professionally or medically diagnosed.
If you are content as a parent with a “perhaps or more than likely” assessment based chiefly on your own perceptions of your child, you may want to take several quizzes that can help provide initial indications.
You’ll encounter questions like: “While in the waiting area prior to a doctor’s appointment, your child … A) colours or makes sketches in relative silence; B) spends most of the time chatting with you and possibly others in the room; C) examines the stash of toys in the waiting room and quickly shifts interest from one item to another.”
- For a question like the one above, answer “A” indicates a visual learner, “B” an auditory learner, and “C” a kinesthetic learner.
- The results may vary from quiz to quiz though, so it’s a good idea to have your child do multiple quizzes to determine which result they receive most frequently.
7. Don’t completely limit your child to a single learning style.
Most children usually have a combination of learning styles, so don’t expect them to completely identify with a single style.
Besides, a well-rounded individual needs to be able to acquire and utilize information in a wide range of ways, including through listening, looking, and doing.
Have you read: How To Partner With Your Child’s Teacher For Success ?
Supplement the child’s learning style with elements of the other major styles.
Use flashcards with auditory learners and read aloud to visual learners. Help kinesthetic learners recognize that not every learning activity can be hands-on.
Also important is for you to bear in mind that learning styles are not cast in stone, and can sometimes evolve as a child grows and matures.
So don’t assume that a visual learner will forever be strictly so; expose them to other learning styles as you progress.
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