There are three major learning styles; visual learners, auditory learners and kinesthetic learners. Look at these three lists and determine which characteristics seem to best fit your child. By knowing your child’s learning style, you will be able to help them more effectively.
Visual Learners
- Learns through seeing…
- Uses lists or outlines to organize thoughts
- Remembers where information is located on a page
- Sees pictures or words in the “mind’s eye”
- Has a vivid imagination
- Becomes impatient or drifts away when extensive listening is required
- Likes to do artwork
- Likes to piece things together
- Fond of doodling, drawing, creating
- Enjoys tracing words and pictures
Auditory/Verbal Learners
- Learns through listening and speaking…
- Tends to remember and repeat ideas that are verbally presented
- Learns well through lectures
- Is an excellent listener
- Can reproduce symbols, letters or words by hearing them
- Likes to talk
- Enjoys plays dialogues, dramas
- Can learn concepts by listening to tapes/CDs
- Enjoys music
- Enjoys question/answer sessions
- Sets information to rhyme, rhythm, or music to aid retention
- Finds small group discussions stimulating and informative
- Must say facts/formulas/information over and over to retain
Kinesthetic/Tactile Learners
- Learns by doing, direct involvement
- Often fidgets or finds reasons to move
- Is not very attentive to visual or auditory presentations
- Wants to be “doing” something
- Tries things out
- Likes to manipulate objects
- Gestures when speaking
- Is often a poor listener
- Responds to music by physical movement
- Often finds success in physical response activities
- Likes to move hands (clapping, doodling, tapping,) while learning
What does it all mean?
Visual learners make up 65% of the population. They respond to pictures, words, stories and by writing, illustrating and coloring. They like to be able to see the teacher and respond to body language and facial expressions. Visual learners prefer to study in a quiet place away from verbal disturbances. They visualize information as a picture to aid memorization. Memory Joggers is the perfect learning tool for visual learners because of the pictures and writing activities.
Auditory learners make up 30% of the population. The audio learners listen to the Memory Joggers CDs and memorize by repetition, speaking aloud, and hearing themselves repeat information. They enjoy re-telling the Memory Joggers stories. Rhyming is fun for them and becomes music to their ears. Auditory learners will often want to discuss the stories rather than write them.
Kinesthetic learners make up 5% of the population. They learn through, moving, doing and touching. The kinesthetic learners love acting out the stories for multiplication/division and clapping creative patterns to memorize the addition and subtraction rhymes.
Kinesthetic learners need to use whole body motion to store information into long-term memory. It is important to give kinesthetic learners frequent study breaks in order to hold their attention. Memory Joggers appeals to these learners because of the fun activities and fast pace.
Memory Joggers is successful because it uses all three learning styles – Visual, Auditory & Kinesthetic.