I am an auditory learner. End of story. I am a polarized auditory learner, and I basically suck at learning in the other two modalities. But what does all that mean? And why should it matter? Let's sculpt it out.
While we all learn to some extent in all three modalities (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic), most of us have a strong preference for one. Once we recognize how we learn best, we can use strategies to become more effective learners in practically all situations, including school. We can also teach our children these strategies. How empowering!
Visual learners prefer to receive learning cues through their eyes. “Let me read it myself!” is often their request when someone tries to explain something to them. Visual learners need to see it in order to remember. They are often good spellers because once they see a word spelled correctly, they rarely forget. They generally do well in school because schools tend to be suited to the visual learning style. Still, sometimes they need to request visual cues: “Is there a website or a book where I could read about that concept?”
Auditory learners (yay, me!) prefer to receive learning cues through their ears. They like to talk out loud and listen. They are often great at learning foreign languages, especially acquiring the proper accent. As you might imagine, they don't always do so well in environments where you're supposed to be quiet, such as libraries and classrooms. Good strategies include forming study groups with other auditory learners to discuss concepts, and proactively asking for auditory cues: “I read that section of the text, but I'm still a little confused; could you explain it to me?”
Kinesthetic learners prefer to receive learning cues through body movement. To learn effectively, they need to be on the move. They sometimes struggle in traditional school settings where students are encouraged to sit down and be still. They tend to excel in movement-oriented classes like P.E., industrial arts, and auto mechanics. Something as simple as chewing gum during an exam creates enough movement to help the brain process information more effectively. Doodling on paper while reading a challenging textbook will help kinesthetic learners remember what they read. Quietly tapping one's foot or swiveling in one's chair during class are also good strategies.
Our oldest son was always a visual learner. School for him was easy breezy because most teachers teach to the visual student. Our second child was auditory, like her mama! She will tell you to this day that the only way she passed high school chemistry was coming home each night and discussing the concepts with her dad. Child #3 was strong in both visual and auditory styles. Lucky him! He could succeed in just about any class with little effort because he was good with either visual or auditory cues. Then came our first kinesthetic kid, child #4. I remember him working on math at home. Why at home, you might wonder? Because at school, he had to sit still at a desk. With a challenging task, he needed to move. He would put his math book on the kitchen counter, his paper on the dining room table, and his pencil on a nearby shelf. And he'd pace around the room from one item to the other as he completed the assignment. Because that's what worked.
It's important to remember that no correlation exists between preferred learning style and intelligence, and none of these three is inherently better than the others. But knowing your own preferred style as well as your children's can help both you and them learn more effectively. Several different surveys exist to determine preferred learning style; a favorite is the Barsch Learning Styles Inventory.
Try it out sometime. It's quick and easy. And fun!
While we all learn to some extent in all three modalities (visual, auditory, and kinesthetic), most of us have a strong preference for one. Once we recognize how we learn best, we can use strategies to become more effective learners in practically all situations, including school. We can also teach our children these strategies. How empowering!
Visual learners prefer to receive learning cues through their eyes. “Let me read it myself!” is often their request when someone tries to explain something to them. Visual learners need to see it in order to remember. They are often good spellers because once they see a word spelled correctly, they rarely forget. They generally do well in school because schools tend to be suited to the visual learning style. Still, sometimes they need to request visual cues: “Is there a website or a book where I could read about that concept?”
Auditory learners (yay, me!) prefer to receive learning cues through their ears. They like to talk out loud and listen. They are often great at learning foreign languages, especially acquiring the proper accent. As you might imagine, they don't always do so well in environments where you're supposed to be quiet, such as libraries and classrooms. Good strategies include forming study groups with other auditory learners to discuss concepts, and proactively asking for auditory cues: “I read that section of the text, but I'm still a little confused; could you explain it to me?”
Kinesthetic learners prefer to receive learning cues through body movement. To learn effectively, they need to be on the move. They sometimes struggle in traditional school settings where students are encouraged to sit down and be still. They tend to excel in movement-oriented classes like P.E., industrial arts, and auto mechanics. Something as simple as chewing gum during an exam creates enough movement to help the brain process information more effectively. Doodling on paper while reading a challenging textbook will help kinesthetic learners remember what they read. Quietly tapping one's foot or swiveling in one's chair during class are also good strategies.
Our oldest son was always a visual learner. School for him was easy breezy because most teachers teach to the visual student. Our second child was auditory, like her mama! She will tell you to this day that the only way she passed high school chemistry was coming home each night and discussing the concepts with her dad. Child #3 was strong in both visual and auditory styles. Lucky him! He could succeed in just about any class with little effort because he was good with either visual or auditory cues. Then came our first kinesthetic kid, child #4. I remember him working on math at home. Why at home, you might wonder? Because at school, he had to sit still at a desk. With a challenging task, he needed to move. He would put his math book on the kitchen counter, his paper on the dining room table, and his pencil on a nearby shelf. And he'd pace around the room from one item to the other as he completed the assignment. Because that's what worked.
It's important to remember that no correlation exists between preferred learning style and intelligence, and none of these three is inherently better than the others. But knowing your own preferred style as well as your children's can help both you and them learn more effectively. Several different surveys exist to determine preferred learning style; a favorite is the Barsch Learning Styles Inventory.
Try it out sometime. It's quick and easy. And fun!
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