I am horrible on the telephone. I cannot stay focused unless I begin drawing flowers, faces and graphs on paper during a long conversation. But if I'm working on a project or on the computer, I will not hear you at all if you talk to me. And if I try to do mathmatics in my head, I usually come up with the wrong number.
I am a visual learner first and foremost. I focus on what I see in front of me. I am single-focused which makes me wonderful at accomplishing tasks and offensive if you're trying to talk to me while I'm doing it. If I can do the math on paper, I can get it right. I learn best by seeing.
My second strength in learning is tactile - if I can touch it, put my hands on it, I will remember how to do it. I have to actually drive the directions to remember them. The worst way for me to learn is auditory - I can get distracted too easily by what I see unless I'm taking notes (which I can see!).
We often label children with disabilities when their real issues is difference - they have a learning style that is different than the parents or teachers trying to teach them; different than most of the children in their family or class. This doesn't mean they are less intelligent or gifted. They simply have a different way of learning. A wise parent or teacher will learn their child's style and teach them in a way they understand and grasp the lesson.
I encourage you to follow this link and first take this test for yourself. What kind of learner are YOU? Then let the children take it. If you are frustrated because a child seems to fight learning or seems unable to learn when you are explaining or lecturing, perhaps you need to add some visuals or hands-on projects to your lesson. Every child CAN learn. Your task is to learn how.
http://www.proprofs.com/quiz-school/story.php?title=vak-quiz-visual-auditory-kinesthetic&id=121633
Carla Ives
HCI Founder
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