Learning styles and its significance which is neglected by the Indian education system
If we ask any parent or teacher how students should be taught, the majority will have one common answer which will be “exactly how we have been taught, by ramming theory in their heads through the traditional art that is rote learning”. As India is making huge strides towards becoming a developed nation, what we as the mentors and educators must realize and apply to this education system is the different learning styles that students use to gain knowledge. Just like every adult is different and has his/her way of doing things, so is every child whether it comes to how they play, talk to others, their behavior to other kids and adults, or how they learn. There are four main categories that the learning styles of students fall under which are:
· Visual learners
· Auditory learners
· Read/write learners
· Kinesthetic learners
A visual learner is a learner who learn and obtain knowledge through images, graphics, maps, etc. By seeing what is in front of them, they can right there and then create their own picture in their brains and analyze what they have learned from that. A visual learner may be taught by using resources such as graphic organizers, charts, graphs, and diagrams. Highlighting key terms can also be a crucial strategy to learn.
Auditory learners are those who comprehend new concepts by listening as well as discussing in environments like group discussions and lectures. The best way to teach auditory learners would be by making them record their notes and having them listen to it on the media player they are comfortable with eg. Tape, smartphones, etc. Having a discussion with someone familiar to the respective topic would also be of great help to expand knowledge. Another crucial method to learn would be to find other auditory learners (if they do not know anyone already) and explain the topic to their new peers.
Read/write learners, as the name suggests, learn by writing or copying and/or reading information. These learners have the ability to read an abstract concept and decode the concept into an essay in their own words. Read/write learners can be helped with understanding and learning the concept by making them rewrite the concept several times, after which they should be asked to write the topic in their own words.
Last not definitely not the least and one that should never be underestimated, kinesthetic learners are those learners that learn through doing things practically. These learners need hands-on experience to comprehend the concept and its functionalities. (You would mostly find such learners in science field). Such learners can be taught by use of real life examples, applications and case studies related to the concerned topic. Finding pictures and videos related to the concept would also be of a great help to help kinesthetic learners understand the topics.
The only method that Indian education system and Indian schools properly recognize the most efficient way for all students to learn is through read/write. No wonder there is so much of unemployment which is due to the lack of skill that the undergraduates possess. There is no way a visual, auditory, or kinesthetic learner can learn by read/write learning method as they are not comfortable with that learning style at all. Since the Indian education and Indian schools are not providing such learning methods, maybe it is time for us tutors and educators to become independent from the materials that schools provide the students and to start becoming a little creative to introduce the learning style that our respective pupil is comfortable with learning.
