The term "learning styles" talks about the understanding that each student learns in a different way. In fact, the learning style of a person refers to a particular manner in which he/she comprehends, processes, absorbs and retains information. For example, when figuring out how to build a house, some students understand the procedure by adhering to verbal instructions, while others need to physically manipulate the house themselves.
Every teacher has his/her specific style of teaching. Similarly, the students have their own specific style of learning. The issues create when teachers and students don't match with their teaching/learning styles. You may have seen that even your own kids adapt uniquely in contrast to you do. They are not "getting on" a similar way you did at your age.
Now, the question is- why are some teachers better than others or why did you enjoy a specific subject over another?
Researchers have studied these questions for quite a long time and have confirmed that when a student struggles with learning it might be an issue of how he/she is being taught.
There are right now seven "Learning Styles":
• Visual (spatial): If you are a visual student, use pictures, images, mind maps, spatial understanding, colors and other visual media to help you to learn. Include much imagery into your visualizations.
• Aural (auditory-musical): For an aural student, use sound, music, rhyme and jingle in the learning. Concentrate on utilizing aural content into your visualizations.
• Verbal (linguistic): If you are a verbal student, go for the strategies that include both speaking and writing. For examples, use a recording of your content for the repeat, scripting, mnemonics, abbreviations and reading aloud.
• Physical (kinesthetic): Being a physical student, you should use activity, role-play, touch, movement and hands-on work in your learning. Don’t miss the techniques of writing and drawing diagrams as they are also a part of physical activities.
• Logical (mathematical): If you are a logical student, target to understand the logic and reasoning behind your contne which will help you to retain and gain proficiency with the content. Don't rote learn, explore the connections between different systems and note them down.
• Social (interpersonal): If you are a social student, target to work with others as much as possible. Try to study with a class. If this isn't available, consider shaping your own study group with others at a comparative level. They don't need to be from a similar school or class. Role-playing is a technique that cooperates with other people, regardless of whether it's one on one or with a group of people. It teaches you how to deal with variations. Seeing the mistakes that others make can help you to stay away from them later. Also, the mistakes you make are useful to other people.
• Solitary (intrapersonal): If you are a singular student, you like to work alone and use self-study. You may not like learning in groups. This is because your inner thoughts have greater effect on your motivation and capacity to learn than they do in the other styles. Create an individual interest for your topics/subjects by asking questions e.g. what reason do others find a topic/subject interesting? How does this benefit them? What keeps them inspired? For what reasons do they work in this field? etc. that will improve your learning.
Teachers often use their favorite learning style for teaching and if students don't share their preferred learning styles, their learning becomes troublesome and disappointing.
It is very important to understand your child’s learning style which can also be done by parents while homeschooling. Watch your kids or students. Understand their needs and interests. Observe their different ways (mentioned above) of adapting learning and also the ways of communicating with others while learning in a group or by themselves. These observations will give you a closer understanding of their skills and will also uncover different approaches to teach them using as many learning styles as possible and help them succeed in every field of life.