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Know Your Child

Understand the learning style of your child

Ramya Know Your Child Understand Learning Style Of Child
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Learning is simple yet complex process. To learn effectively children need to understand their study pattern and techniques that work for them and keep evaluating them from time to time to determine if any changes needed. Many parents, teachers as well as children complain about retaining the information in the memory that has been learnt long ago. Everyone has preferred learning style that says how best they process, retain and recall the information. The teaching method or information might not be problem to the child but the way teaching material is presented matters a lot.

What is learning style?

Technically, an individual’s learning style refers to the preferential way in which the children absorb, process, comprehend and retain information.

Imagine you are sitting in the classroom listening to how to make coffee, and if you have visual learning style you may need to see how the process is, if you are an auditory learner just listening to the instructions of preparing coffee might be enough to understand. In case if you are a kinesthetic learner then you may understand the process better by actually preparing coffee even though you see or hear the process of making it.

Even for students who sit in the classroom, the information they are receive might not retain for a longer time when these learning styles are not effectively demonstrated. For instance a child (visual learner) might not relate to the concept of photosynthesis process while explaining since it has higher tendency of visualising it. He or she can understand better when the pictures are displayed. Each child has unique way of understanding the concept. Hence it is important to know which is your child’s learning style.

Visual learning style

Visual learners prefer the use of images, maps, and graphic organisers to access and understand new information. They learn by seeing, and visualising the situations. When the process of making coffee is explained through lecturing, these learners can actually imagine/visualise the process and understand better. Their cognitive ability to see road maps and mind maps are high.

Auditory learning style

Auditory learners best understand new content through listening and speaking in situations such as lectures and group discussions. They can understand the concept well by focusing and listening.

Children who have auditory learning style can recite the lyrics of songs well.

Kinesthetic learning style

Students who are kinesthetic learners best understand information through tactile representations of information. These students are hands-on learners and they use gestures to communicate ideas and learn best in a hands-on environment.

What is the need for understanding these learning styles?

These learning style represents how does your child absorb the information or better understand the subject matters. Once you understand your children’s learning style it is easy for you to provide the study material in the same format. Your child might be struggling to remember the Science diagram and its part, in this case if you understand the learning style you can provide either diagram chart (for visual learner) or acronym format (auditory learner) or clay to just demonstrate how does the part feel when touched (kinesthetic learner). All the subject cannot be demonstrated with learning style. But you can provide enough support to gain confidence in them.

Visual learners if frequently exposed to charts, and drawings they learn well. Auditory learners can involve in more group discussions or recordings to understand better. Kinesthetic learners can practically learn by demonstrating and hence enough materials are required to serve their expectations. Teaching concepts with clay, matchsticks, and beads will help them a lot to learn the concept better.

Thus learning style is one of the factors that is involved in the study process. If you understand the preferable learning pattern then it is easy for you to provide necessary information which can sustain in long-term memory. This also lessens the burden of mugging up the concept and provide in depth knowledge.

Image by Charyl Patrice Lee 

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Ramya E.

The author is a counselor and lifeskills trainer who has trained over 2000 students. She holds an M.Sc. in Psychology.

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