It uses varied methods of engagement, representation, and expression to cater to the broadest range of students without trying to match them to specific learning styles. Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is one such approach. Most educators and researchers now advocate for a more evidence-based approach to teaching. Children can and do learn in different ways, but labelling a child as only having one learning style is an outdated practice.
Memory, attention, and motivation, among other factors, play a significant role in how children learn, and these processes are not style-specific. Learning involves complex cognitive processes that are not captured by the simplified categories of learning styles. Luckily, we have a better understanding of how children learn now. In that case, they might not be included in activities that involve auditory or kinaesthetic learning and that could have a negative effect. For example, suppose you labelled a student as a visual learner. Labelling a child as a particular type of learner could potentially limit their educational experiences. It is influenced by a variety of factors, including prior knowledge, context, and the nature of the material itself. You have no doubt noticed in your own classroom that if a child seems to have a preference for one learning style, it doesn't mean they can't learn in other ways.
Children just don’t fit neatly into single categories like this. One of the main criticisms of this type of thinking is that there is limited empirical evidence to show that teaching to a specific learning style improves educational outcomes. Kinaesthetic learners needed to use their whole bodies and required big movements to learn, whereas tactile learners just needed to use their hands. Kinaesthetic Learners were sometimes confused with tactile learners. Some educators believed that tactile learners wouldn’t engage in activities or lessons unless it was hands-on. Tactile Learners needed activities involving touch. Visual Learners prefer to learn visually and need to see information in order to process it.Īuditory Learners were children who learned best by listening. The belief was that children had four main learning styles: visual, auditory, tactile, and kinaesthetic. In recent years, this topic has been subject to considerable scrutiny and debate in the educational and scientific communities. However, the scientific support for learning styles is pretty limited. Many educators adapted their teaching methods to cater to a specific learning style that they believed each child had. The concept of learning styles as preferred ways of learning for children was a popular belief back in the 90’s. If you get your students up and moving so they are using their whole body, you would be providing your students with a kinaesthetic learning experience. This type of learning often includes physical movement activities like sports or dance.
Kinaesthetic learners need whole-body movement and prefer to learn by doing activities that use their big gross motor muscles. They are both a physical activity, but tactile learning is about the hands and touch, whereas kinaesthetic learning is about the whole body and movement. Sometimes tactile learning and kinaesthetic learning are terms used interchangeably, but they are actually very different types of learning. By incorporating touch, manipulation, and exploration into the learning process, tactile learners will better retain information and develop essential kindergarten skills. For these learners, the sense of touch is critical in processing information.Ī tactile learning approach to education actively involves children in the learning process through their sense of touch. They learn best by physically touching or manipulating objects. Creating hands-on, sensory learning experiences for your students is essential.