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Children Achieve More When Able To Choose Their Learning Styles and Environments
By Shari Nielsen | July 9, 2008
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Styles, they are everywhere! We wear our hair in a certain style. We all have a style of clothing that we consider our favorite. We even prefer certain styles of music. We certainly like driving a specific style of car. Where we go to have our hair done, buy clothes, or look at cars is also important to us. Have you ever considered that your child may have a preferred style of learning and preferred learning environment? They actually do.
Children can learn in a variety of ways, but they certainly have a style of learning that they prefer because it makes the most sense to them.
Let’s start with the first day of school. We all can remember those feelings and impressions. Were you the student who loved to take home your new textbooks on the first day of school and wade through them, skimming over the pages with great interest and anticipation? Would you receive the teacher’s information packet and enthusiastically flip through it eager to find out what was to be expected of you that year? Would you do your homework the minute you got home, complete your assignments on time, and strive to receive the award for Student of the Month? Did you learn best by yourself and were you able to not be easily distracted? Or were you the student who just rolled your eyes when the teacher passed out that year’s textbooks on the first day of school. Did the information packet feel like a weight in your backpack, pushing down your hopeful dreams that this year just might be different. Were you not enthused by the books you were expected to read and the assignments to you needed to complete? Did you believe your enthusiasm and motivation for learning were stifled? Did you wished for the opportunity to explore, be creative, and share a little more than you were allowed to?
Each child has different styles that we as parents or tutors need to be aware of.
For example, my oldest child is very social and enjoys learning, mostly through discussion, group projects, and going places. Getting an information packet on the first day of school was alright for her, but she sure skimmed it quick looking for the group activities, like field trips and writing group reports. She was even more excited when she learned that she would be using the computer for many of her projects. In addition, my son seems to learn best when he is not forced to master just one concept at a time. He likes to learn when a variety of concepts are integrated into one theme. He also likes to ask lots of questions. His style of learning requests inquiry, problem solving, and creativity. My son wants to know why and be able to come up with more than one way to solve problems. Getting an information packet for him was more burdensome than motivating. He often would ask the teacher if there were opportunities to be creative with projects as long as the concepts being taught were the main focus. He found inspiration and freedom when doing research. His favorite research tool was the computer, of course. Would you believe he would earn A’s when using the learning style he preferred?
You also need to consider the learning environment that your child will be exposed to. Does he like to learn alone or does he prefer to learn in a classroom with others or just simply work one-on-one with someone? Would using the computer be the ideal tool for him or would it serve as a distraction? Some students love websites such as www.BrainPops.com which help to make learning fun. Other students find working with tutors online, such as www.Tutorfi.com serves as an excellent resource and helps with motivation and with building confidence.
Learning styles and learning environments come in many shapes and sizes. Some children learn best through performing on stage, some through being creative and alone to think, and some like to be given more social interaction both in and out of the classroom. All children have many ways to learn and many learning environments to choose from, but they have a learning style and learning environment that works best for them. Start observing your kids and watch for what they are drawn to. You just might be surprised!
Topics: Study Skills and Learning Strategies, Tutor Tips | 1 Comment »
October 6th, 2008 at 1:52 pm
nice work, brother