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Your Child's Memory Style

You're probably aware that your children have unique personalities. You may even be aware that they have different learning styles. But did you know that they even have unique ways that they remember information? The way people remember things is called sensory perception, and these various methods are called modalities. In her book, The Way They Learn, author Cynthia Ulrich Tobias explains the three primary modalities and how these affect your children.

Auditory

Auditory learners will remember information best by listening to it. If your child is an auditory learner, you will notice he does well with verbal instructions, he may repeat things to himself or read aloud. Unfortunately, this doesn't mean that if he hears something once, it is forever committed to memory. But it does mean that if you want to help your child study, you will verbally quiz him instead of giving him a set of flashcards. Encourage your child to make up songs when memorizing information, or to read aloud.

Visual

Visual learners remember best be seeing something. If you have a visual child, she may associate words or facts with mental images. She may picture in her head what she is learning about. Therefore, you may find that buying decorative folders and brightly colored flash cards as study materials will be more helpful than plain study supplies. You may even encourage her to draw quick pictures to help her memorize information.

Kinesthetic

Do you have a child who never seems to sit still and always needs to be touching things? She may be a kinesthetic learner, which means she remembers and learns best when she is physically involved in the process. Sometimes the kinesthetic learner just needs to be moving to learn, even if it is pacing while reciting something. And because kinesthetic learners can only concentrate for about 10 minutes at a time, make sure she takes frequent breaks during homework time.

Tobias summarizes these learning modalities by explaining: "Most people find they are strong in at least two of these modalities, and maybe even all three...If you aren't sure whether the auditory, visual or kinesthetic methods would work best for your child, try out each approach until you find the one that fits. It may even vary from day to day. The important thing is to find the method of remembering and reviewing that works best for each individual!"

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