How Does My Child Learn? - Identifying Learning Styles

Just a few minutes of researching "Learning Styles" will successfully sink you in a mire of words, words and more words to help you understand how your child thinks and learns. It can become quite confusing, trying to 'categorise' your child, and, sometimes, quite counterproductive, especially if you've just pulled your child out of a traumatic schooling experience.

But, having said that, if you are struggling with HOW your child learns and realising that the method of learning/teaching you have chosen is just not working for either of you, then the easiest way to identify your child's learning style is to sit back, relax, and observe.

What is your child doing to process information? Are they using their hands frequently? Are they voracious readers? Do they prefer watching the TV/DVD/computer screen? Do they prefer to learn with a person, or from a computer interaction? Do they ask a lot of questions? Do they want to touch everything and see how parts move and interact with each other? Are they continually on the move? Are they all of the above?

We are sensory beings, and use all our senses in our learning experiences. Some of use particular senses more than others.

But, before launching into some dry definitions, it is highly recommended that, if your child has a particular learning style, utilise it, don't fight it! Your child will learn more easily, and will retain information more easily if you use it, not refuse it. But most importantly, it will be much easier for you (the teacher!) to help your child to learn.

• Kinaesthetic Learning refers to a "hands-on" learning style, that for this particular child to learn, he/she needs to touch, feel, smell, taste, and a host of other verbs, to really absorb the learning experience. These children really enjoy moving their bodies, in whole or part, to facilitate learning. Learning through exercising (reciting math facts/grammar facts, etc while skipping, jumping on trampoline, swinging, etc) or learning to write by using their fingers in foam, sand, or salt are some ideas when it comes to teaching kinaesthetic learners. Utilising manipulatives for various subjects is a good way for these children to learn.

Other kinaesthetic/sensory terms you may come across, particularly if you have a child with learning difficulties, are:

• Vestibular System: This system provides us with information about movement, gravity and changing head positions, informing us of our state of being - whether moving or stationary and in which direction we are moving. It also encompasses the speed of our movements. It has been said that this system has a role in the modulation of other sensory systems - olfactory (smell), touch (tactile), taste (gustatory), auditory (hearing), seeing (ocular) and proprioceptive (body awareness). It is fundamental in helping us develop our sense of security.
• Proprioceptive System: this is the system which helps us to develop body awareness; to be aware of the positions of our body parts and how their positions relate to each other and to the environment around us. It tells us how much force a muscle needs to use to achieve a movement, thus allowing us to monitor our movements. Tactile System: This is the sense of touch through receptors in our skin which provides information about different types of touch. This includes, light touch, deep pressure, vibration, pain and different temperatures.

• Visual Learning, as it implies, is seeing pictures or words written down to aid the child in his/her learning process. Visual stimulation means that there is a graphic that a child can refer to when reflecting/recalling what they have learned. It can also be a great prompt for remembering facts, figures, etc. Visual learners benefit from reading books/workbooks/textbooks and also watching videos or computer games.
• Auditory Learning is based on hearing what is being taught. These learners learn best when they are listening to instructions, or listening to someone reading either in person or on tape. Discussions help stimulate their learning experiences, as well as listening to music.

Multiple Intelligences

Frames of Mind: Theory of Multiple Intelligences, Howard Gardner challenges the traditional view of intelligence as a single capacity. Instead he proposes that there are actually eight different intelligences, or learning styles, and that all individuals are made up of differing combinations of intelligences. Following is a quick summation of each 'intelligence', but remember, we are usually composed of a combination of these and not one in particular in isolation:

• Linguistic - attunes to the spoken and written language and has good verbal skills. Uses language to express oneself and also as a way to remember information. (Examples: poets & writers)
• Logical-Mathematical - is able to analyze problems logically, detect patterns, and reason deductively. (Examples: mathematicians & scientists)
• Spatial - able to recognize and use the patterns of wide space and more confined areas. (Examples: artists, architects, surveyors, & inventors)
• Musical - involves skill in the performance, composition, and appreciation of musical patterns. (Examples: singers, musicians, & composers)
• Bodily-Kinesthetic - the ability to use mental abilities to coordinate bodily movement; uses one's whole body or parts of the body to solve problems. (Examples: dancers, actors, athletes, sculptors, surgeons, & mechanics)
• Interpersonal - concerned with the capacity to understand the intentions, motivations and desires of other people. (Examples: sales people, social directors, & travel agents)
• Intrapersonal - entails the capacity to understand oneself, to appreciate one's feelings, fears and motivations. (Examples: entrepreneurs & therapists)
• Naturalist - entails the ability to recognise, categorise and draw upon certain distinctions and patterns in the natural world. (Examples: tracker, biologist)

Learning Environment

Also, when reflecting on suitable learning styles for your child, the next logical step is the learning environment:

• Are you going to set up a room with all the 'school' books in there?
• Are you going to have learning centres scattered throughout the house with various materials and books pertaining to that topic?
• Are you going to set up a desk and chair for each child in which their learning takes place? Or are you all going to work on the kitchen table amidst the breakfast dishes and yesterday's mail?
• Are you going to 'strew' learning materials around to catch your child's eye and prompt a 'spontaneous' learning experience? Or are all books relegated to the school room and not to be removed?
• Are you going to allow your child to have on-going projects set up in strategic places throughout the house, or must they pack up after each session?