Learning Styles & Learning Inventories:
The Key to Understanding
How Your Child Learns!
Learning Style Theories:
Each of us has a unique style for processing
information that is presented to us. Howard
Gardner's Theory of Multiple Intelligences was
groundbreaking. Although there are many different
learning theories (as
found here) the most predominant appears to
be that there are 3 basic styles of learning:
visual, auditory and tactile/kinaesthetic.
Learning Styles & Characteristics:
Visual
- remembers things best when they are seen or written
down
- often thinks in the form of pictures
- benefits from lists in order to remember information
- prefers the whole-word approach when learning to
read
- has difficulty remembering information
presented orally
- benefits from color-coding
- the use of flashcards is very
beneficial
Auditory
- remembers information best when it is given verbally
- often sub-vocalizes when writing
- prefers the use of phonics when learning to read
- may need to read aloud in order to comprehend the
content
- has difficulty remembering information presented
visually
- auditory reinforcement of how a word
sounds when it is presented on a
flashcard is very beneficial
Tactile/Kinaesthetic
- remembers information best by 'doing'
- uses touching or 'hands on' techniques to gain
information
- has difficulty remembering information presented
visually or auditorily
- learns best by physically practicing or imitating
- learns words best when writing information out
- benefits from computer use to reinforce tactile
strengths
- moving words around that are on a
flashcard is very beneficial
Interestingly, the use of
flashcards is beneficial for all three
learning styles! eReadingPro
flashcards are large (big, bold &
beautiful) and therefore very visual,
they are tactile (touchable) and
they are reinforced in an auditory
manner when you say the word upon
presentation.
"Approximately 20 to 30 percent of the school-aged
population remembers what is heard; 40 percent
recalls well visually the things that are seen or
read; many must write or use their fingers in some
manipulative way to help them remember basic facts;
other people cannot internalize information or
skills unless they use them in real-life activities
such as actually writing a letter to learn the
correct format." (Teaching Students to Read Through
Their Individual Learning Styles, Marie Carbo, Rita
Dunn, and Kenneth Dunn; Prentice-Hall, 1986, p.13.)
Identification of Learning Styles:
By identifying both your learning style and that of
the student, it enables you to develop learning
strategies that will allow compensation for
weakness, while capitalizing on strengths. In
developing these strategies, you are also assisting
the individual to strengthen their weaker learning
modalities.
There are many simple learning
inventories available such as the
following:
Generally speaking, by
observing and trying
different teaching methods,
it is relatively easy to
begin identifying an
individual's learning style.
"The National Insitutes of Health (NIH) estimate
that the incidence of learning disabilities in the
general population is 15 to 20 percent. Fifty-one
percent of all the students enrolled in the nation's
special education programs are classified as
learning disabled (U.S. Deptartment of Education)."
Resources:
Visual-Auditory-Tactile
Learning Styles |
