Kinesthetic, Auditory & Visual Learning Styles for Children

A kinesthetic learner has difficulty learning from a lecture.

Everyone has a learning style. People fall into one of three categories: kinesthetic, auditory or visual. It's not uncommon for people to switch styles when needed, or for some people to have a secondary learning style or a combination of two styles, but everyone has a learning style. The University of Illinois Extension states that, "In order to work effectively with your child, it is important to understand your own learning style." Understanding learning styles can help you teach your child at home or assist the child with homework or problems at school.

Kinesthetic Learning

The skeleton helps visual learners follow the lesson.

Kinesthetic learners are those who learn best by doing. These learners are attuned to their feelings, and movement helps them learn. They like to find out how things work, take things apart and put things together. These children are often fidgety and sometimes described as hyperactive. They may enjoy performing or art or repair work. Fifty percent of secondary students fall into the kinesthetic category.

Auditory Learning

Auditory learners enjoy listening to a book being read.

Auditory learners learn by listening. These children remember best if they are taught facts in poems and songs. They retain the information that they hear in a lecture, and often have excellent oral skills, but they can be poor readers because of their weakness in visual skills. Children who have an auditory learning style may be good at music and learning foreign languages.

Visual Learning

This foam alphabet puzzle helps kinesthetic learners recognize letters.

Visual learners learn better from watching. They tend to make pictures in their minds of how something will look. Usually, visual learners are orderly and tidy. These children learn best with diagrams, pictures and even just writing on the blackboard.

Children who are visual learners tend to be good at math and notice body language and facial expressions. According to the University of Illinois Extension, 40 percent of secondary students are visual learners.

Applying the Learning Styles

Incorporate learning activities that address all learning styles.

According to the University of Illinois, "Only 10 percent of secondary students learn best auditorily, but 80 percent of instructional delivery is auditory." Obviously, changing the preferred method of instructional delivery from auditory to a mix of all styles would help all children learn and retain information. At home, your children may not all have the same learning style, but you can try to incorporate some of each style into what you are teaching. For example, an auditory learner is fine hearing the spelling and meaning of a new word, but visual and kinesthetic learners may become lost. It's not that difficult to combine three approaches: say the spelling of the word "lion" and tell about the lion's appearance and activities; write the word "lion" and show a picture of the lion in its habitat; and provide lion puzzles with letter blocks or stickers so that each child can learn about the lion in his or her own way.

References

• University of Illinois Extension: Helping Children Succeed in School: Learning Styles
• University of South Dakota: Three Different Learning Styles
• North Dakota State University Extension Service: Parenting Pipeline: Learning Styles

Resources

• Univ of South Dakota: Understanding & Identifying Auditory Visual Kinesthetic Learning Styles
• Penn State York: Nittany Success Center: Learning Styles Inventory Test 1
• Penn State York: Nittany Success Center: Learning Styles Inventory Test 2
• University of South Dakota: What's YOUR Learning Style?