Why Finding Your Child's Learning Style Is Important

The term 'learning Styles' has become a commonplace phrase among home educators. While many homeschooling parents tell me they have heard of the term, they also tell me they really don't know if the are teaching to their child's learning style or not. Or they don't know if it really makes any difference anyway. Many homeschooling parents also tell me they don't know their own learning style or how their learning style affects the way they teach their children.

In order to effectively teach to your child's learning style, it is important to first discover your own learning style. This needs to be done before attempting to diagnose your child's learning style. Your learning style will directly impact the way you attempt to teach your child. It is normal to try to teach in your own learning style. If you are aware of your own style of learning, you will be able to modify your teaching to better reflect your child's learning style. This will prevent countless moments of frustration on both the part of the parent as well as the child. Determining your own learning style can be done by taking the ABBA Homeschool Academy learning style quiz.

While there are several different types of learning styles depending on the learning theory, we will address three of the most common learning styles; the kinesthetic learner, the visual learner, and the auditory learner.

One reason to learn your child's learning style in order to be a more effective teacher is that learning styles influence almost every aspect of your child's life whether you realize it or not. They influence the way your child processes information, the way they recall that information, and even the way they describe that information. Learning styles influence which hobbies or sports your child will become most interested in. Your child's learning style and the style in which you teach will determine whether they become an engaged learner or a bored learner. It will most likely even influence the career they eventually choose.

We know from research that different learning styles use different areas of the brain during the learning process. For example, the kinesthetic learner uses the cerebellum and the motor cortex which is responsible for most physical movement; the auditory learner uses the temporal lobes which are responsible for any aural processes; and the visual learner uses the occipital lobes which are responsible for our visual sense.

Research has also shown that the more areas of the brain we are able to use when teaching our children, the better they will be able to fully comprehend the material, the longer they will retain it and the better they will be able to apply it. Your child's dominant learning style will determine the way they are able to use the other areas of the brain. At ABBA Homeschool Academy, we maximize your child's learning potential by integrating ABBA Homeschool Academy Project Boxes and Living Books into their own customized curriculum. This is especially valuable for addressing kinesthetic learning. We also allow our parents to mix and match from our curriculum choices. This customization will help you accurately teach to your child's learning style.

Another reason it is important to discover your child's learning style is a
common assumption that traditional schools attempt to teach to every learning style, therefore, the way traditional schools teach must be the way I need to teach. Parents who believe this usually have a child who did poorly in school and was labeled 'learning disabled', 'special needs', 'behavior disorder' etc. That list could go on and on. Or, they have observed someone else's child that carried that label and believed to themselves that it must surely fit that particular child.

When a child is labeled, it is a sad fact that people will have a tendency to look for things in that child that makes that label fit. Even the child will eventually start to believe their label must indeed fit. Children who are labeled may drag their 'label' through life believing it is accurate. At ABBA Homeschool Academy we work with parents to help determine their child's unique learning style and to customize a curriculum that truly fits their child.

People who believe that the traditional school system must have some fool proof way to diagnose these children have come to believe it is the child that has the problem. They haven't considered that maybe the traditional school system simply failed to teach to that child's particular learning style. The truth is that most school systems don't even attempt to discover their students' learning styles. Most traditional school systems still use didactic lectures and bookwork as their sole means of teaching. This may work somewhat for those who are visual or auditory learners, but it spells disaster waiting to happen for children who are kinesthetic learners.

It is a statistical fact that most little girls are predominantly visual or auditory learners while most little boys are predominantly kinesthetic learners. Who are the children labeled 'behavior disorder' or 'learning disability' in the traditional school system? Little boys are - many times over.

Boys are many times more likely to become a high school dropout than are girls. This statistic changes dramatically when boys are effectively taught to their learning style and even more dramatically the sooner this change is made. When a child's learning style is accommodated they suddenly become an engaged learner.

So, no matter what learning style your child has, it is important to discover and maximize it. Because an engaged learner is a successful learner. Your child will, in turn, carry that success into every aspect of their adult life. If you have any questions regarding learning styles, our curriculum, or the services we offer here at ABBA Homeschool Academy, please feel free to give me a call at (620) 223-3434.

~ By Connie Wollenhaupt