Learning Styles for Home Schoolers

by Valorie Delp | More from this Blogger

25 Jun 2006 02:47 AM

Are you the type of person who hears something once and knows it? Or do you have all the phone numbers of your good friends memorized? Maybe you took notes through lectures in college, but never needed to refer to them? Chances are, you have one specific learning style which suits you and you learn best when information is presented in that format.

Learning styles, simply put, is the way a student takes in information best. Learning styles research, initially was used to reach students who had learning disabilities but now has encompassed a whole range of applications in the classroom.

You may already know what your child's primary learning style is. It is probable, that you at least know what your child's primary learning style IS NOT! Do you have activities or subjects that you try to do that seem like torture? Perhaps changing the way you present the information will take a hated subject and turn it into one that is enjoyable (or at least tolerable.)

There are three basic types of learning styles: visual, auditory & tactile. Visual learners learn by seeing things. Visual learners often think in terms of pictures. A visual learner would prefer to take notes and has a hard time grasping the concept without seeing it. For this child, verbal instructions are very difficult to follow.

Auditory learners need to hear their information. Auditory learners would learn best through lectures and discussions. They frequently think in terms of words and written text may have little meaning. For this child, simply explaining how to do something would probably be sufficient to teach the material.

Tactile learners learn best through exploring their world. They have to touch or manipulate something to fully understand it. Tactile learners frequently have a hard time sitting for long periods of time. They are "hands-on" learners.

Take some time this next week to identify your child's strongest learning strategy. See what assignments and subjects they're good at. Take special note of what types of assignments they dislike or which ones they did not do well on. Your probably know the answers to these questions without having to watch your child but go ahead and take notes on what your child likes and dislikes when you home school.

For more information on teaching for your child's particular learning style, look for my upcoming blogs.

Learn more about Valorie Delp

Hello everybody! My name is Valorie and I am one busy lady! When I'm not writing or editing for families, I am busy trying to get my brood of 5 in line.

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