Understanding your child’s learning style

By identifying the way in which your child processes learning material, you will be able to adapt your teaching methods in a way that will allow them to properly comprehend the information. This will enable you to bring out their biggest strengths. To help you to figure out your child’s distinctive way of learning, based on the three major learning styles, a private girls’ school in Surrey has provided the following advice.

What are the three main learning styles?

As previously mentioned, there are three main learning styles that stick out to educational professionals, each involving different senses that children instinctively prefer to use the most when learning. Read through the three styles below should help you determine your own child’s learning style, but don’t be alarmed if you think they might fit into more than one of the categories, as this is perfectly normal too.

Visual learners

Visual learners think about what they can see as a way of processing and remembering information. In other words, they might prefer to look at pictures, graphs, and colourful diagrams to help them comprehend a topic, rather than simply listening to someone talking about it. They tend to respond better to written instructions and visual pointers, as opposed to verbal commands. 

If you think your child might be a visual learner, make sure they have lots of coloured pens, books and writing utensils that they can use when studying.

Auditory learners

While visual learners prefer to read about things in books and look at pictures, auditory learners are better at processing information by listening. They prefer to listen to audiobooks or podcasts. When they’re doing their homework, they may find it helpful for you to have a look at the task for them and explain it verbally so they can talk it through with you and wrap their head around it. 

Auditory learners tend to be great communicators and fantastic storytellers, but they can be easily distracted by background noise. Bear this in mind when your child is studying and make sure there is no music or TV in the background. 

Kinaesthetic learners

Kinaesthetic learners excel through hands-on, physical activities, as opposed to listening to a lecture or watching a demonstration. They require full body movement as a method for processing new information and will likely lack the ability to sit still for hours on end. 

If your child is a kinaesthetic learner, they might be drawn to subjects such as PE, drama or art. What’s more, you may notice them using hand gestures and body language whilst they’re talking.

Once you have established your child’s learning style, you will be better equipped to help them with their schoolwork and development in general. It might be worth discussing this with your child’s teachers to see if they have come to the same conclusion!

Thanks for reading xxx