Learning
Styles in Children
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Styles in Children
One
of the primary considerations you have to deal with as
a parent and a home schoolteacher is your child's learning
style. Not all learning programs are suitable for all
students because of their individual preferences and behavior.
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It is crucial
for you to understand that each child has a unique
learning style that should be the basis for an effective
home education program.
Different learning
styles require different approaches and techniques.
Unlike traditional educational approaches that make
use general concepts, modern learning methods focus
on a student's specific behavior, as well as his
or her skills and weaknesses.
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Developing a comprehensive
program based on your child's learning behavior will enable
you to maximize your child's potentials while improving
on other aspects that need your attention.
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In a nutshell,
there are three main learning styles:
- Visual
- Auditory
- and Kinesthetic.
These general categories
exhibit unique features that can sometimes change
depending on environmental factors like a child's
upbringing and relationships with other people.
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Visual
It is estimated
that 80 percent of what we learn is through our vision.
From an early age, a child acquires valuable information
about his surroundings through his or her eyes. Because
of this fact, normal schooling makes use of methods that
favor visual learners. Children who are primarily visual
learners tend to get information through reading books.
They can also learn more from pictures and other visual
materials. If you notice that your child is tidy and organized
in their learning habits, then he might be a visual learner.
Students of
this style are drawn to paintings, crafts, and other arts.
They also have a wonderful sense of imagination and are
known to be very creative. If you have a child like this,
you may want to keep him enrolled in a regular school.
You can however, give your child a better chance at maximizing
their inborn skills and enroll them in home schooling.
A program can then be developed to cater to your child's
forte and utilize their potential.
Auditory
For some children,
their sense of sound allows them to gather large volumes
of information and have them processed accordingly. A
child is most probably an auditory learner if he or she
is good at listening to instructions and is very sensitive
to variations in spoken words. They excel in gaining knowledge
from conversations and lectures. Because listening requires
more concentration than seeing, students of this learning
style can be more discerning. They are usually more attentive
in class and can distinguish different ideas just by listening
to them. Because information revealed through speaking
are not usually recorded accurately in class, the memory
capacity of auditory learners exceed those of visual learners.
Children of this type also enjoy studying with music in
the background.
For them, sounds
provide the best medium of instruction. Unlike other students,
these kind of learners do not get bored easily with teachers
who are fond of lectures. If your child is an auditory
learner, he or she can also be creative and have an imaginative
mind. Without relying heavily on visual models, auditory
learners become skilled at interpreting information and
reproducing them using their own understanding. Students
of this classification often stand out in college because
they enjoy class lectures and find listening to teachers
a rewarding activity.
However, because
regular schools favor visual learning, auditory learners
can find it hard to gain useful education from them. As
a result, many students have to enroll in home schooling
programs to enhance their skills. Home schooling can be
programmed in such a way that it gives auditory learners
the opportunity to learn using a medium they are familiar
with and find no faults with. If you think that your child
is of this learning style, then you may want to find a
suitable program that will help you and your child develop
his potential without sacrificing his listening skills.
Kinesthetic
A child who
has a kinesthetic learning style cannot just sit still
and wait for information to be given. They surpass in
finding out things for themselves without any needs for
guidance. Explorers at heart, kinesthetic learners are
known to be quite active even before a lesson proper.
Their natural curiosity drives them to make new discoveries,
making it hard for regular schools to limit their movement.
Children of this learning style are often mistaken to
be rowdy and undisciplined. That however, is a grave misconception.
Kinaesthetic learners always seem to be moving around
because they see their surroundings differently. For them,
the world is just a huge playground full of wonderful
things they want to discover and explore.
Your child
is probably a kinesthetic learner if he or she is fond
of tinkering with toys, trying to find out how they work.
They are also quick learners, especially when left alone
to examine a particular object. These children can quickly
put one and one together and have a great capacity to
understand complex processes and procedures. A student
who exhibits this particular learning behavior is always
at the forefront of experimentation and exploration.
They excel
in discovering how machines operate and how a process
works. Students of this particular behavior are more of
doers than thinkers. If your child shows an extreme fondness
of taking things apart to discover how they function,
you should consider home schooling. They should be given
the opportunity to excel in their studies using their
natural skills.
Observing how
your child learns is the first step in developing a good
home schooling program. Create a list of your child's
learning behaviors and determine whether he is a visual,
auditory, or kinesthetic learner.
Choosing the
right lessons, activities, and teaching methods will put
your child on the right track to a successful future.
In their formative years, children will develop certain
attitudes towards school and learning.
Parents like
you should pay close attention to their preferences and
consider alternative education if you feel that regular
school systems have failed in helping students achieve
their full potential.
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who read this article also read:
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Learning
Styles Test - VARK Model
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