Catering To Different Learning Styles in the Classroom

Losing the attention of your students during classroom lessons may seem like an inevitable hurdle that leaves you with a “win some, lose some” mentality as a teacher. However, there are many proven methods of increasing student learning rates by catering to all of the different learning styles in the classroom.

Depending on a child’s dominant learning style, certain teaching techniques and learning strategies will be more successful in helping him or her grasp new material in the classroom. Many different psychological models have been suggested for the various learning styles adopted by children and adults alike, but the VAK model is one of the mostly widely recognized models. The VAK model and suggests three main categories of learners:

Visual

Visual learners are categorized by their ability to think in pictures and store mental images to retain information. Children who learn best visually tend to have trouble following verbal directions and can be easily distracted by noise. Some tips for catering to visual learners includes using visuals during lessons, organizing information using color codes, and showing visual patterns to teach grammar, vocab and punctuation.

TIP: Incorporate an educational classroom rug that illustrates the alphabet, numbers, and shapes with color images and pictures.

Auditory

As opposed to visual learners, auditory learners tend to think in words. Children who prefer auditory styles of learning tend to be talkative and social because verbal communication acts as their prime form of information exchange. These learners will understand concepts by talking about them or trying to explain them out loud. Techniques for engaging these students can be reading out loud to them often or encouraging the students to take turns reading sentences aloud. Also try to incorporate rhymes and word games when teaching language and grammar.

TIP: Set up a reading area in your classroom using a circular or oval classroom rug to encourage collaborative reading and learning.

Kinesthetic

Most children start out as kinesthetic learners but start to develop preferences towards visual or auditory learning once school curriculum becomes more rigorous. However, many students maintain a dominant preference for kinesthetic learning as they get older, and it can be difficult to cater to this style in many traditional classroom environments. Kinesthetic learners are often misdiagnosed with ADHD because they can’t sit still for long periods of time and struggle with reading and spelling (subjects that by nature tend to favor visual and auditory learners). Use the outdoors as a learning opportunity when possible and don’t limit study space to only desks or tables.

TIP: Let students practice addition and subtraction with this Drive & Play rug by using toy cars and asking them to show you answers to different equations.

Most experts agree that no child (or adult!) falls into only one category of learning styles. In fact, many people favor more than one learning style. Children’s learning styles can change and develop over the years, so it is important to provide a well-rounded classroom environment to ensure that all of your students can succeed.

About the Author: RTR Kids Rugs provides a wide variety of children's rugs that are the perfect addition to any school, church or daycare facility. Visit www.rtrkidsrugs.com to shop classroom rugs for kids or for more information.