Children learn in a number of ways, it could be through listening, observing or doing, and the way in which your child learns best is considered their learning style. By becoming aware of a child’s learning style, one can easily pinpoint if they may be struggling in certain areas like textbook reading or following oral directions. Understanding what they do in their free time can also assist.

Deciding whether a child needs a new method of learning is not only challenging but a crucial task for both parents and educators. Noting which area they find difficult can be of some help.

Here are some ways in which you can identify whether your child needs a new method of learning and use this knowledge to help support them on their road to academic success.

What is a learning method?

The way in which a child engages with material in order to retain and process new information best, can be referred to as their learning style or learning method. There are four different approaches or learning styles namely visual, auditory, tactile and kinesthetic which can be adopted to figure out which one suits your child best.

Paying careful attention to the way they interact with the outside world and how they spend their unstructured time can also help identify their method of learning. So let us break down these four styles further:

Auditory

Children who prefer auditory learning can easily follow oral directions, enjoy hearing stories and speak out loud when reading to themselves. They may also show an interest in music, even at a very young age.

Kinesthetic

Instead of being told to do something, kinesthetic learners get up and do it by themselves. As a result, they excel in sports and other physical activities like dance and exercise, those that involve repeated body movements and hands-on experiences.

Tactile

Tactile learners need to touch and understand by manipulating materials and objects. Such children may find paying attention in the classroom difficult as they have nothing to put their hands on.

As such tactile learners tend to become gifted artists as they enjoy working with complex structures, enjoy science experiments or arts and crafts.

Visual

Visual images or written directions are some of the tools visual learners use to learn best and may easily forget oral instructions without using these cues. These learners tend to be good at visualizing information, enjoy beautiful illustrated literature or have a fascination for maps and diagrams.

Keep in mind, that children can learn through each of these mediums, but the one they prefer will be their primary method of learning.

How to determine the right approach

Deciding which approach a child needs can begin by first conducting an assessment to determine the child’s strengths and weaknesses by using an evidence based program. This can be best accomplished by standardized tests, casual observation and interviews with the student. By carefully analyzing this data, educators can only then make a decision which approach is necessary to ensure student progress and leaning outcomes.