My common question to teachers and tutors is, “What is challenging you the most when it comes to teaching this child?” It is a good clue to learn how he or she learns.
The child who cannot sit still or stay at the table is probably a kinetic learner and needs to move in order to learn most effectively. The child who hums to him or herself and rocks is often a musical learner and learns skills and ideas faster when set to music. The child who always has to be touching, is probably a tactile learner and remembers what he or she can feel. The child who has to talk to neighbors is probably a social group learner and has to bounce ideas off others before those ideas can root in his or her own mind. The child who stays glued to the computer or often has his or her nose “buried in a book” is probably a social-individual learner who prefers to learn things by thinking them over by his or her self. Driving all those around him or her crazy, the child who has to read out loud to absorb the text is probably an auditory learner who has to hear it to understand it. The child who has to write lengthy notes and can’t just listen to the teacher is probably a written learner. The child who has to see things, loves videos and demonstrations is probably a visual learner.
Whatever the subject matter being taught, the material is better absorbed when presented in a manner that matches the learning styles of each student. It just makes sense! Why is it so critical that we succeed in teaching our children, all children, to read and write? It is no less important today than in the days of Sequoia, it is a matter of survival for our civilization.
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