Learning Styles & Strategies For Kids

 It is important that parents and teachers first understand the children they are teaching in order to know the most suitable teaching approach and tools to use in teaching them. The reason is because every child learns differently from the other. Understanding the peculiar learning style of a child helps parents and teachers tailor their approaches to meet the children's unique needs. Below are the general learning styles and strategies to support kids:

Learners Styles: 

1. Visual learners: These are the children who like to learn through images, pictures, videos, and observations. 

2. Auditory learners: 

These are the children who like to learn through sounds, music, and oral instructions.

3. Kinesthetic learners: 

These are the kids who learn through hands-on approach. Kinesthetic children learn through doing with their hands, rather than just listening and watching or imitating or observing. They enjoy touching, feeling, and manipulating objects to understand concepts. They like movement-based activities such as sports, dance, or role-playing. They always like to experiment and explore their environment to learn.

4. Verbal learners: 

They like to learn through words, language, and reading. 

5. Logical learners:

 They learn through patterns, logic, and problem-solving. They are very good in critical thinking and reasoning skills acquisitions. 

The Learning Strategies are:

1. Repetition: 

It is commonly believed and said that repetition connotes emphasis. When an idea, information, or point is repeated, it means that it must be understood and strictly adhered to. Therefore, parents and teachers should pass new information or skills or concepts to children as often as possible to reinforce learning.

2. Breakdown complex tasks: 

Complex tasks should be broken down into smaller and manageable ones to enable the kids understand the subject under discussion very well.

3. Use visual aids:

 Parents and teachers are required to incorporate images, diagrams, maps, and videos to support learning.

4. Interactive learning: 

Engage kids in hands-on activities, games, and discussions. Give them opportunities to reciprocate by asking questions on the areas of the subject, idea, or concept that they do not properly understand. 

5. Offer constructive feedback to encourage learning and improvement.

6. Help the kids to think constantly on their learning, set goals, and develop self-awareness. 

7. Use technology to teach the kids. Apply digital tools, apps, and games to make learning both fun and engaging. 

8. Create a serene and comfortable learning environment to promote focus, concentration, and productivity.

9. Identification of the children's strengths and weaknesses is essential. If not, it will be very difficult, if not impossible, to tailor the teaching approach to suit them.

10. Parents and teachers should be patient and supportive. Emotional support and patience are required as the children learn and grow.

11. Children should be rewarded with physical gifts either in cash or in kind for any achievement made in the pursuit of their academic careers. Accolades should also accompany whatever prize or gift that is given to the excelling child. This approach  shall encourage and motivate other kids to strive for excellent performance in their careers. 

12. Parents are to be totally involved with children's education programmes, and to communicate with teachers and educators about their progress.

13. There should be no collective punishments for kids. 

14. Provision of comfortable seating arrangements is a compulsory requirement to enhance children's productivity. 

15. Gamification is a proven and attested strategy for the promotion of children's learning and development. Utilize game-based learning process to motivate kids and promote engagement.

16. Encourage convergent and divergent thinking skills. Encourage critical thinking and reasoning skills through convergent (reaching at one solution) and divergent (reaching at more than one solution) thinking exercises. 

17. Incorporate mathematical games and puzzles such as Sudoku and Kenken to develop problem-solving skills and Maths fluency.

18. There should be continuous assessment of the children's academic performance. Regularly assess the kids understanding to inform instruction and adjust teaching strategies.

In summary, children can learn effectively through various learning styles, including visual, auditory, kinesthetic, verbal, and logical approaches, and can benefit tremendously from strategies such as repetition, interaction, and feedbacks to support their unique learning needs.

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