Question: My daughter’s Learning Style indicates she has a strong preference for intake. I myself also noticed that her concentration improves when she’s allowed to chew or nibble on things. Unfortunately, teachers don’t allow chewing gum during ballet lessons or piano lessons, and gum is banned at school. What can I do?
Answer: The first step is to show the teachers your daughter’s Learning Style Results (see sample) and explain why chewing is such an important part of some children’s learning process. If they are not flexible on gum, perhaps they would allow a sports drink bottle in class. You can also experiment with chewable necklaces, ribbons or pens.
Question: Back up. What exactly is a Learning Style?
Answer: A Learning Style is the unique set of preferences and non-preferences that determines the way in which you concentrate best. In simple terms, it is a list of:
- things that help you learn, and
- things that make learning harder.
In the example above, a strong need to chew while concentrating on the new topic, was identified as 1 of the 49 elements that make up the girl’s Learning Style.
Question: 49? Really? What are they?
Answer: Amazing, isn’t it? There really are 49 things that affect the way you learn. Some of the elements that help or hinder your studies include:
- the amount of light in the room
- what time it is (earlier is not always better!)
- what motivates you
- whether you like learning in a group
- how happy you are with lists and bullet points