A good teacher can make a huge difference in a student’s life. According to research, the teacher plays the most important role in deciding how the student will perform. Additionally, a teacher’s role is vital for building up the students’ individuality.
All of us don’t learn in the same way. A good teacher always tries to identify each student’s learning style so that they can cater to their needs accordingly. By doing so, a teacher can greatly impact the student’s performance, meaning that the students would learn better and perform well in exams. Therefore, it is a teacher’s responsibility to know each student’s learning style. That’s why this article will talk about the student’s learning styles and how teachers can identify them.
1. Visual Learners
Some of the students in your class learn better when the teachers explain topics with the help of diagrams, pictures, infographics, etc. This type of learning is also known as spatial learning. You can identify the visual learners in your class easily. They would most probably make notes of your lectures and use flashcards to jot down important points.
Visual learners don’t always do well with just spoken lectures. They might get lost in the middle and eventually not understand most of the things. You can give them the chance to draw something related to their topic to help them retain things better. On the other hand, ensure that you don’t rush towards other topics immediately because it might take some time for visual learners to absorb the concepts.
There are many other methods you can follow for effective teaching. However, it is always recommended that you pursue a relevant degree to grasp the ideas better. It will improve the way you teach as you would then know all the ways how students learn better. You can also opt for online degrees to work at your own pace. Moreover, if you are looking to become a trainer, program coordinator, or researcher, a higher degree would help you in these careers.
2. Auditory Learners
Auditory learners tend to understand things much faster by hearing. They are just the exact opposite of visual learners. They don’t prefer making notes or diagrams for memorization. Rather, they prefer to reinforce the concepts by recalling things with their voice. You might have observed that some people listen to other people’s stories and don’t forget them for a long time. They can recall it even after a long time. Just like this, auditory learners absorb information better with lectures and audio explanations and reuse the information when needed.
There are a few ways by which you can identify auditory learners. Firstly, they are not hesitant in sharing things in class. Auditory learners usually get the difficult topics earlier than visual learners when the teacher explains them verbally. The best way of dealing with such students is to keep them engaged during the lecture so that they can actively get their concepts clear. You can ask them questions during the lecture, encourage them to discuss the topic, or tell them to explain the topic to the class.
3. Kinesthetic Learners
Kinesthetic learning is another type of learning style. Those students who prefer to use their hands and touch to learn things better are kinesthetic learners. That means they like to experiment with things, and that’s how they learn. Therefore, teachers can facilitate them by taking them to labs to perform the experiments. Moreover, they also love to draw things in order to simplify difficult concepts. They are usually creative people. They use their hands and touch inside and outside of the classroom. A kinesthetic learner might need a fidget toy to prepare for the exams as it helps them focus on studying. For best results, you can engage them in some kind of movement while teaching them about the topic. They can be called a tactile learner, meaning that they would prefer to use all their senses when understanding a topic.
There are some problems that the teacher might face with the kinesthetic learner. It includes the students not being able to sit still. Moreover, they will usually get bored after some time, so they might need a break to refresh themselves. Therefore, as a teacher, you can let them move around when they explain something. It is best not to stop them when they maneuver in a certain way while learning a concept or memorizing something.
4. Reading/Writing Learners
Another type of learner is the reading/writing learner. They are happy to read long texts, like a book or an essay. Once they are done reading it, they will make notes of that reading to understand it better. They prefer to write down notes as it helps them easily understand difficult concepts.
Out of all the four types of learners, teachers can easily cater to the reading/writing learners. The reason is that our education system is built in such a way that caters to these learners better. As a teacher, there are many ways with which you can cater to any student if they are a reading/writing learner. For instance, you can tell them to check out relevant books from the library and ask them to write class notes when the lecture finishes. These are the most common ways of learning. That’s why we can deduce that most people are reading/writing learners.
Every student possesses a unique style of learning. Teachers can’t force students to adopt a specific learning style only, as there is no one method of understanding and retaining information. Instead, they have to identify what learning style works best for their students. If a teacher can identify that, they could help cater to the students accordingly. It could be quite difficult if you are teaching your students online during this pandemic. Nonetheless, you can uncover their learning style by asking them questions about it. A student may also have a mixture of learning styles. However, with the help of this guide, it wouldn’t be difficult to identify them as well and take action that suits each learning style best.