My neighborhood is full of kids. Kenny has deep auburn hair. DJ and Reesa are tall and blond. Jenna is lithe and soft-spoken and Rebecca has huge brown eyes. Underneath each child’s physical appearance is a brain that’s just as unique! And just as each kid has particular likes and dislikes, so their brains have ways to taking in information, learning, that come more naturally. These more comfortable learning pathways are called learning preferences.
Researchers agree that there are three main learning preferences: Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic. Author Julie Anderson calls each of these “a brain’s preferred way to best receive and process information.” Through Anderson’s book, I’ve figured out the way my children’s brain like to learn, and I’m applying that to their schooling. Below is a summary of the three Learning Preferences.
Visual Learners
Visual Learners learn best when taking in information through their eyes. What they see is what they get! When tackling a new skill, or assimilating new information, a visual’s brain is most efficient when they can see something—a diagram, picture or chart for example. At first, I thought I was a visual because I love to read. Come to find out, reading is actually more of an auditory skill. More on that later.
Visuals tend to notice details. Do you have someone you know who is distracted by a piece of lint on the carpet? Visuals like things to be in place. They can prefer an ordered environment.
My husband is the visual learner in our family. As an artist, which many visuals are, he is very observant. He notices color, form, shape. And, he finds it difficult to retain information from just listening to it. His brain functions better with some visual scaffolding on which to store information.
Auditory Learners
My son and I are likely the auditory learners in the family. Auditories learn best when taking in formation through their ears. Their brains are happiest and function most effectively when they hear or read! Julie Anderson explains that decoding speech sounds and written language happens in the same portion of the brain. Auditory learners are tuned into sound.
Therefore, they can be easily distracted by irritating noises that others don’t notice. I’ve always been embarrassed by my hair trigger reaction to loud noises such as train whistles or car horns blowing unexpectedly. Now I understand why. My brain’s pathway for sound is a super highway. Sounds get to me fast and have impact!
My auditory son and I love listening to radio drama, while my kinesthetic daughter loses interest much more quickly. He also is a musician, like many Auditories. And when he hears a song, he can often remember the words without effort. They stick in his brain.
Kinesthetic Learners
Kinesthetics process information most effectively and efficiently through taste, touch and smell. The kinesthetic learner is aware of how things feel. They learn best when their senses are engaged. Just listening or just looking at information for a kinesthetic is like putting blurry glasses on a visual or earplugs on an auditory. Their brains have to work much harder if they can’t use their hands or bodies in the learning experience.
Kinesthetics are understandably hands-on learners. They often become artists, dancers, potters, painters or athletes. Because of their heightened sensitivity, personal space is also important to them. Touch has impact. So, kinesthetic may need extra touch, and also may have a greater aversion to negative touch, or touch from strangers.
At age three, my kinesthetic daughter told her new step-grandpa that her kisses weren’t ready to come out. But after she got to know him, she declared they were ready to come out and she was the quickest to come for hugs and kisses. This same daughter was also pickier about her clothes and food than my visual son. Kinesthetics are more sensitive to texture.
Just as my neighborhood kids are all so different, not all Visual, Auditory and Kinesthetic’s brains are just alike. But as you discover your child’s learning preference, you can adjust your child’s learning environment and your expectations to fit his or her needs. When your child’s brain is happy, he’ll learn more comfortably and naturally when it’s time to head back to school!
-posted by Donna Detweiler, who is would like to recommend Julie Anderson’s book to you: Quickest Way to Insanity—Homeschool Your Kids.
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