Different students learn in different ways. Your child may be a visual learner who enjoys reading, a kinesthetic student who needs hands-on assignments, or an auditory learner who’d rather listen to audiobooks.
No matter their preference, it’s important to try new learning strategies to determine whether there’s a better approach. Once their learning style is clear, there are a handful of steps you can take to better support it, such as using interactive Quizlet flashcards to stimulate kinesthetic learners.
At e3 Consulting, we know that no child learns the same, and believe every student deserves a personalized learning experience. For the past 20 years, we’ve helped over 1,500 children overcome learning struggles – helping them reach a place of academic enrichment through our therapeutic approach and compassionate service.
Find out how to support your child’s learning style, and how we help students learn comfortably through our academic enrichment program.
How to Support Your Child’s Learning Style
You can support visual, kinesthetic, and auditory learning styles by adding additional steps to their study process. For example – if they’re visual and prefer reading to learn, you can ask them to write annotations after each chapter to solidify the material in their minds. There are steps you can take for kinesthetic and auditory learners as well, which we’ll dive into:
Visual Learners
As a visual learner, your child learns best by seeing information. These students tend to be skilled in recalling images or diagrams, and learn best by reading textbooks or articles with lots of illustrations. Some other characteristics include being drawn to color and imagery, preferring to learn by watching videos, and having a good sense of direction. But what strategies can you use to support your child’s visual learning preferences?
Since these students prefer visual learning, consider layering onto study habits like reading and watching a teacher’s presentation. An example is pausing for questions as your student reads, asking questions like “What’s important?” and “What are the main takeaways?”
You can also ask them to make annotations at the end of each chapter to help them to understand what they’ve read before moving on, and encourage digital note-taking during lectures to solidify their learnings.
Kinesthetic Learners
If your student prefers kinesthetic learning, this means they learn best by doing. They’re hands-on and require repetitive action to learn best, such as building models or doing experiments. These learners also tend to fidget or move around while they learn, may have a hard time sitting still for long periods of time, and prefer physical action over listening or reading.
Your child’s kinesthetic preferences can be supported with two tactics: encouraging them to take notes in class, and using Quizlet to help with the study process.
To make the most of their note-taking, try out the Leitner system, which uses flashcards to help with learning and memorization. If your child knows the material, put the card in a “Know It” pile. Then, the next time you sit down to help your student study, repeat the process with the flashcards they haven’t yet memorized. These strategies place focus on what your child doesn’t know, and are easy to implement both at home and in an academic enrichment setting.
To make Quizlet studying more effective, create your own kinesthetic module on the website or game-ify learning on by using its Matching Game Flashcards, which is a form of kinesthetic learning. You can also add audio notes for a layer of auditory learning.
Auditory Learners
Children with an auditory style learn best by listening, preferring lectures, discussions, and audiobooks when studying. Other characteristics include talking to themselves as they learn, being skilled in public speaking, and shying away from visual and hands-on learning strategies like reading or experimenting.
Auditory preferences include listening to lectures and listening to audiobooks – but there are modifications you can make to boost the effectiveness of each. Rather than just listening to lectures, ask your student to take notes to incorporate a bit of visual learning.
As for audiobooks, research has shown that doodling helps students process learning faster and more efficiently, so encourage your child to scribble or fidget to maintain focus.
How Academic Enrichment Matches Your Child’s Learning Style
At e3 Consulting, our academic enrichment program form-fits to student learning styles, allowing them to learn comfortably and confidently. We form a distinct learning plan for students based on findings from our initial consultation and proficiency assessment, before moving onto one-on-one coaching:
Academic Consultation
It all starts with an academic consultation, where we identify your child’s needs, goals, and any educational concerns you may have. After working with students, their families, and their school staff if necessary, our Academic Specialists will design a holistic plan to support learning both in and out of the classroom. We’ll also determine whether any accommodations are necessary, such as IEPs and 504s, if your child has special learning needs.
Proficiency Assessment
Along with a thorough analysis of your child’s academic needs and goals, we’ll put them through a proficiency assessment to highlight strengths and areas for growth. We’ll ask questions like: “Are they putting off their readings? Struggling with math? Intimidated by writing assignments?”
To dive into their social and emotional wellness, our Academic Specialists use engaging games and discussions that shed light on any internal struggles that may be restricting learning. And after a handful of these sessions, we regroup with parents to report our findings and offer a plan to meet student needs and goals.
1-on-1 Coaching
With a learning plan now set, your child is ready for one-on-one coaching with one of our Academic Specialists. This service is completely tailored to your student’s learning style and preferences, and goes beyond academics by building foundational skills such as self-advocacy, socialization, and self-regulation.
During these meetings, we’ll guide your child through open-ended discussions that get to the root of their physical, social, mental, and emotional health, alongside games and activities that spark their motivation to learn.
This coaching, combined with insights from the academic consultation and proficiency assessment, paves the way for your child to succeed both in and out of the classroom.
San Diego Education Consultants for SpEd Support
Not all children learn the same way, and no student has just one style of learning that works for them. To determine how your child learns best, consider enrolling them in an academic enrichment program that guides their learning journey. Here at e3 Consulting, we tailor learning according to your child’s preferred style, allowing them to learn comfortably while progressing rapidly.
Contact our San Diego education consultants today to request an academic consultation and get your child the help they need and deserve.
