With semester exams just around the corner, students can expect to have some long hours of studying ahead of them this month. But while students are expected to know the same material, the way they study it can vary from student to student.
“Kids are all different and unique and learn differently, and they study differently as well,” said Joe Walters, principal at Weinberg Elementary School in Chandler.
“I have one boy who needed a completely quiet self-contained environment with no distractions ... My other kid has headphones on and watches TV and can read and do homework all at the same time.”
Understanding your child’s learning style can help him or her study more efficiently, according to the Education Services Center at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio. For example, visual learners should add arrows and diagrams to their study sheets. But auditory learners should study their notes by “talking” through the information. Active learners should find study groups or discuss the information with parents.
To find your child’s study style, Walters suggests talking to his or her teachers. “Involve as many people as you can,” he said.
What’s your learning style?
Visual learners
• Remember what they see in pictures, diagrams and text
• Understand written directions better than directions someone reads out loud
• Take notes with lots of pictures, arrows or other symbols
• Can “picture” the right answer in notes while taking a test
Auditory learners
• Learn best when they hear someone explain a lesson
• Learn to spell better by reading a word out loud than by writing it down
• Prefer to listen to a speech than to read material
• Before beginning an unfamiliar task, they like someone to tell them the correct procedure
Active learners
• Study best by doing
• Enjoy classroom activities where they can participate over listening to a lecture
• When starting to learn something, they often ignore the directions and just start doing it
• Think better when they have the freedom to move around
Find your learning style online:
University of Arizona’s Learning Center:
www.ulc.arizona.edu/learning_style.php
North Carolina State University:
