Help Your Child Learn Best Without Limiting Them to One Learning Style
Breaking down the seven learning styles
Joke all you want about bell bottoms and orange shag carpeting: The 1970s brought much more to the table, including a deeper understanding of personal learning styles.
Half a century later, colleges and universities regularly incorporate learning styles into the coursework for their education majors. Teachers are well-trained to take learning styles into consideration to avoid one-size-fits-all lesson plans. However, now that we’ve studied learning styles for 50 years, we have begun to realize that the original theory — although a good starting point for ensuring some engagement in young learners — might be too simplistic.
As it turns out, children typically embrace more than one of the seven learning styles. And each learning style itself is more of a spectrum than a hard-and-fast rule.
Breaking Down the Seven Learning Styles
You’ve probably heard of at least a few commonly accepted learning styles. The first three tend to be the most well-known: visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. Visual (or spatial) learners process information best by seeing images, pictures, visual aids, or diagrams. Someone who doodles while taking notes, for example, has a touch of visual learning.
Auditory learners need to hear information in all forms, from lectures to lyrics. Musically inclined learners fit into this category. They can also fit into the kinesthetic learning mold, particularly if they play instruments. Kinesthetic (or physical) learners like to build things, conduct experiments, fidget, and be more hands-on.
The next two learning styles are verbal and logical. Have a talker at home? Your child is showing signs of a verbal learning preference. Verbal learners need to discuss and debate. Their command of vocabulary can be impressive. On the other hand, logical learners are mathematicians, scientists, and computer programmers. “Just the facts” might as well be their motto.
Rounding out the seven learning styles are social and solitary. Social (or interpersonal) learners best process information in groups where they can communicate and share feedback, whereas solitary (or intrapersonal) learners blossom through independent self-reflection and self-study. For solitary learners, distance learning gives them a chance to move away from the crowds that social learners adore to better focus on the information.
Looking at the Learning Styles as a Tapestry
While reading about the seven learning styles, did you think of the little ones in your life who fit into each category? You probably realized that it’s rare for a person to be only one type of learner. I’m a mix of at least six, and some of my family members fit into all seven depending on the learning environment, topic, instructor, and other factors.
So, how do you make sure that your child learns effectively and efficiently? You might be tempted to give instruction based on their top preferred style because you feel it will help them understand better. However, this tends to limit children.
In Peter C. Brown’s “Make It Stick: The Science of Successful Learning,” he talks about the benefits of “going wide.” This means introducing young learners to a multitude of learning styles and circumstances to help them retain information. Research from the American Psychological Association supports Brown’s assertions and recommends that students gain exposure to various learning experiences throughout their formal and informal educations. This ensures that students have stronger chances of retaining knowledge because their learning journeys are multifaceted, allowing them to build all their developmental skills.
Is it OK to adapt a lesson or experience to a child’s preference? Overall, yes, and kids will benefit by knowing their preferred learning styles when they move to self-teaching. However, when children are younger, they’re better off if their hunger for knowledge is served up using all seven learning methodologies so they can meet key developmental milestones.
Figuring Out Which Learning Styles Excite Your Child
You might be eager to determine your child’s learning style. This is understandable. But be careful not to label your child definitively. Making sweeping statements — such as “My kid is an auditory learner” — presumes your child’s learning style can’t and won’t change and might encourage them to tune out information when it’s presented differently.
In other words, there’s a fine line between self-awareness and self-labeling. It’s good for children to be self-aware of their learning preferences so long as those preferences don’t become limiting. Below are some strategies for figuring out your child’s top learning styles without putting them in a box:
1. Jot down your observations.
What kind of information does your little one respond to best? Does your child like to watch videos or listen to podcasts? Is your child focused on building things alone or engaging in ventures with a group? Write down everything you notice. You’ll soon start to see patterns emerge.
2. Talk about your child’s learning experiences.
You don’t have to be closemouthed with your child about learning preferences. It’s beneficial to sit down and talk about what they liked most about their school day. Or you could display information to your child in several ways and ask which ones stick out to them. Feel free to use online tests for assistance, too.
3. Gather insights from teachers.
If your child is old enough to go to school, tap into their teachers’ perspectives. After all, teachers see your child in a learning environment every day. Your youngster’s teachers should be able to offer ideas for home-based activities and strategies that will best resonate with your learner.
Throughout the years, your child’s learning preferences might shift. Encourage your child to understand how to maximize those changes to set the stage for a lifetime of confident learning.
