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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Visitors
who read this article also read:
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Learning
Styles Test - VARK Model
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