Three Kids - Three Distinct Learning Styles

October 3, 2006· Filed under Education, Family

While I was in school I always heard about how there were different ways that people learn. Some people are visual learners, some are auditory learners and others are kinesthetic learners. Most of us learn through a combination of styles with one being more predominant than the others.

Now, I am clearly a visual learner - let me see those words on paper and I will remember them. No studying here.  I also learn well when I have to just do it - get physically involved in the process. My auditory learning ability is void and null!!!  Tell me directions, I will forget. Make me listen to a lecture, I will fall asleep. Guaranteed.

I have three kids and it is amazing. They all have different learning styles.  Child #1 is a carbon copy of me in many ways, and his learning style is an exact match.  He can not just sit there quietly and listen.  Get him involved and bang, it all comes together. He also is a voracious reader, and since he sees it all - it sticks - all of it!

Child #2 is a pretty well balanced learner. She is a strong combination of an auditory learner and a kinesthetic learner. Visual learning is not really her thing, but with repetition, she usually gets it. She is a persistent learner - it may take a few tries, but she is not rattled by that and keeps trying until she gets it.

Child #3 is an auditory learner if I have ever met one. Have you ever met someone that can watch a movie once and then can repeat full chunks of the dialog right back to you? This one can do it at age 4 - to a level that just blows my mind. She learns songs instantly, has taught herself Spanish by listening to Dora the Explorer and quizzing her siblings, and repeats books back to me all the time. It will be interesting to see how her learning style evolves as she goes through school.

Take this challenge. Observe your child and see if you can determine his/her learning style. Then, next time you go in for a teacher conference, ask the teacher if he/she has an opinion on your child’s learning style. Maybe, just identifying your child’s style to the teacher may inspire the teacher to be more creative or aware when dealing with your child. Remember, you are your child’s greatest advocate.

What do you think? What is your learning style? Let’s discuss - leave me a comment.

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