Learning Styles

Introduction:

“Hey kiddo, didn’t you pay attention to a word I just said?” have you ever said that before to one of your children when you are trying to teach them something? I am guilty of that especially when I am in a hurry, and I expect my child to listen and accomplish a task quickly. But, maybe, our children are not learning because we are not teaching in a manner that helps them to learn.
The problem we encounter on a daily basis with our children is that we are teaching them constantly but depending on how we are teaching and their learning styles they are just not learning/getting it. Just a reminder learning takes time and repetition so if you are trying to teach a task, chore, expectations don’t expect them to learn that second but with time, repetition, reinforcement you will get there. Learning takes time! Brain has to process a lot of material.

Now only, If there was just a way to communicate effectively to help my child learn…
Well, there are multiple ways.
Through this article we will learn what are learning styles, we will learn to identify learning styles, and we will learn strategies to help kids learn.

What are learning styles anyways?

If you ever visited a classroom you have probably noticed that not one child is like another, yet, the teacher is able to captivate 20+ students for hours.
In my opinion teachers are superheroes (yes, I am bias) but there is more to that.
There is a lot of training involved in being a good educator and I believe we can all become learn from those superheroes and in a way become superheroes of our own if we are given the tools.
Every child is unique and we have to admit that.
If you have more than one child you can attest to that. What works for a child, most likely won’t work for another.
Since we are all unique creatures we all have different abilities.
Some of us are artistics, some athletics correct?
When it comes to learning we all learn differently.
Educators are taught the art of teaching, believe me it is an art.
They have to learn how each student in their classes learn and then teach in a way that ensures every single child in their classrooms learn.

According to Coffield (2004) there are over 70 different learning styles.
The main learning style theory that I will be discussing today is:

Modality Styles- which are tied to the senses .This style focus on the VAK/VARK – This model was developed by Neil Fleming who developed his theory, expanding based on the VAK model of Barbe and colleagues.

Modality Styles

Visual/verbal (read/write) learning style

Visual/non-verbal (pictures/images) learning style

Tactile/kinaesthetic (touching/moving/acting) learning style

Auditory/verbal (listening/speaking) learning style.

Now in my opinion just because you learn better one way it does not mean that we won’t learn at all if the information is presented differently the only thing is that it may take a little bit more effort/time to learn.

Visual/verbal learner enjoys reading and then translating the material into writing. These learners enjoy studying by themselves and when they are trying to remember something they have studied they usually visualize in their minds the words they studied.

I am a visual/verbal learner. I need to read and I need to write materials in order to truly understand. When I am learning new materials I need to have pencil and paper at hand.
I rather have a book copy at hand than an online version of it.
It is just easier for me to learn this way.

Visual learners/ non- verbal learn with images, they enjoy words on paper, graphics, infographics, photos, movies. An image just connect to those learners to the material. They enjoy a quiet space to study. They might be artistic and create flow charts in order to understand the material when they try to remember material they usually can visualize the material.

Tactile learners are those who learn best by doing something they are “hands-on” learners. They enjoy activities that requires them to move, they enjoy to create foldables, posters. These learners might enjoy learning spelling by movements while spelling. These learners usually remembers what they did when trying to remember material.

Auditory learners enjoy listening in order to learn. My son is an auditory learner and he enjoys when I read to him and it is amazing how much he is able to retell about a story if he listens. He enjoys audio books and tv shows where he can sit and just absorb the words spoken to him. When these learners try to remember material they usually remember how someone explained it to them.

How to discover your modality learning style?

When you were reading about the different learning styles you were probably connecting to one of those that most likely represent your own learning style right?
Well there are different sources on the internet to help you identify your learning style.

Through my research I came across the website VARK (visual, aural, read/write, kinesthetic) guide to learning styles by Neil Fleming in 1987.
Vark offers a questionnaire that helps you identify your learning styles and then suggests strategies that you can use to help you.

http://vark-learn.com

Great Resource, check it out!

Now that I know my children’s learning styles, what should I do?

Now that you understand learning styles, that you identify your child’s learning style what should you do?

Well the first step is to start teaching your child in a way that they understand.

That is why when you walk into a classroom and the teacher is teaching new material she is usually talking, showing some type of visual (movie, poster, picture), she usually has some type of worksheet with the explanation of the activity and sometimes even a tangible project that students have to perform. In each lesson the teacher needs to ensure she is covering all modalities learning styles to make sure she is reaching every single student in her class.
As a parent at home you can use these strategies to help your child learn. You can help your child learn academic materials, home expectations, home routines, chores, skills that will help them in the workforce later on in life. These strategies I have learned/used through out my journey you might find similar or even better ones with a simple google search.

Visual/Verbal Learner:

Use lists with key ideas.
Encourage color coded calendars or pens for different tasks.
Create flashcards with new information
If you are helping this child memorize new information use stick it notes and place them around the house where they are visible.

Visual/Non-verbal Learner

Use flashcards but use symbols and pictures
Use charts, sequence boxes.
Use graphs
Translate words to symbols, pictures or diagrams to help them “picture” it.

Kinaesthetic Learner

Allow these children to do something in order to remember new information (write, draw, create outlines)
Use the community as a resource, visit museums, nature walks, job site visit, historical sites visits, allow these children to gain first- hand experience.
Create sequence steps cards.

Auditory/Verbal Learner

Make audio reminders for this learner.
Create/find songs about the task to be learned.
Allow your child to create their own audio reminders to learn new information such as movies, audio notes.

Strategies Infographic

Great ideas but how can I apply these at home?

One of my favorite and FREE tools out there that can help with all of these learning styles is Google Drive.
If you have a free google account you are allowed to use this amazing tool box called Google Drive.

You can click here and read my post about creating a free google account if you do not have one yet.

If you have a google account you can access google drive through the link:

Drive.google.com

Google drive is literally a free “cloud” drive account for your computer that you can access from any device.

You have access to:

Google Docs- a writing tool just like word

Google Sheets- Spreadsheets like excel

Google Slides- Presentation tool like powerpoint

Google Drawings- A tool to create pictures/cartoons/drawing

In the future I will be giving some classes on this amazing tool that is free to use and how you can help your child with activities at home using google drive.

In the meantime you can explore google drive and start thinking how you can help your child learn.

Conclusion:

Every child will learn new tasks if you speak their “language” if you are teaching a new task at home try using some of these strategies. When my son was 2 and started to “act out” I created a little book for him with behavior expectations. Every night we read the book together and slowly he started to learn the desired behavior.
With that in mind I created a little book template for you!
Add your own images, and words, print and start reading for your child today. (Mine is only a sample) and I hope you just get inspired to create your own. You can just create a little booklet using paper and cut it in half or 1/4s.

Another great tool you can use to create a book with your kids is StoryBird this is a free website that allows you to create books for your kids to share it online. In the upcoming weeks I will be teaching you how to use StoryBird as well (STAY TUNED).

It does not matter if your child is 0 or 99 every child can learn something new. Use their learning style and help them learn.
If your child is a tactile learner he/she might enjoy cutting pictures from a magazine for the book, involve them in the process.

If your child is a verbal/write learner allow them to help you write the book.

If your child is an auditory learner read it to them often.
If your child is verbal/nonverbal let them help you with the images. The images can be very powerful for these learners.

My Very Own Special Book

Final Thoughts:

Can you identify your child’s learning style? Knowing that you can teach your child in a language that they will understand, what are the skills you will be working with your child in the weeks ahead?

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